gerrb

iTrader: (34)

IF this was the car that inspired me to keep Old Man Tan a Sandstone Beige Color and how it will look :



This is the car which inspires me to transform Red Mamba One into though am not going with 20" wheels since my 2jzgte drive trains need meaty tires .


For Red Mamba Two ... seriously thinking of converting it to a blue colored car since it has a full black interior . It would be a lot of work since cabin , trunk and engine bay needs to be painted but let us see how it goes when it is time to paint it. Of course Jimmy's car is an inspiration . I probably would install a 97 front bumper on RM2 since right now it has the 96 bumper and that color looks good with a 97 bumper. I don't know ... or maybe just keep the 96 bumper . I wonder if blue would look good on the APTech body kit . I can do that too. I don't think I have ever seen a picture of an SC with the Auto Couture kit and in RSP / Blue color .

gerrb

iTrader: (34)

Finally found a Lexus SC with Auto Couture Kit in blue color .. . Since I have an extra APTech body kit , would probably do it since auto couture in that color is rare. And with black interior , it would be fine.

KahnBB6

iTrader: (5)

Gerry, the light tan Sandstone Beige color, nice deep red color and Jim's deep blue color all look great. You can't go wrong with any of those! I would only add a kind of deep burgundy wood-brown-ish color against all of those. I agree that blue with a black interior is a good combination. I think the red is the best one to go with a tan interior... or a fresh, shiny black exterior with a tan interior (but I'm biased I guess ;D)

Those wheels on Jim's car in the above picture though... I think something like those are also a good look on the car. They remind me a lot of BBS LM's (are they BBS LM's? Or copies...?). That model rim has been a classic standout for years now. Five spokes in the vein of Supra TT rims, F40 rims, 959 rims etc. are always great but I love the LM-ish rims pictured. I think you mentioned you were looking at a possible new set you would be going with soon to fit those 345's and yet I forgot the model you stated!

I also love the unpainted five spokes you have on your RM1 one page back. What manufacturer and model would those be?

gerrb

iTrader: (34)

Craig - I am with you on a very clean tan interior and black exterior. Black on black has always been a fad but a really like new beige & black (upper parts are black instead of brown) is really nice and it stands out. There is contrast. I have tried that before on the Black Pearl. As I have told my buddy Aaron who used to have black pearl , I personally prefer a clean beige interior than black on a black car as long as the whole tan interior is really in immaculate condition. After having acquired that immaculate and like new beige interior of the Old Mant Tan car, I honestly prefer that color on red and black cars. True , black interior will be really nice on that RSP or blue colored car. That is why I thought of painting RM2 with that color since it has a full black interior or keep it red . Interchange Black Pearl's black interior with RM1's beige interior and paint RM1 into blue themed . Just so many possibilities and nice options that it makes my head hurt deciding .

Well at this point , am doing a lot of research on different car colors . There are just so many nice colors out there that will be good on the SC.The decision ahead of me would be tough .. am glad I have more than one SC .


To fit 345s and 335s I will have to go with 12-12.5" . That is the reason I have flared the two red cars at this point. I am looking at Work wheels that would give me deep dish look but at the same time should be able to accomodate BBKs. I really like the Work VS-XX , chromed deep dish (wide lips) with gold spokes (honey comb) in a red car.

Those BBS wheels have become so famous that a lot manufacturers both expensive and non expensive brand will have a same design wheel in 3 , 2 or 1 piece . That design is classic . They would always look nice in any car color.


I love those wheels , they had 5" lips but they only make them up to 10" and they have been discontinued ... Godspeed Deep Dish wheels. They were for older Mustang cars that is why they had the +22 offset.

jimmymac30

iTrader: (8)

craig, the wheels pictured on my car there (which have been replaced) are reps of the ccw classic 2 piece wheel. I LOVE the bbs LM's but they are hard to find in a 5x114.3 with the correct offsets. Anyway, I had to replace the wheels on the car because they wouldn't clear my LS400 front brakes. Not even with a spacer.

Gerry, I bought a fujin lip from Irving that will be installed today. I wanted to go with his full AC kit but it just doesn't make sense now that the car is done in paint. In hindsight I should have made my build sheet and stuck to it but I'm still extremely happy with the result and I'm glad my car can be a color inspiration. I wish you could see it in person... it looks a thousand times better than the pictures.

gerrb

iTrader: (34)

Jim - I agree , pictures do not always do justice to how a car looks in person. I am sure , seeing your car look so good in the pictures would all the more be astonishing in person . I have heard it many times. People say how a car's paint look bad in the pictures but me having it in front of me see's differently . There are a lot of factors involved in a picture that can affect how something would look in person ..... lighting , camera used , angle picture was taken and so on.

There is no doubt in my mind , that color of your car is something to envy about . That is why it makes my head hurt , hahaha. I am not sure if I can let that color pass without having it in one of my SCs even if it will entail a lot of work in changing a car's color. Even without any body kit , that color is good on a stock and lowered +97 SC.

