Build MTKID's LX on 40's @tiny_the_200

[kcjaz]

A couple other things that I changed around this time.

I removed the other emblems from the back & swapped the rear L emblem. A LC emblem fit fine for the back. Also added a sticker that means nothing to most people, but for those few that understand it’s based on the “It’s basically a Land Cruiser” stickers, well, I thinks it’s funny…View attachment 3101480

Then the work on the front emblem. I couldn’t find one from a LC that fit, so this one from a similar year Camry was adapted. We removed the chrome L, filled the holes, sanded it and painted it black again. Then finally epoxied the Camry emblem over the top…View attachment 3101484View attachment 3101483View attachment 3101486

A long time ago, I was looking at an 80 series Lexus on a car lot and asked the salesman how much Toyota badging would cost and would they swap the badges out. He looked at me like I was from Mars. I couldn't afford it anyway so I stuck with my 60. "Its basically a Lexus" is super funny!

 

[MTKID]

A long time ago, I was looking at an 80 series Lexus on a car lot and asked the salesman how much Toyota badging would cost and would they swap the badges out. He looked at me like I was from Mars. I couldn't afford it anyway so I stuck with my 60. "Its basically a Lexus" is super funny!

Most have looked at me that way too . I had been monitoring prices of 200 series Land Cruisers, hoping I could put my wife into one, but they were all much more expensive than this LX. I still see better pricing on LX’s than LC’s now.

Now I’m actually really glad I have it with the AHC

 

[ttrmike]

@bjowett and @ttrmike ​

Tundra Width Rear Axle Spacers

I'm trying to create a set of rear axle spacers that move the rear wheel bearings outwards from the axle tube to accept rear axle shafts from a 07+ 2WD Tundra with a 9.5in ring gear. I've been playing with this idea for a couple months now following my Tundra swapped front end. After seeing the...

forum.ih8mud.com

If anyone would like the CAD file, just send send me a PM.

 

[MTKID]

Moved the rear lower shock mounts up to the next hole w/ 3/4” fine thread grade 8 bolts…

Then added a 3/4” aluminum spacer to my Timbren bumpstops…

…and of course, had one bolt snap off that was holding this bumpstop in, so we put a small weld that could easily be ground off if needed…

…and the Toytec Tundra extended brakes lines that were recommended…

Now to get out to the mountains and test it

 

[MTKID]

At the start of a quick overnight test run…

It was successful

 

[TeCKis300]

Nice work there! She already sits better.

Something about the more you play with it, the bigger it gets...

 

[MTKID]

She flexes just a little bit better. Makes me want more, of course…

 

[grinchy]

Do you think for just 37” I’d have to relo the body mount?

 

[TeCKis300]

Do you think for just 37” I’d have to relo the body mount?

I don't have an answer to your question. But since I'm dreaming about 37s...

I wish the 200-series had an aftermarket arm like Marlin Crawler RCLT arms for the Taco/4R/GX platform. That arm does a number of things, but it is long arm and moves the LCA balljoint forward of the original so that the centerline of the wheel move away from the body mount. The Tundra OEM arms are long travel for us, but they don't move the pivot forward. I'm half tempted to get an OEM one, cut the inner bushing off, and relocate the whole arm forward by ~1/2" to open up clearance against the BM and door sill. That should do a number of other beneficial things including adding caster and improve approach angle.

 

[grinchy]

I don't have an answer to your question. But since I'm dreaming about 37s...

I wish the 200-series had an aftermarket arm like Marlin Crawler RCLT arms for the Taco/4R/GX platform. That arm does a number of things, but it is long arm and moves the LCA balljoint forward of the original so that the centerline of the wheel move away from the body mount. The Tundra OEM arms are long travel for us, but they don't move the pivot forward. I'm half tempted to get an OEM one, cut the inner bushing off, and relocate the whole arm forward by ~1/2" to open up clearance against the BM and door sill. That should do a number of other beneficial things including adding caster and improve approach angle.

