Toyota LandCruiser 300 GR Sport special 4×4

One of the great things about Toyota LandCruisers is that as soon as a new one hits the market, LC enthusiasts will modify them and make them their own.

With so much heritage behind the LandCruiser badge, those who own them will always come back to the brand when it’s time for a new off-roader. That wasn’t the case for GR Sport owner Bruce Stewart. He came from driving a double-cab for 20 years but grew up traveling in LandCruisers.

“I grew up camping and off-roading with my family in my dad’s 55 and 60 Series LandCruisers, which always led me to want one for myself,” Bruce told us.

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That time has finally arrived with the launch of the 300 Series, as its teenagers have grown to a size that isn’t ideal for the cramped backseat of a ute.

Bruce opted for the most capable LandCruiser in the 300 Series range, with the GR Sport offering the additional articulation of triple locking differentials and intelligent e-KDSS suspension… but the factory offerings weren’t enough for Bruce’s off-road excursions and he had a long list of extras and modifications planned for it .

Starting out with a vehicle that was arguably the pinnacle of today’s available 4×4 wagons, Bruce wasn’t looking to fit any second-rate product into his Cruiser. An ARB Summit Mk2 bull bar sits up front, with side rails also extending from the ARB to the sliders. A 12,000-lb Warn EVO winch is built into the bull bar, and a pair of Supernova Infinite 8.5 LED driving lights sit overhead along with a GME UHF antenna.

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The underbody protection comes with a set of Custom Offroad’s stainless steel plates; four-piece set protects the bottom of the radiator, crankcase, transmission and transfer case.

At the rear of the Cruiser, a bar from The Cruiser Company not only protects the lower sections of the rear compartments, but also provides a mounting location for carrying the 35-inch spare. On the other side of the rear bar is a box containing rescue equipment and a chainsaw.

Getting from cars to wagons poses a challenge for storage space, and Bruce admits he had to be smart when loading the Cruiser.

“After using a double cab before, the reduced space at the back of the carriage was a new challenge,” he said. “I had to rethink how I set up other carts and replace camping gear like chairs, cooking equipment and tools with more compact items.”

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Fortunately, the GR Sport comes as a five-seat model, which leaves more room in the cargo area, which Bruce fills with the Beast Tourers drawer system.

These Queensland-made drawer systems use lightweight Thermolite, which is claimed to be lighter than most commonly used materials without sacrificing durability.

On the side of the drawers is a Dometic CFX 95L refrigerator on an MSA 4X4 cooler slide, while at the top there is a small oven to warm up delicious treats on the go. The neat table that folds down from the side of the fridge was custom-made using stainless steel by the team at Bruce’s workplace, making it easy to prepare meals and unpack the fridge.

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The team there also designed and fabricated a 105L stainless steel water tank located in the rear floor well, with a Shurflo pump and Topargee H2Flow Bluetooth flow meter feeding the rear outlet.

An ARB Base Rack on top carries a 150W solar panel, Darche 180° awning and TREDS recovery panels, with still room left over to carry more equipment if needed.

Bruce’s game of Tetris continued when he went looking for a place to mount the ARB air compressor. It is now in the engine bay and shares space with a pair of Deep Cycle Systems 90Ah Lithium batteries controlled by a Victron management system.

The Toyota twin-turbo V6 diesel benefits from Just Autos Stage 3 multi-mapping tuning with a front-mounted extra heat exchanger, Safari intake snorkel and 3-inch Manta stainless steel exhaust system.

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The specific tuning proved positive when measured on the 35-inch Nittos, with the big Cruiser spinning the cylinders at up to 745 Nm between 3100-3400 rpm.

There’s no doubt there’s a lot of kit on the Cruiser, but Bruce planned for this by fitting a JAMCX 4200kg GVM upgrade before the car was registered. Part of the hardware of this kit includes the replacement rear axle housing manufactured by JMACX using 6mm steel plate and custom axle tubes.

The housing houses the factory Toyota locking differential and is connected to the chassis via an adjustable panhard bar, upgraded lower control arms, air-cushioned Superior Engineering coil springs, and JMACX Alpha remote resolution shock absorbers.

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Another set of impressive JMACX Alpha struts supports the front end with the help of Blackhawk upper control arms. The front differential, also equipped with a factory locker, was lowered to maintain CV angles using Superior Engineering’s differential drop.

“I had the GVM upgrade done pre-rego, but after we built the car it actually ended up being lighter than expected,” Bruce told us. “As a result, the suspension feels like it needs more rebound damping when going over abrasions and deep ruts. So far I’ve replaced the rear springs and I’m working with Mountain District 4×4 and JMACX to improve this further.”

We said at the beginning that Bruce only installs top-notch products on his Cruiser, but he also gives the best advice on his rig and works with the right people to get the job done. These include Paul from Outback 4WD, Mark from Mountain District 4×4 and Troy from Beast Tourers.

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He also thanks his team at LGPM Process Innovation for their help and contribution.

Bruce doesn’t do anything by halves, as his vehicle build suggests, and the Cruiser’s first major outing was at Cape York, where he says it adapted perfectly to the conditions and performed flawlessly. He is currently working on improving the suspension settings to best suit the 300’s weight, and future trips will include Tasmania and South Australia.

As good as the LandCruiser wagon is, Bruce still can’t seem to get beyond the carrying capacity of a ute. “There’s not much I’d like to change,” he says, “though there may be some downtime in the future.”