Howie's GS300 build (black cherry pearl)
 

Hey everyone! My name is Howie and I'm new to CL here. I had another account for my previous car but I never really used it, so I thought I'd try actually documenting my new build and getting more involved with the CL community. I'll be sharing everything I do with my car here. Feel free to chime in with thoughts, suggestions and (constructive! :P ) opinions and criticism.

I have a low-mileage (just under 54k miles as of the start of this thread) GS300 in black cherry pearl with a black leather interior. As of last night, it's pretty much stock - the only modifications are an AFE drop-in high flow air filter and some moderate window tint. I'll be picking up the car from my shop pretty soon though, and it'll have some parts swapped over to it from my previous GS... more on that later ;)

For now, here are a few quick photos I snapped with my phone last night before dropping it off. Enjoy, and cheers!

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.clu...74c0741abd.jpg
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.clu...8dfbd15832.jpg
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.clu...c664d64b07.jpg

So much POTENTIAL!!! Can't wait to see what's in store for it!

Thanks :) I just picked it up from my shop last night and it's now low(er), has a catback exhaust, and is running 18" Enkeis. I'll post some photos when I get the chance! It's been raining overnight, unfortunately...

Here are some photos of the car after I swapped parts over from my previous GS! She's a little dirty right now and these photos were taken in a garage, but I'll post nicer ones once I do a proper paint restoration. See below for description and commentary.

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.clu...ac68822ed9.jpg
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.clu...72ba566c49.jpg
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.clu...f45388975f.jpg
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.clu...2dcc66dc08.jpg

• Tanabe Medalion touring catback exhaust - I spent quite a while trying to find an exhaust for the 2JZ-GE that was a comfortable balance between audible with sufficient throttle input, but quiet enough to avoid highway drone, and I'm really happy with how this sounds. I'm going to post an audio clip at some point once I get around to making a recording.
• BC Racing BR series coilovers - not much to say about these. BC has a great reputation, and I'm really happy with the ride quality and performance on these guys. I installed them about 10k miles ago on the first GS I owned and haven't looked back since. No more crappy body roll while cornering! Normally I'd want to be a bit lower, but this is my daily driver after all, and California is god-awful when it comes to having speed bumps EVERYWHERE. I got tired of the scrape life, so I raised my ride height before installing the coils.
• Enkei NT03+ (18x8.5 +38mm, squared) wheels - took me a while to find spokey wheels that I like. I kinda wish I got 19s to be honest - I might get another set of wheels and tires at some point.
• Hankook Ventus S1 Noble (245/40/R18) tires - I know I probably should've gotten summer tires considering where I live, but I opted for all seasons considering I only have one set of wheels that I use and the fact that my travels may sometimes take me to colder places. Very happy with their performance and comfort so far, along with their mileage rating.

Exhaust clip below :)

Quick clip showing the exhaust note from the 2JZ-GE with a Tanabe Medalion Touring catback exhaust system. This was taken with an iPhone microphone, unfortunately, so the audio quality is pretty poor, but you get the idea!

Took care of a little ding on the rear-left quarter panel today. Next up, heating up the rear bumper so that I can bend this guy back into shape...
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.clu...a3bc8910e8.jpg

Cool build man !

Interior light bulb swap
 

Spent about 30 minutes last night replacing my interior light bulbs. I've pretty much swapped out all of the interior lights except for the glove compartment light (I accidentally forgot to order an extra bulb for it...). The list of bulb types I used, for anyone interested in doing this themselves, is as follows...

• (9x) #194 bulbs.
  • (4x) door lights.
  • (2x) rear passenger overhead lights.
  • (2x) rear license plate lights.
  • (1x) trunk light.
• (2x) #74 bulbs - front foot well lights.
• (2x) #BA9 bulbs - driver and passenger overhead lights.
• (1x) #3175/3022 festoon bulb - overhead map light.

The only tools you really need are a slotted screwdriver - the thinner the better - for prying open the plastic enclosures for all of the lights, and a pair of pliers for pulling out the hot halogen bulbs. I also used some bulb grease when installing the new bulbs for better longevity and a more reliable electrical connection. SuperBrightLEDs (link below) is a good source for all of your bulbs, in varying color temperatures as well. I chose to go with a warmer color temperature, even with the LEDs, because it better matches the 'warm' theme of the car :)

https://www.superbrightleds.com/

Here are a few before/after photos as well!

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.clu...b4afc3cf46.jpg
Before: OEM halogen footwell light.

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.clu...9a821e0b21.jpg
After: LED footwell light. Note that the refraction caused by the plastic enclosure (i.e. the blue/yellow patches) is much less pronounced in-person.

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.clu...dc2c826e36.jpgBefore: OEM halogen door light.

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.clu...dd4d7f7dd4.jpg
After: LED door light.

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.clu...36c665d109.jpgBefore: OEM halogen overhead map light.

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.clu...dff4901d73.jpgAfter: LED overhead map light.

Damn. I wish my front driver's seat looked like that.

Nice, so far. I like the color.

Beautiful car , love the black leather

Spent some time last night installing my new Depo LED taillights. I was pleasantly surprised that the resistor packs that came with these taillights are actually sufficient for avoiding a taillamp warning on my dash - the last set of LED taillights I purchased caused the warning light to go off. I also popped on my new set of WellVisors wind deflectors. Here's a comparison photo of the new taillights versus the old 2001-2005-style OEM halogen ones. I'll take a proper photo set (probably in a couple of weeks) after I get spacers and finish my paint restoration!

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.clu...129b83fa42.jpgOEM halogen taillights (left), Depo LED taillights (right).

Those wheels look amazing on your car! Keep the updates coming

I just left the plastic covers off the footwell lights to avoid getting the blue coloring. Also, with the Depo lights, you don't need the resistors. Just don't install them and take remove the bulb from the dash. Many of us have done this.

Got it, I'll probably remove the footwell covers. I might also get different bulbs - I had a different set in my previous GS and they were much brighter, so I might try those. As for the taillights, I already installed the resistors actually! It doesn't make much of a difference to me anyway - install resistors and keep the taillamp bulb in, or don't install the resistors and remove the bulb - same end result, more or less.

Thanks! I'm also considering making a move on a set of 19" wheels as well. The stance bug is biting... definitely going to keep the NT03s as winter / long-distance wheels though, I might put meatier tires on them.