Builds Iwantoffroad build thread for Takumi Gx 470

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the engine skid plate from rci came the same day as the rock sliders. you can say it was like christmas.
I hate mud update 2 by Alexander Rengifo, on Flickr
Tinkering by Alexander Rengifo, on Flickr

nice hardware from rci
Tinkering by Alexander Rengifo, on Flickr


installed with my transmission jack this skid plate is heavy and awkward to balance and install the bolts
Tinkering by Alexander Rengifo, on Flickr

done! fits great
i had 6 stripped bolts that i drilled out and welded bmw nuts into the frame.
i did this a long time ago in preparation for installing skid plates.
Tinkering by Alexander Rengifo, on Flickr
 
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shout out colin thanks for following my build thread
congrats on purchasing your badass fully armored gx 470
so last summer we had 2 trips to mammoth
first trip i was taking my inlaws and i added the skybox that my buddy bryan gave me.
the extra room is nice so i don't have to play tetris with our gear.
quick oil change using mobil 1 synthetic and the d3 tundra longer oil filter
Tinkering by Alexander Rengifo, on Flickr

i always work by myself so i have to get creative with the tools i have access to.
skybox is not heavy but very large, awkward and not safe to climb a ladder to place it on the roof.
In comes the fork lift to save the day.
Tinkering by Alexander Rengifo, on Flickr

chevron off highway 15 next to cleghorn
Tinkering by Alexander Rengifo, on Flickr

going up highway 395 i passed a large caravan of 100 series land cruisers all modified and on there way to coyote flats. possibly some are members on this awesome forum.

Tinkering by Alexander Rengifo, on Flickr

Tinkering by Alexander Rengifo, on Flickr

Tinkering by Alexander Rengifo, on Flickr

Tinkering by Alexander Rengifo, on Flickr

Tinkering by Alexander Rengifo, on Flickr

Tinkering by Alexander Rengifo, on Flickr
Tinkering by Alexander Rengifo, on Flickr


i took the inlaws to alabama hills to show them the amazing views
i have camped at this exact spot before. so nice to see the sunrise and sunset from here

Tinkering by Alexander Rengifo, on Flickr
the famous monster rock
Tinkering by Alexander Rengifo, on Flickr

engage lockers! fun little mogul obstacle to flex the suspension on.
Tinkering by Alexander Rengifo, on Flickr
its absolutely gorgeous there
Off-roading by Alexander Rengifo, on Flickr

gas somewhere middle of nowhere california.
Off-roading by Alexander Rengifo, on Flickr
took the inlaws to the mount whitney waterfall
turn out
Tinkering by Alexander Rengifo, on Flickr

horse shoe lake mammoth
super low water level
Off-roading by Alexander Rengifo, on Flickr

fishing at lake george
Off-roading by Alexander Rengifo, on Flickr

the folding table i made from scratch works great!
Off-roading by Alexander Rengifo, on Flickr
 
My buddy bryans lift kit came in and we had just a few days to get in installed and the new tires mounted before our trip to mammoth.

bryan finally joined club 33!
I am knowledgable and i like it when people listen to my advice. he pulled the trigger on some 285 70 17 bfg e loads and he bought 5 to have a full size spare.
Tinkering by Alexander Rengifo, on Flickr
he came over and we worked on his eimkeith pan hard relocation bracket

the grey whale at my work
up in the air near the welder 220 plug
Tinkering by Alexander Rengifo, on Flickr

back that ass up
Tinkering by Alexander Rengifo, on Flickr

eim keith bracket fits extremely well.
paint ground down
2 magnets keeping it in place until we tack weld it
Tinkering by Alexander Rengifo, on Flickr

i gave bryan some verbal instructions and had him tack weld his on bracket.
Welding by Alexander Rengifo, on Flickr
his tacks are good! good listener great teacher :)
Welding by Alexander Rengifo, on Flickr




but then took over and welded it myself he is still a squid noob at welding
i then laid a fat bead. i dont care about looks. i want a strong solid weld and i trust my welds for his family's safety and i don't question it.
Welding by Alexander Rengifo, on Flickr


next up was pressing the ball joints on the dobinsons upper control arms.
Tinkering by Alexander Rengifo, on Flickr
Tinkering by Alexander Rengifo, on Flickr

done
Tinkering by Alexander Rengifo, on Flickr

dobinsons lift and eim keith relocation bracket on and on the way to get the tires and wheels and tpms taken care of.
Tinkering by Alexander Rengifo, on Flickr

Tinkering by Alexander Rengifo, on Flickr
 
whats the best shakedown for a brand new lift kit? road trip and wheeling in mammoth!
baby parker and i at the gas station
Off-roading by Alexander Rengifo, on Flickr

bryan had a baby also
baby walker
new dads!

