Toyota Fab/Custom Shops in the Greater Los Angeles Area

[headhunter]

Let's set the stage for what I have and what I'm looking for.

I'm near the Pasadena area.

I have a shop in Montclair that I use for custom work on my 1985 Jeep Scrambler and I am happy with them for any work on the Jeep. It's more of a rock crawler than an overland vehicle in that it's a lot of work to drive it on the highway, but great in the dirt.

However, I just picked up an 1999 Toyota 4Runner SR5 with a 3.4L V6 and 5-speed manual transmission. It's completely stock and I plan to keep it close to stock for reliability and good road manners. This will be one of my daily drivers and used for long trips on and off highway. I have a mechanic that I trust to work on all of my vehicles, so I have basic mechanical work covered.

I'm working through the whole vehicle with my regular mechanic on a mechanical refresh to make sure it is in good reliable condition. My regular mechanic has already replaced the front crankshaft seal, camshaft seal, timing belt, radiator, thermostat, radiator cap, radiator hoses, drive belts, and lower ball joints. Aside from a slight leak at the rear of the valve covers, nothing else is now leaking from anywhere around the vehicle. I think we may be done with the mechanical refresh for now. I'll be doing a Tundra brake upgrade in the future as the weight increases.

I've replaced all five tires with BF Goodrich KO2s (265/70R16).

I'm about to replace my audio head unit with something more modern to have satellite radio, Garmin navigation and hands free operation of my phone. That will make the 4Runner a good replacement for my Sunrise Yellow 2015 Subaru XV Crosstrek, which I am about to sell.

I still haven't figured out how I want to add my CB and Ham radio to the mix. The Uniden PRO520XL CB will probably go where the ash tray is, but I'm not sure where/how I want to mount my Yaesu FTM-400. I'm open to suggestions for that.

I've ordered a Roofnest Condor XL and hope to see that someday in the near future. I know that freight delivery is a little rough these days and am exercising patience.

I think I'll be building my own drawer system out of 18mm baltic birch, but may upgrade that to an aluminum frame to save weight once I've got a drawer system build I'm happy with. I expect to rebuild the drawer system multiple times along the way. I'm actually pretty handy and could have done all of the work I mention above myself, but decided to let my mechanic handle it all up front since he has a lift and any specialized tools that I don't yet know I need. Doing everything myself in my driveway would take a long time and I wanted to complete this first phase of the project quickly, since I still needed to get this out-of-state vehicle to the DMV for inspection to complete registration.

That's the background on what I'm doing and sets the stage for what this vehicle will be when it grows up.

I'm looking for a shop (or shops) that can help me with a front bumper, winch, rock sliders, rear bumper with swingouts, skid plates, battery and solar management and probably something I haven't thought of. I'll take my time on this phase and probably start with the rock sliders.

Who should I consider working with that specializes in Toyotas?

Thanks in advance,

Christian

 

[teknoholic79]

So many offroad shops that are booked till end of August. Everyone's recommendation is RPM Garage but they are swamped. My place is in El Monte called, Miyaki Offroad. They too are booked till August (mainly the two offroad mechanics are on their own offroading trip till August). There's also Jimahjer. They tend to be busy as well.

 

[DrewKD]

+1 for Miyaki Motorsports. They did the suspension on my Ranger. It's primarily a Toyota shop. The place is small and but they have the best prices for installs and they do a great job. You can order through them or just bring them the parts.

 

[headhunter]

So many offroad shops that are booked till end of August. Everyone's recommendation is RPM Garage but they are swamped. My place is in El Monte called, Miyaki Offroad. They too are booked till August (mainly the two offroad mechanics are on their own offroading trip till August). There's also Jimahjer. They tend to be busy as well.

I've just looked them all up on Google and they are all relatively convenient to get to.

I'll put RPM Garage in Monrovia , Miyaki Motorsports Inc. in El Monte and Jimahajer Garage in La Habra on my shortlist of places to talk to.

August/September would be about right for me anyway. I'm finishing some other work first and will then be ready to talk to them about bumpers, sliders, etc.

Thanks!

 

[headhunter]

+1 for Miyaki Motorsports. They did the suspension on my Ranger. It's primarily a Toyota shop. The place is small and but they have the best prices for installs and they do a great job. You can order through them or just bring them the parts.

Sometimes small shops are the best way to go. Thanks!