SC300 rebuild (1jz , bmw 530d 5-speed)
 

Hello fellow SC/Soarer nerds

I´d like to make a small contribution to this great forum. Please forgive me for bad Spelling and infantile English, as it´s not my native language


Lexus sc300/400 were never sold in Europe, so they are quite rare over here. I have a sc400 since Before, which I love dearly, but couldn´t resist when I found this manual 1994 sc300 last september. Flew down to Rotterdam, Holland , bought it, and drove it back home to Stockholm, Sweden. The alternator gave up on autobahn, but with some help I managed to get home.

The car was in good shape despite that it had 340 000 km (211 000 miles) on the meter. Paint and chassi in good condition, The 2jz and w58 working perfect. Simply Toyota/Lexus quality. Worn out steering Wheel and drivers seat on the minus side. Nice set up of 18" Wheels with good tyres.

Plans
This Winter I have started in a slow pace with the upgrades. My plans are as follows:
1) 1jz swap (I have ordered a soarer motor from the UK, but it hasn´t arrived yet)
2) BMW 530d 5 speed swap
3) Supra LSD diff
4) Brakes: LS400 -98 in the front
Supra tt -95+ in the rear
LS400 -96 Master cylinder +brake booster (To be able to register the car as a fully
rebuilt vehicle, I need to upgrade these as well. Silly Swedish traffic laws.)

The motor has to be completely stock when I do the registration, so all Engine upgrade goodies will have to wait.
/Anders

Transmission
 

The BMW E39 530d 5 speed has a good reputation among drifters for being very solid. Stronger than the R154 and so much cheaper (not to talk about the cost for a v160) I bought this gear box on ebay for 50 Euro (ca 70 USD)+shipping .
The full adapter kit (adapter plate, flywheel, tilton twin plate clutch) from abc-clutch was ca 2300USD.

I had to do some minor modifications to the tunnel (Close to the Engine bay) to make it fit. Pressed the tunnel roof upwards ca 10-20 mm (1/2") . Also did some grinding on the top of the transmission where it hit the roof.
I´ve also constructed a custom crossmember and shortened the shifter extension to fit the w58 lenght.

left to be done:
*let a machine shop construct a custom, blanced prop shaft with the front of the bmw propshaft and the rear of a sc propshaft
* new lines to the slave cylinder

transmission
 

BMW-JZ adapter kit

modification of tunnel
 

The darker, central area is were I had to press the tunnel roof upwards. Also created some more space on the left side/drivers side of the tunnel for the line to the slave cylinder

subframe/differential
 

The rear subframe was in pretty good condition, but the stock diff pumpkin was leaking.
Did some temporary rust protection and fitted a LSD supra tt diff

I like the tranny idea....get at it

Brakes
 

Thanks QWIKSTRIKE! You´ve got a nice Project going on yourself!

Made room for the Supra tt brakes in the rear by cutting away parts of the dust shield.

brakes
 

As I mentioned earlier I´ll have to replace the brake master cylinder as well. The -94 sc3 has the 3 bolt attachment and the newer ones a two bolt. Hence , Í´ll have to change the brake booster as well. The LS400 -96 booster fits without modifications.

I always wanted to see that transmission swap done.
looks awesome! and looks promising!
good luck!

Thank you for the encouraging words mecheng10!

Right now I´m just waiting for this pallet to arrive from the UK. A Soarer-non VVTi-1JZ with 80 000km+ECU +stock intercooler+ propshaft
/Anders

Still waiting for the 1JZ.

Thought I should post some pictures to show you what condition the car was in when I brought it home from the Netherlands.
It definitely needs some TLC. New steering wheel for example. My plan is to do the motor and tranny swap first and then focus on the interior and exterior.

A question for you fanatics: Does all Lexus steering wheels fit a -94 sc300, or should I look at specific year models?

Drivers seat in mint condition. Not.

What a way to start out. The headlights look great, even dirty. The interior could use a good cleaning. Use Soft scrub w/o bleach and it work magic in removing the dirt and grime.

I learned something new today on these BMW's transmission. I have heard of Infinity but BMW. I am anxious to see how it holds up.

I suggest looking at the 2001 RX300 steering wheel (I think 99-02 will work as well?). It's a nice replacement that looks great with the interior of the SC. It's almost almost a direct plug and play swap. Here's a link for ya..

www.clublexus.com/forums/8036983-post23.html