2008 GS350 RWD restore/maintenance log
 

Picked up an '08 GS350 in Mercury Metallic with the black interior. I sold my 2nd gen GS300 in the Spring and have really wanted another GS ever since. It's in overall really great shape but I've already got a laundry list of fixes and minor upgrades before I'll be satisfied.

I can't stand driving without tint so, I had 20% thrown on before I even picked it up The windshield will get 50% after I pass inpection/smog.

Heres how it sat the day I picked it up. I'll get some more detailed shots of how dirty and busted the paneling is under the hood, the previous owners subwoofer/Amp wiring mess in the trunk and the super faded/yellowing headlights. Stay tuned for some light mods and major cleaning. FYI, this will be fairly low key, I'm keeping it mostly stock and comfy for my long daily commute.

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So I got started right away on the headlights, they were such an eye sore. I figured they were too far gone but decided to give them the ol' sand and polish and see what happens. Glad I did, they came out pretty good but definitely not perfect. There's still a ton of hairline cracks in the lenses and the driver side is faded from the inside so, I'll be looking for a replacement set in the future.

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The rear deck speaker grill material was loose so I took it out, applied some gorilla glue around the perimeter and clamped it all down over night. Good as new.

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Small update. Installed Nokya yellow fog bulbs, new hood/trunk struts and swapped every bulb in the car to white LED's. Also replaced the missing E-brake pedal. Great improvement all around.

looks good bro...i have to fix my passenger fog light cuz it popped out when i hit a cone on the freeway. What grit did you use?

Yeah that'll happen lol. I started with 1000 grit then went all the way up to 2000 and then finished it up with a soft buffing pad I bought at harbor freight. I tried to save money doing it this way but honestly, if you have a drill, just get the meguiars headlight kit or something similar at Autozone, it comes with everything you'll need and works great.

This last weekend I threw on new OEM pads and rotors, nothing crazy. I hate to say it but I can smell some rotten egg if I get on it at all and my cats are ticking like crazy after I park. That's a tell tale sign of clogged/bad cats.

Anybody know a good high flow set of cats to replace them with? I'd go OEM but they're probably just as expensive, if not more.

Is there a way i can change my rear deck dash board please?