Yeah I was looking at clearancing for 37” when I had the tire off last weekend.
I went ahead and got the sdhq bmc plates, they have a bit of a valley in them which looks like it might help get the other half of the 1” I’d need over the 35”.
Now that the front fender liner is out of the way with the bumper it would really be figuring a way to keep it out of the top of wheel well. 1” body lift would do it.

 

[MTKID]

Do you think for just 37” I’d have to relo the body mount?

No, I don’t think so, since I know there’s at least one person that has done 37’s on Instagram that only did an aggressive chop. I actually ran with only one relocated and the other chopped for a while.
And yes, a 1” body lift would do wonders IMO for running a 37” tire.

 

[MTKID]

I also went from a 1.25” wheel spacer/adapter to a 1.5” in the front. The driver’s side was touching the frame ever so slightly. This seems to have cured it.

Rear still has 1.25” for now, until I decide what I want to do long term back there.

And another shot from the weekend…

 

[grinchy]

In March 21’ it rolled over 200k miles, so I think that’s the official safe time to start cutting up sheet metal…

View attachment 3099234
View attachment 3099237
And by June of 21’ I had cut enough of the front fenders, front & rear Tupperware bumpers, front and rear pinch welds and moved or chopped the front cab body mount to get it on the 37’s…

AHC Normal the first night I got to drive it…
View attachment 3099241
AHC High…
View attachment 3099242
View attachment 3099245

So only the front fender needed cutting for the 37"? just pinch weld work at the rear axle?

 

[MTKID]

So only the front fender needed cutting for the 37"? just pinch weld work at the rear axle?

I was already on my body lift when I got the 37’s on. So, I had a little advantage of the body being 1 3/4” above normal at the front and 1 1/4” above at the back. Then both front and rear pinch welds were worked and I still started cutting the front fender. Probably around a couple inches up at first.

But again, I had in the back of my mind getting onto 40’s all along, so I was doing more aggressive cuts knowing where I wanted to be eventually.

I also had the thicker aftermarket bumpstops on the front when I put on the 37’s for the first time. Another relatively inexpensive protection against too much uptravel when you’re nervous.

The guy on Instagram that isn’t on here just installed his 37’s with a sensor lift and agressive body mount chop (James @cap10berry )Then, last I heard, he wanted to do either a 1” body lift or start cutting his front fenders to make sure they didn’t contact. I’d hate to see someone get onto 37’s and then have a bent up fender the first time they were out having fun. I think Stellar Built kinda got into his front fenders unexpectedly.

Another person who has dove in head first onto 37’s w/o a body lift is @Jason Andrews He can probably share what he feels are the most dangerous contact points.

Adi can also chime in @nwfl4runner since he’s making great progress too.

 

[grinchy]

I’d hate to see someone get onto 37’s and then have a bent up fender the first time they were out having fun. I think Stellar Built kinda got into his front fenders unexpectedly.

Yeah, this is the concern. Might be worth dropping the front shock-a-likes/springs to check before cutting commences.

 

[MTKID]

Yeah, this is the concern. Might be worth dropping the front shock-a-likes/springs to check before cutting commences.

Knowing what size tires I’ve wanted to be on, I’ve always purchased at least one tire of that size for testing. And sometimes all five when I knew I was close to making them work. It kept me motivated and never wanted to just call it quits and stay on a smaller, more reasonable tire. Despite what most on here might recommend.

 

[nwfl4runner]

I wish I took better measurements/pictures (a failing of mine), but a fairly aggressive BMC will work for 37s. Biggest problem I recall was without the tundra arms I was hitting the frame at full lock. I tried the SDHQ plates at first but either I cut the mount wrong or they just don't quite work for me - ended up making my own after cutting as far back as I could. Here's a picture that was with the fenders already cut some, and I cut a lot more after that. I cut enough, and used some Coastal Offroad front spacers (until I do a 1" body lift), so that when I sent it this weekend everything was good.

