Sam 2004 GXL 105 Series - build thread

[mcgonical]

Hi All, starting a build thread for my 2004 GXL Landcruiser. My previous 4WD was a 2003 Prado and we've been to plenty of places in it but wanted something a little larger, more durable and with live axles.

So earlier this year the family flew down to Melbourne to collect this second hand Landcruiser.



No bars or other mods apart from a 2" suspension lift (TJM) and tow hitch - the engine and under side of the car looked pristine.

The car stank from the previous owner being a smoker so the next step was to strip the interior and pressure blast the seats and carpets. Since I was going to run a fair bit of wiring this step also helped with access to cable.







Car still smells bad if left for a while in the sun. Someone recommended leaving a dish of vinegar in the car on a warm day to help with the smell. Not sure if they're pulling my leg but I'll give it a try.

We've named the car Serious Sam - we figure this car will be pretty serious once we've had the time to get to work on it.

We were planning to take the car up Cape York in June 2013 so in three month we needed it a lot more capable for touring - the shed is full of boxes!

 

[fireball]

Is that pallet full of parts to go on the truck?!

 

[mcgonical]

Yep, lots of goodies. Front and rear bars, new shocks, Safari snorkel, Polyair bags, in dash navi + bluetooth, Redarc battery management, ARB second battery tray, wire and split tube for the second battery and rear Anderson plug, spot lights, roof rack.

My 8 year old daughter will be a car orphan for the next few months as I spend all my weekends fitting this gear to Sam before our Trip to the Tip (Cape York) in June 2013.

 

[Actualeyes]

...before our Trip to the Tip (Cape York) in June 2013.

Time flies when you're having fun!

Cheers,
Andrew
October 2013

 

[mcgonical]

Redarc Install

To manage the second battery and the rear batteries in the camper I installed a Redarc unit. This incorporates a 12v - 12v charger to manage the charge more precisely and also has a solar MPPT regulator; using a relay allows you to select between engine charging and solar charging.

I purchase an ARB second battery tray and made up some brackets to accommodate the Redarc and a 50AMP resettable fuse block (for the rear Anderson leads).



No solar panel at the moment so didn't worry about that connection. I am using AGM batteries across the board in the camper and car to avoid charging configuration confusion.

It looks pretty neat installed. There's an angle in the aluminium bracket for the Redarc to act as a heat shield against the engine and exhaust.



I rushed the solder connection to the primary battery and it let go at an inconvenient time so I was soldering wires under torch light one evening whilst the family enjoyed a chat around the camp fire. That'll teach me. Haste makes waste they say.

 

[mcgonical]

More Redarc

A couple more shots of the brackets for the Redarc and the unit installed.

 

[mcgonical]

Rear drawers

Time to get the cargo organised with some rear drawers. I went through 2 generations of drawers in the Prado and so these were a refinement to the second generation.

Key elements of the design from the Prado:

• Drawers beside the fridge to keep the fridge lower for access.
• 3 drawers with the lowest draw being thin to store cutlery and to serve as a cutting board.
• Jerry can of water either side of the drawers for 40L of water. An integrated hose system linking the two jerries but with valves to isolate each.
• Locks on the drawers for security but mostly to hold them shut whilst travelling.
• Enough space beside the fridge slide for a folding table.

Generation 3 features are:

• Integrate the air compressor in the drawers to suppress sound and maximise use of the sloping space at the rear of the drawers.
• Rear cover for the drawers to serve as a mounting platform for electrics. After removing a jerry can mid trip to replace a simple fuse I wanted the fuse block accessible this time around.
• Switch block / mounting point for interior and exterior lights, air compressor, etc. but pluggable so that I can easily remove the drawers.

Time to get to work.



Plans are based on the Prado plans but slightly embiggened.



The timber work mostly complete.





My daughter is "helping" mum to carpet the drawers.



end part 1...

 

[mcgonical]

Rear drawers continued...

Carpet applied to the box.



Here's the carpeted drawers in the car. I used 4 bolts through the plywood into existing captive bolts in the cargo area.



