ENVY 2
MARCH, 2025
When Donna and Bruce from Hervey Bay, Queensland, came across Envy on our Recent Builds page, they didn’t need long to decide. They wanted that exact build, with a few personal touches of their own. What makes this one special is the trust behind it. We’ve never actually met Donna, or Bruce. The entire build came together over a handful of phone calls and emails between us and they handed us the keys to their dream 79 sight unseen.
At the beginning of this project and at the time, 79’s were in peak demand and Toyota dealerships in Australia and the dealerships couldn’t get enough of them.
In fact dealerships across Australia were ordering more than their dealership allocation would allow and hoarding them to sell at an inflated price. Their trick around this maximum allocation was to write themselves a blueslip and register them with no tray, and park them out the back, that way they could report to head office as ‘sold’ and order more. This sneaky trick meant being ‘second hand’ the dealership didn’t need to keep to their RRP (recommended retail price) which is the price you would see on the Toyota website, and being a ‘used’ vehicle they would jack the price up a further 20-30k over a new one and tell the walk in punter it’s a 2 year wait to order a ‘new one’.
After ringing around Donna found this one in Western Sydney, in the ‘used’ car section. Unfortunately for us it was registered. This means no pre-registration SSM suspension work and GVM upgrades prior which adds more cost to the build doing it post-registration. I personally drove out there and inspected the car for them and checked for damage and to make sure it was really there before Donna (still up in Queensland) would transfer her hard earned savings and finally, secure a vehicle for the project.
Once we had the car back at our shop and before the coil conversion was fitted, we sanded back the chassis and gave the whole thing, including lower door sills and wheel arches a fresh coat of Raptor liner stone guard. Due to the post rego thing we could only legally install a 2″ 3900 GVM and the Jmacx 5-link rear coil conversion with rear track correction, and some pops of colour with custom painted red suspension components as instructed by our clients.
Out back is one of our SE ute trays in colour-coded 2K gloss, topped with an SE half canopy with colour-coded doors, an Enerdrive 200Ah battery, 2000W inverter and an 85L Dometic fridge. Inside, she’s loaded with an Alpine 8″ head unit with wireless Apple CarPlay, Carbuilders sound and heat insulation, and Department of the Interior floor and roof consoles.
Once finished, and due to the distance, we never did get to meet Bruce and Donna. The rig was loaded into an enclosed car carrier and delivered straight to their property, brand new and ready to roll. In a thank you for their trust, I made a 1.5 hour walk around video with camera in my hand i went through every accessory, every nut and bolt and how to use and operate every accessory we fitted. It was posted to YouTube privately, so the owners could look back and listen again if they had any future questions.
The car arrived safely after around a week on the road. And what a spot to call home. Hervey Bay sits on the doorstep of Fraser Island, the world’s largest sand island, with endless beach runs, freshwater lakes and some of the best four-wheel driving in the country just a barge ride away. Add the whale-watching season, calm bay waters and that laid-back Fraser Coast lifestyle, and there’s no shortage of adventures waiting for this 79. Donna and Bruce, thanks for trusting us with your build. Reckon the neighbours will be green with Envy.
Shannon.
BUILD PROGRESS PHOTOS
Here is everything that went into Envy 2. Want something similar? Get in touch.
