The Orgin Story
Hello all - new to these parts and to LC/off-road vehicles in general. Went though high school driving a string of turbo Audis from the 80s and currently have a 2001 A6 with the 4.2L V8 that I swapped from an auto to a 6 spd manual. After realizing that 2 inches of clearance (with stiff coilovers no less) wasn't enough to get me to trail heads and into the areas I enjoy exploring the search was on for a new vehicle.
First I looked for a higher mileage Heep XJ or 3rd gen t4r but after driving a friend's XJ ~300 miles to the Grand Canyon I decided interior quality and on road comfort matters to me more than I had originally anticipated. (sidenote: almost pulled the trigger on a white 99 t4r with the rear elocker and a 5 speed, 349k with records for $2500 in prescott valley in case anyone here bought it) I initially thought I wanted a vehicle to primarily build as a purpose built off-road rig for short local trips and trails. After some soul searching (hah), deliberation with some friends, and discovering XOverland YouTube channel I decided the primary use case for the vehicle would be longer, less technical trips involving significant highway stretches.
I started the new search focused on either an 04 or 05 Ford Explorer Limited with the V8, only because my mom had one and I knew they performed well on road. Logic caught up and I figured independent rear suspension and the lack of aftermarket made it a tough sell. In the meantime I had watched all three major series by XOverland and my interest was piqued in the land cruiser direction. Lusted after a clean 60 series, thought I'd compromise on price by going 80 series and I didn't even look at 100 series as they were predominantly out of my price range. I spent 2 or 3 months looking and researching before I found this beauty in Denver by accident.
The Purchase
The Land Cruiser had 143k and was listed for $5300. This was a slight amount over what I had hoped to spend on a vehicle but exceedingly reasonable for a lower mileage 100 series. Early November I drove to Denver with two friends and a cashier check. The Land Cruiser was slower than I had expected but otherwise ran flawlessly. My reference frame was a 360 hp awd manual car with 4.11s and the parent's Cayenne Turbo S so I kept an open mind. I took it on an extensive test drive including low range and center locker engagement on dirt with lots of poking around under the car debating the rust.
Being a 2000 I had a slight concern about the transmission when I saw a single small fleck in the fluid from wiping the dipstick. After some minor negotiating I drove away without the safari rack for $4600, thank you body damage!
Here is a picture from the drive back with a stop to mountain bike in Moab - this is in the Lazy Lizard Hostel parking lot.
Finally Home!
The deets:
Hopefully in the next post I can detail the mods up to current and discuss the philosophy and future of the build. Also please forgive me if this post is too wordy and/or too picture heavy.
Hello all - new to these parts and to LC/off-road vehicles in general. Went though high school driving a string of turbo Audis from the 80s and currently have a 2001 A6 with the 4.2L V8 that I swapped from an auto to a 6 spd manual. After realizing that 2 inches of clearance (with stiff coilovers no less) wasn't enough to get me to trail heads and into the areas I enjoy exploring the search was on for a new vehicle.
First I looked for a higher mileage Heep XJ or 3rd gen t4r but after driving a friend's XJ ~300 miles to the Grand Canyon I decided interior quality and on road comfort matters to me more than I had originally anticipated. (sidenote: almost pulled the trigger on a white 99 t4r with the rear elocker and a 5 speed, 349k with records for $2500 in prescott valley in case anyone here bought it) I initially thought I wanted a vehicle to primarily build as a purpose built off-road rig for short local trips and trails. After some soul searching (hah), deliberation with some friends, and discovering XOverland YouTube channel I decided the primary use case for the vehicle would be longer, less technical trips involving significant highway stretches.
I started the new search focused on either an 04 or 05 Ford Explorer Limited with the V8, only because my mom had one and I knew they performed well on road. Logic caught up and I figured independent rear suspension and the lack of aftermarket made it a tough sell. In the meantime I had watched all three major series by XOverland and my interest was piqued in the land cruiser direction. Lusted after a clean 60 series, thought I'd compromise on price by going 80 series and I didn't even look at 100 series as they were predominantly out of my price range. I spent 2 or 3 months looking and researching before I found this beauty in Denver by accident.
The Purchase
The Land Cruiser had 143k and was listed for $5300. This was a slight amount over what I had hoped to spend on a vehicle but exceedingly reasonable for a lower mileage 100 series. Early November I drove to Denver with two friends and a cashier check. The Land Cruiser was slower than I had expected but otherwise ran flawlessly. My reference frame was a 360 hp awd manual car with 4.11s and the parent's Cayenne Turbo S so I kept an open mind. I took it on an extensive test drive including low range and center locker engagement on dirt with lots of poking around under the car debating the rust.
Being a 2000 I had a slight concern about the transmission when I saw a single small fleck in the fluid from wiping the dipstick. After some minor negotiating I drove away without the safari rack for $4600, thank you body damage!
Here is a picture from the drive back with a stop to mountain bike in Moab - this is in the Lazy Lizard Hostel parking lot.
Finally Home!
The deets:
- 143,300 at purchase
- 90k service done
- alternator replaced
- starter rebuilt
- decent tread on Cooper AT3 285/75r16
- aftermarket cheap-o LED headlight bulbs (can't decide if this is a pro or a con)
- body damage from a trailer jackknife incident (icy mountain pass)
- terrible BOSS touchscreen headunit
- brakes slightly warped
- more rust than wanted
- rip on pass seat at bolster seam
- but Land Cruiser!
Hopefully in the next post I can detail the mods up to current and discuss the philosophy and future of the build. Also please forgive me if this post is too wordy and/or too picture heavy.