Nomad's Lexus GX 460 - aka - Land Cruiser Prado 150

Full size roof rack mounted, a time consuming DIY My goals with this rack: DIY, full roof size, able to stand on, as low profile as possible, can connect to stock rails and be quickly removable.  The heavy duty cross bars I made work fine for hauling beach items and lumber from the 'Depot. I was planning on making a fairing to eliminate the little bit of wind noise and adding flat platform material to it. The larger issue I ran into was they were not long enough to support a full 8' sheet of material, leaving the front to bend down toward the roof, and the curve of the roof track made them uneven for a flat cover.  Reality is I felt the itch to do a project and weld more. I want a solid platform to mount items to that are odd shapes or heavier, like max tracks, an awning, or a spare 5 gallons of gas for offroad excursions in this thirsty truck.  But really, who doesn't want to look like they are on a safari, rolling curbs in the Target parking lot? After looking at severa...

Spend $1300 on wheels? Spend another $1200 on tires? No thanks. Not this guy... I tried the Rust-Oleum Metallic "Oil Rubbed Bronze" paint to see what it looks like. Figured I'd share what it looked like. It does a good job of looking like some of the other bronze wheels available but I actually preferred the satin black. OEM Sequoia wheels, poorly painted when I picked them up  After replacing my JK Wrangler with this  GX460  trying to make it more of what the "Land Cruiser Prado" was made to be in all other countries.  It looks ok from a distance but thick paint is sagging in areas. Yes, this has way better tech, a better engine, more comfortable interior, quieter more powerful engine, and more, that the Jeep JK didn't have, but it lacks in the looks department (and, as Jeepers say ad nauseum - no removable top or doors).  After chemical stripping. The aluminum surface is perfect So I want less "Latte Lounger", and more "Capable Cruiser"...

 Without getting into arguing about Toyota "Lifetime Transmission Fluid" claims, or the ususal debates... Lets just say I read and made my decision based on logic, mechanical knowledge, coupled with experiences of my own and others and my comfort/time/budget levels...  I chose the quick maintenance option of the ATF drain and fill method. Why? It is quick, easy, least intrusive, and introduces nearly no known issues. I have high mileage vehicle: 170k and I have no record of the ATF being serviced before I bought it.  I plan on getting another 100k out of it but with all the other maintenance time I've spent recently I wanted to hold off on a full pan/filter/gasket job. I can tackle all that later. 3-4 drain and fills will swap out a lot of the old fluid and only takes about 30 minutes and uses 2 sockets.  You can do this on a cold vehicle all in 1 day (drive a few miles and let it cool) on consecutive days, or with each oil change or whenever you find time.  Jus...

The GX460 has a 4.6L V8 but you'd never know it in stock form. Is it a Hellcat screamer or Coyote growler? Not really. But I do think it should at least SOUND like a V8.  There's just something about a good V8 sound, not a straight piped obnoxious one, but a well tuned, healthy V8 sound... The GX is whisper quiet in stock form. While I certainly can appreciate the engineer's emphasis on luxury, I'm only here because: "capable offroader with V8" and any luxury is a bonus. I didn't buy this for posh walnut trim and heated and cooled seats... but I ain't complaining! I purchased a Magnaflow #11226 muffler. I could have gotten a slightly longer body version but I'd read several reviews so was confident it'd be ok. Worst case scenario I either weld in the stocker, take it to a pro to redo, or buy an off the shelf bolt on catback system. UPDATE: I recommend a longer muffler body. I should have gone with my gut and gotten a 18" or longer body. Ma...