Hey guys
long time lurker, thought I'd start a thread for my celsior.
Inspired by YanniG thread, and wanting to document my "build" thought it would be a good start.

Growing up in the 90's/ 00's San diego with my dad having a tuner shop there, i was always around great cars. And at some point in my childhood i met the owner of some lexus shop there who had a full VIP GS300 or Gs430, i cant really remember. Childhood me was in love with it. Big wheels, purple underglow, all the tv screens and alpine system, i wish i had photos of the car. Later on discovering magazines like VIPcar and also the internet didnt help. Been reading and looking at so much content from japanese builders, my want for one kept growing.

Many years later, moving over to Europe and after owning many cars (celica, w220 s500, IS200, Is250, 350Z s tune and some other winter beaters) i finally decided it was time for a big Lexus. I always kept my eyes open for a GS or aristo, but all the ones i looked at weren't doing it for me. I then started looking into the ls430. the more i read the more i liked them. So started hunting locally and reading up on what else i need to know before buying. Rare car in Europe, and when you do find one, then poor specs or just not well maintained. Even with the bulletproof engine, gut feeling always said no. So i tarted hunting for an import. Japan has/had them relatively cheap. I wanted one with a rare color, ALL options.

while scouting the auctions, a celsior popped up relatively local to me. not the right year, not the full spec list i wanted, but clean. really clean, and good price. Well cant hurt looking at it.. day before christmas 2021
the dealer also had some very nice cars there to look at, and a few other big lexus or toyota sedans
and this nice E55 which was equally tempting

Well, after a test drive and going through it all, i decided, for the time, this should be the one. It isnt the dream spec, but clean 1 owner japan garage kept, C specification, 100.000km on the odo, no rust at all anywhere, everything documented and fresh waterpump, oil change, belts and other maintance i dont fully recall right now
in addtion to, all changes made to be legally driven here and most important for me, the facelift body.
Car was sitting on the guys lot for about 6 months. Made the deal happen and took the celsior home.

The changes he made for it to be legal here:
- fixed headlights to work for swapped traffic direction
- added fog light into the rear lights ( i really hate this, he deleted one of the reverse lights and drilled a stupid hole into a switch panel and added generic switch, i will have to reverse this swap at some point)
- did all the import paperwork and inspections
- added washer system for headlights (required by law here if you have xenon)

I think this will be my first celsior, but not my last, as now with about 2 year ownership and previously having the w220 s500 i do realize i am missing some of the options that are just great to have. By now, a second daily would be nice, so i do keep my eyes open on the jap auctions for the full spec list i want. One day for sure.

Welcome to the fleet, day 1 right after bringing it home, back in march of 2022








One odd thing that the seller "didn't" have, were the auction/sale documents from japan. Well no worries, hit up Luke from Team free spirit and got myself all the auction info needed.
He confirmed, absolutely clean car and nothing to worry.

Photos when it was still in japan:






So where will this build go?
I want to take my experience and knowledge with tuner cars and my vision for what i find is a VIP and make my Celsior something that goes with my taste.
So big wheels, bodykit, and all the fine small details that change the bigger picture. hint, i'm into WALD GmbH and have picked up all catalogs i can find from the era

 

So lets go on with updates then.
While the celsior sat 3 more months at the dealer before i took it home, i already ordered a few parts from japan.

Japanese cars are limited to 180KM/H. As i got this car for some of my travels and we have no speed limit here on the Autobahn, having it limited isnt for me.
Fortunately, HKS makes a great tool, their VAC system to go around it. So went ahead and purchased that and was the first to be installed.


Second up, the ASC680 air sus controller. Really easy install, and once you understand how it works and access the super low mode, its awesome and works its magic.
originally i wanted to make a new holder for it int he center ashtray, but between the tiem of buying the car and driving it, the car started to bounce in the back, badly. After diagnosis, the rear air suspension was shot. Great, and right after buying it. No warranty on this car, so all to go on my cost. It was impossible to find a shp that would re build them. Local lexus wanted about 2400eur per strut. Found cheaper alternatives int he US, was considering getting used ones from japan, but for the moment decided, well their shot anyway, lets just slamm the air controller all the way low to reduce bounce, and max stiff setting and figure this out later.

How it sits after lowering:


I also picked up Garax Crystal interior lenses and headroom led set. I have the version without sunroof, so i got the cover version made for that, but oddly it didn't fit. But okay, i just installed all the white led's and kept the front lens same, and just changed the back ones.