 

[MTKID]

Yeah, this is the concern. Might be worth dropping the front shock-a-likes/springs to check before cutting commences.

Oh… and I might not have mentioned it yet, but I completely removed the front swaybar before the 37’s went on too. I know it would likely handle better on-road with it remaining but my perspective is coming from an 80 and 100 with both front and rear removed, so I’m perfectly fine w/o it. AHC helps and, like I said before, I don’t baby the truck on twisty mountain roads. I drive it hard in the turns.

 

[TeCKis300]

Testing the travel extents of my own build, I know my 35s will tuck up into the fender at least 1" if not 1.5" at stuff. It's part of the reason I'm an advocate for +35mm offsets as anything less with wide meats will eat fender.

For a 37", keeping to +35mm offset and tire within the fender may not be as balanced or desirable. Being 1" taller in radius, + the 1.5" at full stuff, and that's 2.5" of additional fender clearance needed. Then add in the potential for adding Tundra long travel, and that's possibly 3"+ of fender fender clearance. It's no surprise and I half expected the Steller Built rig to eat fender.

Part of a layered recipe to create clearance for 37s in my mind is to body lift 1", bias travel downward and limit up travel by 1", and 1" fender trim.

Expanding on @grinchy body mount question, there's some nuance to caster. Utilizing a caster corrected UCA will bring the centerline of the tire closer towards the body mount, making things tougher to clear. Caster is necessary too so it'll be a balance of concerns. Anything up to about a 1.75" sensor lift can still utilize stock UCA caster geometry to maximize clearance. Offset will play into this too, with more swinging with lower offset. I think the Tundra arm can help.

 

[Jason Andrews]

Testing the travel extents of my own build, I know my 35s will tuck up into the fender at least 1" if not 1.5" at stuff. It's part of the reason I'm an advocate for +35mm offsets as anything less with wide meats will eat fender.

For a 37", keeping to +35mm offset and tire within the fender may not be as balanced or desirable. Being 1" taller in radius, + the 1.5" at full stuff, and that's 2.5" of additional fender clearance needed. Then add in the potential for adding Tundra long travel, and that's possibly 3"+ of fender fender clearance. It's no surprise and I half expected the Steller Built rig to eat fender.

Part of a layered recipe to create clearance for 37s in my mind is to body lift 1", bias travel downward and limit up travel by 1", and 1" fender trim.

Expanding on @grinchy body mount question, there's some nuance to caster. Utilizing a caster corrected UCA will bring the centerline of the tire closer towards the body mount, making things tougher to clear. Caster is necessary too so it'll be a balance of concerns. Anything up to about a 1.75" sensor lift can still utilize stock UCA caster geometry to maximize clearance. Offset will play into this too, with more swinging with lower offset. I think the Tundra arm can help.

@grinchy chiming in here...

The wheel width also has a lot to do with what all needs to be done. Same as how much easier a 35x10.50 will fit easier than a 12.50

I have a +25mm wheel that still tucks inside the fenders because it's a 7.5" wide wheel. So while I'm sitting 10mm more outside the hub than a +35mm wheel I'm also 6.25mm more inboard than a 8" wide RW wheel thats spaced out to +25 with wheel spacers. And 12.5mm more inboard than a 17x8.5 icon +25 wheel. I also made sure I have my alignment towards the very lower end of the positive camber. I think I'm at +.03*

You guys definitely helped me figure all this out with your trials over years of ownership; so thanks for that!

I never rubbed on the unmodified body mounts with the 315/70's and saw an inch of clearance everywhere except that BM, the rear fender pinch welds, and mud flaps when tucking rear tires. I'm also stock weight and don't take it hardcore rock crawling. Just a few things to keep in mind. It ain't easy, but it's also not that hard to make them work. Just takes some patience.