A few more parts showed up on the doorstep today: floor mats, LED gauge bulbs, and a replacement rear wiper.

Like most new owners, I’m still firmly in the "fix everything I can find" phase.

The first project was the floor mats.

I considered ordering WeatherTech mats, but after owning a few sets over the years I've never been completely sold on the fit. Ironically, some of the best floor mats I've owned were inexpensive knockoffs I bought for a previous Jeep, so I decided to take another chance on a budget-friendly option.

For around $35, I really couldn't complain.

The deep-dish design offered plenty of coverage and they laid surprisingly flat right out of the box. I only needed to trim a few sections near the door sills to get them fitting exactly how I wanted. The color wasn't perfect, maybe black would have been the better choice.

Either way, they were a huge improvement over worrying about ruining the factory carpet mats. If they hold up, great. If not, I'm only out a few bucks.

Next up was the rear wiper.

Not exactly a glamorous upgrade, but one of those simple maintenance items that makes an old vehicle feel cared for again. A few minutes later it was installed and crossed off the list.

Then came the project I was most excited about.

The gauge cluster LEDs.

The original dash lights felt dim and dated. One of the things I liked about the 3rd Gen 4Runner was the simple, easy-to-read gauge layout, and I figured a modern LED conversion would bring it into the 21st century.

The installation itself wasn't difficult, although I quickly learned that LED bulbs only work one way. More than once I found myself pulling the cluster back apart because I had installed a bulb backwards. A couple of them probably made the trip in and out of the dashboard three times before I finally got everything working.

Once it was finished, I stepped back to admire the results.

And honestly?

I wasn't impressed.

The white light looked a little more modern than the factory green, but the overall brightness improvement was far less dramatic than I expected. The ignition ring light was noticeably brighter, but the gauge cluster itself looked only marginally different from stock.

Not every project ends with a dramatic before-and-after photo.

The center dash bulbs still needed to be converted, but I decided to wait until the upcoming stereo installation. There was no point taking everything apart twice.