Build LX450: Baja surf trip build

[PabloVTA]

the solid flip up windows would be great to have, and if you got the steel inserts, you could use a strong magnet to hold up towels or hang wet suits over them. Check out LandcruiserPhil's or one of the others. Yes there are a couple other guys that make them, but with backorders and very delayed schedules.

the slider locks are like these: probably can find them for cheaper.

might want to look into a remote kill/start switch, and a Spot GPS transponder.

and those tacos tho'...

 

[bajaphile]

Ha! OF COURSE NOT! This is one of my biggest pet peeve here in Santa Cruz. People blowing up big sur and north coast surf spots. That being said want to share any?

Yes! Awesome!

Funny you mention that. I actually lived in SC from 2000-2007 and spent a lot of time driving north or south to surf alone. I always kept my mouth shut because, as a lifelong surfer, I'm aware of the trend line of surfers over time, and appreciate open space. I have noticed a lot of photos and videos lately of some spots and totally bums me out! Same thing is happening down in Baja. If a place so awesome and beautiful and empty, why would you broadcast that to the world, ruining it for yourself and future adventurers...ya know!??

Yep, I've driven to the tip about 10 times over 34 years. My dad, grandfather, and great-grandfather were all born and raised here and all fished and surfed their way down the peninsula before the highway was even completed. It has been a lifelong passion of mine. I can help you with any questions you may have about places to avoid, places to stay, and stuff like that...

I personally have not got into the RTT's and do not plan on ever using one. You'll notice that most of the highway down is very narrow, twisting, up and down and un-even. Having a loaded down rig with a RTT up top, in my opinion would make the rig too top heavy. An RTT with boards attached is even worse. Also, winds through the peninsula are usually pretty strong, and for some reason always seems like they are going against you when driving. There are endless semi-trucks coming at you that are less than 3ft from your side view mirror that practically blow you off the side of the road. The 80's are awesome in the fact that they are all-wheel drive, and for me was a game changer during my first real trip in one. That being said, I've seen hundreds of Canadians heading down for the winter in ginormous RV's and don't seem too phased.

I think the only real things you need to worry about is maintaining a low profile (appearance and height of vehicle) and maybe some storage solutions. My best purchases for long trips down there is my fridge & solar panel. Finding ice down there is never an easy task. I carry 15 gallons of fuel and 10 gallons of water. Gas stations will close at a moments notice. I'd refresh your suspension since there are hundreds of miles of stretches with crazy pot-holes and you'll probably be doing a lot of desert driving on washboard roads. I have been also getting a satellite phone for solo trips lately when I plan on going way off the grid. I pay $160 per week for 60 minutes.

 

[LandCruiserPhil]

Locking your widows is a waste of time IMO. No respectable experienced thief will waste the time to mess with a windows locking mechanism. Out of sight out of mind is what works best anywhere in the world. I dont think flip up windows add much to security but after having them I would not travel without them.

 

[DanMedeiros]

@bajaphile , You just reminded me I need to add a fridge to the list! May have to postpone some other things to make room in the budget. How are you connecting a solar panel? Do you have dual batteries?

I'm definitely going to refresh suspension. Hopefully going to order all new bushings next week and get either OME J springs or those new redline ones with Icon 2.0s

 

[Mighty690]

Hey guys, as a guy who loves Baja and the Mexican people I have to comment on some of these security concerns that always seem to come up when Americans talk about traveling in Mexico. Like all travelers, people find what they come looking for. I speak from 40+ years experience traveling in Baja plus my parents who spend nearly half their year living in Baja and all their expat friends that are constantly traveling back and forth. There are constant group e-mails about this and that. I've been following it as a father traveling Baja with three kids for years. Baja is a paradise populated by good to great people.
I have always felt very safe traveling in Baja. I don't even lock my vehicles or think about stolen gasoline. When I have any problem there people go out of their way to assist me. There are many more fancy, glitzy $$$ rigs than our 80s. Those Mercedes Unimoggers seem to have the same great experiences I do.
Now, road hazards, narrow roads and stupid drivers (from BOTH sides of the border) are the most considerable danger. It's a very real danger and it's why I set personal speed limits when down there. I want speeds that allow me to react to these dangers.
In addition to driving very defensively and intelligently, I don't drive at night and I stay out of heavily populated places, like Tijuana. I wouldn't go look for a good time in any major American city particularly in an impoverished city. At night? It's kinda a no-brainer.
I prefer very remote and try to go as native/local as possible. Sounds like you are the same.
Go have the trip of a lifetime!

 

[SNLC]

Just to keep you motivated.....here is a few pics of my old 80 in Baja.

You will have a blast! I plan to head down right before the 1st of the year, that is if all goes as planned.

Oh and I also agree, Baja is really no danger. Yes once in great while somebody gets their stuff stolen, it does happen. But after talking to people who go down all winter for 30yrs, it only happened once to them. You hear the occasional story from old timers down there who have had boots on the ground for decades. These stories are few and far between and usually involve somebody being stupid and that is why they had trouble.

Now if you want to talk about sketchy and surfing, look up the Mex200 on mainland Mexico. Its nearly 1,000 miles of some of the best surf breaks in the world but it is also cartel land, vigilantes, gangs and tons of corrupt cops. I have driven it and surfed a bit down the Mex200 too. I love it! I will be driving it again this winter. In fact I am starting an adventure tourism company down there.