And something i just happened to randomly find, and haven't seen again since, Wald wooden shift ****. The wood isnt a 100% match, and the leather isn't absolutely fresh, but it is much much nicer than the factory one and fits right into what i have planned.

And of course, wheels! what wheels?
Well, if you see in my previous post, with the wald catalogs... i want wald wheels, big sexy mercedes styled ones. Duchatalet it is!
This is what i want to go for:

Old wheel that was no longer in production (fast forward to today and they are making it again! in their 3 piece options!)
So scoured the internet and found a set of 20" in the right specs, used and relatively ok in price.
Hit up a rather popular import shop in Ireland to help me out with bringing them over in a container. paid them and was told they would be in europe within a month or two. Sure no worries. Unfortunately, i was led on for about 11 months. with just a endless circle jerk, after about 13 months i got my money back at least.... But all this time, riding around on the grandpa spec OEM wheels... no fun. Needles to say, i will not be using them again and have since found a much better importer for my larger international items.

After a few months i met up with a friend and took some refreshing photos.

this cassette was still in the stereo system when i picked up the car. hour long recording off smooth jazz from some Japanese radio stationSadly, on my travels back, a construction pillar was a bit too far out and i lost my passenger mirror. i did not expect to miss it so much when driving.

Finding one locally was impossible. Buying a new one didn't come in question. So off to Japan, found a perfect pair in matching black, with LED entry lights and the early benz style blinkers. Super cool. reminded me of my old s class.

I did take photos of the install, but i can't seem to find them. Anyway, yanniG did a great install part in his build thread that i used to also wire mine up. I originally wanted to link them wiht the fender blinkers, but no chance of putting a wire there cleanly. So like yanniG, i also attached them to the control unit under the driver foot well area.

 

Now we are in September 22.
Went out to dinner and sadly when i came back, my front plate was stolen
Here in Europe most countries all have the longer rectangle plates. Having square ones is mostly only common for trucks, motorcycles or imports. Having one stands out, so i think this is why it was stolen.
Some have many noticed in the back, i have the standard shape. That is because the DMV refused to give me two square ones. And the front square one i had wasn't even int he correct size. Japanese size are special here and you need extra permit from the import office at the time it was imported, which was sadly forgotten. So unless i get cozy with someone at the DMV that wont happen. oh well.

Stupid thing is, if a plate is stolen, it is blocked for 10 years... so no more LJ 500 for a while . Here you can only customize the center letters and numbers, if it is available. So I found the next best thing i guess. still looking for a better one.
Quick trip to Belgium for some chocolates:

Next item arrived!
I scored the 2006 model year steering wheel in pretty good condition with basically matching wood to what i already have. I prefer this one because it has the shaped wood vs the standard ones that are only round. Leather on the right side is a little worn and ugly glitter stickers on the airbag cover.

before:




After:


Very easy install, just a few bolts. I kept the original airbag cover and putter the sexy glitter one on the old wheel. Not sure if i should sell it or keep it for if i ever sell this car.. hmm.

Picked up led's for the front mirrors and for the 4 door lights


I found these so cool. Toyota made from what i can find 5 watches for the celsior. 2 wrist watch and 2 pocket watch and a small table clock stand. the gold ones for the earlier UCF10/20 era and the silver for the UCF30 era. I liked both and got them cheap as the sellers said they didn't work. Cleaned them a little, new battery and like new.


And as you can see, while i got them i also got the full gold platted badge kit

Next mod
while driving it for a while now, i never really liked the roof handles.
Back in my s500 i installed wooden ones from the s600 and they were so nice and elegant. I found a company in japan that made wooden ones for the ucf31, but it was full wood,
these:


I found a set from the S600 and asked for sizes, then compared with those in the celsior, and what do you know, the mounts fit.
toyota vs benz handles

The benz ones have smaller bolts and a metal ring on the back. trim those and slim the mounting shape a bit and it fit right in. I need to sand down the height of the mounts tho, they stick out about 3mm. but there is enough material there to do that.
before:

after:

Small difference, but i really like them and am happy they fit in right. Almost looks factory even if the shape is slightly different. And can be reversed any time

Next up was the radio. The head unit is Japanese and well, its all in Japanese and thinks im in the ocean near japan. And i can only link into some frequencies on the radio here. Or bluetooth fm transmitter. but i want the andorid system.
I read a lot and basically it was between the android swap unit or the grom vline. the swap unit i liked more although i heard osme people had troubles. oh well gave it a try.

