ARCHIVE Wits' End LX450 LockBox GroupBuy

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NLXTACY

Wits' End
10 Year 15 Year
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Medford, OR
So I just got the pricing and timelines for the components needed to assemble the LX450 LockBoxes. I am building up the page now to order and will start up a GroupBuy page in the GB section as well. But basically it'll all go through the site.

Lead times:
• Steel box and lid is two weeks from day of order
• Upgraded spring hinges are four weeks from day of order
• Black Medeco lock and tumblers are four weeks from day of order
• Deburring and tumbling then spot welding is one week after all parts are assembled
• Powder Coating is 2-3 days after welding is done

I am looking at placing the order on Monday the 28th and the APPROXIMATE shipping week appears to be the week of Feb. 8

I will push whatever I can but the springs and locks are my only two things that I have no choice but to wait for.

I am ONLY making 25 of these. I will need at least 10 to pony up because I will be using those funds to purchase the long term stuff ahead of time. The first 10 orders I will throw in a free Concealment Liner. :blingpimp:

Cost will be $150

Sorry if its a little higher than you had hoped but because I'm doing such a small number the economics of scale do not work in my favor :(

Give me a little bit to build the purchase pages out. Questions?

Here is a render of what it will look like:
screen-shot-2015-11-16-at-10-02-35-pm-png.1163456


Here is what the 80 Series final product looks like:
WIts_End_LockBoxes_open__80605.1445987973.1280.1280.png
 
New hold down hardware has been identified and purchased. It will no longer be button heads but instead will be flat head socket cap screws. There will be a die punch to let the flat head screw sit actually flush with the box.

I have two folks who have purchased. Need to get a few more so that I have enough to purchase everything.
 
Where does this go (any pics). Won't fit actual Land Cruiser? Probably console related if so?
 
Haspin FJ said:
Where does this go (any pics). Won't fit actual Land Cruiser? Probably console related if so?
Click to expand...

This goes INSIDE your center console under the armrest lid. These ONLY fit Land Cruisers and they are VERY model specific.

There are no LX install pics because I'm in the middle of production. The 80 Series LC versions have been shipping for sometime now.
 
As someone that must often leave all their valuables in the car while they are in the water this is fantastic. I've my secret spots but they are no substitute for an actual lock box.

I do have a couple of questions. Does the box bolt directly to the floor thought the console or is it connected to the console itself? When you ask about lowering the box, do you intend to do so by reducing its size or otherwise? I would want as much space as I could get, even to the point of the box extending upwards as long the armrest can close, this isn't a large area to begin with.

Thanks,
Eric
 
I effectively reduced the box height that you see in the picture by 1/4". The reason I did this was for my customers who purchased my APU-1 console organizer and mounted under that lower lid. If someone has a flashlight (largest diameter tool that would really fit) then I wanted to make sure they didn't have to choose between either using the APU or using the LockBox.

Lowering the deck height also gives you a little bit of a tray for things like pens, gum, mints, etc that can just lay there. Or, if the collective feels that this space, albeit very shallow, is pointless then I can actually push the height all the way up to nearly the top of the lip. Of course at this point there is nothing left to attemp to conceal. It's a lock box and no two ways about it.

All LockBoxes bolt directly to the steel structure in the truck. The same steel structure that the console itself bolts into. My LockBoxes utilize those same points which is why I supply new hardware to accommodate.

On the Land Cruisers this meant supplying a longer metric bolt to replace the factory one. On the LXs there is a raised bracket with two studs and the console slips over those. Then there are two 10mm nuts that hold the console in place. I will be replacing those OEM nuts with another solution.
 
Got it, thanks for the clarification, although I get the reasoning I guess I'm looking at the solution from a differing perspective. I need to put cameras and other items in the box so the bigger the better. My thought was the console lid itself was the concealment. I would really like a box and the bigger the better is my vote. Do I need to place an order to make my vote count?
 
I am currently at 8 folks who have paid for their boxes. Since a month has now gone by I'm not going to make these folks wait for the last two stragglers. I'm going with what I have right now and hopefully more come through as time goes on.

I have a few notes/questions though:
• The black Medeco locks are going to take four, MAYBE five weeks, before they arrive. Do you want to wait the time to get the locks in black or screw it and just goes with the silver ones which I can get right now?
• The new spring hinge samples are on their way to me now. I will be testing and then approving to build. These will take 2-3 weeks to complete my order but it will be the correct spring hinge setup.
• My only current roadblock is hunting down the final piece of hardware but its been tough because the studs are M6x1.00 and there isn't a lot available for these size threads. But I'm still working on it.
 
Update time...

I could not find the hardware that I needed, even in Australia. The LX has two M6x1.0 studs that are pressed into a bracket that sits over the useless CD changer. The LX's console then sits on top of those and then two funky looking 10mm nuts "secure" the console in place. It's opposite from how the LC console is bolted down.

Well the issue is I need to stay with a flat bottom on the LockBox for a myriad of reasons. That means I need some type of nut that can go through the LockBox and thread into the studs. Problem is the total height of the pocket that the studs sit in is 1/2" (13mm) to the bottom of the flat where the LockBox sits. But, the stud and nut only poke up 6mm so there is a 7mm gap between the top of the stud before it reaches the bottom of the LockBox.

No problem right? Nothing a barrel nut or sex bolt (yes that's the name) or Chicago nut won't fix. Except, there is so much of an entry taper that not enough threads engage onto the studs. This sucks if you are trying to make something secure. Then try and find something in an M6x1.0. I've ordered thumbscrews, weldable nuts, coupler nuts, standoffs, you name it. Nothing works.

So what is the solution? The solution is I'm stuck custom making the correct 13mm female to female standoff that will sit flush once threaded all the way down. Then I have to use the shortest M6x1.0 button head screw I can find and see if I have to use washers because it bottoms out. Sucks all around but it's a solution but I wasn't planning on the addition $3.25 per standoff but my fault for assuming it would be a slam dunk.

The standoffs should be ready by Friday to pick up. From there I'll experiment with the proto I have here to make sure I have the right hardware for everyone.

Ugh.
 
Update time. Today is bitter sweet. Got the call that the LX450 LockBoxes were done and ready to be picked. By "done" I mean out of manufacturing. I still have tumbling, welding, powder coat, etching, packaging, etc.

So I'm signing for my order and notice that I have a qty of boxes and lids. But only one listing. That's strange. I open up all the boxes and inspect all the pieces. Ugh. They only made the tall boxes and none of the small ones. To make matters worse, the entire qty made was for the small and tall combined. Now I have way too many tall. I don't think I could sell all of these in six months. Such a huge bummer.

So they will try and run me off another batch next week for the small but I need to submit a new PO for those. Why is this so hard?!?! Ugh.

I was also going to pick up the machined threaded spacers but he is out til Monday. Argh!!!

One step forward...
image.webp
 
I'm ok with waiting through the issues. Thank you for the extra effort.

Prefer to wait for the black Medeco hardware anyway.

Purchased an APU-2 and fuse kit to help offset the pain a little.
 
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