Rickashay's 97' LX450 - "Tom Cruiser" Build Thread

[City_Rider]

Good to see you've steered this thread in the right direction off the bat. Love the Duster, sad to see it go. You're a bit of a giant though (even by my standards!) and so I can understand the change of vehicle.

Looking forward to seeing more pics of your progress!

 

[60Dan]

Truck is looking great so far. Looking forward to seeing the end result

 

[rickashay]

Thanks for following everyone!

Well I sold the wheels and tires pictured above. Doing so opened up my opportunity for my new setup: SCS F5's in the new Matte Gray finish with 3.5" Backspacing paired with 315/75/16 Goodyear MT/R Kevlars. This is a pretty aggressive wheel setup but I love the look of tire poke. Hoping I won't have any fender interference but I think I should be ok.

I had a couple days off last week and also installed my 6.5" speakers and my fave Alpine deck - I've had it in the last 4 vehicles I've owned. The rear doors were a pain to trim for the 6.5" speakers but wow does it ever sound better! The factory amp and sub were deleted. I will have a ton of photos incoming next week while I'm on holidays so stay tuned!

I also randomly picked up some 2012 FJ Cruiser wheels (the ones that look like the 5th Gen 4Runner Trail Edition wheels) and Ive decided to sell them. If anyone is interested shoot me a PM.

 

[Grundletaint]

Any details on the dog/sleeping platform?

 

[rickashay]

Any details on the dog/sleeping platform?

At this stage its just a sketch. I'm still debating if I want it to be foldable (or at least one side of it) so I can throw one rear seat back in if needed. I'll try and get some pics up of my idea as feedback would be appreciated. I want to get it perfect the first time!

 

[Grundletaint]

I'm in the process of figuring out something for my lx470. I'm thinking drawers in the cargo space with a folding (or separate) part that will lay on the seat backs when they're folded over and a hinged part on that section to access the floor area of the back seats (behind front seats) for more storage there since I pile stuff up there under the dog hammock, anyways.

That way, the dogs can ride in their hammock in the back seat and then the sleeping platform can be put into play when needed.

Similar to this concept (without all the sinks and whatnot) and you can see how everything folds over the back seats.

http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/77938-Lexus-LX470-Rear-Cabin-Conversion/page3





I'm definitely interested in what your design thoughts are.

 

[Mayne]

What color did you go with? Any photos?

Lots of people run the Monstaliner as an alternative to LineX, and seem to be happy with that too. I'm a big fan of shiny paint though, so I want this to look as professional as possible and the LineX warranty has a lot of value IMO. I would love to see some pics of your setup!



Cheers

Sorry for the delay in reply, I've been out on Vacation!
I went with black, the rest of he truck is dark green.

 

[rickashay]

I'm in the process of figuring out something for my lx470. I'm thinking drawers in the cargo space with a folding (or separate) part that will lay on the seat backs when they're folded over and a hinged part on that section to access the floor area of the back seats (behind front seats) for more storage there since I pile stuff up there under the dog hammock, anyways.

That way, the dogs can ride in their hammock in the back seat and then the sleeping platform can be put into play when needed.

Similar to this concept (without all the sinks and whatnot) and you can see how everything folds over the back seats.

I'm definitely interested in what your design thoughts are.

Very similar to what I'm debating. I appologize as I still havent got my "sketches" online yet. Thanks for the link, that platform is beautiful! I'm looking for something a little more simplistic but I do like the general design.

Sorry for the delay in reply, I've been out on Vacation!
I went with black, the rest of he truck is dark green.
View attachment 180845

No worries thanks for the photo! Looks great!

UPDATE - Photo dump.

I have found that my LX build thread has been lacking a ton of photos in comparison to my old 4Runner build. I finally had some time off and despite the copious amounts of work I've been doing on my house, was able to sneak some Cruiser' time in. I'll start with some mods:

The first chance I got, I was Montana bound. The border was calling my name and the owners of Montana Shipping Outlet were crying for their warehouse space back as I had acquired a gold mine of parcels in their holdings.