Cheers

 

[Mighty690]

A couple months ago...

 

[DanMedeiros]

@RMP&O & @Mighty690 Awesome photos! I agree, mainland mex is sketch. Spent a few weeks surfing there last summer and destroyed a rental car in the process of finding surf breaks. Full Insurance is Key!

@RMP&O Your 80 is sick! I love that Slee bumper. I keep thinking I should sell my ARB and get one but that would cut into the budget for needed mods. Whats suspension and tires are you running?

 

[LandCruiserPhil]

No birds were hurt in this video

Sea of Cortez

 

[Tominhull]

View attachment 1320813 Stalker status I know but I think I've ran into you around town once or twice. When you see a 70 troopy rolling thru town you snap a shot, ha! Theres a little impromptu 80 hangout in town this Wednesday at my buddy's house in Live Oak if you wanna roll by at shoot the s***. I'll shoot you the address.

Blast from the past, the weird Denmark roof rack is long gone. Hit me up if you ever feel like taking her for a spin.

My planned mods for the trip are changing the oil and replacing belts. Might add a backseat in case the missus and the kiddo decide to join.

 

[SNLC]

@RMP&O & @Mighty690 Awesome photos! I agree, mainland mex is sketch. Spent a few weeks surfing there last summer and destroyed a rental car in the process of finding surf breaks. Full Insurance is Key!

@RMP&O Your 80 is sick! I love that Slee bumper. I keep thinking I should sell my ARB and get one but that would cut into the budget for needed mods. Whats suspension and tires are you running?

In those pictures it was running 35x12.5 Copper STTs. If I recall right I had Slee 4" coils and Fox remote resi shocks. Oh ya, and a v8!

Cheers

 

[Funner]

Great place to travel for sure. I would agree on he comments above about the people in Mexico, no issues with them.
Winched a couple guys out of a wash. They had high centered an Audi A-4 on a rock in a wash. No reasonable explanation for what two Mexican farmers were doing 1000 miles south of the border in a $40K car on a trail.
I pulled them off the rock, they offered me some money which I politely refused.

 

[DanMedeiros]

Just ordered 2 gallons of Monstaliner. Should that be enough?

 

[DanMedeiros]

Well I got behind on my monstalining project. I got slammed with work, harvesting the garden, and then I had to buy my wife this for her 30th birthday. Pretty bummed that I couldn't convince her we needed a HZJ73 instead! I had to tell her to move that thing out of the way of the Toyotas.

 

[DanMedeiros]

I did make some progress today though. I filled the holes on my tailgate and passenger quarter panel. I took the interior trim off and found about 6lbs of dirt. Had to clean that up and then used stainless steel tape to back the hole. I then filled them from the outside with JBweld steelstick. I know welding is the right way to do this but I: A) Can't weld B) can't afford to pay someone to do it. Quote was 2K to fill all 120 holes.

I hope to get there other quarter panel and roof filled this weekend.

 

[DanMedeiros]

Hi everyone,

Anyone have any simple ideas on how to wire a simple kill switch on either the ignition circuit or the fuel pump. I was hoping to use a switch labeled "rear lights" or something similar in one of the OEM knockouts. Been doing some research on mud but all the systems i've seen have been complicated and auto-resetting.

I haven't done much wiring work and would appreciate if someone could point me down the right path

 

[gsi18867]

That Gen 2 might have one under the hood you could duplicate inside the cab. My 92 4Runner has one on the passenger side firewall.

 

[BltByKrmn]

I did make some progress today though. I filled the holes on my tailgate and passenger quarter panel. I took the interior trim off and found about 6lbs of dirt. Had to clean that up and then used stainless steel tape to back the hole. I then filled them from the outside with JBweld steelstick.

Since you have the panels off, you might as well roll the inside of the holes as well. That will create a rock hard sandwich and you'll have nothing to worry about.

 

[DanMedeiros]

Finally monstalined the LX today. This was definitely the longest car project I have undertaken to date. Took a month to fill 160 holes with steel stick, sand smooth, and finally prime. This was all harder since the days are getting shorter and I didn't have much time after work. In some ways this was a project I was prepared to handle. I spent my early years fixing fiberglass boats and surfboards. treated the whole project like a ding repair.

The worst part of the job was the roof. The screws for the OEM roof rack where spinning in their holes. I had to buy a grinder (never had used one before) and grind them out. Took forever. I also thought for a moment that I was going to set my headliner on fire. Another giant pain in the ass was removing all the adhesive for the trim and the roof rack. I had to buy this special rubber drill attachment to remove it. Just removing the goop took three evenings.

The whole time I was working on this the LX was still my daily driver. The looks I was getting at work and around town where priceless! Here are some photos during the body work stage.

 

[DanMedeiros]

This past week I got the the point where I could start prepping the car for paint. I was careful to hand sand the primer very smooth. Then we washed the truck with TSPS, scuffed the paint, taped, and where ready to go.

My buddy Tom and wife Calah and sister in law Aimee all helped out big time during this phase. Tom is a marine engineer and way more adept with a wrench then me. He took the front of my car apart. Calah and has a great eye for detail and was in charge of taping everything.