Hello Club Lexus Readers.,

I'm new to the Lexus scene, but have been tuning and tweaking Toyota products for years. Well that all changed when I got a call from a friend the other day.

Sitting in his impound lot, a 1995 Lexus GS 300 and it's mine for a website and $400... well, I jumped in my Celica, and raced to his lot.

Here is what sat waiting for me....







I have big plans for this car, well at least, I plan to fix it up enough to drive it without being laughed at....

More to come.

#Project $400 GS 300

 

Can't wait to see it progresses, keep us updated...

 

what up sandusky im also new to the lex game but ive been in the automotive biz for a while i also just got a 94 gs300 that i got on a trade for my 95 civic eg that had no probs at all but when i traded my civic for the lex i didnot do a full inspection on the lex so when i took it i over heated the engine n blew a head gasket but a friend of mine told me the car was like that before i took it so now im doing a tear down on the head n changing lots ,of parts starting with sending the head to a head shop n going from there.anyways im a painter n all around body tech in a body shop u do have lots of rust so your going to have to kill all that cancer u have on the body so it wont rust again when u paint it..

 

So there is no magic primer I can use, that is in the body work the previous owner did, so I guess worst case scenario is sand all his body work back down to bare metal, reseal then pain...

Well, at least today I'm picking up a set of tires, so I can put it on the road, and drive the ugle beast. I'm trying to find a shop locally that will trade a website for a paint job...

Started planning the carputer today also, trying to figure out exactly what I have to work with.

Have you started a thread on your build??? if so send it over I'd like to follow it.

 

ya i would say u have to take it back to bare metal n rebondo the body work n primer with good primer but if there is to much damage to parts that u can change do it cause ur not going to want a bondo bucket i got lucky nmy body has little dings here n there but thats about it.so i havnt made a thread i already got the head off n starting to do some shoping for parts .but im doing an complete overhaul on the head n changing water pump ,timing belt,all gaskets plugs,wires,seals,etc .the overhaul of the head is going to be done at a machine shop thats going to redo the head complete for 375 back to 0miles ,chaning sensor were needs to be chang n hoses as well,but im going to add some pics when i assemble the head back..

 

ya i would agree to take it back to metal n redoing the body work n if u can change parts with new ones like fender , hood ,bumpers,etc cause im sure u dont want to drive around a bondo bucket,thank god my car only has little dings here n there n the paint is faded but since im a painter in a body shop i can restore the body myself i also have lifts so i have an advantage ,but i havnt started a thread on my overhaul on my engine but i will post some picks on the reassemble,going to send the head to the machine shop to redo the complete head for 375$ back to 0miles, yae, n change all major parts like water pump ,timing belt ,thermostate,all gaskets n seals,toyota head gasket,hoses,etc. also do a flush on the transmission n filter change.theres a diy on youtube call jeffs garage thats on a 2jzgte but its about the same for the 2jzge..

 

I've already located a new hood, 000, and new passenger fender, just looking for drivers fender, and door, Then I'll just have to redo the back fenders, and bumpers... May still just sell this one and buy another. There is a low mileage GS 300 for 1800 with a perfect body locally.

 

thats a good fine u cant find to many 1st gen gs300 in florida i mean i havnt seen quite to many around my area,ya there is some work to be done on your car but if u got time stick with it ,my gs is just sitting in my lot at work looking sad .

 

OK, so the Grand Prix wheels, or at least that's what I think they are have to go, . I run 18" wheels on my 94 Celica, and I'm thinking that would be a good size here also. Anyone have a good 18" Tire Size to look at to get a good overall ride height?

I'm thinking a nice set of 245/55R18 W92's or similar.

 

'Ere ya go!

This is a quick Excel spreadsheet I made for tire sizes for my Gen 1 GS

Highlights:
Column A is Tire size as shown on the sidewall (215/60-16)
Column B is the width column in mm (215)
Column C is the Aspect Ratio (sidewall height as a % of the width (60)
Column D is the rim size in inches
Column E is the calculated overall height of the tire/wheel (Contains a formula)

Formula in case you can't open with Excel
Width (215) x A/R (0.60) x 2 (there are 2 sidewall heights in the Diameter, this number gives you the 'tire portion' height in mm) divide by 25.4 to convert the mm to inches, then add the wheel size in inches (16) will equal the overall diameter

Gen 1 GS stockies (215/60-16) will equal 26.16"
for 18" wheels the closest sizes are 255/40-18 (26.03") but more common would be 245/40-18 (25.72") or 225/45-18 (25.97") for front staggered.

Have fun!, - Brent

 

Welcome, and Good luck! Can't wait to see how it turns out.

 

Some progress, well it's temporary.

I've started ordering parts and pieces from around the country,. and have plasti-dipped this thing in the mean time.



Looking for a replacement driver's seat, for this thing though, mine is shot...

 

How did you plasti-dip it? Was it spray on or roll on?

 

Im sure it was sprayed, check this site out for more info on dipping a whole car. www.dipyourcar.com

 

After watching all the videos, and experimenting with some spray I prepped the car, and threw down coats and coats of spray in light mists to it wouldn't puddle.

As an end result, I've been next to cars shot in a paint booth that look worse by a ton, and the ease of clean up around lenses and windows makes it really nice to work with.

I'm going to continue dipping parts and pieces as I replace them until I'm ready for paint, then I will peel it all off and pain the car traditional.

I'm thinking of laying down the plasti-dip clear, or possibly metalic just to see what it looks like.