2005 Double Cab 4x4 Daily Driver (warning: pic heavy, little OT)

Got this checked off my list today. Pretty nice.

$60 Loncky Custom Fit Black Genuine Leather Steering Wheel Cover for Toyota Land Cruiser 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 Accessories Car Interior Hand Stitched OEM Parts

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B019H9DJFM?ie=UTF8

Oiringal crappy SR5/XSP wheel

 

Upgraded my rear view mirror to an auto dimming unit.

 

Oh yeah that’s nice

 

Thanks, def recommend it!

 

After getting my new autodim mirror from a wrecker on fleabay, I had to wait for the OEM harness to come in at the dealer. When I went into the dealer to pick it up, the package looked so old, it had that NOS vintage feel. The the parts guy looked pretty puzzled.



Anywho, I pulled out the center console overhead thing and pinned out switched 12V and ground. Here it is for you DC owners BTW.



Of course just before I started stripping to solder, I noticed I already had the factory harness tucked up under the headliner! Score.



Click, and its all powered and working like new.



To anyone who needs an OEM auto-dim wiring harness, hit me up and I'll gladly send it to you. It's only got two pins at + and - so only useful as is for auto-dim feature, but can be repinned to add temp, compass, camera, etc. Of course, DC and Sequoia already have these features in the overhead console. I found lots of great info from @shifty` and others here and here which inspired this upgrade.

Also, replaced some bumper caps, as one was getting a little loose and didn't want to fall out and look like I actually use this creampuff as a truck.

 

do you even work?

I wish I had this much time to spend on my truck haha. Love it all.

 

Actually I’m working right now while messing with my truck. I work 7 days straight, off for 7. You can get a lot done with 2 weeks off every month.

 

Cool glasses!

 

already regretting the selfie

 

Rule #1 for DC Owners: Check up in the headliner first

Seems like almost all DC have the mirror harness already up there. I think I've seen one DC owner report they couldn't find it.

To that point, I've got a complete OEM DC roof harness, still in the box. I picked it up off eBay a couple years ago. I picked it up not knowing whether it would be a direct plug-and-play in an AC truck (still not sure if it is), thinking I'd pop it in, and have temp, mirror, and other fun features. I still haven't abandoned the idea, but if someone really wants it and is willing to pay the stealership pricing I paid, hit me up. Likewise, if anyone knows whether it'll be plug-and-play, I guess I'm interested to know. I tried comparing the EWD for the AC and DC and couldn't legitimately tell...

 

Looking to add some katzkin leather to my Tundra as well. Do you feel like it improved seat comfort any? I feel like the OE seats need a bit more side/hip bolstering and I haven't been able to find the right comfort for long drives. I may consider adding more foam and bolstering when I get the leather put on as well.

 

Do I think it improved comfort? Definitely. But it could definitely be improved upon further. Specifically, I wish I had more lumbar support and side bolstering. Adding additional foam seems like a good idea, as long as the leather fits over it. The covers are very tight and don't stretch. If taking to an upholstery shop, I'll bet they can sort you out. But it might be a little more difficult at home. If you're doing it yourself, perhaps you can source some NOS seat foam to install at the same time.

 

I'm probably going to have an upholstery shop do the leather install and have them add on some bolstering while they're at it. Hopefully there are some options to add additional padding. I just find myself fidgeting way too much in the stock seats trying to find a more comfortable position and the stock cloth is very sticky. The other thing I was thinking about adding was seat jackers to see if that would help. Lastly if my budget supports a nice set of Scheel-Mann seats seem like the ultimate upgrade

 

@912 WOW. That is a very detailed build.I found your build page as I was browsing ways to brighten up lights on my 06 DC. You have a very nice truck.

I had a question all those LED upgrades you did is it all plug and play?

 

Thanks a lot! Yes, everything is plug and play except the retrofit headlights. You'll need an LED flasher relay for the blinkers as well.

 

Is that the relay you posted the link of with the bulbs ? How many of those do I need? And where do they go? I’m sorry I’m not very mechanically inclined. I’m YouTube certified at best. I can follow video instructions that means lol.


As far as headlight retrofit what all does that entail? Where can I buy what I need to buy?


Thanks again for the reply and awesome thread

 

Yes, the flasher is linked above in that post. You only need one. To find it, turn on your hazards and look under the dash near your parking brake pedal. It'll be the little box that's clicking. Turn off the flashers, pull it out, and replace with the LED flasher. Pretty easy to do and will be pretty evident when you look under there.

As far as retrofits go, you can build yourself or have some made. They range anywhere from a few hundred dollars in parts to well over $1000 for a custom set. For some ideas, check out https://www.bxbuilt.com and https://www.theretrofitsource.com. Hope that helps!

 

Ok, so much to take in here

so I have the boring non-fancy overhead console (blanks where the temp/clock/etc display would be and no sunroof buttons)

I’m ~prolly~ never going to be able to experience the joy of a sunroof but I’m eyeing an overhead console with display. I already have a thread seeking help with this… was that hidden connector you mention just for the auto-dim? I didn’t notice anything else tucked up there in mine, but I didn’t take a flashlight either so if there’s anything I surely just missed it

it sounds like getting the overhead display going in mine shouldn’t be too terrible… and with your chronicling of your wheel controls I feel pretty darn good about that, too

I feel I’ve been handed a sacred text of hints and tips from you, @shifty` @BubbaW and @assassin10000

I almost feel guilty that my truck isn’t in as preserved condition, hahahaha

I just got and put in a signal stalk with fog light twist-dial thing and managed to not screw anything up (some say “Plug’n’Play, I say “Fancy LEGO”) and I’m already lining up a shop to do the wiring which I don’t trust myself to do…

only snag is the make out session my trucks front end had with another truck 2 years ago… once I get a little frame pull to get the front of my driver side frame straightened up, then I can put on my beefy-boy bumper and get the driving lights run to the fog light wiring

