An evolution in 80-Series ownership...

[SWITAWI]

First off, THESE ARE NOT MY TRUCKS, lol. Well the FJC in the first picture is, but that's not why we're here in the Land Cruiser forum!
My good buddy Matt just seems to be too 'delicate' to post his own pictures (he's in Sales) or some other namby-pamby reason like that...
:ylsmoke:
Hey, if you always depend on someone else to post your stuff, you should expect payment to come in the form of a good-natured ribbing that will be on the internet forever, right?

So, in the last 5yrs he's gone from the white 80-Series you see here...



To installing a Man-A-Fe/OME suspension kit on it - http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/64002-OME-4-Plus-Kit-from-Man-A-Fre-installed



To losing it - http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/71856-Two-for-one-accident

And then after a long Toyota drought he found another (damn that's a big shiny picture)...



And after another Man-A-Fre/OME kit plus a few other tidbits the 'Soccer-mobile' was reborn as it should be! :clap:



Maybe someday he'll learn to post his own s*#$, lol. Until then, you could pester him with a PM or email to Member mab.switawi. :lurk:

 

[SWITAWI]

Some pictures of the recent makeover...

FrontRunner Slimline II roof rack w/Hi-Lift mount...

:safari-rig:
Man-A-Fre's OME 4+PLUS 2" Suspension Kit (http://www.man-a-fre.com/pa4/4PLUSOLDMANEMU2INCHSUSPENSIONKITS.htm) and EBC Brakes.

A new JVC head unit, a Yeasu FT-8900 quad-band radio, and a Range Rover cup holder since the LX's had that center console cup holder location filled a tiny subwoofer.

:friday:
And since he was dumping the factory sub and disc-changer so he could mount the quad-band radio inside, he put something a little more useful on the back end of the console.

Now he just needs a :snorkel:...

 

[SWITAWI]

Quick update...

Right now the roof rack is just cool, not having been used yet. But the suspension and brake modifications have transformed the vehicle. For whatever reason this truck rides MUCH better than his '93 LC80 did on the same springs and shocks (a little extra weight in the LX?), just firmer than stock and not like some 30yr-old 1-ton dually pickup with an empty bed. And the brakes... The difference in actual confidence in the vehicle's ability to stop cannot be overstated. Sudden braking in heavy traffic is not necessarily a heart-stopping event.
:safari-rig:
Most of you here will already know this, but for anyone wondering these mods have resulted in a sort of 'OE-Plus' outcome. By that I mean that this is better than stock, probably better than when the truck was new, and it feels like it should have been this way all along.

 

[SWITAWI]

With the major running gear sorted for now, we toiled on updating one of the 'creature comforts' to the LX this weekend.
The OE speakers were completely shot with more than one having little or no foam surround left.
It's taking a bit of work to get the right backspacing to add some 6.5" component speakers (Infinity 6030cs) to all four doors.
At least the crossover modules fit inside the door armrests...

That last item was a really easy add-on in comparison.

 

[SWITAWI]

Any guesses as to what is coming next?..

 

[LexusAllTerrain]

Any guesses as to what is coming next?..

I am thinking it is a Kaymar Rear Bumper, also you guys are going to be impressed with the sound of the Infinity's I went with Polk Audio components and after break in they sound like I have surround sound in the car, the sound it is much cleaner you hear instruments playing that you did not hear before! I can go on but I wil let you find out for your selfs. I also added the 6.5 coaxial on the rear doors since I only need them for volume and ambience! Be carefull were you place your tweeters in the back door, you do not want to have too much highs close to your ears!

 

[SWITAWI]

Ding, ding, ding! You are correct, Sir. Though I guess I made fairly obvious, lol. That thing looks pretty buff with the integrated Class IV hitch. And he's had nothing but good things to say about Ben and the crew from Outback Proven.
:safari-rig:
As for the stereo, he is planning to put the tweeters along the top strip of the door panel, centered above the door latch handle. So they will be mounted high, but well forward of the seating positions. He's going to do a trial run with the tweeter boost on the crossover module in the +3dB position and will try to tone it down with the head if he needs to. If the high frequencies still prove to be too unruly we can pop off the door handles and reset the tweeter boost to 0dB. A 5-channel Alpine MRX-V70 is going under the driver's seat to power everything and there will be a JL Audio 10" sealed-enclosure subwoofer (CS110RG-W3v3) backing everything up. I talked him into mounting a speaker terminal cup in the left rear interior panel so he can just unplug the subwoofer's speaker wire if he needs to pull it out for more space in the back of the truck.

 

[LexusAllTerrain]

I have the tweeters on a 3+ DB but I installed them on the front pillars only two tweeters and they sound great, but I am getting old and I have been in the club bussiness so I know I have lost some of my high frequencies!:victory:

 

[LexusAllTerrain]

Any pictures of the rear bumper, did you get a double tire carriers?

 

[Mauka2Makai]

Looking forward to the Kaymar bumper... please take a bunch of pics on the install and from various angles. One day when I can afford a rear bumper, a Kaymar will definitely be in the for front. Your a good friend for starting this thread for your bud.

 

[SWITAWI]

Of Kaymars & Other Things...