Absolute nightmare. Yeah it kinda worked. But no audio, no buttons. endless back and forth with support till they wanted me to cut wires. yeah no thanks... i sent it back through paypal claim as they got hard to deal with. it of a loss as i wouldnt get my import fee's back, but oh well.

i then took the bullet and ordered the expensive grom vline 2.
Its amazing. why didnt i do this right away. Yes its expensive but it does exactly what i want and it all works! Most of the time atleast. sometimes it doesnt want to turn on or function correctly. but when it does, splendid!


Anyway, at this point, happy new year 2023!

I picked up a set of authentic, yet stolen, japanese plates and a Shimekazari for decoration for the more authentic japanese new years tradition

after my first wash and detailing of the year, added the C pillar celsior badges too

 

now with 2023 happening, manged a few more things for the car

starting off with, IVY models brought out a 1:18 version of the LS430. unfonrlty, they got many things wrong. But its a good base to use to make a replica of mine when the day comes


I picked up a Toms strut bar

and gave it away for sandblasting and powder coating as it was a bit used looking along with some parts form the nissan


Sadly, they got the color wrong and then wanted to blame it on me.

its not horrible, it just inst what i wanted, but i accepted it and installed as is. Added the toms badge back on it, need to find a new badge as it got slightly dented in transit.

Very random, but found some official celsior dessert spoons.
Sitting in the showcase at home with some other stuff now

And well all things japan, lets get some oil cooler flags you will mostly only ever see with bandit gang sin japan. For some it is offensive, but just a cool thing i wanted. I haven't driven around with it tho. Car aint looking boss enough yet for that. Would like to get fender poles for flags for ultimate state limousine vibes one day maybe.

And met up with a friend at local cars and coffee


Met a nice japanese lady at the event too, who helped me translate a few things.

Although i want to go with the full Wald lip kit and trunk wing, they dont make a roof wing. So a few options out there, i opted for the AUTO COTURE one.


it is slightly too wide, but its okay i think. I still need to remove the old glue and stick it on. but i was waiting till i have atleast nicer wheels so it doesnt look out of place for now


Some more items i managed to find but haven't installed yet
Wald exhaust tips


wald celsior pedal set


And although i mainly wanted to stick with the Wald theme, i opted for the 320km/h speedo for my celsior. I usually cruise around 200-220 when traveling and having the speedo only go to 180 is a bit silly. Maybe i will modify it to say wald instead of tom's. not sure yet. I haven't installed it yet because i still need to figure out how to have the odo read the same number as i have now. otherwise ill install it latest by the time i reach the number it says. if anyone knows how to do that please let me know.

 

All lovely vehicles! Thanks for sharing. It took me six months during the pandemic in 2020 to finally buy my one owner 2002 LS 430. I've never had an affinity to a vehicle like this one, except for my 1986 190D which I owned from new in Jamaica. I now live in Canada but my brother still drives it and it's in amazing shape!

 

Thank you Freedy12Glad to hear you have such a nice car! keep it well maintained.

P.S., no need to quote ALL the photos. that just makes new clutter that no forum needs.


Anyway, next update:

i picked up factory front paring pole

As i am planning on getting a bodykit, i havent installed it yet. as you have to take so much a apart, rather do that all in one go.
They also made rear corner pole, but they are far more rare and i am not sure if i really want/need that one

At this point not much has happened, i finally got coilovers and replaced the shot air suspension with BC racing sets.


Added the fresh toms strut bar while doing the suspension swap

We went on a 4000-5000km round trip to poland and czech republic, including a stop to Ultrace.
Here are some photos of the trip and the LS models that were there. I had a few more but i seem to have misplaced them as i was useing two cameras and my phone while there










prauge:


a cathedral of death:

Berlin:

And when we got back, my Garson grill and front table arrived

a bit later on we picked up this S550L from japan

found this really nice parking garage


And after about 8 months of waiting, my new to me wheels showed up!


I got myself a set of OEM 5 spokes, i find they are much nicer than the 17" 6 spokes, and its good to have a oem wheel set here for the bi yearly inspection. But what i ddint see when i bought them, they have really wack tire specs.
so it sits absolute ****.
I then also picked up a set of 3 piece Wald duchatelet in 19" and a set of Wald duchatelet Monoblock in 20"
Both sets need to be refinished. so i did a quick test fitment and then gave them to a wheel shop. Hope to get them back soon


18" 5 spoke with bad tire specs



19" 3 piece wheels


20" monoblock


I dont know which i like more of the 2 Wald sets. Will see when they are back from being refinished.

