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I wanted to start a build thread for my 98 Sc400 that I bought. This is my second SC400 that I have owned. I wanted to get another SC especially since my first one (95 Sc400) was wrecked many years ago . I really liked everything about that car, so I figured I would look online and see what I could find.
Then I saw it. This one.
This was an auction special, Diamond White Pearl, aftermarket wheels (3? and 1 spare), clean title, 2-3 hours away. 1UZ VVTi, Seems pretty good. The car looked kinda rough, but I saw some potential in it, and already had some ideas of the goals I had for it: Semi quick daily driver that I could drive to work most days. This way I could save the amount of mileage I was adding to one of my other cars I wanted to keep for a while (somewhat rare).
So after doing a good bit of research and finding information from Lexus Drivers about vehicle history (minimal) I gambled and bought it based on the pictures. The other gamble, mileage wasn't displayed on in the cluster due to a bad VSS. But knowing the 1UZ's are pretty rock solid, I took a chance and bid, and paid around $1300 after all fees and taxes.
I received the car in about 2 days and it was delivered to the driveway. It fired right up and I pulled it into the garage to take inventory, it really struggled to slow down even moving 5 mph into the garage. First thing to fix is on the list: Brakes.
I took survey of the car, it was rough, but I saw potential...
Some paint fading on the hood, roof, and trunk Don’t mind the MR2 in the back
The Interior was in really good condition
Then I popped the trunk, what a holy grail of stuff. New OEM fluids, parts, receipts, water pump, missing aftermarket wheel, new tire for said wheel.
Now it was time for the work to begin.
That's quite the score. Was it a repo or abandoned lot type auction? You don't see a lot of clean title cars at auction, and all that dust makes me think it sat abandoned for some time. Looks like someone was taking pretty good care of it up to that point, though.
Great color, and it looks like the interior is still pretty minty. A little maintenance will go a long way to creating an awesome cruiser/project for you!
That's quite the score. Was it a repo or abandoned lot type auction? You don't see a lot of clean title cars at auction, and all that dust makes me think it sat abandoned for some time. Looks like someone was taking pretty good care of it up to that point, though.
Originally Posted by RudysSC
Great color, and it looks like the interior is still pretty minty. A little maintenance will go a long way to creating an awesome cruiser/project for you!
From what I understand, it was a car someone had, and it was sitting for a while. They sold it to a general "We Buys Cars Online" company, they bought it and immediately sold it to the auction. Then I saw it there online and bid on it.
I guess the person had it, and it was sitting for a while, hence the paint fade only on the Hood, Roof, and Trunk. The Sides and Bumpers are in good shape w/a few areas that need touching up. Maintenance wise, I think the person tried to do some stuff on their own, but then gave up and sold the car. It had quite a few replacement parts inside, but since I'm a DIY guy, I replaced quite a few things maintenance wise. So far:
Valve Cover Gaskets / Spark Plug Tube Gaskets
Timing Belt, Pulleys, Crank seal, Water Pump
Trans flush, new FIPG, Pressure Regulator Change (3rd Dial)
VSS
Alternator
Yes the interior is in good condition, a small tear on the drivers side, but fixable, unless I decide the replace the seats with some sportier ones, not sure yet.
Ill post the next level of things I have done later today when I can get some pictures.
So after assessing the car I got to work on some of the main things it needed.
Brakes, and better looking paint.
I had some LS400 calipers, so I painted them up in VHT Titanium Silver Blue. Added some power stop pads and rotors, then changed the leaking Master cylinder and bad brake booster. The calipers hit the wheel when mounted so I added a 5mm spacer to the front.
Braking was much improved.
Nice Calipers under some ugly faded wheels
After that I needed to address the paint. It was faded on the hood, trunk, and roof.
I found someone locally parting out a same color SC, so I bought the hood and trunk. Installed, and washed it.
Wow, what a difference.
Now after tackling this and the general maintenance, it was time to figure out something with the ugly looking wheels.
