Tommysosa
SILVER Star
Well after lurking on here long enough and seeking sage advice I have finally decided to add my useless ramblings and ideas to the hoard of endlessly good content on this site.
My love of Cruisers started before I even knew what a LC was. I was 15 and had my first job as a Lifeguard for a summer pool. One of my coworkers had a ranger that he was lifting and needed some extra hands so I decided to help out. After work one day we went to one of his buddies houses to borrow some tools. When his buddy's garage opened I saw a behemoth sitting in the garage on 37's, engine pulled and parts everywhere. I didn't even know what I was looking at but knew I wanted one.
Long story short after years of owning other vehicles and getting my feet wet in the world of off-road Toyota's I set out to buy a LandCruiser. My wife had tolerated me and my incessant need for bigger and better and with our first child on the way we began looking for something bigger than my 4runner. She was looking at Sequoias but I knew I wanted a Cruiser. We found one we loved. It was a 100 series that had been built and was ready for just about anything... (I know its on here somewhere and will still buy it in a heartbeat if it ever comes for sale again. Black 100 series bought in Hercules, CA... I will find you one day) It didn't work out. We offered a full-price sale but someone else offered the seller a full-price sale and a trade for an 80 series. We kept looking for the right cruiser.
This eventually brought me to a 95 non-locked semi built rig that was a CA vehicle its whole life. With only 145k miles on the clock... Ended up paying a little more than I wanted for it but it came lifted with an OME 2.5 inch practically new, brand new Baja rack, meticulously maintained by a cruiser shop in Santa Cruz and was in great shape besides terrible paint cracking on the hood. It was in great shape and low miles so I felt okay going over budget. Not a spec of rust on the undercarriage either. Carfax showed it lived its whole life in Northern/Central California.
I drove it home. It was heavy, it got terrible gas mileage compared to our 2011 4Runner, didn't have a ton of get up and go compared to my SC'd 4Runner, and yet I was hooked. It was by far everything I wanted and more. I also did the purchase while my wife was out of town and didn't tell her what I had done so I also thought I may be in the doghouse for a while. (Only reason I get put in the dog house now is I don't let her drive it enough, so she says). The moment I got it home I took a picture and started looking at what I could do next.
Here is a list of what it had done to it when I got it.
OME 2.5 lift
Bronze Powder Coated FJ wheels wrapped in 33" Toyo A/Ts
Baja Rook rack
Snorkel
American Overland Expedition bumper
Warn 10k Winch W/ wireless remote
Inside was also updated with a pioneer Navi/DVD head unit, stock speakers throughout.
Up to date on all Maintenance and was given a thorough review before purchase.
Since that time I have done some other things to improve creature comforts and retain reliability but I haven't been great at documenting and I'm sure I have forgotten some things from this list:
Interior
LED's throughout including headlights
WeatherTech Floor mats front and back
Replaced all speakers throughout including rear headliner speakers
Added Rear panel hidden amp/sub
B3HD printed cup holders
Seat Swap from LR disco II (best interior mod to date)
Power ran to rear for 1000w inverter/ future accessories
Exterior
Ruff Stuff Roof top tent w/ annex
270° Overland Pros Awning
Swapped over to 35" Cooper Mud terrain sitting on 15" Steelies
Wheel Spacers to prevent rubbing from said tires
Pressurized water tank on Roof rack
Mechanical
No major upgrades
Mostly Preventative maintenance
Coolant system flush and clean
Spark plugs and new NGK wires
Minor repairs here and there
Remote start added for the "Hot" and "Cold" days. I'm in NorCal right now but originality from both Northern and Southern Utah so I laugh when I say hot and cold here in NorCal. I've grown soft out here for sure.
My love of Cruisers started before I even knew what a LC was. I was 15 and had my first job as a Lifeguard for a summer pool. One of my coworkers had a ranger that he was lifting and needed some extra hands so I decided to help out. After work one day we went to one of his buddies houses to borrow some tools. When his buddy's garage opened I saw a behemoth sitting in the garage on 37's, engine pulled and parts everywhere. I didn't even know what I was looking at but knew I wanted one.
Long story short after years of owning other vehicles and getting my feet wet in the world of off-road Toyota's I set out to buy a LandCruiser. My wife had tolerated me and my incessant need for bigger and better and with our first child on the way we began looking for something bigger than my 4runner. She was looking at Sequoias but I knew I wanted a Cruiser. We found one we loved. It was a 100 series that had been built and was ready for just about anything... (I know its on here somewhere and will still buy it in a heartbeat if it ever comes for sale again. Black 100 series bought in Hercules, CA... I will find you one day) It didn't work out. We offered a full-price sale but someone else offered the seller a full-price sale and a trade for an 80 series. We kept looking for the right cruiser.
This eventually brought me to a 95 non-locked semi built rig that was a CA vehicle its whole life. With only 145k miles on the clock... Ended up paying a little more than I wanted for it but it came lifted with an OME 2.5 inch practically new, brand new Baja rack, meticulously maintained by a cruiser shop in Santa Cruz and was in great shape besides terrible paint cracking on the hood. It was in great shape and low miles so I felt okay going over budget. Not a spec of rust on the undercarriage either. Carfax showed it lived its whole life in Northern/Central California.
I drove it home. It was heavy, it got terrible gas mileage compared to our 2011 4Runner, didn't have a ton of get up and go compared to my SC'd 4Runner, and yet I was hooked. It was by far everything I wanted and more. I also did the purchase while my wife was out of town and didn't tell her what I had done so I also thought I may be in the doghouse for a while. (Only reason I get put in the dog house now is I don't let her drive it enough, so she says). The moment I got it home I took a picture and started looking at what I could do next.
Here is a list of what it had done to it when I got it.
OME 2.5 lift
Bronze Powder Coated FJ wheels wrapped in 33" Toyo A/Ts
Baja Rook rack
Snorkel
American Overland Expedition bumper
Warn 10k Winch W/ wireless remote
Inside was also updated with a pioneer Navi/DVD head unit, stock speakers throughout.
Up to date on all Maintenance and was given a thorough review before purchase.
Since that time I have done some other things to improve creature comforts and retain reliability but I haven't been great at documenting and I'm sure I have forgotten some things from this list:
Interior
LED's throughout including headlights
WeatherTech Floor mats front and back
Replaced all speakers throughout including rear headliner speakers
Added Rear panel hidden amp/sub
B3HD printed cup holders
Seat Swap from LR disco II (best interior mod to date)
Power ran to rear for 1000w inverter/ future accessories
Exterior
Ruff Stuff Roof top tent w/ annex
270° Overland Pros Awning
Swapped over to 35" Cooper Mud terrain sitting on 15" Steelies
Wheel Spacers to prevent rubbing from said tires
Pressurized water tank on Roof rack
Mechanical
No major upgrades
Mostly Preventative maintenance
Coolant system flush and clean
Spark plugs and new NGK wires
Minor repairs here and there
Remote start added for the "Hot" and "Cold" days. I'm in NorCal right now but originality from both Northern and Southern Utah so I laugh when I say hot and cold here in NorCal. I've grown soft out here for sure.
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