dfj240

Hey all, been reading this forum for the last week or so, reading up and seeing what I can learn about the ES and other Lexus's. There's a lot of great info here, so thanks to everyone for sharing your knowledge. I didn't see an "Intro" forum, so I figured I'd give a brief one here for anyone interested.

My name is Nathan. I live in Texas and Louisiana at the moment, and I run a small local shop in Tyler, TX that specializes in import performance and mechanics. We started out specializing in Nissan 240SX's as I have had 9 of them so far, and know them like the back of my hand. I have been a full fledged car enthusiast since I was about 12 years old and picked up my first Car and Driver magazine. Anyways, it seems my sports car driving days are behind me for the time being as the Mrs. and I are expecting our first child in September. Long story short, I needed a capable back seat and found a gem of a '92 ES300. It's not my first Toyota, but it is my first Lexus, and while I'm no overjoyed with it because it's not manual transmission, rear wheel drive, or particularly fast, I'm growing to like the much more comfortable ride.

I'm gathering some pictures I have from the day I bought her about a week and a half ago, and I will update this thread with them. Anyways, I'll be sure to keep the talking to a minimum here and keep the listening at maximum because there are quite a few awesome enthusiasts here. Great board, great members, and a lot of knowledge, that's why I decided to join. Keep it up.

dfj240

Here's the pictures I promised of my newest car. Click on the pictures for a bigger view if you want.

1992 ES300 - 243,XXX miles (Bottom up rebuild at 201,XXX)











Just this week gave her a fresh transmission flush, fresh oil change (factory Toyota filter, Toyota 0w20 oil), new radiator, new alternator, detailed the interior, Silverstar headlights to replace the dim ones that were in there, and retrofitted to R134a and filled the AC (it was low on freon and hadn't been converted yet).

New stuff coming soon:
Bronze 15" Fittipaldi Wheels from my '91 Infiniti Q45
Double DIN stereo to replace the non working factory one
Front Seats reupholstered or replace the front seats
Steam clean the carpet

pfcperry17

Nice ES...identical to mine all the way down to the wheels....does yours have the seat heaters or phone system? I have the phone but don't know how to use it with my phone (samsung replenish android). How's the paint on yours? Dull or faded, scratched, etc? If any apply, I HIGHLY recommend turtle wax Black magic polish. Worked wonder on my faded, sun baked black paint. Looks almost brand new except for some accident scrapes. Another car pulled in next to me and made a good size scrape over the passenger side rearwheel arch

jadu

iTrader: (42)

clean ES given the mileage

dfj240

pfcperry17 - Thanks. The paint is actually in good nick for the most part. No real fading or cracking. It has a couple dings here and there with one or two affecting the paint, but overall it looks good. Clear coat still seems to be holding it's own against the Texas sun, and it's the original paint so I'm quite surprised myself. I planned on using the Turtle Wax polish though. I've used that stuff on several cars before and it does seem to work wonders.

jadu - Thanks. Yea, I figured it wasn't too bad for having almost a quarter million miles on it. And for $1,400 I couldn't go wrong seeing as it ran very well and the suspension looks to be top class.

P.S. - Those pictures are from before any work was done to it at all.. Hadn't been washed, detailed, parts replaced or anything like that. Those pictures are from 5 minutes after I got home with it.

LexLuger31

very clean ES. Congrats!

EEngineer

congrats on the pickup.

however i'm not too sure if ur 3vz-fe will like 0w20...

also, give her a claybar job to clean the paint up, i'm sure it'll sparkle afterwards.

dfj240

Thanks for the oil weight concern, but I have done a lot of research into motor oil mainly for the purpose of racing, and found some of the best oil knowledge there is available. A very long and detailed article written by a Doctor of Engineering who did extensive studies into the lubricating properties, heat dispersion, and viscosity loss of a plethora of oils. I will find the article and post it up in the forum for all to read. If Toyota made 0w30, I would use it, but they don't, so the next best alternative is 0w20.

Thanks to both for the congrats. I'll see about the clay bar, though I'm not particularly worried about the exterior as much as I am about the overall functionality and reliability at the moment, and then I'll have to get that interior shining.

pfcperry17

Yeah, clay bars will clean it up real good. I used the Turtle Wax (anyone seeing a pattern here?) Clay Bar kit. Actually worked quite nicely. Had a crap load of sap and bugs on the hood. Spent about 10 minutes total on it, butter smooth.

Also, no surprise here I'm sure, try Turtle Wax Synthetic Spray Wax. Can be used on rubber seals (I believe so), chrome trim, paint (duh), and even glass.

EDIT: Forgot to mention, If you happen to live near Harvey, LA, check out a place called OilStop.

dfj240

Not, by chance, a fan of Turtle Wax are you? Lol. I will swear by Mother's Gold Clay Bar Kit, and the Mother's Wax. Best stuff I've used for the money. I wish that Mother's still made the FX wax, but I don't believe they do.

And I'm nowhere near Harvey. Lol. I believe Harvey is near New Orleans, I'm closer to Deridder, in Oakdale/Elizabeth area.