Well I can tell you that the Kaymar bumper is a quality piece of metal from the first glance to the last detail. Nothing overtly fancy, just well-engineered without going overboard. All things considered I was surprised it wasn't heavier, but I chalk that up to the fact that it appears to have thinner plate than the more 'hardcore offroad' bumpers. To everyone reading this now and starting to mentally compare this unit to a 4x4Labs, or Slee bumper I can honestly say they are different breeds of bumper. Matt & I have seen both styles up close now, with our friend Jeff having a Slee rear bumper w/double swing arms on his '93 LC80. And that bumper is s-t-o-u-t. But this bumper is not made from the same mold or mentality. This is what the Australian market refers to a 'Touring' bumper, made with towing and load-bearing as its primary purpose.
:beer: Now don't get all flamey on me here. :beer: I am NOT saying that the 4x4Labs, Slee, and other bumpers out there are not capable of that as well (see above for my thoughts about the Slee), just that the Kaymar doesn't make the same concessions to the gods of extra clearance. IMHO only BumpIt Offroad is making something comparable in style (http://www.bumpitoffroad.com/80-rear-bumper.html) in addition to their high-clearance model.
:truck:
Now that we're over that hump... We flatlanders in South Texas don't see a lot of Rubicon-style terrain, and Matt wanted something that blended well with the LX450's color-coded lower plastic trim that he plans on keeping (please, don't ask me why), so the high-clearance style was not high on his list of wants/needs. He seriously considered the BumpIt rear bumper and even corresponded with Mike about his build schedule. And yes, he even considered 4x4Labs & Slee simply based on the good reputations both brands enjoy on ExPo and IH8MUD. But in the end he wanted straight bolt-on (no cutting) and Ben at Outback Proven had the bumper and swing outs in stock and ready to ship. Not to mention that Ben went out of his way during the Vermont Overland Rally to leave the campground and drive around until he found an unlocked Wi-Fi signal (outside somebody's house, lol) in order to correspond with Matt. So, in this case at least, a readily available product + a willing & honest sales rep + a little discount on a set of MaxTrax = a solid purchase.
:victory:
On to the story of the Kaymar install. Unfortunately I had 'Mom' obligations on Saturday and it was raining sporadically when we were trying to button up the stereo work on Sunday. Rain not being conducive to working on vehicle electrical stuff in the driveway, we took several breaks before we got it all done, cleaned up, and the seats back in place. When we were finally able to get started on the bumper it was getting dark (isn't that always the case) and we were more interested on making progress, so I apologize for the lack of pictures right now. From looking at the hardware and instruction sheets the install should be a direct bolt-on process, but we had a few hole alignment issues. I promise to take more pics before we're done and indicate the major points of interest. Oh yeah, did I mention that we're not done yet?..

The removal of the LX450 rear bumper is pretty straightforward, but with the extra color-matching plastic pieces I can easily imagine there might be a couple more fasteners than the standard LC80. BTW, removal was made a lot quicker and easier by the procurement of a small impact driver. Matt bought a Hitachi 18V (1/4" quick-release chuck) from Lowe's before we started all this and, unless something is really really tightened down, that little gun has made removing suspension and bumper bolts a breeze. A big time-saver over having to crank a ratchet back and forth to remove 2-3in long machine-thread bolts.
:Mechanic:
As promised I'll be back with more pictures, but here's a quick shot of our custom Toyota alignment/spreader tool...

 

[SWITAWI]

Here's random pic I shot of the 6.5" Component speakers in the left rear door...

He decided to go the 'high' road for the tweeter mount and so far they don't seem to be too overbearing, though his system has a noticeable level of hiss when there is no music playing. Probably because the amp levels aren't really dialed in yet.
The tweeters themselves are well forward of the listener's ear at each door so that definitely helps, but we'll probably be switching the crossover's tweeter boost back to 0dB.

 

[RiverCityDave]

And since he was dumping the factory sub and disc-changer so he could mount the quad-band radio inside, he put something a little more useful on the back end of the console.

Now he just needs a :snorkel:...

who makes this?

 

[SWITAWI]

who makes this?

Where did you get cup holders? I need some

Lol... It is funny that out of all the things everyone wants to know about the cup holders.

Matt got the console-mounted Range Rover cupholder on eBay and he said it shipped from Victoria British, though I do not see it on their website.
Here's another one on eBay for $41 - http://www.ebay.com/itm/Genuine-Fac...-NEW-OEM-/251366303513?_trksid=p2054897.l4276

The metal cup holders Matt bought are made by Tuffy Security Products and they come in 3 variations.
There's the 'Standard Drink Holder' - https://www.tuffyproducts.com/p-105-standard-drink-holder.aspx
The 'Single Drink Holder' - https://www.tuffyproducts.com/p-184-single-drink-holder.aspx
And the 'Rear Drink Holder w/9-Degree Mounting Angle' (to fit the angle on the back of one of their Jeep consoles) - https://www.tuffyproducts.com/p-184-single-drink-holder.aspx
I personally think that all of those Tuffy cup holders are nicely priced especially now that I've seen their construction and especially the fact that they are available in multiple colors...

:beer:

 

[SWITAWI]

So the guy who spent the day finishing his Kaymar install sends his pictures to be posted by the guy who is actually still at work... That's a Lexus owner for you.

Seems Matt was able to work around the alignment issues we had by loosening all the bolts and cleaning up the two center bolts/holes behind the hitch with a tap and die.
That gave him enough wiggle room to get those last two bolts in and everything tightened up.
When Matt unwrapped the swing arms he was a little dismayed to see some powder coat damage that wasn't obvious when they first came out of the box. C'est la vie, I guess.
Notice how that 285/76-16 tire fits just right? If I'm not wrong I believe it's because 33" tires are the largest road legal size in Australia (Please correct me if otherwise).
Not sure how a bigger tire would fit, although anything can be adapted. Anyone know what size tires Dave (adventureduo) is carrying on his Kaymar?
As you can see the bumper even came with a nice ball mount that isn't 8-10in long on the back side. He's probably working on the lighting connections and license plate relocation at this point...