Articles

  • 2018 Lexus GX460 Build: Armoring up with White Knuckle Off-Road Rock Sliders

    2018 Lexus GX460 Build: Armoring up with White Knuckle Off-Road Rock Sliders

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    One major aspect of the quest to make a properly capable off-road rig out of my 2018 Lexus GX460 has been improving and increasing protection from the things that try to damage it on the trail. With a big, Aussie-style metal bumper fitted up front, the next step was to ditch the stock running boards…

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  • My Land Cruiser Prado – Modifying It; Part 3

    My Land Cruiser Prado – Modifying It; Part 3

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    My 1996 Toyota Land Cruiser Prado has now been on US soil for over a year. For better or worse, it was completely stock when I bought it. It was well maintained but it needed some modernization. After some basic maintenance updates, I began modifying it. First, it received a new radio and suspension. I…

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  • 2018 Lexus GX460 Build: Out with the old, prep for the new

    2018 Lexus GX460 Build: Out with the old, prep for the new

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    My 2018 Lexus GX460 has come a long way in the roughly two years I’ve had it. It has received mechanical, livability, armor, and technology updates thanks to many partners joining in on the project along the way. In this update I’ll run through a few miscellaneous things that I’ve done to it recently, from…

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  • I sold my Jag on Cars and Bids and it was a great experience

    I sold my Jag on Cars and Bids and it was a great experience

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    My 1986 Jaguar XJ6 was a fun car to own. I think it’s one of the all-time great sedan designs. The interior was comfortable. And having a Chevy V8 under the hood certainly didn’t hurt the ownership experience. Still, during my few years with the car, I only put a few thousand miles on it.…

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  • 2018 Lexus GX460 Build Project: Adding CarPlay with Grom’s VLine VL2 kit

    2018 Lexus GX460 Build Project: Adding CarPlay with Grom’s VLine VL2 kit

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    Nowadays, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are commonplace in production passenger vehicles. I always enjoy the former when driving new press cars, an appreciation that came about sometime after I had already purchased my 2018 Lexus GX460 which didn’t come with this tech. Thankfully, the automotive aftermarket is flush with ingenuity. To bring my GX’s…

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  • My Land Cruiser Prado – Modifying It; Part 1

    My Land Cruiser Prado – Modifying It; Part 1

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    The 1996 Toyota Land Cruiser Prado that I bought in September was in very good condition. But it wasn’t perfect. In order to make this a reliable daily driver and be ready for the New England winter, I had to perform some maintenance and modifications to it. But before I did that, I did something…

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  • 2018 Lexus GX460: Project Introduction

    2018 Lexus GX460: Project Introduction

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    Hooniverse has housed stories about a select few of my vehicular doings over the years. It started with the Challenger, then the VehiCROSS, MR2, WRX, a 4Runner, Corvette, another 4Runner, a Miata, and a third 4Runner. Now it’s time to introduce my most recent build, a 2018 Lexus GX460. We discuss it regularly on The…

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  • This is my “new” JDM Toyota Land Cruiser

    This is my “new” JDM Toyota Land Cruiser

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    I needed a second car. I knew what I needed functionally but wasn’t sure what I wanted. Actually, I wanted my Bronco, but my wife wouldn’t relinquish it. So I started looking for something else. I looked at so many cars that I started to hate looking at cars. Ultimately, I bought something I didn’t…

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  • Cozy camping in my Montero at a race track was wonderful

    Cozy camping in my Montero at a race track was wonderful

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    I recently spent a weekend at a 24 Hours of Lemons race event. You can read about that here. Today though, I’m taking some time to talk about how I slept at the event. The year prior, I first attempted to sleep inside my Montero. The next night I smartened up and set up a…

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  • Time to do something I said I wouldn’t… put a tent on the roof of my old Montero

    Time to do something I said I wouldn’t… put a tent on the roof of my old Montero

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    I said I wasn’t going to put a roof on top of my 1991 Mitsubishi Montero. Plans change. Especially when those plans change to work around an incredibly light bit of kit that I can easily take on and off my truck. The fine folks at Go Fast Campers reached out to see if I…

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