Builds LEXCRZR Build Log (1 Viewer)

[pjm10626]

Excited to start my build thread on my new to me Lexus LX470.

Backstory: We like to explore in the mountains and used to off road frequently on atvs and rzr's. After selling our rzr a few years back since we were expecting a child. Wanting offroad in a milder manner and camp we took the wife's car, a 2004 Tahoe 4wd. It worked well but wasn't perfect and was aging since we owned if for close to 8 years. I wanted to get my wife into something newer, safer, and in something that shouldnt break down. We debated on what our final car stable would be for a while weather it be older suv and newer truck or older truck and newer suv. One vehicle that wasnt going away any time soon was my fun toy car, a 2005 Cadilllac CTS-V. In the end we decided buy my wife a newer truck, a 2016 Chevrolet Silverado crew cab 4wd back in December. During the research i fell back in love with teh LC100's, and knew i would ahve to have one as my daily and trail rig. We decided to sell the tahoe and get a LC100, more reliable and better suited to exploring off road. I wanted a 2005+ in red, green, or blue with an extensive serive history without rust. I found a few i liked jsut not at the right price point. Searched for months and found a few here and there, I would save them and beofre commiting they would sell. Finally a push to buy one, my frined calls one day and asks for me to join him teh following day to trade in his wifes lexus. I pulled up my saved LC's and there was one near where he was going. We set off to come back with two, new to us Lexi.

I picked up my LX470 on 3/14/2018 in Raleigh, NC.

2006 Lexus LX470 in Cyress Pearl 1 owner with 221,564 miles

First picture: Note the non cracked windshield and pristine passenger side marker light...

Build list:
Motor
Brass Heater T's

Armor
Metal-Tech 4x4 OPOP Sliders (on the way)
ARB Front Deluxe Bar

Lighting
Vision X 4" LED lights in fog location
Fake 9" ARB Intensity LED lights on bumper
Reverse LED bulbs

Exterior
Shackle Recovery Receiver Hitch
Master Receiver Lock 1480DAT

Current State:

 

[MattAg06]

I have an 07 LX in that color! Absolutely love it! Welcome to the Cypress Pearl club!

 

[pjm10626]

The drive back home from NC was great, I was able to get used to the LX on the road and figure out all of the buttons. I did however lose a passenger front marker light lens and get a rock chip (now crack) in the windshield.

The first weekend after we got it, we went camping with some friends in north GA at Vogel State Park.

Camp site

glamour shot by the lake

Went exploring on some forest service roads and to see Helton Creek Falls. Heres a few pics of teh water crossings there, and a crew of some nice rigs we ran into.

 

[pjm10626]

 

[05JLX470]

Congrats on your new LX. Enjoy !!!!

 

[pjm10626]

my daughter loves it!

Here's a picture showing the different modes of height. The AHC is something i was unsure of at first, but now im really glad i have it. Not only is it good for hard parking and off roading but the low mode is great for my handicapped mother in law and grandmother when i need to transport them.

showing off what i thought was cool, the running board lights and led tail lights

of course i had a short time to admire the running board lights before removing the boards after two weeks of owning.

 

[pjm10626]

I had a tree fall in the yard so of course i want to use my new rig to pull the remains to my burn pile. I nearly got stuck with the Michelin tires. Used the skinny pedal and atrac to pull out after unhooking from the tree.

 

[pjm10626]

Testing out the limits in stock form and seeing how far the suspension will flex. I'm itching to go off roading.

A pic of the current stable... gotta sell a couple haha

2001 Mazda Miata SE
2004 Chevrolet Tahoe LT 4wd
2005 Cadillac CTS-V
2006 Lexus LX 470
2016 Chevrolet Silverado LTZ Z71 4x4

 

[pjm10626]

a pic with the running boards off. looks so much cleaner.

mall crawlin pic with my buds at work in the deck

hit 223k, love the gauges

I wanted a custom tag plate and was tossing around a few options but ended up with this one. Look for the #'s on the gram as I post pics of the cruiser over time. Also I ordered the reciever hitch and lock from amazon

Master Lock 1480DAT Stainless Steel Receiver Lock for 5/88221
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000AXY62/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1


Reese Towpower 21536 Towing 2" Starter Kit
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0016C3STQ/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

for 15$ its a steal.

 

[pjm10626]

For my daughters 2nd birthday I wanted to get her a power wheels Jeep. Unfortunately i couldn't find a Toyota for her, so a Jeep will have to do for now. So after scouring craigslist for a week I went and picked this thing up for a steal $100. the $200 savings will go towards mods for it later when shes experienced and ready for 24 volts. It fit perfectly in the back with the seats down.

and of course I had to debadge it

 

[pjm10626]

Finally time for the first softroading adventure. A friend and I along with our families decided to head over to Talledega National Forest and check out a new trail/forest road. Somehow we managed to cram his baby car seat in the back of his 92 Toyota Pickup safely. We've been to Cheaha several times just never ventured past the pavement to county road 600-2 skyline drive as we were usually in the V.

We went from north to south.

beginning 33.404188, -85.874412
midpoint 33.360659, -85.932008
end 33.328365, -85.990518

from the beginning to the midpoint, it was simply a dirt road with great views, any car could complete this portion.
The fun began from the mid point to the end. There were rocks and ditches not passable by cars. Nothing crazy which was perfect since it was the first cruiser outing. We didn't take many pictures but here are some below.

