Overlanding outfitter Westcott Designs surprised the crowd at Overland Expo West recently with not one but a trio of new Toyota Land Cruisers with numerous upgrades and custom touches.
The three rigs put a focus on Westcott Designs’ new lift kits, roof racks, and rock sliders for the new 2024 Toyota Land Cruiser and the new 2024 Lexus GX550, along with showcasing the company’s custom fabrication capabilities, attention to detail and customization capabilities.
The Heritage Blue – with Jet Ski
The first build to catch a lot of Expo goers’ attention was the Heritage Blue Land Cruiser, which had a Kawasaki Jet Ski and a triplet of colorfully painted steel 5-gallon fuel cans on the rear rack. Westcott said they borrowed some bits from a SEMA Sequoia build to put the Heritage build together. Some subtle spots of color help tie the jet ski, roof rack, rock sliders, axle caps, and license plate together, but in terms of hardware, the heavily loaded back end of the Heritage has some Old Man Emu 722 springs picking up the load, which rests 1/4″ higher than the stock height with the jet ski and fuel cans aboard. The front end also has a small lift as well, and some nods to the color scheme with some subtle stripes.
The Moab Cruiser
The next Westcott build is a handsome glossy black Land Cruiser with 35-inch Method wheels sporting a brushed metal finish that Westcott realized by sanding the wheel surface while it was spinning on a garage stand. The result is a natty brushed metal finish that Method does not currently offer but perhaps should. The Westcott roof rack, rock sliders, and license plates were then treated to the same luster, although the roof rack retains its black corner braces and sly bottle openers. The truck has a 1-inch lift all around to fit the Method wheels and 35-inch tires, but some custom bodywork was required to make sure they did not make contact at steering lock.
READ MORE: Best Toyotas of Overland Expo
Back in (Matte) Black – and Bronze
The third Land Cruiser build was perhaps the most ambitious and detail-oriented. Based on a limited-release First Edition Land Cruiser chassis, the Westcott team took the glossy black paint to a matt finish by applying a clear PPF layer – except for the mirrors and some other key areas to give it a bit of pop. Then, Westcott reworked the suspension and undercarriage to fit Nitto 37-inch tires on the truck. The result is improved ground clearance and a bigger footprint from the oversized tires. But Westcott says steering will clear lock-to-lock following a small needed modification while the body lift is minimal at 3.5 inches. TRD Pro shocks out back, and Old Man Emu 722 springs equalized the truck’s stance with minimal modification.
Up top, the Westcott roof rack sports a bronze finish that matches the bronze powder-coated wheels. A Westcott Designs hitch-mounted rack holds a spare tire and other gear and can swing from either side of the truck to clear access to the tailgate.
In the video below, founder Jeff Westcott gets granular on the gear they chose, how it fits with the Land Cruisers (and Lexus GX550), and the many cool custom touches they added that show goers probably missed just looking at the trucks.
