Builds Ruth’s Build (1 Viewer)

[MechE30]

Hey there MUD. I just picked up a wonderful little beige Lexus off an ad on "OfferUp". I've been watching CL and similar classifieds for a while, and when one came up in the price range I was looking for, I turned off game 7 of the NHL Stanley Cup finals to drive out for a look, still surprised I did that, anyways.
New to me is this yet-to-be-named 98 LX470. With 195k on the clock, a mostly clean body, impeccable underside, and an ok service history (t-belt recently done [but not water pump!], shocks, front axles, valve cover gaskets, alternator, battery, etc), I felt fine paying $6500. I'm an engineer by trade, and a DIY'er by interests, so most of what you see moving forward will be a combination of that. I'm also quite budget minded, so the equipment I do buy will be with well thought out reasoning. The goal of this 'build', if you want to call it that, is to reliably get my family around the Southern California area to some beautiful places, camping hiking and exploring this beautiful state. After baselining the rig, and doing the few repairs Ive identified she needs, tires sliders and drawers are on my short list. Already feeling the bug biting though, and I'm scared for my pocketbook with all the available mods out there.

Here she is after an exterior wash, too much tire shine, and about 6 hours of interior detailing.

Followed directly by coating her in a nice layer of dirt up Maple Springs trail, a local easy 1-2 rated climb.

 

[lonecruiser]

Wow nice find, in the OC no less! I paid $1500 more for my 99 LC with 175k miles and in rougher shape than yours. Looking forward to following this build.

 

[MechE30]

Wow nice find, in the OC no less! I paid $1500 more for my 99 LC with 175k miles and in rougher shape than yours. Looking forward to following this build.

Thanks man, although if I had found one in your color I dont think it'd matter what shape the truck was in, I'd be driving it home.

Baselining fluid's this weekend, have 2 gal of Lucas 75w90, 10QT of Mobil 1 5w30, and 3 gal of MaxLife ATF ready to rock.

 

[MechE30]

Had quite a Saturday in the garage.
I changed out all the diff/trans/motor-oil fluids, fuel/air/cabin filters, spark plugs, removed running boards, and did the Pin-7 mod.
Today I took her out over the Main Divide trail to Corona for some Mexican food with the wife, who’s feeling like I got a new girlfriend.

 

[meeceboy78]

running board removal is such a huge difference. it looks like you lifted it. looks nice!

 

[MechE30]

Its been a while since updating this thread. Since last update, my wife and I bought a puppy, became pregnant with our first child, and thrived through a global pandemic. Needless to say we've been busy.

My biggest pandemic project was to get some drawers built for "Ruth", as my Lexus came to be known.

Step one was measuring and modeling up the build on solidworks. My goal was to keep the drawers as light as possible, but strong as well. The biggest customization to my build is the left side cavity that would fit my Yeti Haul cooler. Its a wheeled cooler and I'd like to have it level with the tailgate to just wheel it out for access. This cooler-cavity would then create a cavity in the back to be later used for either water storage or 2nd-battery/electronics.

After all the main pieces were laid out in CAD, I cut their blanks out and cut the rabbets/lap joints. Originally I intended to CNC the side panel cutouts (which are for weight reduction), but the CNC was tied up with other activities so I just made a template and cut out each triangle by hand. Then I cut rabbets on each cutout for a filler panel to sit into. The main body is all 3/4" Baltic Birch ply (did I say I wanted a strong box?), and the filler panels are 1/4 birch veneer ply (laser cut by my awesome wife).

 

[MechE30]

Every project seems to go through iterations, and this one was no different. After cutting the side wings and face panels, I decided I didn't like the removable wing idea due to strength and lack of access when fully loaded. So the tops were all recut in a new design, the front wing faces were turned into hinged flaps, and the drawer was finally built. The small aluminum L brackets you see in the left cavity serve to hold the filler panel when I don’t have the cooler.

To fit the 400lb capacity drawer slides, and give room to actuate the latches, I created a pocket in the front face of the drawer. Then I created some filler panels out of stainless steel and sandwiched them in.

 

[MechE30]

I debated between finishes for the wood. I love the look of birch, but the filler panels being birch ply were way off in color, so I opted for a tough exterior paint. I found some carpet that matches the vehicle’s beige carpeting (but in hindsight I wish I had just gone a dark charcoal or black, the dog is going to be hell on this light color).

 

[MechE30]

To finish it all off and protect against corner dings, I used some thin 1” 6061 angle from McMaster, cut them to size, and had a shop TIG the corners together. You may notice I ditched the front wing flaps. They seemed to only serve a visual purpose, and slowed down access to commonly used items.

Doggo approved.

 

[MechE30]

Few updates to get this thread up to speed. First is I grabbed some 10deg sliders from White Knuckle and threw those on. Theyve held up great to balancing the vehicle off them already.

Then on a trip to Phoenix I utilized a connection at 1 One Armor in Scottsdale to put tint on everything but the windshield. IIRC it was 15-20% on the front windows and 35% on the rest. All ceramic.

And lastly, I happened upon a great situation to grab a used Slee single swingout from @lstamatis to replace my dinged up rear tupperware. Eventually I'll re-powder coat it, but for now its working great and looks appropriate for the age/condition of my truck.

 

[lstamatis]

Looks great Kyle!

 

[FullyLitLED]

Few updates to get this thread up to speed. First is I grabbed some 10deg sliders from White Knuckle and threw those on. Theyve held up great to balancing the vehicle off them already.
View attachment 2706252

Then on a trip to Phoenix I utilized a connection at 1 One Armor in Scottsdale to put tint on everything but the windshield. IIRC it was 15-20% on the front windows and 35% on the rest. All ceramic.

View attachment 2706254

And lastly, I happened upon a great situation to grab a used Slee single swingout from @lstamatis to replace my dinged up rear tupperware. Eventually I'll re-powder coat it, but for now its working great and looks appropriate for the age/condition of my truck.

View attachment 2706262

I always wanted an LX in this color, but when I jumped into the market, markups happened

 

[MechE30]

I always wanted an LX in this color, but when I jumped into the market, markups happened

When I bought the rig I really didn't like the color but it was the only affordable one I'd seen. The color has really grown on me, plus it hides dirt really well and seems to look better covered in dust!