Few more updates:

seibon hood came in, some pieces fitted.
tomorrow bumpers going off to paint shop.

trying exhaust tips.
black stainless, with real carbon surround.
should look good with carbon trunk. (Trunk was existing)





contemplating on cutting off and heat folding in a bit the bottom skinny portion of bumper that’s under exhaust tips.
Also might spray stainless mufflers high heat Matt black so they’re not too visible from the back when you look under.
still wishing I could get rid of the F badges off fenders. Might have to come up with some thing else. For a more sleeper look

 

Only Lexus people know what the F means, and even then it's a subset of Lexus people. I wouldn't worry much about it. They are just glued on, you can remove them pretty easily with a heat gun if you like.

 

yup. Already did, then reinstalled.
fenders have 2 small holes for alignment under each badge.

hey quick question.
my headers might me cracked, I’ll double check after switching to the renewable oil u recommend. (Just to make sure it’s not timing chain tensioner)
Sounds like some slight ticking at cold start up. So I wana change oil soon then investigate headers.

I weld stuff myself typically.

are there posible good solutions besides expensive PPE headers?
id like to keep cats on, to avoid CEL, and the obvious stink. Might have to reweld stock ones for now. But space seem so tight it might be a real PITA taking them out just to weld and put them back just to expect a crack in a different tube soon after. Afterall they’re original and over 100k miles.

 

There have been members who welded their headers with success. But before you drop the subframe to get them off, be sure to have new motor mounts on hand. I sincerely believe the reason they crack is because the mounts fail and allow too much engine rotation. I'd be money your driver's side mount is completely useless. Mine was for sure.

I bought PPE headers with GESI cats from Figs. They're going on as soon as I finish up my Supra project. Can't have two of three cars down for maintenance at the same time.

 

Love the progress so far and bringing this car back to life!!! Looking forward to the next update!

 

Few more pics today.
after putting on carbon exhaust tips onto xForce exhaust, I realized I don’t really like the rear bumper for that skinny piece of plastic material underneath. And since I’m already fixing a little Oem bumper figured worst case scenario if need be for later, I’ll just buy a new bumper cover, and have it sprayed properly.
so decided to try few things.

some cutting, some bending/folding with heat gun, some reinforcement on inside edges with heat iron.

but this turns out to be a love it or hate it situation. I kinda like it.

still gota play with some adjustments of the tips, but here’s a few rough pics.

I’ll also need to ceramic coat rear muffler cans with some dark grey of mat black coating so they’re not too visible.

keep in mind, one of the pics from the back is about 18-20” from the ground. So no one ever will see it that low to the ground.








don’t be scared, that’s not all bondo. Primer i still have to sand down. Special flexible bondo made by U-Pole (some European company) made specifically for bumper repairs.
just a skim coat no more then 1/32nd thick to hide some old scratches and indents. Still some work to be done on that.

 

I like it with the single tips. Probably would not with double tips.

 

Small update, no pics.
took me a while waiting for some parts from dealer, some aftermarket.
but in any case.
valley plate all done. (Checked with inspection camera after warming it up a few times, no leaks looks perfect)
some connectors replaced. (Brittle ones broke during disassembly)
8 new direct injectors (brand new from eBay, but all serial numbers are identical to my factory injectors)
I broke 3 of them during disassembly, so decided to change all 8.
1 new Denso Knock sensor from NAPA.
replaced some small seals and gaskets at the oil separator (Lexus fancy oil catch can)
replaced few rubber hoses that dried/became hard to almost plastic conditions.
replaced all tie clamps with a bold style hose clamp all around heater hoses, vacuum hoses etc. (preventative for future when things get loose)

repacked upper (above manifold) wiring harness with new shields, and ties with hangers to make sure no wires or even wire shields touch intake manifold anywhere.

car runs perfectly.
no chain tensioner sounds at cold start ups.
no christmas tree lights on the dash. Everything is perfect. And to my glad surprise, no chacks in OEM exhaust manifolds yet.
(earlier I’ve suspected those) but then double. Checked with inspection camera and statoscope.

thanks to Lobuxracer for oil recommendation, this thing sounds real healthy with this renewable oil stuff.

waiting For both bumpers to come back from paint shop. Sometime next week I was told, and then off to registration.


contemplating on coming up with some cone intake filter design inside factory intake box, or maybe make something of my own out of carbon fiber. (I’ve done things with carbon and epoxy before) but that’s sometime in the near future.

will post pics next week when I’ll b registering it n all

 

All done and ready for a shower.
Thursday taking it for pictures and registration.

 

Home sweet home.
handles nice. Love it.
gas some blue colored bushings underneath, feels tight.
suprisingly swift springs aren’t as bad as my STi on coil overs back in the days.

 

I like what you’ve done here.

 

Good job! Much less damage than the one I picked up from Copart. Any plans to go back to OE tail lights?

The car looks great!

 

Looks like you're right outside of Philly. Nice! I think I could on 2 hands the # of active ISF owners in the Philly area about 10 years ago.

 

thought about it, but they don’t look too bad with carbon trunk lid. I’m not into rice though.
maybe some day later.

 

yup. Closer to Delaware actually. Delaware county. Work in this area as well. (Mostly king of Prussia area) construction.

this is a fun beater/daily when I don’t need to drive my truck with tools, or bring material for guys.

now gona keep a look out on catted headers (I hate the stink)
and a proper LSD.