Builds "Great White" the Lx450 build

[StaticTorque]

Hello everyone!
After searching for over a year and some change, I have finally bought my dream Land Cruiser. This is my 1996 Lx450 named, "Great White." I am making this thread to show my build and a way to keep track of everything I do to this rig. Want to share my experience with the LC, and maybe inspire other people or give others ideas for their builds.

Down below are a few pictures of when I bought it. I bought this rig on September 25th, 2020. (highlight of my year) Yes, I know I'm late to the party, but hey, better late than never, right? lol. I bought it with around 285k miles on the odometer, but it has a new to it motor with around 60k miles. Also came with brand new 35's, sliders, winch, Prinsu roof rack, some weird cheap stereo, and yes, the best part, it is 3x locked. Had to get one with it, brother has Toyota FZJ80 thats 3x locked. The previous owner had also rebuilt the front axle and resealed the rear. Had the two front seats reupholstered. Had the 3D printed cup holder, which is a plus! Came with a 2" OME lift kit with Medium springs, have heavys to swap into the rig. Slee extended break lines. Also put sound deafening material all throughout the rig. This had everything I wanted, was a Lexus, white, and 3x locked.

 

[StaticTorque]

Here are some pics from my journey from ATL Georgia back home to Portland Oregon.

 

[StaticTorque]

The very first thing I did when I got it home, buy a ARB winch bumper. Love the way this looks and I know it can take a beating. This was put on on 10/15/2020 Really completed the look for now.

 

[Joe Link]

Nice man! Can't wait to see where this ends up.

 

[StaticTorque]

Before I put the bumper on, took it to my local Point S and had the oil changed, tires rotated, coolant flushed and changed to green fluid, and a break fluid flush on 10/7/2020. Crazy what a break flush can do, really changed the breaking if that makes total sense. Great White did FANTASTIC on its 2930 mile trip across the country. Also, i LOVE cruise control! So happy to have that now. my 88 Nova Hatchback doesn't have many features. Big upgrade.

 

[StaticTorque]

Living in the PNW, we get LOTS of rain. Which is not good for rust, luckily there are only 2 minor spots of rust on Great White. But with lots of mud and everything else that will get into the rig, HAD to get some nice floormats. My 1st choice was some Husky's, but they unfortunately don't make a one piece set for the back seats. Had to go with the next best thing, WeatherTechs.

 

[coues7]

Thanks for sharing. Sweet rig. What did you pay if you don’t mind the interwebs knowing.

 

[OffRoadScott]

Good looking rig and a great platform to continue to build on.

 

[StaticTorque]

Thanks for sharing. Sweet rig. What did you pay if you don’t mind the interwebs knowing.

I paid $14k for it.

Good looking rig and a great platform to continue to build on.

Thank you! I agree, lots of stuff I didn't necessarily have to buy after the initial price.

 

[OffRoadScott]

I paid $14k for it.

Thank you! I agree, lots of stuff I didn't necessarily have to buy after the initial price.

Not a bad price I was asking 8500 but I am not triple-locked and the paint isn't as clean as yours.

You got a great rig for the price. These things are like houses, only increase in value.

 

[StaticTorque]

Not a bad price I was asking 8500 but I am not triple-locked and the paint isn't as clean as yours.

You got a great rig for the price. These things are like houses, only increase in value.

Thank you! That's good to hear as it was not "cheap" to say the least. That is true. My brother bought his for $5300 back in 2012 with 227k miles.

 

[StaticTorque]

This is one of the big upgrades I was looking forward to, building my sleep/storage platform. I had considered just blowing another $800+ on a nice built drawer system. But I ended up going with building my own platform, but no drawers. I can add them later, but we shall see in the feature. I work in construction so I was able to get some free 2x12's for the legs. Ended up going to Home Depot and buying a piece of 1" plywood because I didn't have anywhere to store one from work. I also got some 3" wood screws to put it together, and also some outdoor carpet to wrap it in. Here's some pictures of the process. This was started around 11/14/2020.

 

[Mean Green]

This is one of the big upgrades I was looking forward to, building my sleep/storage platform. I had considered just blowing another $800+ on a nice built drawer system. But I ended up going with building my own platform, but no drawers. I can add them later, but we shall see in the feature. I work in construction so I was able to get some free 2x12's for the legs. Ended up going to Home Depot and buying a piece of 1" plywood because I didn't have anywhere to store one from work. I also got some 3" wood screws to put it together, and also some outdoor carpet to wrap it in. Here's some pictures of the process.

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Dang we could be twins. Mine’s in Atlanta still

 

[Mean Green]

Mine could be your twin and it’s in Atlanta still!

 

[StaticTorque]

When there's highs, there's lows... As I had started working on the platform, I had noticed that my carpet was damp at the back of the "tailgate." I knew this couldn't be good cause moisture cause mold, and I don't want to have to deal with rust. This was a big deal for as i have never had to chase down a water leak. As I was officially getting my hands into mechanics as I have always loved working on anything with a motor.

 

[StaticTorque]

Mine could be your twin and it’s in Atlanta still!

HAH, it really could be! Amazing looking rig!

 

[StaticTorque]

Note to everyone who doesn't know this, when chasing a water leak, use just a hose and run water over your car. I had family members spraying pressured water in certain spots and was find leaks "EVERYWHERE." It took lots of time and lots of research to figure it out. Here's my thread I posted about it Link. But I will talk about it here. The 1st leak I found was the trim pieces that are under the 3rd row windows. I ended up taking them off, cleaned the surface off and used rubber electrical tape as a new "gasket." That ended up working great and hasn't leaked yet. But as time went on, I noticed that I still had a leak and it ended up coming from the D pillars. More research later, found out that it was coming from the Louvered Ventilators on both sides. Bought new ones off Amayama because i had broke the clips on one side and seals were destroyed on both of them. I didn't want to use silicone to fix the problem because that's not how Toyota did it from the factory. I couldn't just buy the seals for the Louvers. New ones came in, and they looked fantastic! Got those on and I thought it fixed it... Ended up still having a small leak on the driver side. Saw that it was coming from around the air duct vent. Took the D pillar apart and used more of the rubber electrical tape as a new seal and haven't had a leak at all! Man was that a pain in the you know what... Was done around 11/24/2020-12/12/2020

 

[Out2See]

Hey Nice Rig! I just purchased one myself from Oregon and had it shipped up to me. Started to plan what I will be doing as well. So much to do so little time! Good luck with the build

 

[onesix6]

Great looking LX ... what's the wheel and tire setup?

 

[Arizona Jeff]

nice find!