Hello Fellow Mudders,
We all love the Toyota Land Cruisers and enjoy sharing experiences, trips, pics, and technical advice. I have owned a few Land Cruisers and have spent a significant amount of time and money on my 2003 100 series Land Cruiser.
I purchased Moby Dick in 2013 Texas truck with 120,000 miles. Only had the center diff lock. The body and frame rust free and in good shape. Maintenance records looked good with a 90,000mi timing belt in there. Everything was stock, the shocks and brakes needed replacing so I had the brakes done before I took delivery. That is just the beginning…
Starting out with new rotors and pads on all wheels. From the dealership I took it straight to the shop to get OME medium lift 860 springs and Slee rear bumper. 285/65/18 BFG A/T was the first tire choice. Later I changed the wheels to factory 16’s painted black and had 285/75/16 Fierce M/T. And now 285/75/16 Cooper ST Maxx.
The OME shocks were still good but as some people don’t like that they ride stiff and I thought so too. Icon stage 1 shocks replaced the OME shocks and SPC UCA and rear lower links were added. The lower sway bar links were not working out great so I went back to the stock size. Recently I contacted Icon to build an internal reservoir 2.5 body shock for the rear for more stability. It was a custom order and should be just what I am going for.
The Front Runner roof rack is the best rack on the market IMO and had it installed. Very happy with it and is very strong even to stand on top. In addition to top and side mounting accessories, adding 2 Rigid cubes with diffused lenses on the back under the rack helps at camp setting up in the dark and a relay for reverse gear so I can see backing up. Also a pair of baja designs squadron flood LED's were added to the front of the rack. Had to drill a hole in the roof to run the wires to the front lights.
Somewhere down the line I added some things. One of the most important things when traveling in a group of many trucks is a CB radio. I definitely recommend a CB radio. Other additions included electrical and interior work. New component speakers in the front doors. I used Polk Audio. An Ipod hook up from USA Spec, Blue Sea 12 post fuse block, custom fuse block bracket and lots of wires and loom. With the extra load on the battery I needed some reserve power to operate the ARB fridge. Slee battery upgrade tray installed with Odyssey group 31m. I chose not to use dual batteries for weight.
In the factory spare tire location I wanted to add a fuel tank or water tank but ended up mounting two 3 gallon Rotopax on the crossbar. They fit perfectly and do not drag or come below the rear bumper.
In the cargo area of the 100 series there are nice options for storage like drawers. I didn’t do the drawers but instead bought some high quality plywood and custom cut it to fit the cargo area with tie downs for the fridge, L-track and a bracket for the CO2 tank. The plywood is marine carpeted and is pretty close to a match of the carpet. Now I do have the KISS drawer system and love it! Should have done the drawers sooner. Gave the plywood deck to my father for his enjoyment. The KISS drawers come unfinished. I used the same marine carpet on the top deck and sanded the front edge to a nice bevel and tie down L-track. The drawer fronts I did something a little different. After sanding them a few times with some fine grit sandpaper they got 2 coats of gunstock stain and one coat of clear urethane.
I built some custom sliders out of 3/16 wall 2x6 rectangle tubing and some square tubing and plate for the support legs on the frame. They are bolt-on using custom bent U-bolts. The front bumper was Bump It Off Road. The original design minus the hoops/bars. Because these trucks get heavy I replaced the BIO bumper with the ARB bar and gave my father the BIO. The sliders are powder coated matching slee’s which is a matte black. Inside the front bumper is a Smittybuilt X2O 10000 winch. The light cans in the front bumper are now Baja Design Squadron pro wide lens and utilize factory wiring from the fog lights.
So far so good. There has been some wear are tear along the way and maintenance and such. I had one major break shortly after I got it. Wheeling in Gilmer, TX I broke the gears on the front differential. About one third of the teeth on the ring were missing when we opened it up. Thanks to the 2wd trail fix I drove home. After breaking the front diff, Moby Dick got a re-gear 4.30 with ARB locker in the rear. Other drivetrain repairs are new CV axles and one drive flange. Tie rods inner and outer have been done as well as wheel bearings in the front. The lower ball joints on the front had a good run of mile and at the first sign of squeaking I had them replaced with grease-able joints.
I got in on a group buy to get the Emu Wing rear windows and recently installed them. They are great for access to the rear cargo area that has the drawers so the deck is about 10 inches from the window inside. When I have a trailer or my bike rack on the back of the truck it is tough to open the tire swing but the windows allow you to get in the back without crawling through the doors.
I hope you enjoy this build and I will try to keep it updated went I think of something missed.
If you would like to ask a question please send me a PM so as to keep the thread clean. If it is something I think should be added to the post I would like to add it. Thanks.
