My New Unicorn! Base model sc300 (no sunroof and factory cloth seats)
09-25-17, 05:58 PM
#17
Spent a little time today messing around with the car. Pulled the splash guards off and attempted to remove the door guard trim only to find it had been riveted on... which really did not help me feel any better about this car 
. Also test fitted a spare set of oz wheels I had laying around, considering throwing tires on them while I wait for my friend to eventually bring my ssr gartmaiers back. Anyone have any ideas what to do to cover up the holes from the door guard trim while I save up to have the holes filled and the paint repaired? (because keeping this hospital chair railing is NOT an option 
) Once my next paycheck comes in I'll start picking up maintenance parts to get this car running semi decently. Also need to find a nice set of tan door panels to replace the ones in the car, unfortunately they're trashed.
. Also test fitted a spare set of oz wheels I had laying around, considering throwing tires on them while I wait for my friend to eventually bring my ssr gartmaiers back. Anyone have any ideas what to do to cover up the holes from the door guard trim while I save up to have the holes filled and the paint repaired? (because keeping this hospital chair railing is NOT an option ) Once my next paycheck comes in I'll start picking up maintenance parts to get this car running semi decently. Also need to find a nice set of tan door panels to replace the ones in the car, unfortunately they're trashed.
09-25-17, 07:48 PM
#18
Wow, were those side moldings a factory option or a "dealer installed accessory"?
Usually the dealer accesories back in those days were installed by a bunch of hacks whose main concern was to mount the part by any means necessary... I've seen how they mounted spoilers on trunks of cars that came spoilerless from Japan... horrendous to say the least.
Judging by the rivets (are you kidding me lol), I'd say it was dealer installed or by the previous owner.
It's sad to see such add ons that were aimed at protecting the car ultimately damage or cause irreversible changes to the body.
The 100 series Land Cruisers 98-07 had optional body-colored fender flares held on by double sided tape that alot of guys are removing for cleaner looks, but when you take them off the paint underneath is badly rubbed through down to the metal, some even have rust developing where the seals of the flares were rubbing against the paint. Sad to see.
I had a customer with a 2016 Honda CRV with a similar story. Purchased it brand new with every imaginable factory option, fully loaded. Spent a ton of money with us to protect the paint and interior (PPF , ceramic coating, leather and fabric coating, etc.). When he originally purchased the car, he had the dealer install body colored plastic moldings very similar to yours as well as body colored door edge guards (thick, hard rubbery material OEM Honda). Here's where it gets interesting, the idiots that installed the door edge guards actually used a metal blade and hacked up the inner door jambs to fit these edge guards. They completely scraped/cut away the factory seam sealer running along the vertical edge of each door that is laid and painted over when they assemble the door skins at the factory. It looks like without doing so, the edges of the doors are too thick to fit an additional guard over. Personally, I'd rather take my chances with getting nicks in the door edges over having all my inner doors hacked away and would most definitely lead to premature rust formation, especially here in the salt belt.
Ahh.... the crazy things people do.
Usually the dealer accesories back in those days were installed by a bunch of hacks whose main concern was to mount the part by any means necessary... I've seen how they mounted spoilers on trunks of cars that came spoilerless from Japan... horrendous to say the least.
Judging by the rivets (are you kidding me lol), I'd say it was dealer installed or by the previous owner.
It's sad to see such add ons that were aimed at protecting the car ultimately damage or cause irreversible changes to the body.
The 100 series Land Cruisers 98-07 had optional body-colored fender flares held on by double sided tape that alot of guys are removing for cleaner looks, but when you take them off the paint underneath is badly rubbed through down to the metal, some even have rust developing where the seals of the flares were rubbing against the paint. Sad to see.
I had a customer with a 2016 Honda CRV with a similar story. Purchased it brand new with every imaginable factory option, fully loaded. Spent a ton of money with us to protect the paint and interior (PPF , ceramic coating, leather and fabric coating, etc.). When he originally purchased the car, he had the dealer install body colored plastic moldings very similar to yours as well as body colored door edge guards (thick, hard rubbery material OEM Honda). Here's where it gets interesting, the idiots that installed the door edge guards actually used a metal blade and hacked up the inner door jambs to fit these edge guards. They completely scraped/cut away the factory seam sealer running along the vertical edge of each door that is laid and painted over when they assemble the door skins at the factory. It looks like without doing so, the edges of the doors are too thick to fit an additional guard over. Personally, I'd rather take my chances with getting nicks in the door edges over having all my inner doors hacked away and would most definitely lead to premature rust formation, especially here in the salt belt.
Ahh.... the crazy things people do.
09-26-17, 12:01 AM
#20
Manual steering columns, non-heated side mirrors, no sunroof, cloth seats and no CD changer in the trunk were all possible in the earliest years I think. Later on most of those things became standard. I don't think manual mirrors were ever a thing but electric/power mirrors with no mirror & seat memory were. The plastic-only automatic shift **** is a new one to me!
A lot of what we're reacting to was far more common on Soarer models through the entire production cycle.
A lot of what we're reacting to was far more common on Soarer models through the entire production cycle.
09-26-17, 06:36 AM
#21
That's a super rare SC. I have only ever two SC's like this and my friend has a super base model LS400. The manual tilt steering column is something I've never seen before.
It looks like it will be a fun car. I'm looking forward to seeing more updates on your build.
It looks like it will be a fun car. I'm looking forward to seeing more updates on your build.
09-26-17, 07:12 PM
#26
You do have a rare find and we will all be interested in the path(s) you take this build...... Welcome to the club.....
09-27-17, 07:43 AM
#29
this thing is one of a kind! Wonder what kind of person would buy this new though, when a few grand extra would have given you all the comforts of pretty much every other SC. I know some people are allergic to leather or a chemical leather is treated with.