The ARB CKMTA24 is a piece of art, I can't wait to get this hard-mounted under the hood. Along with a barrage of other ARB goodies...

20120829-IMG_1819.jpg by RickaShay24, on Flickr


20120829-IMG_1825.jpg by RickaShay24, on Flickr

Although all of the above is now landed in my garage, I had no time to do the install. I did however get my interior back in and also replaced the fuel sock filter that is inside the gas tank. I did this before throwing the carpets back in. Old vs. New:

Untitled by RickaShay24, on Flickr

I had some plans change on my wheels. Originally I was going to get some SCS wheels converted to beadlocks via OMF. I still would like to do this but the Cruiser seems to need more work than I originally intended, which means the beadlock funds need to be allocated elseware. My decision was made easy once I saw the new SCS F5 in Matte Gray. The icing on the cake is the fact that they now offer 3.5" BS on this wheel which give me that WIDE stance than I want. New wheels mean new tires, so I had a set of 5 Goodyear MT/R Kevlars shipped from Discount Tire Direct in the 315/75/16 flavor. I have been debating 37's but I couldnt justify the cost increase. Plus the fact that a re-gear would be mandatory. Based on looks alone, I'm happy with my decision (I'm aired down to 11psi in the pic below)

20120830-IMG_1835.jpg by RickaShay24, on Flickr

As you may have guessed from the above photo, I was able to sneak to the mountains for a couple days and managed to do a little bit of wheeling. It was cool driving the 80 offroad for the first time and comparing my built 3rd Gen 4Runner. The 80 is just solid feeling and I really like it for the technical stuff, but wow do I miss the IFS for the washboards. Baja'ing down the fire roads isn't really the 80's strong suite! It may have something to do with my ProComp shocks but it's still quite apparent where the SFA and IFS differ. Anyways, a few shots from the weekend. Please ignore my bumperless truck, I will have that remedied shortly! haha

My friend Marc, crawling with me to the top of Grassy Mountain in the Crowsnest Pass, AB.

20120830-IMG_1839.jpg by RickaShay24, on Flickr

Stretchin' Tom Cruiser's Legs:

20120830-IMG_1843.jpg by RickaShay24, on Flickr

My co-pilots:

20120830-IMG_1846.jpg by RickaShay24, on Flickr

The 3.5" BS seems to be perfect for this tire size. Any more poke and I think the tires would be catching the body under articulation. At full bump here:

20120830-IMG_1847.jpg by RickaShay24, on Flickr

Epic scenery. Damn I love the outdoors:

20120830-IMG_1848.jpg by RickaShay24, on Flickr

Old mining artifacts:

20120830-IMG_1850.jpg by RickaShay24, on Flickr


20120830-IMG_1855.jpg by RickaShay24, on Flickr

Marc making the steep ascent:

20120830-IMG_1851.jpg by RickaShay24, on Flickr

@ The summit - On a more personal note, moments prior to these photos I actually proposed to my beautiful girlfriend! Pretty excited, she loves wheeling nearly as much as I do! haha

20120830-IMG_1860.jpg by RickaShay24, on Flickr


20120830-IMG_1867.jpg by RickaShay24, on Flickr


20120830-IMG_1868.jpg by RickaShay24, on Flickr


20120830-IMG_1885.jpg by RickaShay24, on Flickr


20120830-IMG_1888.jpg by RickaShay24, on Flickr

We later met up with some other friends and did more wheeling in the area. Fall colors starting to appear:

20120831-IMG_1896.jpg by RickaShay24, on Flickr

My brother snapping some shots as well:

20120831-IMG_1903.jpg by RickaShay24, on Flickr


20120831-IMG_1916.jpg by RickaShay24, on Flickr

A pair of Long Travel 2nd Gens - boss.