The fridge slide is just sitting in there and will eventually be bolted into the left side.

Here's a view of the back of the unit with the HF radio and fuse block mounted.



As you can see there's an Anderson plug that lets me plug the drawers into the car and remove them as needed.

Lily helping out in the shed as usual.



Using a cardboard template and cut ply facia pieces for the sides of the drawers. I then mounted the air inlet on this.





Air compressor tucked into the previously unused space at the rear of the drawers.



Wiring for the air compressor, 12 volt outlets and LED light stripe as well as the mounting platform for the jerry can on this side. The other side is pretty much the same for the jerry.



Jerry installed and plumbed. There's a breather hose that goes through one of the caps to relieve the pressure and ensure an easy flow of water. I had a pump on the earlier versions but it was too noisy.



And finally here they are installed and finished.



I saw someone on here with the Landcruiser bottle opener - great idea and so on it goes.

 

[bamachem]

WOW! Fine work sir! Very nice!

 

[mcgonical]

Horn

I was over in India for work earlier this year and was impressed with the loudness, multitude and enthusiasm for horns in Chennai. I asked some of the team there to help me buy one but we were short on time and so I left empty handed.

A few months later on a staff rotation one of the team delivered this to me.



Based on my imitations of the horn I was after the guys assure me this is the one. You've got to love the passion, take a look at the message on the packaging. Beautiful!



I've yet to install it. My wife is convinced it's illegal. What sort of government makes a horn illegal? Anyway, I think there must be some way to use override relay so that I can switch between the standard horn and the you-beaut Indian horn. Toot-a-lootle,lootle, tootle-loot! Can't wait to install it.

 

[mcgonical]

Front Bar

Thanks Bamachem - it's coming along. The whole story is backlogged and so I'm running through the build photos to catch up on developments.

The front bar we selected is a Chinese job sold through Roo Systems. It's a much nicer looking bar than the ARB unit (no deluxe bar for the 105). I didn't mind the TJM bar but my wife (Nadine) veto'd it. I was worried about the strength of the Chinese unit but for the price I thought it worth a look. Nadine got a great deal which included the winch and bar. The giant box in the earlier photo is the pallet with the Roo Systems Bar and winch.

Removing the original bumper was an easy task. The mounting bracket and winch tray are simple to fit and look well made. The bolts that came with the bar didn't appear to be high tensile so after the bar was fitted I went around and replaced all the bolts with high tensile units.



Crumple zones are integrated into the bracket.



The winch is just another generic Chinese unit like many other cheap brands I've seen. It came with rope instead of cable which is a plus. It also came with a wireless remote and wired remote.



Winch mounted.



A little planning goes a long way to making a job easier. This photo shows more enthusiasm than planning. The bar is held up by the bracket and I'm shoving it around to fit the bolts. Nadine's job was to try and avoid the bar falling off the bracket and onto me.



I'm happy with the result. A cheap bar but it looks well made and is a good design. Fitting the bar was a lot more fun than doing the wiring. None of the unused Totota loom plugs were any use for the bar - I had to tap into existing wires for parkers and blinkers. The spot lights have their own switch and relay. These silly things point too high and the plastic bracket won't allow sufficient adjustment to fix it.



I've since collected a roo at speed and can report that the bar came through unscathed though the number plate is now more curvaceous than from factory.

 

[mcgonical]

Snorkel

Time to fit the Safari snorkel - plenty of river crossings planned for June and it's a quick end for a diesel ingesting water.

Mark out with the template from Safari.



Taped out the marks to help position the drill.



Drilled the pilot holes. Drilling holes in our new car felt very uncomfortable.



Do I look worried now?



Measure twice...



Now I am very worried. Time to cut.



Giant hole.



I've seen photos of this hole cut with a jig saw so I am pleased with the result I managed. I used the stepper bit to enlarge the pilot holes.



The girls get to work with some nail polish.



From there it's a pretty straight forward process to fit the snorkel. I picked the Safari because I liked the style and I think they make good quality gear. Unlike the bar, it's not a simple matter to replace the snorkel with a better quality unit if you go cheap in the first instance - there's a giant hole in the car! Got to get it right the first time.