 

And that brings us to newyear 23 to 2024.

Washed the celsior and took some new new years photos, kind a new tradition for me






And shortly after i was talking to some friends and jokingly said i should get those LCD screens for the back seats and well also trunk, and what would you know, a few days later i found a full Alpine headrest set for the celsior. Never seen them before so i doubt they are a factory option, please correct me if i am wrong. They are great and witht he wood/gold emblem its just perfect!
Great condition and going by the seller, it also all works.


Found a set of rear factory side window curtains too. I want to get VIP curtains, but for now, the factory ones are the way


And that brings us to a fully updated thread for now.
Currently talking to my importer for getting that bodykit ordered. So hope to get that here this year.
And after i finish the next repairs and mods on my nissan, i'll have some more space and time to finally install many of these parts and do some changes i want. Oilchange is also due in about 2 weeks so might check all other fluids and check all the other things i might need.

thanks for checking out my thread and will update again when there is something new to report.

 

Love all the pics and all the little thing you have for the Celsior. I would take a watch lol.

 

How did you get the Japanese license plate? I want one so bad!!

Where did you find the headrest screens!? Really cool

How does the car ride with the Toms racing bar under the hood?

 

thanks! they pop up sometimes on auction sites.

My importer had a few sets. you can find used ones on ebay sometimes but they are well pricey. There are decent replica ones out there tho.

Headrest screens was an auction find

Car rides much better, installed the brace before my trip into the mountains and the front handling well improved. Its still a big boaty car, but now a less wobbly one for sure.

 

Definitely look forward to more of the build

 

not much has happened in the past months, away for business and holidays for the most part. got a flat tire twice! only a few weeks apart, damn nails. So currently running the stock 5 spoke with sketchy tires in the wrong sizes. New tires are on the way.

The 2 sets of wheels are still at the shop that is refinishing them. From what was promised a 3 month time estimate, is now at past 6 month time frame. About 4 weeks ago i got an updated pic and video that the wheels were refinished and freshly turned and only awaiting new bolts. My pick up appointment of Mai 31st has now been pushed back/canceled every week since and i am growing impatient, especially as i have been running on winter tires all year as this guy promised me my wheels to be done in time for summer.

in February i ordered a brand new wald kit. Expensive AF, but been watching auctions for a used one and they were either all to dinged up didnt want to bother with the hassle or incomplete. So new was the way.
That finally arrived yesterday.



did a quick mock up of the front lip


now to sand it and smoothen out the spots that aren't perfect and get some quotes from some paint shops to get this matched up

what i also got out of japan was a carpet for the trunk
I hate the way how standard its just that hard board with felt on it.
I found the trunk mat and placed the order, to then shortly after find out they made two versions. A little research on my end probably would have been better but oh well to late, already ordered it and no returns, so i'll just sell on the wrong one to someone who it does fit for.

Short one = for cars with refrigerator
Long one = for cars without the refrigerator

fits in perfect



and a comparison if anyone was wondering

Up next i guess is once the kit is painted, slowly start fitting all the bits i have collected to the car. As my other car (350z) is currently giving me all the financial pain in addtion to all these bits and all the new tires (10 of em), i have to sort that out before i can get going on this one. And as its my daily, the 350z has to be running to daily that before i can let this one be down for a while.

 

After a lot of pushing, and starting to mention legal threats, i was finally able to collect my wheels. But i am rather disappointed and this whole wheel ordeal has gotten me quiet down.

2 wheel sets were supposed to be done in April, both to be chemically cleaned, diamond cut, curb rash fixed, side of spokes to be painted in a gun grey metallic like OEM, and rest clear coated. With refurbished center caps, new gel emblems, new bolts and on the 19" set 90' valve stems.

I got a call on a thursday saying the wheels are basically done, he is having problems with the nuts for the 3 piece set, the ones he bought didn't fit and he gave the old ones to a shop that will refinish and re coat them, i can get them Saturday. strange but ok, they are not that special the nuts but sure, lets just accept it, we are already 4 months behind schedule... he confirmed everything else was done, even the wheel caps, i asked especially as i wanted to collect everything at once as its a bit over an hour drive per direction.

Saturday morning, get a call, the guy aint done with the nuts yet, he will have them int he evening, i can come by on Sunday. Well darn, i already built my weekend plans around this, canceled other things and said ok, i just want my darn wheels back now and want to be done with him and this matter.

