I recently purchased my F with some miles, and in desperate need of some TLC.

I have started to get the car back to what it once was. The previous owner didnt take care of the outside of the car. He traveled from NY to Florida often, and with the miles, it has the usual wear and tear.

The body has major scuffs, dents, scratches and dings. But nothing that cant be fixed.

So, here we go. Project ISF is in full swing.


July 18th, 2011

The ISF is at the bodyshop getting stripped, repainted and wet sanded. We found that the front bumper was tore at one point, and whoever fixed it last used some kind of gummy bondo that with the heat here in Florida was coming apart from the inside out.

We also found very slight dents in the roof behind the sunroof, and there was damage caused by a garage door in the rear bumper.

There was a scrape of the passenger side rear door that was buffed out (looks great now), and a repair to the driver side passenger door that was not done correctly (Im OCD).





All of the wheels have curb damage on them. I will be getting these fixed, or just buying some new wheels.



And the headlights are rough, and pitted. These will be sanded and polished after the car gets out of the body shop.



I spent 4 hours sanding and polishing the quad tips to get them back to new and shiny condition. They were black and disgusting.

More to come!

 

GR8 pics man
If you sell your wheels let us get a chance at them first, I would not mind a set of stockers so I can .... get my experiment starts (going to take #2's rims and shave them to save weight)
God damn those wheels are in so much better condition than what my siste has done to #1.............

 

Interesting project on a car that obviously deserves better care than the previous owner gave. Are you concerned about how mechanically it was taken care of as that usually follows suit with the rest.

 

Thanks!

What do you think I can get for these wheels when they are repaired?

In addition to the above, I need to replace the following:

• Front and Rear wheel bearings
• Front and rear rotors
• brake pads (low dust)

If anyone can help with good places to find these parts I will appreciate it. I have been searching the forums, but I know there are other places I haven't found.

 

Actually, I had the engine compression tested, and it was like new. The transmission was serviced, and a new tranny ECU was installed because the old one was not taking a flash. This work was done by the Lexus dealership. All the service was performed on time, and in the same dealership. I know the mechanic that was the guy's preferred tech.

So as far as mechanical, interior, and electronics they are all in great shape.

 

It's nice to see u give this car the TLC it deserves!! Good luck with all the repairs on this car, it will be worth it in the end.

 

Great post and good luck to you! Can't wait to see how it turns out.

 

those pics dont look that bad, except the the curb rash.. gl on the repairs

 

What a BEAUTIFUL story on your find!!!!

FWIW I suggest you check the DIY Front Brake thread, many years ago on #1 I got new front pads for under $300 shipped I think, just recently #1 got new Project Mu pads and slotted rotors all around from Chops, I love the PM parts so much #2 is getting the same pads ASAP.
I think there was also just recently a thread on wheel bearings, definitely see if you can throw in a few cents from what you find

As for $ on the wheels, I must ask how much your guy will refinish them for, instead of oem BBS otherwise I'd definitely go for something more exotic WALD (VIP!!)

 

The best prices I have found for OEM Lexus parts:

http://www.sewelllexus-dallas.com/AboutParts

The repaired wheels should bring you around $2K

As for the brake pads and rotors if you go with OEM check out Sewell, other than that Raybestos has a set identified in the tread mentioned or you can google is-f raybestos brakes. If you ever plan on tracking the car then stay away from ceramic (low dust) pads.

Good luck on your project the F is definitely worthy of your effort.

 

Thanks for the help guys!

I ordered bearings for the front and rear from Sewell. Looks like they will be a couple of weeks.

As far as wheels, I think I am going to sell the stockers when they are refinished.

I found a set of 20" Nel Clase rims for cheap. I think the gold will set them off nicely.


Also, I got some good sources for rotors. Has anyone ever dealt with Adams Rotors? They are really big in the Euro community.

 

Very nice! So many times when you come across cars like that, if they didn't take care of cosmetics, the attention to detail is missing on the mechanical side as well. It will be interesting to see how things progress.

Steve

 

Simper Fi SargeISF another devil dog owning Marine here, in typical Marine Corp fashion your getting that F squared away out standing. I'm OCD to about my IS-F come to think of it I'm that way about all my present and past vehicle's occupational hazard after being in corp LOL good luck and keep us posted.

 

^ Semper Fi!!!!

 

Sarge - I have a brand new set of Hawk HPS (Low dust) front brake pads I'm trying to sell for $180 shipped if you are interested.

Good luck on your restoring that F. Glad to see it getting taken care of properly now. Those wheels should really look nice on it. Can't wait to see finished pictures!