Off-roading by Alexander Rengifo, on Flickr

your friend gets an offroad rig and you have a crew now #winning
bryan got the lift, wheels tires. tpms alingment and shakedown all in time for our mammoth trip
Off-roading by Alexander Rengifo, on Flickr

we climbed up one of the mountains in alabama hills. great views from the top.
Off-roading by Alexander Rengifo, on Flickr

Off-roading by Alexander Rengifo, on Flickr
Off-roading by Alexander Rengifo, on Flickr

my wife nicole
Off-roading by Alexander Rengifo, on Flickr

Off-roading by Alexander Rengifo, on Flickr

Off-roading by Alexander Rengifo, on Flickr

Off-roading by Alexander Rengifo, on Flickr
descending from the top of the mountain in alabama hills
Off-roading by Alexander Rengifo, on Flickr

Off-roading by Alexander Rengifo, on Flickr

Off-roading by Alexander Rengifo, on Flickr

Off-roading by Alexander Rengifo, on Flickr

Off-roading by Alexander Rengifo, on Flickr

Off-roading by Alexander Rengifo, on Flickr

Off-roading by Alexander Rengifo, on Flickr
after alabama hills we did a quick stop at whitney portal
Off-roading by Alexander Rengifo, on Flickr
 
some more miles up the 395
Mammoth x2 by Alexander Rengifo, on Flickr

i came across this sweet van. this guy loves the outdoors!
Mammoth x2 by Alexander Rengifo, on Flickr

Mammoth x2 by Alexander Rengifo, on Flickr

stopped at copper top bbq right off the 395 highway located in the city of BIG PINE
wife clearly in a food coma
Mammoth x2 by Alexander Rengifo, on Flickr
Margaret bryans wife and baby walker
Mammoth x2 by Alexander Rengifo, on Flickr



cabin air bnb in mammoth
Mammoth x2 by Alexander Rengifo, on Flickr

on the hunt for some adventure. trying to find the top of lookout mountain and we made a wrong turn. no cell phone service. i was using the gps in the lexus.
Mammoth x2 by Alexander Rengifo, on Flickr
parked and regrouped and we hiked into the rest of the trail it was to overgrown for a vehicle.
Mammoth x2 by Alexander Rengifo, on Flickr

dad duties
Mammoth x2 by Alexander Rengifo, on Flickr

baby carrier ftw
Mammoth x2 by Alexander Rengifo, on Flickr

it was so peaceful here super quiet
Mammoth x2 by Alexander Rengifo, on Flickr
 
ladies at the top
Mammoth x2 by Alexander Rengifo, on Flickr

dudes at the top
Mammoth x2 by Alexander Rengifo, on Flickr
bryan and his wife
Mammoth x2 by Alexander Rengifo, on Flickr

i was surprised that there where people camping on top of the mountain
Mammoth x2 by Alexander Rengifo, on Flickr
top of lookout mountain in mammoth is 8050 feet
easy trail if you dont make a wrong turn
Mammoth x2 by Alexander Rengifo, on Flickr

on the way down the mountain at sunset
Mammoth x2 by Alexander Rengifo, on Flickr
 
4am fishing day
ditch lights for the win.
its pitch black here.
the moon lights is blocked by all the trees
the low beams and high beams couldnt light up this sign next to the road
and no cell service
trying to find lake george and go before the fish wake up
Mammoth x2 by Alexander Rengifo, on Flickr

couple hours later sunrise
Mammoth x2 by Alexander Rengifo, on Flickr
 
shout out colin thanks for following my build thread
congrats on purchasing your badass fully armored gx 470
Thanks Alex. The rig isn't in my driveway yet, but I hope to have it in the next 2 weeks.

Once I do, I'll be in touch and see about a day trip to test it out with you guys. Maybe Cleghorn or the Saddleback area. :cool:

Your rig is looking great!
 