Vehicle
- SE Build No85 – Envy 2
- 2023 Toyota LandCruiser VDJ79R-DKMRYQ3 79 Series Dual Cab Chassis GXL
- Colour: Graphite. Trim: Grey Fabric FF10. Engine: 1VD-FTV
- Condition: New (pre-registered), never driven, no previous owner. Kms: 59
Suspension
- JMACX Offroad Solutions 5-link rear coil conversion with rear track correction
- 3900kg post-rego GVM upgrade, 2″ lift, street legal Australia wide
- JMACX Alpha shocks with remote bypass
- JMACX steering dampener
- JMACX CNC billet radius arms
- 30mm billet swaybar spacers
- Adjustable front panhard bar
- AirBagMan rear poly load assist air bags (inside coils)
- Powdercoat front and rear coils, radius arms and coil cradle in Dulux Signal Red
Wheels & Tyres
- ROH Vapor 17×9 -12 offset 5×150
- Mickey Thompson Baja Boss AT LT285/70R17
Interior Accessories
- Alpine X308AU 8″ multimedia head unit with wireless Apple CarPlay
- Carbuilders Stage-2 full cab heat and sound insulation
- Department of the Interior floor console with cup holders, switch plate and USB/cig socket
- GME XRS Connect XRS-370C4P UHF radio with AE4704B Radome Black 6.6dBi antenna
- Department of the Interior roof “T” console with storage pockets and LED map lights
- Alpine Type R S65C.2 front speakers with splits
- Black Duck canvas seat covers
- Telstra Cel-Fi Go
- In-cab switch for remote winch control
Exterior Accessories
- ARB Deluxe large tube bull bar in matt black
- ARB radiator protection panel
- ARB rated recovery point
- ARB large tube brush bars and side steps in matt black
- Powdercoat side-step treads, texture black
- Runva 11XP Premium 11,000lb front winch with synthetic rope and wireless control
- 105Ah AGM dual battery system
- Redarc BCDC1225D (under bonnet)
- Blue Sea Systems 12V 700A remote winch isolator switch with cabin-mounted dash switch
- Hayman Reese 3500kg heavy duty tow bar, 7 pin plug and 2 x rated recovery points
- Redarc Tow-Pro V3 electronic brake controller
- Ocam towing mirrors
- Rhino-Rack Pioneer Platform
- Stedi 41.5″ slim line LED light bar
- Stedi 7″ slimline LED light bars
- Stedi X Type Pro 9″ driving lights
- LED headlight upgrade
- Armax Safari snorkel
- Upol Raptor coat front flares
- 105Ah AGM deep cycle dual battery (engine bay)
- Wide angle colour rear view reverse camera
- Full vehicle window tint
- SE stainless steel honeycomb grill in black
SE Tray
- SE Built LC79 tray package
- Upgraded paint finish to colour-coded 2K gloss
- 60L stored water system with 12V commercial pump and pressure switch
- Stainless steel quick-connect tap outlet at rear of tray
- ARB CKMTA12 twin piston compressor inside toolbox with 80A dedicated circuit
- ARB quick connect air outlet in rear toolbox, both sides
- Under-tray electrical sub-board/fuse box
- Twin 9L alloy air tanks with stainless steel braided lines
- Oil filled glass air pressure gauge mounted under-tray
- Upgraded LED tail lights to 385 series halo with sequential indicators
- Integrated OEM fuel filler to rear of tray for easy access at both sides of bowser
- Gravity feed brass tap/water outlet at tow bar area, with hand pump soap dispenser
- Black locks on toolboxes
- 3mm alloy inner wheel arch stone protectors
- One piece wide-body mudguards to suit rear track correction
- Twin spare tyre cradle integrated into headboard design
- Powder coated flooring sheets, texture black
- Integrated rear trundle drawer, aluminium construction, dust and weather proof
- Upgraded locks to central locking
- 3mm pressed aluminium drop sides, powder coated black internal skin, stainless hardware
- Upgraded drop side paint finish to colour-coded 2K gloss
- Removable rear ladder rack, Raptor finish, stainless steel hardware
SE Half Canopy
- SE Built LC79 1/2 canopy package
- Upgraded paint finish to colour-coded 2K 1G3 on doors only
- Adjustable/removable aluminium rear spare tyre holder
- Motion sensor controlled auto on/off LED internal lighting package
- Integrated in-cab door buzzer for all canopy doors (sounds if doors are left open with the ignition on)
- Upgraded canopy lighting to include amber mode
- Heavy duty commercial colour reverse camera with IR at rear of canopy
- Internal canopy door faces powder coated white
- Upgraded locks to black finish
- Central locking, works on genuine Toyota key fob
- Offset internal aluminium divider wall
- Dometic Waeco CRX80 85L upright fridge with separate freezer
- Enerdrive 200Ah slim battery
- Enerdrive 40A DC charger
- Enerdrive 2000W pure sine wave inverter
- Enerdrive 60A AC charger
- 240V weatherproof AC inlet (shore power)
- Simarine PICO display
- 12V USB/USB-C sockets both sides
- Pull out drawer system with removable dividers, 227kg rated runners, 16mm carpeted form ply top
- Electric door sensors connected to in-cab door buzzer
- Solar/RTT outlet
- Enerdrive 100W black frame solar panel
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