The Plaidwagon Thread (1 Viewer)

[plaidwagon]

Hello All!

My name is Kyle, I've got a little company called Plaidwagon, that you may have seen around here. I'm located in Grand Junction, Colorado and focus on making products for Land Cruisers.

www.plaidwagon.co

I've been wanting to start a build thread for my 100 series and to also have a place to share some product ideas, happenings, and whatnot.

I really think the 100 series platform is in the sweet spot for Land Cruiser ownership right now. When I first got my '99 three years ago I was torn between getting back in an 80 series vs. a 100. I think I made the right call for my use and needs, and I think we're really seeing these things pushed into new territory as they become more affordable and given more support from the aftermarket.

So here's the beginning to the story of my 100 series, which also leads the birth of Plaidwagon as a company.


On June 26, 2021 I flew from Grand Junction to Austin, Texas and bought this green 1999 Land Cruiser from AJ, of AJ's Yotas. Cruiser shopping was interesting at that time, Covid prices were running wild. AJ was a friend of a friend, and it made me feel good to get something that was taken care of with some known history.

AJ picked me up from the airport, we had tacos at a great local place (forget the name), signed the title back at his house and then I bombed 1,000 miles back home. I love the Fly-N-Buy adventure, easy way to make sure it runs good!

I left Austin and drove forever across Texas, turned left in Amarillo, slept a few hours in the backseat somewhere in New Mexico, then over and up towards Durango. Zero issues during the trip and felt great being back in a cruiser again.

The green paint looks better in Colorado.

Quick picture around Silverton.

So here's where I started:
1999 w/rear locker
263k miles
OME rear springs, stock torsion bars
Ironman shocks F/R
255/85r16 Cooper ST Maxxxxxx
Ebay snorkel
Rocky Road sliders meant for a GX470, welded to frame
Some new paint
Most maintenance up to date
Ice cold AC
Heat barely worked...... more on this later


To be continued-

 

[asu4runner]

glad youre finally starting a thread. great company and great guy to work with. i love the seat backs i did in my hundy build. cheers man

 

[plaidwagon]

glad youre finally starting a thread. great company and great guy to work with. i love the seat backs i did in my hundy build. cheers man

Hey thanks man, means a lot!

 

[HokieCruiser]

hey Kyle! welcome and congrats on the business start up! checking out your website now...good luck!

 

[Exiled]

Welcome! I remember that rig when it was in Austin, I live pretty close to Cedar Park and used to see it often on the main artery around here. Glad she's getting to spend more time on the trails, it's a *long* drive from Austin to get to legitimate trails!

 

[plaidwagon]

hey Kyle! welcome and congrats on the business start up! checking out your website now...good luck!

Thank you! I’m just about at the two year mark, 200+ orders in. Best part is making new friends and being involved with the cruiser community.

 

[plaidwagon]

Welcome! I remember that rig when it was in Austin, I live pretty close to Cedar Park and used to see it often on the main artery around here. Glad she's getting to spend more time on the trails, it's a *long* drive from Austin to get to legitimate trails!

Oh cool! Yeah I believe AJ’s wife drove this one around until he added a 200 to his fleet. He’s also got another green one built up a little more. Great guy to work with, looks like his shop is really taking off!

 

[MechE30]

Hello Other-Kyle! Ill be following this thread!

 

[Trapper50cal]

Hey Kyle,

I'm definitely going to get some seat-back pockets once I ascertain that they'll work with a cloth interior 100.
I was made aware of your offerings via @cruiserpatch

 

[plaidwagon]

Hey Kyle,

I'm definitely going to get some seat-back pockets once I ascertain that they'll work with a cloth interior 100.
I was made aware of your offerings via @cruiserpatch

Patch is the man!

I’m 99% sure they use the same seat back panel and plastic net on the cloth interiors…but there’s still that 1% chance. I can send some measurements to compare if you’d like. It would be way cool to finally get the 100 cloth checked off the list!

 

[Trapper50cal]

Patch is the man!

I’m 99% sure they use the same seat back panel and plastic net on the cloth interiors…but there’s still that 1% chance. I can send some measurements to compare if you’d like. It would be way cool to finally get the 100 cloth checked off the list!