Based on your pic, it seems like the spare tire issue could potentially be solved using a custom panhard bar that 1) is made of a thinner and taller steel section (maybe oval or rectangular) and 2) is located slightly closer to the rear diff. (perhaps by curving it right around the spare tire area) Seems like an easy fabrication project for someone to tackle and maybe solve this issue.
 
folding table working great. i added some lights and a latching toggle switch
Next update by Alexander Rengifo, on Flickr

im always tinkering with stuff. i wanted a bike mount that fits inside the cargo area of the gx.
Next update by Alexander Rengifo, on Flickr

done it bolts into the anchor spot and has a removable front wheel fork
Next update by Alexander Rengifo, on Flickr

Next update by Alexander Rengifo, on Flickr

tire touches the second row
Next update by Alexander Rengifo, on Flickr
Bike by Alexander Rengifo, on Flickr
 
Thanks Alex. The rig isn't in my driveway yet, but I hope to have it in the next 2 weeks.

Once I do, I'll be in touch and see about a day trip to test it out with you guys. Maybe Cleghorn or the Saddleback area. :cool:

Your rig is looking great!

thanks that would be awesome.

some of the off shoots in cleghorn intimidate me. dont want to roll the rig over. risk versus reward isn't there for some of the trails.
 
Based on your pic, it seems like the spare tire issue could potentially be solved using a custom panhard bar that 1) is made of a thinner and taller steel section (maybe oval or rectangular) and 2) is located slightly closer to the rear diff. (perhaps by curving it right around the spare tire area) Seems like an easy fabrication project for someone to tackle and maybe solve this issue.
thanks. ya that would absolutely solve the tire problem. i solved it by building a swing out spare tire carrier. will update the build thread with that project later.
 
i ordered the rci transmission and transfer case skid plates
after 2 months they arrived.
Update by Alexander Rengifo, on Flickr

Update by Alexander Rengifo, on Flickr

some moron at rci didn't package these brand new freshly powder coated wrinkle black parts and they got all ****ed up.
i know im going to scratch them but i would like to be the first one to scratch them
Update by Alexander Rengifo, on Flickr

next annoying problem was that the rci cross member for the transfer case interfered with the factory gas tank skid plate
it had to smashed in with a sledge hammer to provide enough room for the cross member to get bolted to the frame
Update by Alexander Rengifo, on Flickr

nothing a 5 lb sledgehammer cant correct.
just annoying that after spending around 1000 bucks
Update by Alexander Rengifo, on Flickr

needing to share the same space
Update by Alexander Rengifo, on Flickr
Update by Alexander Rengifo, on Flickr


Next update by Alexander Rengifo, on Flickr

trans jack for the win
Update by Alexander Rengifo, on Flickr

Update by Alexander Rengifo, on Flickr

Update by Alexander Rengifo, on Flickr

next annoyance was the transmission skid plate hit the exhaust hanger. i cut this corner off and painted it and now it clears.
Update by Alexander Rengifo, on Flickr

Update by Alexander Rengifo, on Flickr

make sure you use the spacers they provide so the skid plates clear the round bar under the catalytic convertor
Next update by Alexander Rengifo, on Flickr
 
I have the aluminum RCI skids and they hit the exhaust hanger too. They're nice skids but for the money, I'm not expecting to be using an angle grinder to make them fit.
 
man this was fun to read through! really interested to see what you come up with for tire carrier
 
doing race prep on my bmw has taught me to do full nut and bolt check. I have been adding pen pen marks for years. then you can do a quick walk around before a trip and you are good to go. or if you hear a weird sound you can get comfort by seeing important fasteners still in place.

Update by Alexander Rengifo, on Flickr

Update by Alexander Rengifo, on Flickr

Update by Alexander Rengifo, on Flickr

sweet gx i spotted at in n out in foothill ranch ca
Update by Alexander Rengifo, on Flickr

patch collection growing
Update by Alexander Rengifo, on Flickr

shop neighbors dog came to say hi and wanted take takumi for a rip. miss you rue. rue and his family moved to utah.
Update by Alexander Rengifo, on Flickr

battery started acting up new costco interstate stock battery replacement.
Update by Alexander Rengifo, on Flickr

another gx spotting at my local mountain bike spot at whiting ranch
Update by Alexander Rengifo, on Flickr

this bike rips
norco range
carbon frame
carbon nox composite wheels
Update by Alexander Rengifo, on Flickr

Update by Alexander Rengifo, on Flickr
 

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