dicer

So plp71 where do you work as an engineer? And or what are you doing engineering on other than the LS?

m0ist

dude i support ya

C1Forged

The 4 bucket seats is a tough feat in a sedan. Rear seats are just a bench cushion, versus a rail system with a full seat attached to just the floor. This ends up with clearance issues when bolting seats onto the bench, unless you were to pan out the rear, but would require an external fuel tank to remove the stock one. Now, if you did the pick up truck idea, the new wall behind the front seats, and the triangle space between that, the bed floor, and the Baja cage is a perfect area for an external tank. Protected by a full cage, and outside of the cab to keep you safe; and you can always build a secondary firewall for the back of the cab to protect you and your passenger. Then mount a fuel neck that makes it easier to pump gas on the side of the cage.

I've messed around with some Baja/Sand trucks in the past. Also everything I've listed above is the current plan for my Cruze along with a LS swap with a C5 drivetrain to minimize tunneling with the rear axle mount gearbox.

wolfy53

Your car your money enjoy it. That being said not my style, but hey I do want to see pics!!!

I too am an engineer. Mechanical. Been so now for over a decade. I tune power plant for a living. I love the LS and want to keep mine original. I truly appreciate the extra over engineered touches in this car. It is a gem.

m0ist

I too am an ME, and something tells me Dicer is one too lol

plp71

I work at a very large furniture company right now, but I've spent time in automotive and automation/machine design. I'll go back to cars soon. The LS400 is really my only project other than the house I bought almost a year ago. I got a driveway and I had to put something in it.

I'm less than surprised by this. We're an odd breed, and seeking out pristine examples of an "ugly old japanese car" is a weird hobby. I don't know what they go for, but I'd easily pay $5k or so for a "new" one if that was my budget. It's a sweet luxo-barge with lots of nice little bits everywhere. I can only imagine how smug the design team was. I love blowing peoples minds with power headrests and seatbelt height adjusters. Pointless and heavy, but nice.

I haven't even begun to think about the specifics of that stuff. There's so much room in the back seat area now that it's gutted, you could feasibly build a raised rail to mount racing style buckets up to where the old seats were. They'd have more legroom too, with how thick the old bench was. I want to keep it somewhat streetable, too (said the guy with the welded diff). I plan to drive it to work. People leave you alone when you look like a maniac from the minute you pull in.

dicer

The good thing is at least its not going to pick n pull to get smashed, so when will you post pictures?

plp71

Yesterday?

GH5T

Sounds like an interesting project! Good Luck with it.

EthanS

Fellow Mechanicals and LS owners, nice! (I too tune and test power plants wolfy53!)
Welcome to the forum, I will definitely keep an eye on this one LOL. It is not quite my style either, as my '99 LS400 is the more typical "one-owner-retired-dentist-garage-kept-dealer-serviced-selling-to-buy-a-LS600-yadayada" example, so I have the preservation / light modification approach.
But like others have said, your money your car! So have at it. I agree that I'd much rather see this happen than it rust away in a scrap yard or getting smashed.

plp71

It was definitely hooptie status when I picked it up. It was probably going to be some guy's next in a long line of beater cars that he couldn't fix so traded them around. I just found that one of the manufacturing engineers I work with has a Haas CNC mill at his house. Talk about a game changer.

dicer

If I had a nice big shop I'd do the same though I'm not a Haas fan, rather have a Fanuc control.

plp71

Heyo everyone. Just an update. The project is not dead, but it has been F@#$!NG COLD here in Michigan. As my garage is unfinished and I haven't one of those big heaters to keep me warm, it's been sitting in the driveway. I drove it a few times, and boy does it move when both tires hook up. It also does some interesting things when you give it a little Scandinavian flick.

I've had minimal luck on the wheel and tire front, but since the ones on it are junk, I don't feel TOO bad about spurring for some new stuff. I'm going to try and fit some 245 X 31" tires in there with the spacers.