My wifes LC is being delayed for some glass misshipment and today a armored LC150 was delivered to my garage as a "we;re sorry". Nice silver color fully loaded with all the goodies, 4.0 engine, 5 cameras and what not. I drove around all day in it and I was fairly impressed. It definitely drove better and was a lot more agile, but it felt too light and wasnt nearly as comfortable as a LC200. Gas mileage is way better, better power I felt, but it seemed like the engine was making a lot more noise than was necessary to move around. Sounded like my moms old 90s aerostar. Ill post more later this week.
LC150 is no where near a LC200
- Thread starter jcmiro
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I have armored a couple dozen of the Prados now. Suspension is tough to key in just right. But you can put a TRD supercharger on it easy.
Noticed your ordering a FB7 TLC for your wife. Did they say what weight that was going to come in at? Mine are min 4.5ton and that is me using 600bh steel.
Right now I am out in the desert doing summer trials in our MRAP with the local army but when I get back to the factory ill send you some pics of my new VR7 design where I was able to armored it 5/7 and still get the plastics back in. I'm going to start recommending this stake in FB6 to customers who deal with a lot of offroad or muddy places as I can get the total weight down to 3.3-3.5 tons and still offer 360 degree FB6 protection.
Noticed your ordering a FB7 TLC for your wife. Did they say what weight that was going to come in at? Mine are min 4.5ton and that is me using 600bh steel.
Right now I am out in the desert doing summer trials in our MRAP with the local army but when I get back to the factory ill send you some pics of my new VR7 design where I was able to armored it 5/7 and still get the plastics back in. I'm going to start recommending this stake in FB6 to customers who deal with a lot of offroad or muddy places as I can get the total weight down to 3.3-3.5 tons and still offer 360 degree FB6 protection.
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- #3
Yes, but unlike the middle east we dont have explosives to worry about. People dont want to kill me (yet, or ever i hope)
The cartels are coming down from colombia and kidnapping, violence and assasinations are on the rise. Great. I know right
All I asked for was AK47 or 7.62 caliber protection. It might be FB6 I dont really know what Im talking so I may be wrong in saying FB7. I asked for no steel. They showed my some white 1" plastic looking sheet and told me that it would stop "most" attacks. The windows they showed me where twice as thick as mine and dont roll down (wifes gonna kill me for that option) and the window frame are 2.5" of reinforced steel.
The cartels are coming down from colombia and kidnapping, violence and assasinations are on the rise. Great. I know right
All I asked for was AK47 or 7.62 caliber protection. It might be FB6 I dont really know what Im talking so I may be wrong in saying FB7. I asked for no steel. They showed my some white 1" plastic looking sheet and told me that it would stop "most" attacks. The windows they showed me where twice as thick as mine and dont roll down (wifes gonna kill me for that option) and the window frame are 2.5" of reinforced steel.
Where are you from, Juan Carlos?
Protection up to a .308 is all you asked for?? you dont ask for much!!
We're used to seeing armored Toyotas down here in Venezuela, but there are very few heavily armored cars here as the materials needed fall into "combat material" categories and they're illegal to import.
Windows on armored cars never go down, except for the front ones which usually come down like 5-6 inches at most. Also, heavily armored cars have a vault behind the rear cargo door, so that's another inconvenience..
It makes sense that the 4runner is not as comfortable as the 200, but the 200 is ridiculously comfortable so it doesnt mean that the 4runner isnt comfortable.
Suspension is usually a factor with these things, but nothing a heavy duty suspension kit wont fix..
Protection up to a .308 is all you asked for?? you dont ask for much!!
We're used to seeing armored Toyotas down here in Venezuela, but there are very few heavily armored cars here as the materials needed fall into "combat material" categories and they're illegal to import.
Windows on armored cars never go down, except for the front ones which usually come down like 5-6 inches at most. Also, heavily armored cars have a vault behind the rear cargo door, so that's another inconvenience..
It makes sense that the 4runner is not as comfortable as the 200, but the 200 is ridiculously comfortable so it doesnt mean that the 4runner isnt comfortable.
Suspension is usually a factor with these things, but nothing a heavy duty suspension kit wont fix..