We all love the Toyota Land Cruisers and enjoy sharing experiences, trips, pics, and technical advice. I have owned a few Land Cruisers and have spent a significant amount of time and money on my 2003 100 series Land Cruiser.
I purchased Moby Dick in 2013 Texas truck with 120,000 miles. Only had the center diff lock. The body and frame rust free and in good shape. Maintenance records looked good with a 90,000mi timing belt in there. Everything was stock, the shocks and brakes needed replacing so I had the brakes done before I took delivery. That is just the beginning…
Starting out with new rotors and pads on all wheels. From the dealership I took it straight to the shop to get OME medium lift 860 springs and Slee rear bumper. 285/65/18 BFG A/T was the first tire choice. Later I changed the wheels to factory 16’s painted black and had 285/75/16 Fierce M/T. And now 285/75/16 Cooper ST Maxx.
The OME shocks were still good but as some people don’t like that they ride stiff and I thought so too. Icon stage 1 shocks replaced the OME shocks and SPC UCA and rear lower links were added. The lower sway bar links were not working out great so I went back to the stock size. Recently I contacted Icon to build an internal reservoir 2.5 body shock for the rear for more stability. It was a custom order and should be just what I am going for.
The Front Runner roof rack is the best rack on the market IMO and had it installed. Very happy with it and is very strong even to stand on top. In addition to top and side mounting accessories, adding 2 Rigid cubes with diffused lenses on the back under the rack helps at camp setting up in the dark and a relay for reverse gear so I can see backing up. Also a pair of baja designs squadron flood LED's were added to the front of the rack. Had to drill a hole in the roof to run the wires to the front lights.
Somewhere down the line I added some things. One of the most important things when traveling in a group of many trucks is a CB radio. I definitely recommend a CB radio. Other additions included electrical and interior work. New component speakers in the front doors. I used Polk Audio. An Ipod hook up from USA Spec, Blue Sea 12 post fuse block, custom fuse block bracket and lots of wires and loom. With the extra load on the battery I needed some reserve power to operate the ARB fridge. Slee battery upgrade tray installed with Odyssey group 31m. I chose not to use dual batteries for weight.
In the factory spare tire location I wanted to add a fuel tank or water tank but ended up mounting two 3 gallon Rotopax on the crossbar. They fit perfectly and do not drag or come below the rear bumper.
In the cargo area of the 100 series there are nice options for storage like drawers. I didn’t do the drawers but instead bought some high quality plywood and custom cut it to fit the cargo area with tie downs for the fridge, L-track and a bracket for the CO2 tank. The plywood is marine carpeted and is pretty close to a match of the carpet. Now I do have the KISS drawer system and love it! Should have done the drawers sooner. Gave the plywood deck to my father for his enjoyment. The KISS drawers come unfinished. I used the same marine carpet on the top deck and sanded the front edge to a nice bevel and tie down L-track. The drawer fronts I did something a little different. After sanding them a few times with some fine grit sandpaper they got 2 coats of gunstock stain and one coat of clear urethane.
I built some custom sliders out of 3/16 wall 2x6 rectangle tubing and some square tubing and plate for the support legs on the frame. They are bolt-on using custom bent U-bolts. The front bumper was Bump It Off Road. The original design minus the hoops/bars. Because these trucks get heavy I replaced the BIO bumper with the ARB bar and gave my father the BIO. The sliders are powder coated matching slee’s which is a matte black. Inside the front bumper is a Smittybuilt X2O 10000 winch. The light cans in the front bumper are now Baja Design Squadron pro wide lens and utilize factory wiring from the fog lights.
So far so good. There has been some wear are tear along the way and maintenance and such. I had one major break shortly after I got it. Wheeling in Gilmer, TX I broke the gears on the front differential. About one third of the teeth on the ring were missing when we opened it up. Thanks to the 2wd trail fix I drove home. After breaking the front diff, Moby Dick got a re-gear 4.30 with ARB locker in the rear. Other drivetrain repairs are new CV axles and one drive flange. Tie rods inner and outer have been done as well as wheel bearings in the front. The lower ball joints on the front had a good run of mile and at the first sign of squeaking I had them replaced with grease-able joints.
I got in on a group buy to get the Emu Wing rear windows and recently installed them. They are great for access to the rear cargo area that has the drawers so the deck is about 10 inches from the window inside. When I have a trailer or my bike rack on the back of the truck it is tough to open the tire swing but the windows allow you to get in the back without crawling through the doors.
I hope you enjoy this build and I will try to keep it updated went I think of something missed.
If you would like to ask a question please send me a PM so as to keep the thread clean. If it is something I think should be added to the post I would like to add it. Thanks.
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