I have some brackets being made (*NOT* cheap) so I can put on some 2nd Gen Amp steps…

I ordered the power heated leather driver seat, heated leather passenger and leather back seat from some donor trucks and ordered some replacement leather covers for the fronts… the original fronts (WI) were notably darker from almost 2 decades of likely heavy use than the rears (WA) and had some cosmetic issues, so hopefully the fronts and back will be close enough for science after the cover replacement; either way the difference should be less noticeable regardless as the fronts were quite dirty… I’m 90% sure that they will work once I plug them in since the heat control switches were pre-wired and light up when my headlights are on…

honestly I think my cosmetic upgrades are just about done if/when I put in that overhead console and the steering wheel, and you’ve solidified my confidence that both can be done fairly easily

I think I’ll talk to a local ‘Rod shop about the possibility of installing a sunroof from a donor truck… they might not want to use one off a donor, but it never hurts to ask. There’s one at a yard near-ish me for like $260 and the truck it came off of looked flawless aside from the sharp front passenger impact that sent it to the yard in the first place (no upper body/roof damage whatsoever)

I’m just so excited!!!

again, I can’t thank you all enough

@assassin10000
@shifty`
@BubbaW
@912
And any others I’ve missed from the other threads I’ve started…

(sorry for abusing the @ feature instead of the quote button, but I really wanted to get my thanks out)

I’ll follow up as anything and everything continues to fall into place. He’s not there yet but legit MOST of it is getting really close

 

I also went with the wood grain swap out. I wasn’t going to before but when my driver side door grip ripped apart I went to a salvage yard that showed that they had the panel I needed… just as I was about to check out I realized that the “funky/puffy looking cloth” was leather, which really made me feel dumb since I hadn’t connected the dots even when taking the wood grain switch out…

for $50/each WITH all 4 switches and only missing the LH rear ashtray insert, I would’ve been an idiot to pass them up.

The cup holder and center bezel followed a few months later, and after almost 1 year I’ve finally ordered that elusive LH rear ashtray (wasn’t trying to pay $100 after shipping for JUST the ashtray)… but $65 out the door after shipping wasn’t exactly a bargain for the one I just ordered… but still better than $100…

a number of smaller tweaks and needed fixes to come over another year or so, but I love this truck so much and it keeps impressing me more and more with each passing year

 

The overhead console display has one plug if i remember correctly and it's a fairly good sized plug with many pins. The harness I found for the mirror is simply two wires, switched 12v(+) and (-). It could be used for anything, but was put in for the purpose of plugging into the mirror.

Another sunroof option is a Webasto unit, but I think they run ~$1400.

@Rampage7 sounds like you need your own build thread! Nice work, I'd love to follow along with your upgrades!

 

So I finally got some of the stuffs I ordered and looked up inside my overhead again… only this…


only 2 wires to it and no sign of the harness for the ADM… I imagine it’s not buried super far out of reach if it was in there…

only wires are to the bottom left and the bottom right… and yeah, no sign on any other wires/cables/harnesses.

just like the rest of this thing (and everything else this year), this is gonna take a bit longer, cost a little more and be more complicated than I’d hoped, hahaha

I’m guessing that my next move is that factory harness, but I’m left wondering what to do regarding the ADM. If there is a harness option with that connector already included then that’s fine, otherwise I may not bother and just use it without its fancy feature… I dunno, maybe I’ll just keep my old one where it is

 

I would start by making a diagram of each pin on that plug and its function. Then you’ll know what you need to wire.

 

Small perk of working overnight is that the local Toyota dealership is a ghost town on my way home on Sunday morning. A little comparo…

 

Still like the look of the 1gt better, but I am a little biased. Doesn't loom much bigger in size compared to yours...

 

Same, prefer the look overall of the FGT. Especially in the rear. Love the new interior tho :drool

 

Yeah, there’s something just bloated and tired looking about some of these current trucks from most maker. Even at 16+ years old, FG’s still look lively and full of life

Some of the interior stuffs I’m also fond of, like crew cabs that have sliding rear seats so they can recline a little, but they usually have that weird extra 6” of cab behind the rear door to accommodate it which looks odd to me…

but I DON’T like how much molded plastic there is on some of these body designs

 

We had our second kid in May, so things have been hectic. We've also been vacationing every month since my wife left her job. But I've still managed a few updates to the FGT!

I added a switch pod to the overhead console. So far, I have only hooked up a set of ditch lights:



I also swapped over to some Freedom Offroad UCA, thanks to 1stgenoffroad.com (https://www.1stgenoffroad.com/store/p687/FreedomOffRoadUCA2000-2006Tundra2001-2007Sequoia.html#/):




I did a GX460 brake swap, with machining from Jim Smola:



I added some Diode Dynamics SS3 Pro SAE fog lights to the factory location. WOW, these things are amazing! https://www.diodedynamics.com/stage-series-3-sae-dot-white-pro-led-pod-pair.html



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lsOGm6b-Wk

I also installed one of the controversial grills from TEQ but had to send it back (I'm waiting for them to send me the right color match). Coming soon.

 

What are your thoughts on the GX upgrade? Any improvement in pedal feel?

 

It's an incredible improvement in stopping power. It'll chirp the front tires now, which it wouldn't do previously. As far as pedal feel, it's better than before, but it does have a soft initial engagement. I also have a GX460 so I can confirm it feels the same as the Lexus. I am still going to do stainless lines, but haven't gotten to it yet as my line wrench flexed before the lines broke free and I didn't want to round them off. Overall, it feels like a safe truck now! Definitely recommend it over stock.