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So this was about one or two years ago. I've been actually reading a lot about my 1993 sc400 on these forms and love the information i see.
So i was only 16 years old in high school and I've been working at my step fathers auto glass shop all throughout my high school years. I got my license sooner than my older sister and mom mother and step father promised us who ever got it first would have their pick of the cars that we had, which was the 1999 GMc sierra, 2001 Mercedes Benz s500, or the 1990 Lexus LS 400. I had my eyes on the LS400 for quite some time and drove it only a hand full of times because I only had my permit and my mother really didn't trust me driving alone in New York( I like lived up until I graduated high school).
Well i continued working at my pops shop until senior year, then I remembered like it was just yesterday, I went with my step pops to the parking garage to go get the LS400 out and give it an oil change. As soon as we walked in i just couldn't stop stearing at that Pearl white, two door coupe, humming V8 (from the rear right side looked like a Supra so that's what just the icing on a fat mans cake lol 😁. I went up to my pops super excited and told him "hey look at that Lexus, looks fast" and he said or really with a smile on his face. He started talking to the man that owned the garage, they were really good friend,( he got the s500 from him) i don't remember much of what they said but we ending not taking the Lexus out all. Over there next few weeks I kept bugging both my parents about the car that can I just get the Sc400 and trade the LS400 even though they both had the same exact engine. At first he didn't even wanted to have it because of the V8 saying it was to much to handle but he already knew I was driving He other car with the same engine.
I remember a month before prome as I was coming to work after school. I just saw it parked in front of the shop..my eyes almost flew out of my head lol like I couldn't believe he actually got me this dream car that I never even knew excited. I ran up to him and just asked him is that for me. He tried playing it off saying no u still keeping the LS and he's just holding it for someone to buy it from him but he still gave me the keys to it and with no plates took it for a spin around the block thank god i didn't get caught lol.
I didn't officially get the tittle and keys until I got into college 👍🏻Wooohoo and now it's my daily fixer upper
I smiled and laughed during this post because I can completely relate, I "STARE" at my 99 SC300 every chance I get. It's my first car, I bought it myself and I'm never getting rid of it. I will always have this car and that's why I'm putting so much time and money into it to make it exactly how I want it. At 120xxx miles I'm not even convinced it's broken in. It runs so well and I have no problems mechanically. The design is just so seductive It's hard to take my eyes off of it. I will literally walk backwards after I get out of my car just to stare a little longer at this black on black beauty. Recently I got new weds kranze lxx wheels and accelera tires. I can't wait to finish building it (although I feel like I never will be 100% finished). It's really turned into an obsession lol. Sometimes I think I'd be better off without the car because it burns so much of my free time. I'll look at car parts and other things online all related to this car instead of homework...
Me and my brother had the sc300 but a 93 version in a blueish gray color in high school. That car was beaten and not taken care of properly but we still both loved it for what it was. I saw the potential in this car and realized what it could be. The car later busted a head gasket because of over heating and I tried to fix it but didn't have the time because I play Division 1 football at Ualbany. After this happened I had no car.. specifically no sc300. I studied craigslist numerous times for months trying to find another one, the right one. I then found my baby in NYC black on black in great condition! My parents didn't want me to go check it out because the dealer was a tad sketchy. After a few weeks of seeing it over and over again still for sale I knew God was saving it for me and I NEEDED this car. So I took the megabus down with my brother and met up with his girlfriend who knows her way around NYC. We navigated to the house where my baby was waiting for my arrival. As I was walking down the street one minute away from the address I saw her. She was shinning in the winter sun and from cheek to cheek I had the biggest smile. I was just praying that it ran right and the details of the car were good. I didn't want to travel 3 hours for nothing and have to buy tickets back home. I would've been devastated. So the next thing leads to the next thing and I buy the car and drive off happy as can be. This was truly Gods blessing to me and I'm so thankful everything worked out great. Although I did get pulled over for speeding on the way home ;p It was all worth it, no questions asked GOD IS GOOD!
Back in 2008-2012 the Lexus VIP style was picking up here in NorCal. My friends were picking up used GS300-400, and LS models. I didn't have the money at the time to pickup another project car since the used Lexus cars back then were around 10-15k plus easy. Only the 92-96 beat up SC's and 1G GS's were older and cheaper. So a couple of my friends wanted to be different and picked SC's because they were initially cheaper. They were also unique because you didn't have to go VIP but instead do a sporty elegant look. Or even swap to a 2JZ Turbo power plant. After getting a chance to buy a 98 GS400 off my friend I caught the Lexus bug. My used Lexus was the fastest, most comfortable, and Luxurious family car I have ever owned. I learned something very valuable. A 4-5 year old second hand Lexus is cheaper and a better car then any new non luxury vehicle. If you've never owned a "luxury car" do yourself a favor and buy one. If you can't afford one, buy a used one. It's still a luxury car. After catching this bug my best friend lost his drive to complete his 93 SC400 project. It was a perfect time because my wife needed a cheap reliable commuter car. Then I offered out of the blue to buy my friends car since he wasn't driving it as much. He said yes. Then I remembered 2 pics of two different SC's I seen surfing the net a couple of years before hand. One was a red bagged 97+ SC 300 on Gold BBS LM's. Second was fellow Club Lexus member Calitriboost's white 97 SC300 static on a set of Works Wheels. Which he posted here on the forums.
