Restoration OVERHAUL!
11-14-10, 05:27 PM
#1
Driver School Candidate
Thread Starter
Restoration OVERHAUL!
I've always had this unusual desire to have my 1998 LS 400 completely restored by Lexus themselves.
It's near retirement, and I'd like to have it in mint condition for one of my future drives along the PCH or Mulholland Drive. I know they have all the exterior body panels, but what can they do about the powertrain, the interior trim, the GPS, etc?
I'd like to have a 4.6L V8, but that is asking for too much.
Anyways... Would you guys think I'm just being silly? Could Lexus do it properly in a timely manner? How much would it cost?
And I have yet to make a serious phone call to someone who can actually help me.
It's near retirement, and I'd like to have it in mint condition for one of my future drives along the PCH or Mulholland Drive. I know they have all the exterior body panels, but what can they do about the powertrain, the interior trim, the GPS, etc?
I'd like to have a 4.6L V8, but that is asking for too much.
Anyways... Would you guys think I'm just being silly? Could Lexus do it properly in a timely manner? How much would it cost?
And I have yet to make a serious phone call to someone who can actually help me.
11-14-10, 08:43 PM
#2
Lexus Champion
How much money do you want to spend on it, and where do you live in CA?
11-14-10, 11:49 PM
#3
When you say "near retirement" what kinda of miles are we talking about in the present sense?
Toyota won't from themselves do a refurb but any number of private shops would be happy to oblige. You also speak of panels...do your current ones need to be replaced? If so, they won't have the body matching stickers applied so this will detract from the value of the car as it will be viewed as if it had been in a collision.
Toyota won't from themselves do a refurb but any number of private shops would be happy to oblige. You also speak of panels...do your current ones need to be replaced? If so, they won't have the body matching stickers applied so this will detract from the value of the car as it will be viewed as if it had been in a collision.
11-15-10, 08:26 AM
#4
Out of Warranty
An LS400 is probably not a good candidate for restoration, by Lexus or anyone else. At the present time, the value of the car is somewhere south of $8K in my neighborhood, and you have to consider even a minimal restoration would cost well over twice that. If you want to re-power the car, you are looking at a much greater investment, all for a dubious return. A project like that is likely to keep you upside-down for quite a few years.
A proper restoration, engine overhaul, transmission, running gear, bushings, brakes, repaint and interior (even without a full frame-off restoration), would at this point be pointless - largely because the car is not old enough, nor is it a rare example. Before dumping $20-$30K into a light rebuild, you might want to choose an old classic for which parts are widely available and there is a proven market. At least you could recover some of your costs at sale.
If you are looking for simple straight-line performance, a 5.0 Mustang would be a good choice, otherwise a '60's - early '70's muscle car - either can literally be ordered from a parts catalog - provided you start with a pretty solid donor. A friend purchased a 396 Chevelle convertible that had gone through a partial restoration. It was a driver, not a show car, and he got it for $40K about ten years ago. My neighbor spent about $30K (so far) on buying and restoring a beautiful '72 Cadillac convertible, and still has a little interior work to do, but he drives it every weekend. Pretty nice hobby, when you consider he can always sell it for a few bucks more than he has in it. Were he any kind of mechanic at all, he could be solidly into profit, but thus far he's had all of the work done by local shops.
If you want to keep the LS, find a good shop and fix all of the little mechanical issues a car this age is bound to have. It will cost a LOT less than a full or even a partial restoration. Then, when your car is mechanically sound but you just want a "new" look, consider a good professional full detail. A good detail will only cost a few hundred bucks and can actually enhance trade-in value.
A proper restoration, engine overhaul, transmission, running gear, bushings, brakes, repaint and interior (even without a full frame-off restoration), would at this point be pointless - largely because the car is not old enough, nor is it a rare example. Before dumping $20-$30K into a light rebuild, you might want to choose an old classic for which parts are widely available and there is a proven market. At least you could recover some of your costs at sale.
If you are looking for simple straight-line performance, a 5.0 Mustang would be a good choice, otherwise a '60's - early '70's muscle car - either can literally be ordered from a parts catalog - provided you start with a pretty solid donor. A friend purchased a 396 Chevelle convertible that had gone through a partial restoration. It was a driver, not a show car, and he got it for $40K about ten years ago. My neighbor spent about $30K (so far) on buying and restoring a beautiful '72 Cadillac convertible, and still has a little interior work to do, but he drives it every weekend. Pretty nice hobby, when you consider he can always sell it for a few bucks more than he has in it. Were he any kind of mechanic at all, he could be solidly into profit, but thus far he's had all of the work done by local shops.
If you want to keep the LS, find a good shop and fix all of the little mechanical issues a car this age is bound to have. It will cost a LOT less than a full or even a partial restoration. Then, when your car is mechanically sound but you just want a "new" look, consider a good professional full detail. A good detail will only cost a few hundred bucks and can actually enhance trade-in value.
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