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Hello Fellow club member. over the year I been a Big fan of Lexus not just because its a Lexus but simply because of its ability to provide a simple, clean, and classy look. it also bring the comfort of a luxury car to back up its reputation and lets also not forget the reliability.
I been in a lot of my friends brand new cars or new car in general. They just don't makes cars like they used too in the late 90's and early 00's.
recently bought this sc300 with an intention as just parts for a brother. but I was involved in a minor accident that totaled my daily GS300. so instead of looking for another car. I figured why not restore this long lost forgotten beauty.
been reading through the form and seen a lot of great build. so I figure I'm can do some contribution to show people what potential the sc300 has.
Before anything. I did do an overhaul on the motor and maintenance it out just in case. highly recommend this step BEFORE ANYTHING. because these antique are old and parts have their wear and tears. so I changed all the essential parts that was needed and major parts like water pump, timing belt, front crank seal, valve cover, pcv valves, spark plugs, lots and lots of replacement part because I just rather get it out of the way and if I were to find anything seriously wrong with the motor I didn't want to waste my time pimping my ride out just to find out my motor is shot at the end and I can't drive it. or have it breaking down on me somewhere. ANYWAY......
my goals of what I want it to represents
-SPORTY
-CLEAN
-SIMPLE
-CLASSY
as of now it is still in the process of body works and paint. but a lot of the parts and interior has been done. so I guess we can start with the BEFORE ANYTHING IS DONE pics.
missing front bumper, side skirt, and rear bumper. was able to source out a 97+ rear bumper from a local for super cheap!!
My interior was indeed black but the leather seats were either ripped or rock hard. horrible horrible conditions.
the first thing I ever changed out on the car was taking care of that steering wheels because the oem 4 spoke were just too much of a sore eye! Hidieous!!! ohh yeah... I can already feel that 500+ HPsadly If only I knew it sooner that the RX 01 model steering wheels were a direct plug and play I would've rather have the RX steering wheels cause it looks so much better and classier with the chrome Lexus emblem, but oh well maybe ill switch out the steering wheels down the road.
I knew the struggle of taking seats in and out and be at risk of scratching the new paint job, so I decided to take care of my interior first. the goal was to make it look sporty but keep the nice oem look. and no I don't just want to be like all the other kid out that just go buy some bride or Recaro seats and called it a day. nothing against that, I mean if ur building a race car and you need them to hold yourself in one place by all mean do it. I rather keep the nice luxury feel cause that was the nature of the sc's.
Went onto leatherseats.com to find a upolstery kit for the sc seats. I wanted to make the sc look sporty so I thought of BMW and S2000 and new model Lexus. RED interior was the way to go! thats right REEEEEEDDDD.. so I ordered color sample from them and a few week later I made my mind of which shade red I wanted. I for sure did not wanted bright red or too dark of a red where it looked like maroon.
rear seat before I started
never done upholstery before, I wanted to start off with the rear cause its alot easier just so I can gain some confidence for the front.
I'm pretty sure this was like 4 am in the morning.
finally when sunrise hit I got the hang on clipping those hog rings. were able to finish the "bottom rear" less just not the bottom... not even the top yet.....
I didn't get around to the front seat till like another week because I was just so darn lazy
finally got the time again to work on the fronts seats agains. I have to really thank a member on here who showed me how to take the front seats apart through his thread. it was a nightmare sitting there trying to figure out how to take part the front seats.....
let just skip to the part where I finish shampooing my carpet and put in my interior....
the wood trim is cool and all, but I really want to Bring the car into the modern days. so I decided to wrap it in BURSH ALUMINUM with tint of gray.....
Im not really digging the red armrest on the door handle.... it just looked out of place. because theres a lot more black then red. was thinking of replacing it back to a spare black armrest that I have but ill just wait and see if it'll grow on me.
alright BEFORE ANYBODY FREAKS. if you like me... I learned that details are important. the wrinkles you see on the side of the seat DOES BOTHER ME...it just makes it look like its not a good fit. which is true the kit is not a perfect fit. but I did order a deluxe kit which mean majority of the seat cover are 100% leather.. and leather shrinks in the heat. luckily since I live in Texas this summer it has been in the triple digits zone..I left the seats in, closed the window and let the seat baked for 3days. when I walked out to check on the seats all the wrinkles you see in these picture, 80-90% of it were all gone.. giving It a perfect oem look.. will post a pic of it later.
drove a total of 8 hours to Houston and back for my front clip. the night before I was able to set a appointment with a local to stop by for his sc junk to pull side molding and side skirts along with miscellaneous parts like cup holder cover on the way out of Houston.
all exterior parts are now complete!!!
as of right now the car is at my friend shop getting its body work and fitment done.. wheels are coming in Monday. coilovers are sitting on the shelves ready for installed. will be posting continuous work on the sc in a week or two.
Nice start to your build! How do you like the quality of the leather?
Did you end up going with the SSR sp3's? I would recommend getting your wheel fitment dialed in, so you can modify the fenders and do any touch ups before paint.
i hate doing seat covers- the hog rings and getting the fitment right is always a *****. you did pretty good for a first timer though. I have to agree with you on the red armrest. dont care for it. IMO i would keep the parking brake boot black too.
Nice start to your build! How do you like the quality of the leather?
Did you end up going with the SSR sp3's? I would recommend getting your wheel fitment dialed in, so you can modify the fenders and do any touch ups before paint.
yeh I did! actually their coming in tomorrow the wait is finally over! and ill definitely make sure everything is all dialed in before paint! and a big thanks to you for helping me with the wheels and tires!
i hate doing seat covers- the hog rings and getting the fitment right is always a *****. you did pretty good for a first timer though. I have to agree with you on the red armrest. dont care for it. IMO i would keep the parking brake boot black too.
I agree... lost all of my patience with them stupid hog rings. and I wanted to keep the boot black but mine was ripped and all torn up. but if I ever come across a black one in good/mint condition ill be sure to grab it.
the red leather looks great, really liking how things are taking shape. would suggest doing black paint or wrap on the wood trim cuz there are too many colors right now, and the red leather arm rests and brake boot are too much. if you're going to do a red leather interior, either go all out, or keep it to just the seats. doing it here and there just makes it look busy instead of classy.
love the red seats. i redid my seats many years ago as well with a kit from leatherseats.com (they're holding up very well actually) and told my self if i were ever to do it again, I'd get a color very similar to the Lexus saddle interior. really pops btw
Wow, really great job so far. The red interior looks awesome!
Kind of torn myself whether it may be best to leave the door arm rests red or black. I could get used to the red though.
I'm with you - while I always entertained the idea of getting Recaro fronts, some years ago I re-upholstered my fronts and rear (leatherseats.com also). Albeit less support than aftermarket or TT seats, to me the stock seats are pretty comfortable.
Oh, and I whole-heartedly agree. They really don't make cars like they did in the 90's/early 2000's. I've said it before and many will attest, the JZZ30/31 SC is timeless and was always ahead of it's time.
07-28-17, 11:50 PM
Sc300 restoration