It was his car that really sold me of how good a clean SC could look. Also, the car I was buying for my wife was also white. Unfortunately ours was gonna be a 93 and needed some cosmetic work but the important engine maintenance was already done. It was because Calitriboost's car looked so good I decided to keep my car white when we repainted it. I'd say during the time he had it in my opinion it was the dopest SC around, it was also his daily too and not a show car.
Here are some before and after pics of my car.
On a side note. I'd also have to say the SC community here in NorCal has been the best experience. I was able to meet Duck05 and he has one of the cleanest SC's I've seen in person. All ages and the diversity in people make the Lexus community great. I thought I was the oldest guy driving around a fixed up SC until I met Duck05. Yet, the young guys always treated us the same!
Thanks for the kind words..... This forum on both a national and local level have been very inspirational and evolving the SC platform is a passionate endeavor for all of us. The real cool thing is we are able to take these cars to so many different places. Drift cars, track cars, high horsepower monsters, and luxury touring coupes. (The guy who cut off the back end of his SC and a recent picture of an "off road" version were a bit much - but to each his own...)
The NorCal meets are well represented with SCs. Tret's custom "new" front end was an interesting mod and came out a lot better than I expected.... Your car has evolved quite impressively and it was good to see your progress in person.
I like the big round **** on the car. It has a nice sized Trunk. I like the body curves. It was chosen Import Car of the Year 1992. Never had a Recall. I like the green house effect. I can easily see out-sides and back for traffic. I can get my elbow on the window sill.
. It's a car that an average hobbyist can repair, especially if you have the Shop Manuals. Just have lots of Cash if you need OEM parts. I spent more on the rear suspension parts than the car is worth according to NADA. Still get 26+mpg on the highway.
Ready for more miles.
Always been into muscle cars/sportcars. I have 3 Javelins from my youth waiting for me when I retire, which isn't to far into the future. I put them away before I totally destroyed them. Hence the moniker! But it was more like that damn Ramblerman in the 70's! Got to work on and drive many different types of cars both american and foreign. Got a barn full of crazy 70's bikes also. Got married had family put away the toys, drove mundane transportation, put the kid through college, got left for a rich man. Got divorced! Bought a bmw 325i m3 equipped, then got an Accura Integra, but I was always aware of the Sc.since new but they were out of my price range. Then one day as I was checking out what the car flipper on the way to work had on the lot a 96 SC 400 begged me to save it from ending up in the hood, so I obliged. 4 years later I am into a dogged commitment to restore her with some mild mods while enjoying driving the car, and hope to take it cross country and drive the coastal highway like I did with 68 Javelin twice in the 70's.
Thanks for the continued stories! I'm enjoying them all. As are others, I'm sure. I think the SC has powers of telepathy. More than a few of us have answered her call.
DA51, the visibility was important to me, too. This car delivered the sleek muscle car body without sacrificing that. I was impressed.
... 4 years later I am into a dogged commitment to restore her with some mild mods while enjoying driving the car, and hope to take it cross country and drive the coastal highway like I did with 68 Javelin twice in the 70's.
Having done both multiple cross-country drives and Pacific Coast Highway drives in my SC I can tell you you'll love it, Ramblerman. Just install fog lights (a must) and aftermarket HID headlights and make sure your suspension, tires and brakes are in order. Way safer in an SC than it was with your '68 Javelin.
...but don't get me wrong: AMC Javelins are beautiful machines. I'd drive a coastal highway in one of those any day.
In highschool. Looking at Autotrader. Came across a Sc and had no idea what it was but it was love at first sight. After doing research I knew I needed a sc300 and here I am with my 5th sc300 and hopefully my last as I plan to make this my dream car that I couldn't do earlier on.
With the way some folks whip around corners on PCH, especially up near Big Sur...
I have also noticed this somewhat while driving up there. Especially at night I think it's insane to go too fast on the PCH when the fog sets in. Once it was so hard to see much in front of the nose of the car I had to navigate upcoming bends in the road purely from my GPS. Maybe I'm overly cautious in those situations but it's better to be safe when the visibility is extremely poor.
Mostly I've driven it during the daytime. Getting stuck behind exceptionally slow drivers who refuse to use the passing areas to pull over for quicker traffic when it's safely possible to do so also gets annoying.
10-13-16, 03:56 PM
When I saw It i knew
. I went up to my pops super excited and told him "hey look at that Lexus, looks fast" and he said or really with a smile on his face. He started talking to the man that owned the garage, they were really good friend,( he got the s500 from him) i don't remember much of what they said but we ending not taking the Lexus out all. Over there next few weeks I kept bugging both my parents about the car that can I just get the Sc400 and trade the LS400 even though they both had the same exact engine. At first he didn't even wanted to have it because of the V8 saying it was to much to handle but he already knew I was driving He other car with the same engine.