CatManD3W

iTrader: (18)

Unless you are completely painting the car a new color...i.e door jams, engine bay....taking out all glass, trunk lid etc.....it is not worth it...

Just keep it the same stock color and add some flare to it.....i.e add some pearl, metallic, and or darker or lighten the original color.

gerrb

iTrader: (34)

IF I am changing the color of a car .. the cabin , trunk and engine bay would be painted . That is the beauty of it when you are not in a hurry building a car . I can take my sweet time painting . I have others to use while painting one . There is just something on a blue SC with a black interior that attracts me. I guess it is because I have never had an SC in that color.

To be honest, the only thing I care about is really the external being one color so the car I am in do not look like it should be at the junk shop or someone starring at me and not wanting to be near my car because it looks like it is falling apart , hahaha. My SCs are not cars that I use and go to a meet and show them off. I didn't build them for that purpose. So worst case I am even perfectly good with just door jambs , trunk and engine bay surrounds being painted same as the new color. I don't think I would need to go to the extent of removing glass in my case and for the purpose I have of my SCs. I want them to look good externally while moving but am not **** about their cosmetics in detail but with how they run and what they can do on the streets ?????? that is a different story . As Ricky Bobby said "if you ain't first , you are last ", lmaol .

I have two red (garnet pearl) colored SCs ... one has to change and that is where the blue comes in I guess . I wanted a white one but the sandstone beige is good enough being a light colored car. I still have another white colored vehicle anyway .

Blkexcoupe

iTrader: (8)

That's interesting. My wheels are polished too, and I haven't experienced much oxidation in the last 2 years. The wheels have only been coated for 6 months, but the car has barely left the garage.

97-SC300

iTrader: (17)

I daily drove my SC for about 5 months starting in May back when I was in Ohio so the car saw all weather elements (rain, dirt, etc.) but was garaged. Lets just say raw polished is NOT the way to go for a car that sees any kind of weather or if you have dusty brakes like I do.

A Sunday "nice weather" car with OEM pads, sure, go ahead and use polished wheels but you're still going to have to polish them every once in a while.

gerrb

iTrader: (34)

After a lot of thinking , I have decided to install these coil-overs on the Old Man Tan instead of selling them. They are twin tubes Tein Control Master Type Flex which are better for daily use than the monotube Stance Coilovers that are better for the track. Will probably do it tomorrow .

Blkexcoupe

iTrader: (8)

I've always found it interesting that tein is the only company that cuts the 1/2" square drive into their spanner wrenches, so you can attach a breaker bar to add more leverage. On their newer design it even has a hex cutout, so you can torque the top nut to spec without buying crows feet.

KahnBB6

iTrader: (5)

Gerry, I'd love to hear your impressions of those Teins when you've had some seat time with them.

gerrb

iTrader: (34)

You are right , I have all kinds of coilovers on my MKIVs and SCs now and they are the only ones whose spanners have a square cut outs so a breaker bar can be used .

Craig - I haven't installed them yet . My problem right now is even if I install them , I would have to raise them up front or my 4" exhaust will be hitting the humps / bumps. I need to get that 4" downpipe / midpipe and exhaust well tucked in. Right now , the area where the down pipe and midpipe meets is actually scraping humps / bumps if I am not careful.


My +400rwhp and +900rwhp daily drivers are actually wondering when they will be painted, . They will be first on my painting endeavor . I am now tempted to flare the quarter panels of the Old Man Tan before any painting to it is done. Red Mamba One and Red Mamba Two quarter panels have now been flared. Currently scouting also for an aftermarket twin exhaust manifold and aftermarket twin turbos .. looks like sooner or later the stock twins on that red car have to go and RWHP will be bumped up to +800rwhp . I always wanted to have an aftermarket twins in one of my cars.


dang ... need to find time to install those Tein Coilovers on the Old Man Tan and get the exhaust tucked in so it can be lowered.


I installed a 30mm wheel spacer to simulate where my 345/35R18 tires 18x12.5" wheels be once they are delivered . I want to make sure I got the measurements right since damn Work VS-XX are not cheap to make mistakes on the measurements just to find out that they are not flushed within my fender flares and my big brake calipers do not fit .

This is how the 345s will sit actually. Finally, damn wide tires...345.... yesssssssssssss .

gerrb

iTrader: (34)

After more than a 3 hour phone conversation with Craig (KahnBB6) and some convincing from some local members/friends , I am looking at transforming Red Mamba One which has a built 2jzGTE and built ATF transmission into a 6 speed so I can keep it and push it higher than 870rwhp which it made in my last dyno session. These buddies of mine have managed to convince me to let go of two or three SCs now and that will include giving up 2 original 1997 5speed since I can't seem to wrap up my mind in giving up any of my four 6speed MKIVs at this point. I guess I really just came to the realization that I need to cut down now on my toys. It doesn't make any sense keeping 10 2jz toys.

So I am searching for a clutch & brake pedals from an original 5speed , master cylinder and a 5speed gauge cluster. I believe if this becomes a 6speed , I would be able to push this engine beyond 1krwhp especially with a 150 shot nitrous.