Also see in the new recovery hitch I bought from amazon.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01I25Z5F4/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Where the fun began we found this sign

one of the worst spots on the trail. I may have scrubbed my rear bumper some due to not taking the smartest line, but i wanted to flex as much as possible.

 

[pjm10626]

Some more pics from the trip

and a good picture of my friends 92 pickup

 

[pjm10626]

my good friend brought his 4th gen runner by and we installed a 3/2 lift and he got some new tires. heres a transformation picture.

This gave me the itch to start doing stuff to my cruiser.

One day while looking on facebook I saw @TTViper post some pics of his OPOR sliders on his rig. After messaging back and forth with him I ordered a set of metal tech OPOR sliders on the last day of teh group buy. Thanks to him I caught the sale before it ended because I really wanted and needed sliders. I cant wait til the deliver and i can follow @TTViper s lead once again and follow his awesome install guide.

A few days later I found a hot deal on a new in box ARB front bumper. I contacted the guy and met up with him that night to pick it up before he left on a trip. I wasn't ready for a front bumper yet, but I couldn't resist. He had a sick LX that made me drool at how clean it was.

His cruiser, not sure if hes on here or not.

Bumper loaded up for transit back home. Thanfully my wife let me use her truck to go pick it up.

The cruiser doing some hauling duties. After cutting grass I had to pick up a fence pin for the pygmy goat that magically appeared one day when I got home.

 

[pjm10626]

I bought some new LED reverse bulbs and installed them. They are alot brighter. I didnt take any pictures and should have. While apart for the bulb install i wanted to fix the tab holding the licence plate surround or properly referred to as 65061 PANEL SUB-ASSEMBLY, TAIL GATE. PANEL SUB-ASSY, TAIL. It was causing a rattle and had to be fixed. One of the bolts that lock into the plastic on the back side of said panned was broken. After removing it i noticed the nut was secured to the bolt with RED LOCTITE. To repair the bolt to plastic panel I use the advanced technology of rigging, JB Weld. It worked and is still holding.

The LED bulbs
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01GGK6QDW/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0006O1ICY/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
second to ductape and zipties.

Last weekend I blocked out some time on Saturday and Monday to install the ARB bumper. I didn't take many pictures during the process but here are some.

With the oem bumper removed. Does anyone need a cypress pearl front bumper or steps? if so send me a pm.

When removing the light surround I didn't break either one, surprisingly. I was celebrating about it until i decided to remove one of the clips from the back. It magically snapped in half. Doesnt take much to break these, be careful even looking at them the wrong way.

I plan to rig this up some how when i find the time, maybe glue and add some support on the back side. Thats another days project thought. Until then i'm rocking only one head light surround.

Before I mounted the bumper I wanted to replace the heater T's as that's more important. I bought brass T's from amazon and some hose there as well. I didnt replace all of the hoses but over half of them since i didn't have enough preformed pieces. I also used some new hose clamps and reused some of the factory ones depending on ease of access. I didnt want to buy the Toyota hoses because the cost was steep(yes i'm cheap). Everyone needs to replaces these T's from what i've read, as its one of the few weak points on the LC100.

2 x 5/8" ID Hose Barb Tee
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007ZCS530/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
these took a bit to ship but alot sooner than the est shipping time

2x Gates 28467 Heater Hose
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000C2SC9W/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
trimmed these to fit

Gates 28491 Heater Hose
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000C2WEIC/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I didn't use much of this but it wont hurt to have as spares or for future projects.

Worm gear hose clamps
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001HWGMBG/ref=od_aui_detailpages00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
these barely fit over the hose, but they worked and didnt require trimming excess.


Picture of the old heater T's. As you can see one was fine and the other was not. The tip broke off in the hose. I pulled it all out for the picture. Im not sure if they have been replaced or not in the past.

 

[pjm10626]

Back to the bumper install. I followed the instructions and got it done. The instructions worked but they lack some detail i prefer. It one and looks great.

after day one i was only lacking the electrical portions and bumper guards.

I decided to follow suit and add the ARB intensity knocks offs. I went with the Nilight brand as i have a 20" light bar on my Miata and its held up great. More about my miata if anyones interested, 2001 Mazda Miata SE stock with 200k and a hard top. I bought it from an old lady and I've beat the tar out of it for over a year, note the mud along the side.

the ones I bought:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0151CH496/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[pjm10626]

Pics with the fog/blinker surround and blinkers installed and the ARBs mounted.

I tried to install these fog lights without the arb fog kit and couldn't get it to work well enough for my liking. Plus i dont fully love the look. Ill put them on something else since i hacked them up, maybe the lawn mower.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00V7NEPYG/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Found some that look like oem arb fogs but should out perform them with the newer LED technology. Used on ebay.

Vision X Lighting 9154756 Fog Light Kit
Vision X Lighting 9154756 Fog Light Kit- GREAT CONDITION -Wrangler | eBay

 

[TTViper]

Love this thread! It's my LX's twin.

 

[pjm10626]

@TTViper we can take notes from each other. I broke the ahc so I believe I'll be getting an ome lift in the next few months and some 33" bfg km3.

 

[pjm10626]

Im behind, alot.

June 2018 we went to Choccolocco Off Road Park in Aabama

 

[pjm10626]

Aired down to 20 psi. It performed great.