ray316's 97 ls400 build thread
Hello Everyone My name is Ray from Wichita Ks. I own a 97 lexus LS400 coach edition Ive had for about 7 months so far and loved it. I started modding it shortly after i bought it with the intention of making it a clean VIP daily driver. I wanted to post a thread to show the progress and timeline on my build. The plans are a nice static drop on coilovers, wheels and a color change which is already in the process.
here is when i first got it bone stock beige exterior the first thing i did was tint the windows which i may re-do to a light blue tint like the newer mercedes factory tint

shortly after I replaced the old halogen bulbs in the headlights and fogs with 6000k HIDs and changed the amber corner lights to clear ones also replaced all the factory interior bulbs to white LEDs

some wheels came up for sale locally for cheap which I ended up picking up to refinish theyr are 18x9.5-10.5 riverside mae dish

during refinish


and completed with some 225/35-235/40/18 nangkangs mounted

than I picked up some megan LP coilovers



sadly after all the time i spent refinishing the MAE's i didnt take time to make sure they cleared the front brakes the guy i bought them from told me they would so i took his word. I didn't wanna run spacers so i ended up selling them and picked up some temporary wheels for dirt cheap brand new in boxes theyre varrstoen 1.1.2 (bbs LM reps) in 19x9.5-10.5 +12 all around. It ended up working out though I really wanted to go with 19s to begin with

test fitted them to make sure they cleared my brakes before i mounted tires on them learned my lesson the first time


mounted tires decided to go with a big stretch on the tires due to the aggressiveness of the wheels 215/35-235/35 federals


after I worked out some maintanance on the car and got it running as good as possible it went to the body shop for paint and body work. The plans are a full color change, fenders rolled and pulled all around, remove all dents, shave rear emblems and antenna. Also have some parts coming in (LED red/clear tail lights, Belleza led mirror covers, new black chrome grill, new chrome moldings)

the color i decided to go with is smoky granite mica from the newer lexus color line up

here is the paint on the door jams

started working on the pull on the fenders here is a test fit of the wheels at the height i wanted it may go lower though

here is the pull in the rear

also painted the brake calipers in sparkle silver they cae out pretty nice didnt want rusty dirty calipers with mesh wheels not a good look lol

that's where im at so far hopefully it will be out of the paint shop by the end of this week! thanks for looking!
here is when i first got it bone stock beige exterior the first thing i did was tint the windows which i may re-do to a light blue tint like the newer mercedes factory tint

shortly after I replaced the old halogen bulbs in the headlights and fogs with 6000k HIDs and changed the amber corner lights to clear ones also replaced all the factory interior bulbs to white LEDs

some wheels came up for sale locally for cheap which I ended up picking up to refinish theyr are 18x9.5-10.5 riverside mae dish

during refinish


and completed with some 225/35-235/40/18 nangkangs mounted

than I picked up some megan LP coilovers



sadly after all the time i spent refinishing the MAE's i didnt take time to make sure they cleared the front brakes the guy i bought them from told me they would so i took his word. I didn't wanna run spacers so i ended up selling them and picked up some temporary wheels for dirt cheap brand new in boxes theyre varrstoen 1.1.2 (bbs LM reps) in 19x9.5-10.5 +12 all around. It ended up working out though I really wanted to go with 19s to begin with

test fitted them to make sure they cleared my brakes before i mounted tires on them learned my lesson the first time


mounted tires decided to go with a big stretch on the tires due to the aggressiveness of the wheels 215/35-235/35 federals


after I worked out some maintanance on the car and got it running as good as possible it went to the body shop for paint and body work. The plans are a full color change, fenders rolled and pulled all around, remove all dents, shave rear emblems and antenna. Also have some parts coming in (LED red/clear tail lights, Belleza led mirror covers, new black chrome grill, new chrome moldings)

the color i decided to go with is smoky granite mica from the newer lexus color line up

here is the paint on the door jams

started working on the pull on the fenders here is a test fit of the wheels at the height i wanted it may go lower though

here is the pull in the rear

also painted the brake calipers in sparkle silver they cae out pretty nice didnt want rusty dirty calipers with mesh wheels not a good look lol

that's where im at so far hopefully it will be out of the paint shop by the end of this week! thanks for looking!
Yeah I know like I mentioned they're temporary wheels I plan on getting a more aggressive set up when funds clear up so I wanted the pull done with the body work in the mean time I'll probably run a 15mm spacer to flush it out which will put me at negative offsets
will do most likely will be done by this Friday
will do most likely will be done by this Friday
Thanks!
Trending Topics
19x9.5 +12 front 19x10.5 +2 (after 10mm spacer) 215/35 front 235/35 rear
Thanks alot guys!! the car still needs a few things done it still hasnt been wet sanded or buffed so once thats done the paint will look alot better!
Thanks alot guys!! the car still needs a few things done it still hasnt been wet sanded or buffed so once thats done the paint will look alot better!