Wow, the seller must have taken a beating on that, going the cash-for-clunkers route. I bet they got half as much for it as the '97-00 body kit alone is worth. Win for you!
Love the brake caliper color, and man does that thing look terrific with the new hood! Great score. I hope that it treats you well and that you can enjoy it for years to come.
Wow, the seller must have taken a beating on that, going the cash-for-clunkers route. I bet they got half as much for it as the '97-00 body kit alone is worth. Win for you!
Originally Posted by RudysSC
Love the brake caliper color, and man does that thing look terrific with the new hood! Great score. I hope that it treats you well and that you can enjoy it for years to come.
Their loss is my gain. And I plan on keeping this one a long time.
I replaced the VSS and turns out it had 175k miles as well.
I really like the caliper color as well, it looks more silver in that picture, but it’s a nice ice blue.
I just painted the wheels over the weekend so I’ll post those pictures soon.
And tonight I’ll finish air intake I made for this to get rid of the giant box we have on the VVTI engines.
Over the weekend I decided the paint the wheels that were fading and chipped. So after sanding them down as much as I can, it was painting time.
Some quick info on the wheels. They are EXE which is just a brand name used for the US, but they are made by Cosmic Wheels in Japan.
The fronts are 19x8.5 and the rears are 19x9.5. The tires that came on them were 215 in the front and 225 in the rear (Falken FK453).
Not how I would have done it personally, but I’m not going to throw away brand new tires.
I decided to go with a different paint them and painted them as well as the logos in a dark metallic bronze, depending on the light it really changes color, from bronze, to almost black at night, to a more dark copper color.
The color didn’t come out exactly as I wanted,I wanted a more grey bronze. It might not be for everyone, but I wanted something different, and now the color is growing on me.
I also decided to paint the emblems the same color instead of the gold they were. I also touched up the front grill which was fading to black, to match the lower grill insets.
As it sits now The camera flash makes it a weird color, but you can see the contrast with the titanium silver blue calipers Logos to match
That's the color I always wanted to paint the wheels on my green '94.
When you do wear out those tires... I had 225/245 on my '98 until last year, when I moved the 245's up front and put 275's in back. Massive difference in grip and road feel! That's on Supra TT wheels, so the same 9.5" in back you've got. That's probably the width you'll want to not look so stretched...assuming you don't want them stretched.
That's the color I always wanted to paint the wheels on my green '94.
When you do wear out those tires... I had 225/245 on my '98 until last year, when I moved the 245's up front and put 275's in back. Massive difference in grip and road feel! That's on Supra TT wheels, so the same 9.5" in back you've got. That's probably the width you'll want to not look so stretched...assuming you don't want them stretched.
Yeah I don't like the stretched look, but they were brand new tires, So I didn't want to throw them away.
But I would like some wider tires, I'll probably do a 245 275 or something similar.
So I just finished my custom made intake for my 98 Sc400.
As other 98+ owners know, there are no real aftermarket options for this, so I built my own. I wanted to put something on that eliminates the large resonator box, but utilized the existing air filter box since it is efficiently designed and pulls fresh air from the grill/bumper opening.
I used basic items I was able to order from amazon and get from auto parts stores.
If people are interested, I can put together the list of the parts I used.
The stock intake tube with its real estate-eating resonator box is certainly a bit of an eyesore, but be aware that removing it may well hurt performance.
The stock intake tube with its real estate-eating resonator box is certainly a bit of an eyesore, but be aware that removing it may well hurt performance.
That is a clean looking alternative you developed, though.
Thats an interesting post on Planet Soarer, but reading it they changed the dimensions of the intake tube to a larger diameter. Which will have a negative effect. I kept it all the same As the stock sizing. So hopefully no ill effects.
I can’t say I noticed any power difference, but I also still have the stock air filter and not a performance once. But it did make the intake noises louder, which is a bonus
03-03-20, 08:40 AM
98 Sc400 Build
. I really liked everything about that car, so I figured I would look online and see what I could find.
And I plan on keeping this one a long time. 