I get there and on first glance things are ok..but the more i looked, the more shocked and upset i got.

the 20" set has been turned uneven, the front set therefor having uneven amount removed from the logo, the first few letters int he spoke basically gone, the rear set he just plastred 2 stickers of the logo on it and clear coated them, so two uneven pairs... in addition to them being sprinkled in dust specs int he clear coat and having sharp raised edges where he masked off , finding some paint chips along the edges as well, and painted hub surface. Sofar i know these are always supposed to be smooth and flat. WTF.

then he showed me the 19" 3 piece set. For some reason the insides are painted black?? He didnt have a response to that. Old nuts? Yeah good one, the old rusty nuts were still sitting next to the set, he just grabbed standard ones off his shelf for my set, so that was a lie, no 90' valve stems either, he count find any, although he said he did. And all 8 center caps untouched like the day i left them with him. Some bs excuses later he said the logos are on the way, yeah but what about matching them up to the rest of the wheels?

I fought with him, but at the end i just wanted to be done with it all. I got about 1/4th of my money back and came to an agreement, that i will have the logos redone on a CNC elsewhere on my costs, and then he has to refinish the wheels again on his cost. Other wheel set she has there are great, he also has great feedback from people i know, so i dont get it why are my sets cursed? It already started with the first set of wald wheels i wanted.., sure is strange. I dont think i will keep them, as it seems i cant even drive them legally here. So for now i just have some quick mock up pics of them fitted without center caps.


anyway, some pics
20"

front pair:


rear pair:


here you can see the dust spec

19" set:


19" set fitted





next week the car and bodykit go on over to the paint shop .. hope that that goes better than the **** show and scammer with the wheels.

 

I don't usually quote pictures, but those wheels look amazing, especially at that angle. I had planned to get some 17" chrome UL wheels for mine and call it good, but... sir, you have officially changed my mind. My car is black as well and I think the machined finish is a perfect fit. I liked them well enough when they were painted, but the difference without paint is incredible. It's such a shame that the wheel guy scrubbed off part of the name on the other set. I'm really surprised the whole process was so bad. Here in the US, Germans have a reputation for being very good craftsman with high precision and are notorious for being on time. I know that's a stereotype, but this is worse than I would have expected even at a bad wheel shop here.

Will you never be able to drive on them at all? No way to get them approved even though they are JWL and VIA stamped? Does that mean all Japanese wheels can never be used in Germany? What would happen if you drove with them on the car anyways and swapped to stock wheels for inspection? They are too nice to give up on.

 

@DrVlikhell i think 17" wheels are too small for this car. 18" sits good and 19" just right. Machined finish is just so good on this car regardless of wheel imo.

Some wheels can be driven in Germany, some guys have Work and SSR's here, but even then not all wheels can be driven, even if it is just a certain offset. Its a big joke. its just these not so common brands that are very tough.
I could drive them and swap to OEM for inspection, but if the police stop me, which they probably will with a car looking like this, they have the power to impound the car and fine me if certain itms are legally registered to the car. Already went through that with my other car, don't need it here as well.

Anyway. I got news.

Dropped the car off at the paint shop for a full paint correction and exterior detailing. (I did the interior detailing myself, didn't take any photos of it. )



the paint shop also did wonderful work on the body kit





then i just stored the car for three weeks with lack of time to do anything.
i thought no problem car is clean it can sit till i find the time. Until unfortunately a friend's engine seized on him and i needed to go pick him up. At least i got a nice sea side drive out of it.







upon getting back, i thought well lets give it a nice wash, get all those bugs off and then get to the body kit.

only to then have paint come off of the front bumper??


i then recalled that the bumper was re painted in japan before export. That explains many things down the line, see some stuff further down in my post.

but all clean, the car is so nice. So many small paint flaws are gone, i am really happy with the work for the paint shop






I asked them to take off the window visors and polish the chrome, as well as the chrome on the window visors. Sadly one visor broke.
i thought about painting the set in black to match the car, same as many VIP builds have it, but i decided thats not a look i want to go for with my car, so i found a cheap brand new set in japan and had those sent over


the install was super easy and straight forward.


through driving a few days without the visors, i was really surprised how much louder the interior is with open windows. As well as how much more windy it is in the cabin. Did not expect it to make such a difference.
I used the opportunity to then also use some industrial grease to lube up all the door seals and window seals. Good thing to do to preserve them int he long run.


while doing so found this small cut in my door leather. Anyone have any tips on how to fix this?



while im at it, i also collected all parts to retro fit OEM parking sensor system as well as Celsior OEM front parking pole