After the sale of my '98 Ram 1500 I haven't had a rig in the past 5 years...
I fixed that a couple of months ago when I bought a new to me '07 GX 470.
It had 130K miles, 2 previous owners and an impeccable service history nearly all done by Lexus. One of the airbags was leaking, but that's okay as the suspension is the first thing I upgraded. No real rust on the frame, but the stock wheels had a bit of rust. While doing the lift I discovered one of the gas tank straps was completely rusted through, which blew my mind given the overall lack of rust anywhere else.
I am calling it Sam for Samwise Gamgee the best travel companion anyone could have.
Here's a pic the day I brought him home. Originally, I didn't care about the damage to the driver's side step because I was going to just remove the steps... But my wife likes it and she hated getting in or out of my Ram, so for now it will stay.
First I installed the Ironman 2.5" stage 1 lift.
I originally wanted skinny 34's, but after reading online that the largest tire the stock underneath spare spot would hold was 265/70/17, I went with that. I wasn't going to put out the extra $$$ for a new bumper with a tire carrier so I was fine with the size. I was only looking for like a C load rating but got a really good deal on these Yokohama Geolanders which were 10 ply. But the spare fits in there with very little room to spare.
The wheels are knock off 4 Runner TRD wheels from eBay, but other than the logo I couldn't find a single difference between the knockoffs and my friend's OEM wheels. Those aren't scratches living near the beach sand blows everywhere. - First world problems..
And here's Sam with the new shoes on
No pics yet but I just replaced the chrome window trim which was dry rotted with all black.
So what's next...
The old Stereo/Nav system has to go...
The fog lights don't work. I've replaced the bulbs and fuse but no luck so I'll have to hunt that down.
I don't like the look of the chrome on black, so I'll be plasti-dipping the chrome to gunmetal to match the wheels.
I want to do the TRD style Grill
The headlight lenses are foggy, so I'll sand and seal those with a restoration kit
There are a few paint blemishes, scratches etc I'm going to try touching up myself.
The leather seats have seen better days, so I will get those re-covered
Like many 1st gen GX's the dash has some cracks. Part of me says to let it go because it's not too bad especially when compared to other GX's I've seen, but the other part of me says at some point they are going to stop making replacement dashes and I better get it while I can and before it gets worse. I'll probably get it next time Lexus has a parts sale. I sat on the 4th of July sale so maybe Labor Day.
I'm sure I'll find more, but I need to balance spending money on Sam or getting a divorce LOL... But my wife should remember how things were with the Ram. But maybe that's the problem; she remembers me pouring money into it for what she thought was silly.
But I'm getting ready to take it on a cross-country trip to visit my daughter in Utah. I'm planning on doing the Utah portion of the Pony Express Trail. I think that will be a nice easy shake down of all the upgrades to date.
I fixed that a couple of months ago when I bought a new to me '07 GX 470.
It had 130K miles, 2 previous owners and an impeccable service history nearly all done by Lexus. One of the airbags was leaking, but that's okay as the suspension is the first thing I upgraded. No real rust on the frame, but the stock wheels had a bit of rust. While doing the lift I discovered one of the gas tank straps was completely rusted through, which blew my mind given the overall lack of rust anywhere else.
I am calling it Sam for Samwise Gamgee the best travel companion anyone could have.
Here's a pic the day I brought him home. Originally, I didn't care about the damage to the driver's side step because I was going to just remove the steps... But my wife likes it and she hated getting in or out of my Ram, so for now it will stay.
First I installed the Ironman 2.5" stage 1 lift.
I originally wanted skinny 34's, but after reading online that the largest tire the stock underneath spare spot would hold was 265/70/17, I went with that. I wasn't going to put out the extra $$$ for a new bumper with a tire carrier so I was fine with the size. I was only looking for like a C load rating but got a really good deal on these Yokohama Geolanders which were 10 ply. But the spare fits in there with very little room to spare.
The wheels are knock off 4 Runner TRD wheels from eBay, but other than the logo I couldn't find a single difference between the knockoffs and my friend's OEM wheels. Those aren't scratches living near the beach sand blows everywhere. - First world problems..
And here's Sam with the new shoes on
No pics yet but I just replaced the chrome window trim which was dry rotted with all black.
So what's next...
The old Stereo/Nav system has to go...
The fog lights don't work. I've replaced the bulbs and fuse but no luck so I'll have to hunt that down.
I don't like the look of the chrome on black, so I'll be plasti-dipping the chrome to gunmetal to match the wheels.
I want to do the TRD style Grill
The headlight lenses are foggy, so I'll sand and seal those with a restoration kit
There are a few paint blemishes, scratches etc I'm going to try touching up myself.
The leather seats have seen better days, so I will get those re-covered
Like many 1st gen GX's the dash has some cracks. Part of me says to let it go because it's not too bad especially when compared to other GX's I've seen, but the other part of me says at some point they are going to stop making replacement dashes and I better get it while I can and before it gets worse. I'll probably get it next time Lexus has a parts sale. I sat on the 4th of July sale so maybe Labor Day.
I'm sure I'll find more, but I need to balance spending money on Sam or getting a divorce LOL... But my wife should remember how things were with the Ram. But maybe that's the problem; she remembers me pouring money into it for what she thought was silly.
But I'm getting ready to take it on a cross-country trip to visit my daughter in Utah. I'm planning on doing the Utah portion of the Pony Express Trail. I think that will be a nice easy shake down of all the upgrades to date.
