Lexus LX470 (Part 1)

This time I decided to tell you about a car the identification of which I still cannot make out.
May be my subscribers will be able to help me?
At the beginning of 2000’s, in Armenia, the use of Japanese cars began to spread quite rapidly. Among the variety of all those Japanese makes, the undisputed leader in sales, both on so-called primary (in those times there was no official dealers in the country) and secondary markets, was Toyota Motors Co. 

Based on local road conditions, the quality of soil covering and other geographical specifics, the demand of such vehicles as the Toyota Land Cruiser 80, 100, or Land cruiser Prado 120 was particularly high. Quite often, one could see the premium version of the above mentioned models, the Lexus GX470 and more luxurious LX470.  The latter, together with unprecedented off-road capabilities, in standard version, was offered with a wide range of support functions. However, there was one single black Lexus LX470, which was obviously standing out against the background of all those vehicles throughout the city. At first glance, nothing special about it, but a closer look reveals the nameplates of the company Brabus. The car was brought to Yerevan in 2002, and along with its appearance, there came many theories about the origins of this mysterious black beast. It is known that the Brabus aftermarket tuning company has long been specializing in Mercedes-Benz (also later in Smart, Maybach and Tesla) vehicles and there couldn’t have been any connection between the Lexus and Brabus.
To be continued...

The Pedal Car ‘Moskvich’ (Part 2)

The masters had to cope with difficult tasks. It was necessary to restore the geometry of the body, straighten all the bumps and get rid of a large amount of rust.
The total absence of front and rear suspension components made the restoration even more difficult. The car was completely disassembled, after which the project had to be frozen, since another pedal car of the same type as a donor was needed. Time went by, but the donor car could not be found.

Finally, in the winter of 2015-2016, the restoration works on the pedal Moskvitch resumed. At first, the masters rebuilt the mechanical part consisting of pedal units and driving mechanism with an improvised rear axle. The wheels were also fixed up. Quite an original design solution was the use of an integrated hand-made frame that gave a certain rigidity to the body and a base for fixing the rear suspension. The masters managed, from scratch, to create a fully functioning rear suspension with coil springs. The fixation of the front wheels with the “hubs” was impossible before the restoration, since one side of the body was damaged. The new parts, like a specular reflection of the other side, were made of galvanized sheet metal.





Once the car was put back on the wheels, the masters got down to the body correction. It must be noted that those restoration works took as much time as those of a real retro vehicle. After numerous welding works, the body was sent to a painting department. Several layers of putty for various purposes alternated with the use of various prime paint layers, which was supposed to provide the best filling of the defective areas. The custom-made steering wheel is fixed to a new polished stainless rod.
The project is still at the assembly stage. I will definitely return to this pedal car upon the completion of the restoration.