If you have listened to our podcasts and read some of our articles over the last 15 years, you know that we typically prefer to keep our overland vehicles as close to stock as possible, especially the mechanical components. Several vehicles nowadays are terrific to use off-road straight out of the sales lot and really don’t need anything much to start exploring the remote corners of the planet—the Wrangler Rubicon comes to mind.
But like everything else in life, there is an exception to every rule. And we are excited to present a very good example of this exception.
If you are going to modify your vehicle, you may as well go all in and do it right.
This is what Greg did with his Lexus 570, and the result is quite simply astonishing.
Starting with a 2011 Lexus LX 570, which, as most people know, is the equivalent of a 200-Series LandCruiser and, therefore, an excellent overland platform, the seller went through serious modifications to make this vehicle extremely capable. Special attention has been given to the front and rear suspensions to provide additional clearance while retaining the original AHC capabilities.
Here are the specs of the foundation vehicle:
SPECS
– 2011 LX 570
– VIN JTJHY7AX8B4061637
– Colors: Mercury Metallic/Cashmere
– Current mileage: 125,940
MAINTENANCE – All Lexus dealership
– Full baseline fluid flush and filters early and mid-2019
– New water pump at 99,000 miles, 9/2017
– New radiator at 124,000 miles, 7/2019
– Brakes, front and rear with fluid, 11/2018
– Tires, 5/2019
OPTIONS
– Dynamic cruise
– Heated steering wheel
– Cool box
– Mark Levinson sound system
You don’t see a lot (yet) of LX 570s modified for overland travel, so to take this one to this level required a lot of creativity and research, which you can appreciate when you see the list of modifications.
MODIFICATIONS
Front Suspension
– OEM Tundra lower control arms
– SPC adjustable upper control arms
– OEM Tundra CV shafts
– OEM Tundra steering components
– BDS skid plate
– Relentless Fabrications Tundra body mount chop brackets
– 4.88 gears
– ARB locker
Rear Suspension
– Custom fabricated 4.5-inch lift
– Spidertrax wheel spacers to match front width
– 4.88 gears
– ARB locker
Wheels/Tires
– Icon Six Speed wheels (x5)
– 37-inch Cooper AT3 XLT tires (x5)
Armor
– This front bumper was designed for a 16+ LC but welded and shaped to match the lines of the LX
– Rhino 4×4 3D Evolution front bumper with LED fog lights and skid plate system
– Comeup Seal Gen 2 9.5k winch with wireless and wired remotes
– Slee rear bumper, probably the nicest aftermarket bumper available for anything
– Slee sliders, which are harder to find than a manual, left-hand-drive VDJ200 in the US with a rooftop tent
Interior and accessories
– ARB rear drawers
– Prinsu roof rack w/LED light bar
– LED headlights and fog lights
– Genesis Off-road G Screen Monitoring System with ARB compressor monitor
– Switch Pro 8 switch panel
– PowerTrays bracket for switch-pro with circuit fuse box and terminal block
– TJM Airtech snorkel
Engine Compartment
– Slee primary battery tray with group 31 Odyssey battery
– Slee second battery tray with group 35 Odyssey battery
– Genesis Off-road dual battery power management system
– Slee ARB twin compressor mount
– ARB twin compressor
With the regearing of the axles, the power should still be plenty sufficient even with the 37-inch tires. We would be a bit concerned about fuel economy, but most vehicles don’t do great on trails anyway, so you should not have any problem keeping up with your friends. At 125,000 miles, the engine and transmission should be barely broken in. And the extensive upgrades mean that almost every other wearable components have been replaced. And finally, with a clean title, rust-free state provenance, you could almost say you’re buying a new car.
However, as you can imagine, the total cost and labor of this incredible build won’t come cheap. The seller is asking $55,000.
And that’s not counting all the time you will spend talking about it to other people on the trail.
But hey, we only live once. Click here to see the original listing on the Expedition Portal forum.
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