Gadfly

Hi there,

I am looking to pickup an IS300 (1st gen) as a daily driver, though i fully plan on putting my spare 2jz-GTE, with SP67 in it, the car will also get all the cast off parts from my Supra that have been collecting dust in my garage. so it should be fun.

I have some questions though.. perhaps you experts can help me out.

Is there any perfered years to look for? Perhaps some had stronger rear ends, or transmissions than others.... etc.

Whch transmission? I assume the 5 spd will hold more power than the auto, but you never know... Can I swap a V160 into the IS?

Any other General advice?

Fair price? Any pricing guidelines?

Thanks

amy011079

Hey! Welcome to CL!

As far as desirable years, I think it depends solely on what you want on it. Here are a few options for ya.
01= no manual.
02 = manual introduced and on some models lsd.
03 = manual, and auto lsds were available options or just luck of the draw.
04 = manual, and auto = lsd on all cars i think? memory seats lol
05 = manual, and auto = lsd reduced to an option. memory seats also.

As far as the tranny I have heard from a few people (including a lexus master tech) that the auto tranny and rearend is stronger then the manual. Why I don't know.

This is just information that I have picked up along the way, but there is loads of info on this site that you can search for. So that you can do your homework.

Sounds like you have a awesome project planned! Be sure to keep us informed on the progress! And good luck!

rominl

iTrader: (4)

personally i prefer at least 02 where a lot of little bugs were fixed.

and actually, the 5 speed manual in the is300 is a pretty weak one, it doesn't hold as much hp as the auto

dragr1

When you get an IS, please start a post of your buildup!

htownis300

v160 should drop right in with the motor... go to is300.net for more info

irv_usc

you guys sure toss around this v160 like it's a simple drop in.

for one thing the 2jzgte will not work in an IS as a straight drop in.

the tranny also requires a custom driveshaft and a rear end.

once you search around is300.net you will see that the cost of doing a full 2jzgte drop is really not worth the trouble.