Wade Pat2

Haha. To be fair, my current mentality of trying to really learn and listen was hard earned from many years of off-roading while not listening and learning the more difficult and more costly way. It's always a fight to go slow when we enjoy something I guess.

Second drive and I happy to be on this humbling sand learning journey. I watch in amazement how easy many of you make it look in all variety of cars. Next upgrade will be shocks. Rear are 22 years old so it is time anyways. The stock very soft shocks allowed suspension to bottom out a few times even while moving at a slow pace on last ride. Rear bumper took a little damage but quickly fixed with a few hidden tie straps. Steering was also affected from front end lift on acceleration and nose diving on deceleration and tight turns for the long heavy LC. Going with 4 foam cell 41mm Toughdog shocks from Aus. Will get pictures tomorrow after install.

From a complete Newbie, Would like to hear how this situation came about and the steps taken to be resolved?

Thanks for thinking of my request Niki. I have looked into this shop once before but have never tried it. Hoping my Cruiser stays together for awhile, at least long enough for my wife to forget how many "not broken" things I have already replaced. hahaha

This is exactly what I am hoping for. Thanks for the confirmation. Focus on learning and "project work" geared towards reliability and stock restoration.

Full list of my project so far. No mods for desert off-road driving really. and not sure if I will go that direction. I am hoping to fight the urge to modify for desert driving and enjoy it in stock form. I have had many modified vehicle for other off-road types in the past and the ability to learn driving skills on sand with stock vehicle sounds great to me. My LC is a 1999 with 200km V8 auto Maintenance- Fluid / filter for Engine,trans, and diffs. Grease prop shafts. Air filter change. Added cabin filter. PCV valve. Replaced -. Steering rack with tie rods and fluid Res, front upper/lower control arms, rear upper and lower control arms, front and rear stabilizer bar bushings. Brake Master cylinder and flush. All coil packs and spark plugs, headlights, corner lights and fog lights. Reboot and regrease CV shafts, replaced front wheel bearings and seals, front diff bearings and seals. Swapped weak 2 pinion front diff carrier with TJM carrier. Added metal lower sump and trans cover to replace broken fiber stock cover. Interior- not much done, front windshield 3m clear tint , ram ball mount integrated into dash, and remove 3rd row seats, rubber floor mats. Gear. Arb single compressor, 4 way tire inflator, tire deflator, real shovel, radio, flag, small fire extinguisher, first aid kit and I always carry basic hand tools. **Next- Trying to figure out better front recovery point that fully clears bumper and only thing not working at the moment ( stock console cooler) haha If you read this far you may think I am crazy to spens this money on such an old car. I might be but I work from home so daily car isn't a must. Also after looking at new cost, I much prefer to much much less and I really enjoy my old car project. Have always wanted an old Land Cruiser. Only problem is I can't easily do the work myself as I would in my home country. Instead I bother the poor mechanics at shop I use to let me give detailed instructions on work I want done. I also prefer to buy all the parts myself and bring to shop. Welcome to my Land Cruiser Project. Thanks for allowing me to share. Feel free to ask any question, offer ideas or even constructive criticism. I have pictures of some of the work also if anyone wants to see anything specific.

Thought I would start post to track my LC Project. I have only made one drive in the desert but have done a lot of work on my old LC. The plan is to continue replacing and upgrading things until I bring it home in 3-4 years to the US (after its 25years old). I can list all of the other work if anyone is interested. Latest modification after my first drive and having the additional bumper addition scraping sand a few times on descent. Swapped out to a simple stock style bumper cover. Should give little more bumper clearance and about 10kg less weight hanging off the front. before and after pics

Thank Again Richard and Shamil, Very good trip. I learned alot and had a good time. Your managing of the convey was great.

@Wrangeld Thanks for the reminder. I can take pictures tomorrow of front if needed so you can confirm. Will the standard Land Cruiser 100 series front tow hooks be sufficient if they are in good shape? I was already headed to shop in am so I'm sure I can have some rated ones bolted on in their place if they have them in stock. For rear I'm not sure what is there besides a pintle style hitch. Will see if I can find a replacement to bolt on with shackle for rear tomorrow if needed.

@Wrangeld quick question about radio freq. Is the Freq setting listed some where for this drive and I'm missing it or will it be sent before meet-up? I have them pre-programmed from the FAQ and looking forward to learning how they are used in a convoy.

Exactly what I was looking for! Please let me know where you got them. Yea no rear heat on mine but I do have a center console cooler that doesn't work. Haha

Good to see another old cruiser here. Mine is GCC spec and I have already spent a small fortune on it just refreshing and replacing things. Guess that's the good side of not buying new, have plenty to spend on parts. I could use some advice on front and rear recovery points if you have added some. Looking forward to meeting you and you LC soon.

Looking forward to first drive.

Thanks Wrangeld, this all sounds great and I really like that the group is focused on keeping beginners like myself and stock vehicles as a main focus. Learning off-roading techniques, enjoying the outdoors with like minded people, and using 4x4 for what it is intended is what I am after. Long gone are the days of my extreme off-roading. To much work keeping those things going. If I cant drive my car to the meet up , have fun on the drive, and then drive it back home, Im in the wrong place.

Thanks for the info Guarav ,definitely looking to learn and join a newbie ride.

Thanks for the welcome Shehab. V8 auto

Hi All, Quick intro. My wife and I moved to Dubai about 3 years ago. Decided to live without car for awhile and enjoy the city. Now we are looking to enjoy more of the desert with some easy going offorading. I purchased and old 100 series Land Cruiser and have begun refreshing it to last another 20 years. I have always wanted one and they are not as common where we are from in US (Louisiana). I have had 4wd vehicles my whole life but have only done mud and rock crawling type trials. Also really enjoyed working on my own cars but no so easy in Dubai Marina:). Never been in the sand and would love to learn. Really looking for a club that offers some easy going type rides and not so much dune bashing. Few old pictures of my modified Jeep rock crawling in US (Oklahoma). Current Land Cruiser 100 series. Drivetrain and Steering fully replaced or refreshed with Toyota parts. Have Radio, ARB comp, deflator, tow rope, recovery boards, Rear Factory locker, Installing TJM front locker. Will not be adding Lift since I would like to keep it as stock looking as possible. Still need shovel, flag, and check recovery points. Looking forward to going on a newbie ride soon and seeing if Carnity is a club that fits for us.