Kaiyin's VIP UCF20 LS400 Build
02-04-15, 06:56 PM
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Kaiyin's VIP UCF20 LS400 Build
Figured I'm a bit overdue on actually having some sort of organization on how my LS400 came to be. There was no organization to begin with because it was never intended to be a project, just a daily driver that I was going to lower and throw some wheels on. In fact, it stayed that way for two years, and then it just went downhill from there. It's at the point where the car is in need of an actual build, so I figure I may document it so people can look back at it. I know my IS300 build was archived for the same reasons on My.IS/IS300.Net.
So, here we go. The car is a 2000 Platinum Edition in Sandstone Beige Metallic. I bought the car with about 86,000 miles on it, and it currently has a little over 143k on it now, and a mere 1900 miles put on the car last year.
It started off simple enough, I picked the car up from the dealership and brought it home, and test fitted some 19s I had straight away. I sadly don't have any pictures of the car completely stock;
Then I installed some Tanabe springs and thought I was done...
My networking skills were great before this car, but then my network of friends became bigger. Japan, California, Texas, Florida, and everything in between. I became friends with Elvis (yes , that Elvis), and more ideas started going through my head, and I was pushed down that slippery slope.
I hooked up with GPR Auto out in Oxnard, CA, who has helped me a ton with parts on this car. Also, Original Garage in Texas. Soon, I had a box of parts from Megan Racing and Studio arriving at my work;
I still drove the car all over at that height, and while I was pretty happy with the rear fitment, I wasn't happy with the front because I had to really massage my front fenders to get the car driveable. So, it was time for new wheels. Initially, I was going to have those 19s rebuild, since they were an old, 3-piece design from Enkei, and after having terrible luck with a shop down south who said they could do it, I went and called VR Wheels in California. I've always wanted a set of SSR Viennas with fat lips after seeing them on plenty of my favorite VIP cars, and VR happened to have a set they just finished up in some heavy specs. All I cared about was them clearing the factory big-brakes, and pulled the trigger. Six days later, my UPS guy shows up at my work with some big boxes, and it was straight to my friend's shop after work for a test fit.
I went and stocked up on tires, and after a few days of trial and error, we got some tires stretched on the 18x11 and 18x12.5 SSRs
With that all sorted, I turned my attention to the engine bay. I cleaned a lot of things up, and tidied up the wiring since I pulled my fenders and tucked the harnesses on the topside of the pinch welds. I gave the engine covers to a friend to have them painted, airbrushed, and pin-striped. I also ordered a bunch of Downstar Inc. hardware to dress up the bay
Drove the car to its first show in Wisconsin after doing the SSRs and engine bay work. On the way back, I hit a blown-out expansion joint after a bridge, and my lower ball-joint broke
My buddy Mike came up trumps with some fenders off a certain LS400
wasn't long before the car was back on the road
more parts started showing up
painted the fenders in my garage
no one believes me when I tell them my coilovers are all the way up...
So, here we go. The car is a 2000 Platinum Edition in Sandstone Beige Metallic. I bought the car with about 86,000 miles on it, and it currently has a little over 143k on it now, and a mere 1900 miles put on the car last year.
It started off simple enough, I picked the car up from the dealership and brought it home, and test fitted some 19s I had straight away. I sadly don't have any pictures of the car completely stock;
Then I installed some Tanabe springs and thought I was done...
My networking skills were great before this car, but then my network of friends became bigger. Japan, California, Texas, Florida, and everything in between. I became friends with Elvis (yes , that Elvis), and more ideas started going through my head, and I was pushed down that slippery slope.
I hooked up with GPR Auto out in Oxnard, CA, who has helped me a ton with parts on this car. Also, Original Garage in Texas. Soon, I had a box of parts from Megan Racing and Studio arriving at my work;
I still drove the car all over at that height, and while I was pretty happy with the rear fitment, I wasn't happy with the front because I had to really massage my front fenders to get the car driveable. So, it was time for new wheels. Initially, I was going to have those 19s rebuild, since they were an old, 3-piece design from Enkei, and after having terrible luck with a shop down south who said they could do it, I went and called VR Wheels in California. I've always wanted a set of SSR Viennas with fat lips after seeing them on plenty of my favorite VIP cars, and VR happened to have a set they just finished up in some heavy specs. All I cared about was them clearing the factory big-brakes, and pulled the trigger. Six days later, my UPS guy shows up at my work with some big boxes, and it was straight to my friend's shop after work for a test fit.
I went and stocked up on tires, and after a few days of trial and error, we got some tires stretched on the 18x11 and 18x12.5 SSRs
With that all sorted, I turned my attention to the engine bay. I cleaned a lot of things up, and tidied up the wiring since I pulled my fenders and tucked the harnesses on the topside of the pinch welds. I gave the engine covers to a friend to have them painted, airbrushed, and pin-striped. I also ordered a bunch of Downstar Inc. hardware to dress up the bay
Drove the car to its first show in Wisconsin after doing the SSRs and engine bay work. On the way back, I hit a blown-out expansion joint after a bridge, and my lower ball-joint broke
My buddy Mike came up trumps with some fenders off a certain LS400
wasn't long before the car was back on the road
more parts started showing up
painted the fenders in my garage
no one believes me when I tell them my coilovers are all the way up...
Last edited by Kaiyin; 02-04-15 at 07:00 PM.
02-04-15, 06:59 PM
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Dialed in the camber and fitted an Admiration lip which I sourced from Japan as well as some tail lights
Now it's in winter mode. I thought for a bit what I should do, and luckily for me some friends pushed me to take it another step further
First of many boxes from Japan. Thanks to Central Pine for the lights
stay tuned for more.
Now it's in winter mode. I thought for a bit what I should do, and luckily for me some friends pushed me to take it another step further
First of many boxes from Japan. Thanks to Central Pine for the lights
stay tuned for more.
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02-09-15, 04:57 PM
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just chronicling my not cool car
yep, Platinum Series package cars has the mono-tone paint job from the factory. Planning to spray the car the OEM color when it's time to paint.
words mean a lot Tim, can't wait to see what's in store for your car 
