My first Toyota - 1999 Land Cruiser! :)

[ElmoTheDestroyr]

Hi everyone!

Not quite my first post, but I wanted to make an official "I'm one of you!" posts.. lol

Just picked up a 1999 Land Cruiser a couple weeks ago... Just did my first 2 "off-roading mods" today... Took off the running boards, and got 4 33" (305/70r16) Goodyear MTR's w/Kevlar. A bit excited that the ball is finally rolling (been wanting/planning to get a 4x4/expedition vehicle for years), so I decided to make a quick post and show off the newest member of the family!



So, here's the details...

1999 Land Cruiser - 192,000 Miles

• Rear Factory E-Locker
• Pioneer AVIC-D3 Navigation/Stereo (added bluetooth)
• Ipad Dash Mount
• 33" Goodyear MTR's
• New Timing Belt
• New Serpentine Belt
• New Fan Clutch
• New CV Axles/Seals - (In box, not installed yet)
• New Shocks (OEM) - (In box, not installed yet) ..... 2.5" Lift w/ICON shocks/UCA's, etc coming next summer
• New Spark Plugs - (In box, not installed yet)
• New Front Wheel Bearings - (In box, not installed yet)
• New Brake Rotors/EBC Greenstuff Pads - (In box, not installed yet)

Pics below - One is the day it was delivered (shipped from Vegas to Washington State), then a before/after tire install pic...


Anyway, see ya'll around!
--ElmoTheDestroyer

 

[montegofd3s]

I like it! See you went for the rare color option, as did I, so welcome to the tribe.

 

[ElmoTheDestroyr]

Thanks ...

Yeah, I dig the color combo, don't see alot of them around... Just got lucky on that, color wasn't really a consideration when I purchased it, I just needed a 100, as cheap as possible, which meant it had to have problems... So it was a matter of finding the right combination of miles, price, and the right combination of problems.

I'm on a really strict budget, but I REALLY wanted to get a 100 when I decided I was going to get a Land Cruiser... Took a couple months of looking, but finally managed to get a great deal on this one... $4750 (came with the new timing belt and nav system).... Bought it without seeing it in person, just had a local Toyota dealership do a good inspection so I knew exactly what "problems" it had. This one was perfect, had lots of issues that, in my case aren't a big deal. Completely worn out shocks, tires, etc... Basically all stuff that is going to get replaced anyway with heavy duty stuff, so it's perfect.

Really, the worst problem, is the front seats are pretty thrashed... The Vegas heat was not kind to them (and I'm pretty sure the previous owner wore sandpaper pants). Didn't really plan on replacing seats, but junkyard seats in good shape are pretty inexpensive.... Or I might just throw some cheap seat covers. Though I'm not sure yet how much money I want to spend on making the seats nice, since it's about 90% offroad/camping/expedition vehicle... The $500 or so a set of junkyard seats would cost makes a nice dent in the suspension kit, or bumpers, winch, etc etc... ya know?

Anyways, it's 3:30am, I suppose that means I should stop typing and sleep. See ya around!

--ElmoTheDestroyer

 

[Sandroad]

So, axles, shocks, plugs, brakes, and bearings. Good list; you've got some fun coming up! Add in the usual PM stuff like fluids, filters, and cleanings and you'll be busy for a while. It will be worth every minute! Nice truck.

 

[bctlex]

Thanks ...

Yeah, I dig the color combo, don't see alot of them around... Just got lucky on that, color wasn't really a consideration when I purchased it, I just needed a 100, as cheap as possible, which meant it had to have problems... So it was a matter of finding the right combination of miles, price, and the right combination of problems.

I'm on a really strict budget, but I REALLY wanted to get a 100 when I decided I was going to get a Land Cruiser... Took a couple months of looking, but finally managed to get a great deal on this one... $4750 (came with the new timing belt and nav system).... Bought it without seeing it in person, just had a local Toyota dealership do a good inspection so I knew exactly what "problems" it had. This one was perfect, had lots of issues that, in my case aren't a big deal. Completely worn out shocks, tires, etc... Basically all stuff that is going to get replaced anyway with heavy duty stuff, so it's perfect.

Really, the worst problem, is the front seats are pretty thrashed... The Vegas heat was not kind to them (and I'm pretty sure the previous owner wore sandpaper pants). Didn't really plan on replacing seats, but junkyard seats in good shape are pretty inexpensive.... Or I might just throw some cheap seat covers. Though I'm not sure yet how much money I want to spend on making the seats nice, since it's about 90% offroad/camping/expedition vehicle... The $500 or so a set of junkyard seats would cost makes a nice dent in the suspension kit, or bumpers, winch, etc etc... ya know?

Anyways, it's 3:30am, I suppose that means I should stop typing and sleep. See ya around!

--ElmoTheDestroyer

Thats a really great price! Enjoy and welcome to the community! Congrats!

 

[Riviera]

You definitely stole that thing. I had watched for one with the rear locker until I pretty much gave up. Congrats and welcome aboard.

 

[ElmoTheDestroyr]

haha, yeah, I definitely stole it... Actually, I bought 2 vehicles at a beyond good price, both using the same method... Mostly focus my search on the South West... The heat destroys seats/dashboards, which make the interiors look like hell, and despite not actually being hard or real expensive to fix, it scares off potential buyers REALLY easily.. I bought an Acura TL (2005) that was for sale for 3 months in LA... Everyone who saw it, would see the seats and immediately lose interest. After he showed me a picture of them, I initially said I wasn't interested and he said he was going to give up and trade it in... So I offered him $7k cash to sell it to me instead of trading it (2k off his initial asking price) and he jumped on it... That was definitely the best deal I could find on that year range/mileage Acura anywhere in the country.

Same thing with this Land Cruiser... Guy had it for sale for a while, people would see the seats and lose interest.... I come along, knowing how much I can replace the seats for (and how easy they are to replace), and offered him a lower offer than he was asking... Then had the dealership inspect it and used the stuff they found on the inspection to get him to drop the price even further...

End result, 2 vehicles, both purchased far below average price. .... So, I would definitely recommend, next time you're looking for a car/truck/SUV, look in the southwest for one with sun/heat damaged interior. Seems to be a great tactic for saving alot of money!

@Sandroad - Yup, definitely have a project for the summer! Between the stuff I listed, and the stuff you mentioned (fluids and whatnot) I definitely have my work cutout for me... No biggie though, gives me stuff to do, and once it's all done everything should be good to go for quite some time and I can concentrate on more off-road/expedition mods!

On a side note, just sitting here looking at my LC out the window, damn those tires make it look nice.... 1000% improvement over stock!

--ElmoTheDestroyer