 

[mcgonical]

Tyres

The tyres on Sam are larger than standard but still a little less than I was hoping for. I was convinced that I "needed" to throw 35's under there!



I talked myself down to 33's rationalising that 33's are good enough. We went plenty of places on our Prado tyres without a problem. Here's the Prado tyres against the new 33's.



And that's a much larger than standard GX Prado tyre! He's the car on the new tyres.



We went with Coopers. This is our third set of Coopers. The second set were ST's on the car and camper - they did a 40,000 km lap including the Gibb River Road, Cape York and the centre with no problems and great wear. We found the ST's prone to chipping but the ST Maxx is a softer compound and so far we're happy.

I think they look great but there's still a part of me that says you'll be getting 35's next time.

 

[mcgonical]

Polyairs

Time to fit the Toughdog shocks and Polyair bags.



Making room.



The dealer installed replacement coils for rego for some reason and I swapped the TJM XGS coils back in when I installed the shocks and polyairs. Later on I'll swap the rear TJM coils out for a set of ToughDog HD coils in a 2" lift.

Polyairs in place.



XGS shocks coming out and Toughdog Shocks going in.



I ran the air lines to the rear of the car and made this bracket up to consolidate the air line vales, Anderson plug and trailer plug.

 

[mcgonical]

Rear bar install

Next out of the box is the rear bar.





Fitted the mounting plates.



Wiring the rear back was much like the front bar - lots of lights. I used a trailer plug for the loom so that I could de-tatch the rear bar when needed.



I was too busy fitting the bar to get many more photos. Like the front bar the rear came with crappy bolts that I replaced for high tensile ones. I spent a fair bit of effort looking around for mud flaps that would fit before I realised that the OEM flaps would go on the new rear bar. They're a little short with the lift but since I run Rock Tamers to protect the camper it's not a big issue.

With the rear bar fitted I could mount the airline bracket properly.



It fits neatly below the carrier arm.



Carrier arm fitted. The latch is a little small and Nadine finds it a bit of a nuisance to get into the rear of the car now.



I found a set of 4 OEM steel rims with 33" BF Goodrich M/Ts @ about 40% tread for a good deal. One tyre was damaged so we had that replaced with a matching Cooper tyre and mounted it on the second wheel carrier. Now I have 3 left to swap over the camper trailer down the track.

 

[mcgonical]

Finishing touches before the Cape

Working solo in the freezing night to install the HF bracket and antenna before we head north to Cape York. I can't wait to get out of the Canberra winter and into the t-shirt topics.

 

[Actualeyes]

I've since collected a roo at speed and can report that the bar came through unscathed though the number plate is now more curvaceous than from factory.

On Constitution Avenue? There's too many Roos in the nation's capital. LOL.

I did some adjustments on the stock mudguards - basically cut a rebate out for the bottom of the rear bar's wing then new holes and bolts including a new hole for the inside bracket which now comes lower down the guard. Has stood up to some serious travel.

 

[hoser]

Very nice build! There are thousands of jealous mudders on this side of the pond.

 

[mcgonical]

2013 Trip to the Tip

The basics taken car of the car is ready for its trip up Cape York. Straight north to the Old Telegraph Track.



The bridge at Cyprus felt just wide enough.



Nolans Brook.



The unnamed crossing before Nolan's was pretty deep. We dug up a stump and root ball on the crossing that caused plenty of grief for my mate following through. It was hot work on the shovel digging it out from under his Nissan after the crossing.



Plenty of dirt up here.



The Rock Tamers took a hammering on the track.



Camp for the night.



Got to watch where you swim.



On the beach way way north.



The girls found a fun way to cool off.



One of the fantastic camp fires on the Cape - and there were plenty. This night we ate dinner and watched a croc patiently working its way into the small pool just below our camp.



The croc slept by the log bordering our friends camp site - the girls slept in the car.

 

[DFXR]

Nice work man! Great build and an epic trip to make use of it. Much to be proud of.

How does the trailer do in the crossings? Obviously it makes it across but I want to know more...