20120831-IMG_1924.jpg by RickaShay24, on Flickr


20120831-IMG_1933.jpg by RickaShay24, on Flickr

Thats all for now, thanks for checking in!

 

[guthriealexander]

Pictures look awesome, I wish every day I lived close enough to mountains to sneak away for the weekend.

 

[ChuckB]

Amazing pics and awesome rigs!

 

[Wheelingnoob]

Looks great! Congrats on the engagement!

I'm impressed with how cleanly you filled the holes! Did you weld them up?

I'm planing on removing my LX side skirts in the next 6-8 months as well.

 

[rickashay]

Pictures look awesome, I wish every day I lived close enough to mountains to sneak away for the weekend.

Yah I'm pretty fortunate to be within 1.5hrs of some of the gorgeous terrain around. I could be closer though... I want to move back to BC!

Amazing pics and awesome rigs!

Thanks a lot!

Looks great! Congrats on the engagement!

I'm impressed with how cleanly you filled the holes! Did you weld them up?

I'm planing on removing my LX side skirts in the next 6-8 months as well.

Thank you very much! Getting engaged on the long weekend gives me an excuse to "celebrate" the long weekend on a yearly basis and go wheeling. She might think I'm even attempting to be romantic.... hahah

Yah the holes turned out great. Some of the holes are welded up and some were filled with some type of epoxy. I should get more info on exactly what the product used was because several people have asked. All of the holes that had easy access to the rear of the holes, were welded and then primed and painted. Any of the holes where we could not get in behind, were filled with the epoxy substance. I didnt want to have bare welds that had an opportunity to rust, seeing as how I wouldnt be able to prime/paint the backside of them. My friend is a really good fabricator so I have to give credit to him on how well it turned out. Up close you can still see some bumps where the holes were but once it gets LineX'd you won't see a thing.

 

[Wheelingnoob]

Thank you very much! Getting engaged on the long weekend gives me an excuse to "celebrate" the long weekend on a yearly basis and go wheeling. She might think I'm even attempting to be romantic.... hahah

Yah the holes turned out great. Some of the holes are welded up and some were filled with some type of epoxy. I should get more info on exactly what the product used was because several people have asked. All of the holes that had easy access to the rear of the holes, were welded and then primed and painted. Any of the holes where we could not get in behind, were filled with the epoxy substance. I didnt want to have bare welds that had an opportunity to rust, seeing as how I wouldnt be able to prime/paint the backside of them. My friend is a really good fabricator so I have to give credit to him on how well it turned out. Up close you can still see some bumps where the holes were but once it gets LineX'd you won't see a thing.

Yeah I did the same a few years ago then we got married on August long weekend so its a good way to get out of town for a few days. Mine too loves camping and 4x4ing so any excuse is good to get out of town for a weekend.

 

[rickashay]

Yeah I did the same a few years ago then we got married on August long weekend so its a good way to get out of town for a few days. Mine too loves camping and 4x4ing so any excuse is good to get out of town for a weekend.

It's perfect! Super glad I found a keeper that doesn't mind my terrible Toyota temptations. lol

My brother tagged along this weekend. I actually gave him my old DSLR and he went and bought a 50mm prime lens (nifty fifty). That's his only lens and it's kind of neat seeing his perspective with ONLY that lens to choose from. He's getting better at photography too, so I thought I'd share a couple on his behalf:


IMG_4563.jpg by chaser88, on Flickr


IMG_4596.jpg by chaser88, on Flickr


IMG_4608.jpg by chaser88, on Flickr


IMG_4613.jpg by chaser88, on Flickr


IMG_4623.jpg by chaser88, on Flickr

Castle Falls - my favorite mountain oasis:

IMG_4631.jpg by chaser88, on Flickr

 

[Wheelingnoob]

I need to get out that side of the Rockys next year. We are talking about doing a week or so out there exploring.

Keep up the good work, its looking great!