- Thread starter
- #5
Im in Peru.
308 is asking for too much. 7.62 is good enough for me. Id rather pay $12,000 more and get full protection.
The armoring companies are local and they do a less than a decent job, but they are effective. Ive seen many of the attacked vehicles on the news and nobody ever gets hurt.
The vault door is a much better option in my opnion I dont have it in mine and my rear door creaks rattles and Im constanly having to replace the shocks and lock mechanisms.
308 is asking for too much. 7.62 is good enough for me. Id rather pay $12,000 more and get full protection.
The armoring companies are local and they do a less than a decent job, but they are effective. Ive seen many of the attacked vehicles on the news and nobody ever gets hurt.
The vault door is a much better option in my opnion I dont have it in mine and my rear door creaks rattles and Im constanly having to replace the shocks and lock mechanisms.
hehe FB7 is the 7.62x51 armor piercing (HC) protection. Usually steel is 14mm 500bh or 10mm 600bh. and the glass is 72-78mm depending on the manufacture.
The strange thing is the 7.62x39 ammo used in the AK47 are actually not tested on the US or Euro ballistic cert charts. But we usally in the industry say the FB4 will give protection for AK47 (but you have to be careful how you say it as the rifle/gun doesnt matter its the ammo/bullet and the 7.62x39 has hundreds of different bullets made for it around the world)
Well when you are ready to replace your armored TLC let me know. I;ll send you some pics to show the people there how you want the car built. Or I could have my company sell you our previous version as a set and have the people there install it for you. I cant sell my current design as a kit as we dont want it out in the public. But I can assure you my older version is still 100times better then what is coming out of cent america. ohhhhhhhh you can just order one from our US factory and find a buddy in a NGO and bring it under their name into the country.
The strange thing is the 7.62x39 ammo used in the AK47 are actually not tested on the US or Euro ballistic cert charts. But we usally in the industry say the FB4 will give protection for AK47 (but you have to be careful how you say it as the rifle/gun doesnt matter its the ammo/bullet and the 7.62x39 has hundreds of different bullets made for it around the world)
Well when you are ready to replace your armored TLC let me know. I;ll send you some pics to show the people there how you want the car built. Or I could have my company sell you our previous version as a set and have the people there install it for you. I cant sell my current design as a kit as we dont want it out in the public. But I can assure you my older version is still 100times better then what is coming out of cent america. ohhhhhhhh you can just order one from our US factory and find a buddy in a NGO and bring it under their name into the country.
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- #7
AS always ken with the wealth of knowledge. You probably could sell a good deal of LCs down here if you managed to get them in the country. Theres only two companies and your work would probably put them to shame. Just out of curiosity what prices are you offering for the kit. I already paid for my wife's car sadly and Im not due for another LC till the 300 comes out. 
Tell you the honest truth I have no idea the price - as we dont actually sell kits normally.AS always ken with the wealth of knowledge. You probably could sell a good deal of LCs down here if you managed to get them in the country. Theres only two companies and your work would probably put them to shame. Just out of curiosity what prices are you offering for the kit. I already paid for my wife's car sadly and Im not due for another LC till the 300 comes out.
When it comes to armoring its more on "how you armor" then the design. If your not careful you can cause extreme heat damage to the steel if not welded correctly turning your ballistic into mild steel. Same you must know what to stitch weld and what to fully weld as to make sure there is still some flex in the armoring.
Actually looked at going to SA (well Brazil) but it seemed there industry was full of these backyard shops and most people seemed to be happy with it (probably due to cost) - so many times I heard "well that's all we had before and it does ok for our needs"
But back to pricing - I know here from my middle east factory I can armor a FB6 TLC 200 either 4.6P of 4.5D GXR for around $95,000-100,000 depending on chassis options out the door. If its built in the US the cost would be higher though due to the chassis and labor rates there.
- Thread starter
- #9
That's pretty much what I paid for my wife's. The cruiser was 80,000 (saved a bit by buying a demo) and the armoring was 36,000. 19% tax included Importing car is a bihatch, and the duties are hefty. I wouldn't know where to begin.
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