76 series Landcruiser

Welcome to the site

Lots of mods you can do but it all depends on what you need and what you plan on doing with the new girl. You can easily throw 10's of thousands of $ at them if you want
A three inch exhaust system makes a noticeable difference to both your ears and improved performance
A good set of rubber doesn't hurt either and fuel tank size may be another consideration

There is lots of good info on Lcool or Newlandcruiser. Net worth checking out too

Good to see you, Pete 'n Shez,

Being a wagon, a bigger fuel tank capacity reduces the reliance on carrying jerrycans inside, or on a roof rack.

Agree with Alby, 3" exhaust is a must, for a couple of reasons.

Cargo barrier would be a sensible addition, and you can stack gear right to the roof in the cargo area. I'd get some bar work too, but some seem to manage without it.

UHF is a must, for lots of reasons. Tinted windows are worth it, to help aircon, and block some rays.

Lot depends on how deep your pockets are. :-)

Bob

Pete & Shez,
I bought mine just over 3 years ago. I have now just started long service leave and I am in the throes of completing my desired mods. I put an overhead console and UHF in early on and also a custom centre console. Dual batteries and Piranha BCDC were essential for my fridge. Recently I had the tinting done. Bullbar and winch were also essential early on together with LED driving lights and good rubber (Mickey Thompson ATZs). I also fitted a Safari snorkel to replace the "elevated air intake" (the original is not a sealed waterproof snorkel). Two weeks ago I had Harrop Eaton lockers installed and in the next few weeks I am having EFS suspension, 3" exhaust, long range tank, fuel pre filter and radiator bash plate fitted. The truck is very capable off the shelf. The interior was sparse though. I love driving it now and I am looking forward to enjoying the new mods. I am sure if you do a bit at a time you will get a great deal of pleasure from your new purchase.
Ken

As Alby said, what do you intend doing with it? That often determines what you do and don't need. After over forty years of roaming around mountains and deserts, I always do as little as possible. I always thought if you have to modify just about everything then you have bought the wrong car.

My current car has an auto locker in the front diff. That prevented loosing the front axle in difficult mountain conditions if a front tyre lost traction or lifted off the ground.

I have done many deep water crossings so a snorkel and high diff and transmission breathers are a must.

There is nothing like mud/rock tyres in the conditions they were designed for and there is nothing like street tyres on the street so I have two sets. I bought a new set of mud/rock and fitted them to the original wheels when I bought the car then bought a new set of street tyres and wheels on ebay. The owner had taken them off his new car and could not wait to get rid of them. The cost was only $325 which I thought was not too bad for five new Bridgestone tyres and new wheels.

I use those street tyres for daily driving and all long sealed road trips but a last minute change of plans one day when I was a long way from home saw me take them over the Oodnadatta Track without any problems.

The mud/rock tyres have worked perfectly on desert sand hills and are excellent in mountains.

I have never owned a bull bar in my life and never will. So far the score is one roo hit in 1972 in the middle of the Nullarbor and nothing since. I always drive to avoid the things and it seems to work.

I have a hand winch but don't take it on every trip.

I have a long handle shovel bolted permanently across the back of the chassis.

The only other things are a UHF and a HF radio. The HF is very handy in the deserts.

The rest of the car is stock standard. I have never had any reason to change anything else.

We lined the floor and doors with Dynamat insulation in our 76, helps heaps with sound and heat
scanguage is a handy thing to have.
Diff breathers ,gearbox breathers and diff lock breathers cheap and easy to do.
If it is a new one, you will have a 130lt tank , and front and rear diff locks standard

Great wagon you will love it

Hi Pete & Shez

Welcome to ExOz - this is a great forum website.

A simple and relatively cheap addition is some bonnet struts. I used the same ones as the nissan ute has bought from eBay. Bought the fittings from a trailer shop. I had to move the fuse unit on the drivers side down by about 30mm by adding a custom made bit of bent aluminium bracket.

Cheers

Serendipity

G'day P & S

All good sound tips above. One thing I'd suggest is that you don't re-chip it, unless of course you're hell bent on upping the already adequate ante. From my research, the jury's still out on long term impact to re-chipped engines.

Before I spent a cent on any mods I would install a secondary fuel filter. There are plenty of horror stories costing thousands of dollars involving common rail diesel motors. Primary or secondary definitely A MUST HAVE. Also I am unsure but I would be looking at an EGR shutoff. Best to get onto the Landcruiser forum and check out whether an EGR block is a good thing. I know on the prado and pajero its a must have.

Hi Pete & Shez

Is it a new GXL, as it comes with some upgraded features?

A great vehicle out of the box, so to speak, without any mods.

I think asking the question the other way around might save you money. What mods don’t I need, versus, what mods should I do?

A mate and I travelled the Anne Beadell Highway and Sandy Blight Track last year. His 76 Series is stock standard, absolutely nothing added to it other than a tyre monitoring kit and it did it easily towing a Track TVAN behind it, perhaps see how yours goes before doing anything.

Enjoy, and importantly, get and use it (I’m sure you will!).

Cheer’s Baz – The Landy

Pete & Shez,

We have a 76 Series Wagaon and love the beast. I purchased if for its toughness but also to tow a large offroad trailer.
Some mods we have added are:
-Koni shocks - fantastic off the tar but a little hard on the tar;
-ARB Bull Bar & Side rails - recently completed monkey gum trail and the side rails save so much possible scrapes and damage;
-Roof Rack
-Put a chip and 3 inch Taipan exhaust - fantastic and worth it for towing in my view
-180 ltr fuel tank (bushtracker tank steel);
-Cooper AT 3 's but willl upgrade to the Cooper STMax next time as not that happy with the AT 3's
-Roof shelf which is fantastic for storage for driver and passenger stuff
-Uniden UHG upgrading to ICOM or GME next;
-Ricaro Seats x 2 - absolute must as the toyota custom seats are not good
-Outback draw system

She's a touph old rig but we love it and the fuel consumption when towing is better than friends of ours who tow with a dual cab. Great rugged truck - you will love it and as said use it as it is such a capabile vehicle.