Cool...and I'll send some pics - PM me.

 

[plaidwagon]

Hello Other-Kyle! Ill be following this thread!

Hello taller-Kyle, great to hear from you!

 

[plaidwagon]

Shortly after purchasing the 100 we sold my wife's 2006 Sequoia, so now the cruiser was our main family vehicle. The only thing I've ever missed from the Sequoia was the center bucket seats. We've got 4 kids so those really came in handy, but a Land Cruiser feels like twice the vehicle in my opinion- when it comes to build quality and overall feel.

We are originally from Northern Minnesota, so a trip back home over the summer was needed to hit the lake and catch up with family. I think we only had the 100 for a month at that point, so it was nice to load up the family and see how it worked on a big trip.

One night stay at Windmill State Park in Nebraska on our way up North.

Our friends have a cabin in Nevis, Minnesota- a place I spent many summers as a kid. Always a treat getting to spend a few days there on Lake Belle Taine.

That trip went great, cruiser was rock solid and pulled the trailer perfectly. I think this camper size is a perfect match for a 100 series. I could still pull 75 all day and never felt like it struggled to keep up.

At the time we had a Conqueror UEV390 trailer. A friend of mine bought it brand new and never used it, I got it for a great deal and had plans to rent it out with Outdoorsy. Unfortunately I never felt comfortable with it, little things kept breaking and it didn't give me the best feeling thinking of other people using it. It was pretty cool and fun to use once I made some changes, maybe not the best camp set up for my family- but still a good experience while it lasted. Sold it to a guy from Denver and it looks like its been great for him. (And actually for sale right now!).

 

[plaidwagon]

For the next year the 100 stayed how it was and did the daily duties for the family. Perfect vehicle for exploring Western Colorado with the kids.

Winter came and I had to figure out why the heat wasn't working....

I was starting to get a faint smell of antifreeze in the cabin. Eventually I could see some dripping on the carpet by the glove box. I knew my days were numbered and I needed to change the heater core.

There really isn't much documentation on this job. I found one video from an Aussie guy, and it pretty much just showed that you need to remove everything. Yes, everything.

So I picked up a heater core from Napa. It was like $100 and Toyota wanted over $400. I'm all for buying OEM Toyota as much as possible, I just couldn't swing it at the time.


I thought I could be clever and find some shortcuts. But you can't get the dash removed without pulling the steering wheel. Then you can't get the heater core out without dropping the whole steering column and main support bar.

You can see the heater core in the top center. I swear it's the first thing they install at the factory. The one place where i did get really lucky is with the Napa heater core. It was considerably smaller than the OEM unit. I was able to flex the aluminum lines enough to drop it back into place without having to evac the whole A/C system and pull all that apart. So there's my one pro tip!

In summary:
Remove the center console
Remove the steering wheel
Remove everything else and try to not break all 200 brittle plastic connectors along the way


I think I had about 24 hours into that job working over a few days. To this day I still have a mystery rattle behind my gauge cluster. I've tried so many times to find something loose but I can't find it.

Once I got it back together I bled the coolant system and I could tell both sides of the lines were hot on the heater core coming out of the firewall. I still didn't get heat blowing through the vents. After some more digging in I discovered that the leaking coolant had wrecked the blend servo motor on the passenger side of the center console, right under the radio. I swapped that out and then I was good to go!

Why was my heater core leaking in the first place? I'm not sure. It was just a small pin hole leak in the bottom corner. Maybe coolant system neglect, but from what I can tell this is a pretty rare thing on a 100 series.

 

[2000UZJ]

I'd of left mine in the city with the keys in it and gotten a new one...

 

[plaidwagon]

I'd of left mine in the city with the keys in it and gotten a new one...

Haha I was thinking similar thoughts. The job feels a lot like you’re parting it out, so there’s always that option.

 

[213374U]

This is now a Kyle thread

 

[zgfiredude]

I'll give you a call if and when mine has an issue!

Great guy with great products. I get a lot of questions on the seat back nets.

 

[plaidwagon]

This is now a Kyle thread

We should start another thread to organize our pilgrimage to Kyle, Texas.

 

[213374U]

Very short pilgrimage for me so I'm in lol