Rebuilt 2005 GX470 Project - From CO to TX and Back (soon)

Tightened top hat bolts on the front coilovers, and lower ball joint bolt on front control arms. Not enough room to get the torque wrench on those.

Then I was going to put the spare tire back in and things escalated lol. Noticed this loose hanging plastic hose. Ended up being connected to the air compressor used for the OEM rear air springs. Thought I had already removed that for some reason, but I guess I only removed the expansion tank for it way back when. So few bolts later it's gone. It was actually a little loose back there due to the worn out bushings, and pretty sure this was one of the occasional noises I was getting from the back also.

Good to know there's spare power running back there. Could eventually install a better on-board compressor or something...something to think on for the future.

 

Going to check out a hardtop for the M3 tomorrow or Monday! Found one in Dallas relatively cheap. There's like 4 available in the DFW metro. And like 0 in Denver lol. Been looking for one for years now. But the mounting hardware used to be impossible to find. Looks like ECS is now carrying them though! Ordered that hardware last night, should arrive tomorrow.

+ $346 for hardware
+ $1500 for Hardtop w/I hardware. Also has new Suede headliner seller says was $450.

Other FB marketplace hardtops are all $2200 - $3000 in varying conditions

 

That's a steal! Does it include the stand? Shame it's not black.

 

ikr! I need to ask about the stand, I assume it is...The other sellers on FB are including the stand in their sale.

The whole car needs a respray, tbh. Be cool if it was in Jet Black, but no biggie.

 

The Z3 needs its hood fixed from my stupidity letting it hit the garage opener 100x but I can get the entire car properly done in Mexico for under 3k so that's going to wait.

 

That's a solid price for a paint job. I haven't shopped around for one yet. But the rear fender apparently have some bondo cracking going on. Didn't know about that when i bought it. I'm going to *TRY* and paint the GX myself and depending on how that goes, whenever I get to it, I may try painting the M3 myself also. That's a big maybe

 

It's crazy how inexpensive body work is there. in 2004, I had my 80 series LC fully repainted for 1700!

 

the lowest price i've been quoted for a respray on the M3 was $1500, but that was a random dude on FB....I still want to try it myself in one of those inflatable paint booths. It's just so much time and prep work! I'll probably remove the GX hood and paint it, see how it comes out. If i'm feeling confident I'll continue on.

 

The 2tone color scheme is growing on me really quickly! But it will eventually get paint matched whenever the whole car gets resprayed. The rear window is like twice as large as the soft tops, so that's really nice. Headliner was redone in suede already.

 

It's pretty cool.

 

Be cooler if it was color matched ...

 

Bye bye babies. See you in a month!

 

Where are they headed? Somebody you know receiving them?

 

To my cousin's place in Englewood.

 

Finally got around to installing this. No idea where that bag of hardware that came with it went. Lost somewhere in the move. In a random bin somewhere I can't seem to find. It may be in the Jeep parts bin that I put in the back of the JK being transported to CO. It's mostly the shims so that it doesn't run against the OEM bumper, and bolts. So don't really need the shims. Went and picked up new bolts from Ace hardware

+ $24 for the bolts.

Also missing a part of the OEM lower tow rated hitch hardware that mounted to the middle of the bumper. So like 6 out of the 8 bolts are installed atm. Will check all my bins as I pack up and load things into the uhual trailer. But it should be good enough.

 

I put a $50 refundable reservation for the Slate electric mini truck. Due end of 2026. I've wanted a mini truck for a while and this bare bones all customizable truck seems like pretty cool fit. Supposed to be in the $20k range after federal rebates. We'll see if I end up getting one. 20 months is a long ways away.

Just check out the vid. Also keep in mind the dude in the vid is 6'8 I think he said towards the end. So tons of interior space for me being over a foot shorter.

Only has equivalent of 200hp, 0-60 in 8 seconds, rear wheel drive. But a dual motor awd is rumored to be announced later one, which is much rather have.

https://www.slate.auto/en

https://youtu.be/kWq3jhxOWUI?si=5fAtyZuELYkXIeSg

 

vehicles both made it to my cousin's place! So that's a relief. 3 more weeks till I load up the uhual with my remaining stuff, and pets into the GX for an 800 mile drive. I'm hoping I can fit everything into the 6x12 enclosed uhual trailer. Tools first, furniture last. If I need to leave anything behind, so be it. Can't wait to be back in CO!

 

Is your house still inhabited? If so how long until you can have it back?

 

Ya, their lease ends in Nov. But tbh, I hope they renew. I'm making a small profit every month. Staying with my cousin is cheaper than my mortgage. So the plan is to pay off some debt. Then reevaluate in a 2 years. Hopefully the housing market is still in my favor, and I can buy a second house for myself and rent out the current one indefinitely.

However, Denver's rental market, for apartments at least, is starting to stagnate. They built something like 21k units in the last few years. Prices are starting to come back down.

 

Even better!

 

Dang, uhual is expensive! I had first reserved a 6x12x5' trailer to tow behind the GX. But as I'm packing and laying things out, considering how much stuff I have left that I probably can't sell, looking like it wouldn't fit. Started to do a little research and everyone saying Penske has much nicer trucks, even if they're a little more expensive. Well, they're actually a lot cheaper than uhual!

Was going to be a little under $600 after taxes and fees for Uhual for just the trailer. With Penske I was able to get a 16' truck and a car carrier for $868 after taxes and fees! So I'll have more than enough room in the truck, and tow the GX instead.

Last time i got a 15' truck and car carrier from Uhual it was more like $1400 after taxes and fees.