Off-road Taupedo
The 76 Series Landcruiser wagon is fast becoming the weapon of choice for those that want to get down and dirty, and do some serious off-roading. Add one Jmacx Coil Conversion with 4 inches of lift and 35″ tyres and you are looking at one truly unstoppable combination. Colour choice is a no-brainer for this caliber of 4WD. Sandy Taupe – is there any other colour?
After a bit of inspiration from previous builds that we’ve done and a love of the almighty 70 Series, our customer Adam approached us to build the ultimate track tackler with the Sandy Taupe theme to run not only on the top side of the wagon, but the undercarriage as well. The Jmacx coil cradle, panard rod, control and radius arms all received the Sandy Taupe treatment before they left the sunshine state and lobbed on our workshop floor.
This set-up was done on Kings remote res shocks all round with the assistance of Airbag Man airbags in the rear coils giving this big wagon a completely legal four inches of lift on 35 inch tyres with an upgraded GVM to 3900kgs. As usual the Jmacx conversion has enhanced the off-road ability of the 76 ten fold.
Setting the look of this weapon right off is the Method NV Machined face wheels which measure in at 17×8.5 inches and they’re wrapped in a set of BF Goodrich KM3 mud tyres measuring 315/70/17 or 35 inches of chunky goodness in the old scale.
Bar work is the TJM T13 Outback steel winch bar, brush bars and side steps and the bar houses a TJM 12,000lbs Torq winch for recovery and a set of Stedi Type X Pro LED driving lights for turning night into day.
A Kaymar rear bar with single wheel carrier takes care of protection for the departures off-road and also gets the weight of the heavy 35 inch tyre and wheel off the back door.
The factory two piece Toyota snorkel was scrapped in favour of the higher-flowing and better sealed TJM Airtec snorkel. A HPD catch can and Diesel Care primary fuel filter was also fitted for giving the engine the maximum protection from fuel and oil contaminates and prolonging engine life.
The standard GXL flares were colour coded to match the Sandy Taupe theme and a set of Bushranger Flexi Flares were fitted to keep the law at bay with those big boots. The chrome GXL grille and mirrors were also blacked out for a tougher look.
A Rhino Pioneer platform was also fitted with a Darche Eclipse 2.5m side awning to beat the harsh Aussie elements while out and about on the tracks. The platform is 2.1 m long, giving plenty of extra storage room up-top for all the camping gear and has a Stedi 51 inch Slimline light bar for additional nighttime off-road driving enhancement.
One of the biggest downfalls of the 70 Series Landcruiser is the factory sound insulation leaves a lot to be desired. To rectify this, we completely stripped the interior out and fitted Dynamat Xtreme sound deadening to the doors and floor dramatically reducing road noise and body panel vibration.
The centre console was upgraded to the Department of the Interior Full Length Floor Console and an overhead console was fitted with a unit from Cruiser Consoles. A GME XRS370 UHF radio was fitted with the AE4700 All-terrain series antenna to take care of communications with that neat hide-away look.
The interior was finished off with a set of Black Duck 4 Elements seat covers and some Lightforce factory style switches to keep all the lighting switches looking neat and tidy.
This Sandy Taupe 76 wagon is one weapon of of an off-roader and well set up to take on the hardest tracks this country has to offer. Keep an eye out for Adam and his beast out on the tracks.
