RichS11

Hi guys I'm Rich from the UK.

This is the build up thread for my Lexus GS430. I am not new to the World of Lexus as I have/had a '98 GS300 which has now become my donor car. So the car I have is......

- Lexus GS430
- 2002
- 89K
- Black with grey interior
- Full Lexus service history
- No modifications except the alloy wheels (going very soon!!)
- The car is in overall good condition and I am very happy with it. It does have a couple of minor suspension issues such as ball joints, and ARB droplinks, but I will fix that over the next few weeks.

Future modifications this month will be a full SS system, TTE wheels from my old GS300 and fully adjustable coilovers. As well as adding the black interior from my GS300.

I am looking to modify the car in a subtle way, but as you will see by my first modifications, I get pretty serious with it.

Time for some images.......

RichS11

So here is the first modification that has taken place today. I decided that although I like the black exterior of the 430, I couldn't stand the grey plastic on the inside. So after viewing an '06 GS300 and liking the grey and black interior, I decided to go down the same route with the 430, utilising the interior from my 300 (which is being split and scrapped).

How the interior started today, the door cards and centre console were changed on the weekend to see if I would like the combination....



An hour into the dashboard change....



Dashboard out, ready for the change of loom....



Both dashboards in the living room getting the looms swapped over....



Dashboard back in the car, black GS300 steering wheel added. Sadly with the lighting it actually looks dark grey but I can assure you the interior plastic is black



And below is a picture of the wheels that I will be putting on the 430 once the winter has moved on....



Thanks for looking guys.

Riksgs808

iTrader: (2)

Nice 2tone interior

tmf2004

iTrader: (15)

indeed like the two tone... Welcome to the forums..

PeteGS300

Hi Rich,

Nice progress so far ,Will look real nice on the RH rims.What size are they?

Have you thought about swapping the carpet to the black version as i think it would make the grey leather stand out even more, plus being black its easier to keep clean than the grey carpet.IMO

I'm just north of you in Birmingham .

PeteGS300

BTW do you find much difference between the 300 & the 430?

RichS11

Thanks for the warm welcome guys. This site has been invaluable to me over the past few years.

Cheers Pete, good to know there are other UK owners on here. I have thought about the black carpet from my 300, it's not in great condition though and I'd hate to think what Lexus will charge for a new one!

The wheels are 18's which I'm hoping will look ok with the ride height I go for. They are 9.5" fronts and 10" rears.

GS300 vs Gs430 - I only had an entry level 300 so cloth interior, etc. The 430 is quicker stock (obviously), but I'm aware the 300 has more versatility for future engine mod's. Sadly my 300 had been abused by the previous owners and although I looked after it, age was showing. I'm currently breaking it down as I'm planning to sell off parts.

Lutkis

Looks like you have black wood center console and door trims too. Is that a UK thing 'cause my car is imported from UK and it has them too.
Every other 430 I've seen on sale (Estonia, Sweden, Finland) has the dull ugly normal wood trim.

Wheels look nice and I like the two tone interior. I'd like to do that myself one day.

RichS11

Yeah the black wood was on the 430. My 300 had the normal wood trim on black doors, so I put the leather and black wood from the 430 onto the black 300 door panels. Hoping to have it all finished by tonight (UK time).

PeteGS300

Keep an eye on Ebay for a black carpet as theres always someone breaking a GS for parts.

I'm sure there's a thread on here about ''Rollin Hard On 18s'' or some think like that.If you wanna get an idea of what ride height looks good with 18s.

What brand Coilovers did you go with ?

RichS11

BC Racing. I had them on my 300, but this time I've got the Low version with a higher spring rate. Heavy old cars!

mlracing

Wo jealous you guys got 430 in UK T_T

RichS11

Well after another busy day of changing over the parcel shelf, rear seatbelts, door cards and other bits of trim. I managed to take some pictures (apologies for the poor lighting)....





As you can see I'm pretty much there bar changing over the front seatbelts, but overall I'm really happy with it. It's lovely sitting in the car now with the combination of colours. All I think it needs is either a black carpet and mats, or just black mats to help break up some of the colour on the floor. The next step is to give it a full steam clean and detail, then it's onto the brakes and suspension.......

I am aware that I cannot sell anything in the classifieds yet, but I am splitting my interior and a full Lexus GS300. A lot of parts are going over to my car, but if anyone wants or needs anything, no matter how small, send me a message (unless this is against forum rules, in which case I'll wait until I get access to the for sale section).

Thanks for looking.

PeteGS300

That Interior looks awesome mate.

Here's a link to a guy on ebay breaking a GS / Aristo with a black carpet if your interested -

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Toyota-Ari...item2a41245158

RichS11

Yeah man, although there isn't a great deal of them on the roads here. Did NZ only get the 300?