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.
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.