link13's JZS 147 makeover: better pics!
02-11-09, 10:04 PM
#1
Lexus Champion
Thread Starter
link13's JZS 147 makeover: better pics!
It's been raining here in Southern California lately, but we had a nice day today so I swapped cars with my brother (link13), cleaned it up, and took a few photos.
I know the D2 guys started another thread, but I thought these new photos warranted a new thread - you 1GS forum guys need some love! A little JZS 147 eye candy, if you will...
This was a 2 1/2 month long project from beginning to end. Rather than get into car payments, Matt decided to fix his beloved 147 up a bit. Over the years he's been very good about the maintenance on this car, replacing the usual 147 issues (lower control arms, ball joins, tie rod ends, window regulator, crank pulley, etc.); mechanically, the car was in great shape but the exterior and interior needed a little freshening.
We've had a Veilside kit set aside at Backyard Creations for several years with the intention of putting it on this car. One thing led to another, and as time went by it became apparent that the car needed a complete respray.
We did a few trick things, shaved the antenna hole, rear emblems, rolled & smoothed the rear fenders. The kit was a pain to get everything alignede properly, but the guys at Backyard Creations spent the time to make it fit right. The new color is Lexus Indigo Ink Pearl, chosen for a bit more visual 'pop,' and it seemed appropriate being a factory Lexus color. The paint is PPG with a nice clear and lots of colorsanding & buffing.
After the paint dried for a couple weeks (but before we picked the car up) the front of the car and the exterior mirrors received the Clear Bra treatment - the bumper is 100% custom cut.
While the car was torn apart for paint, we sent the seats to Osorio's for a full makeover. A two-tone grey color scheme seemed like a nice upgrade and the material is soft and luxurious - more so than the stock seats ever were.
I also pre-wired the car for two amps in the trunk, a new Pioneer deck, and installed Boston Acoustics 5.25" separates in the front, 4" coaxials in the rear doors, and a 12" Boston sub in a custom 1 cubic foot sealed box in the trunk. A vertical board next to the fuel tank houses the two Pioneer amplifiers.
I also re-worked the rear package shelf, re-skinning the faded subwoofer grille and repairing the broken grille tabs. Looks good as new.
After the car was painted, a new windshield went in, the grille was painted, and all the plastic lenses were polished.
Also, the Eibach springs (with KYB struts/shocks) were deemed to have an insufficient drop, so a set of Tanabe springs went in.
Almost forgot the best part:
D2Forged VS5 wheels- "BBC" (Brilliant Brushed & Clear, featuring polished 'windows') centers, chrome outers, and charcoal metallic powdercoated inner rims were custom built for the car with offsets I specified. The D2Forged center caps are art, with a beautiful engraved detail and a killer finish.
Wheels are 20x9.5 front & 20x11.0 rear - the biggest set-up I am aware of on a 1GS.
*A special thanks to Derrick and Stefan at D2Forged, great work guys!*
Rubber is Toyo Proxes 4, what I believe to be one of the best all-around tires on the market currently. Sizes are a massive 255/35-20 front & 295/30-20 rear. (shout-out to Stan at Toyo Tires)
Once the car started coming together I installed the Pioneer double-DIN radio (BlueTooth and iPod control built-in) with the new Metra double-DIN radio kit, and installed the instrument cluster, which LexTech had treated to their "The Sixteen" LED conversion and new needles. The system sounds great!
Enough with the technobabble... on with the photos!
Interior shots, next post
I know the D2 guys started another thread, but I thought these new photos warranted a new thread - you 1GS forum guys need some love! A little JZS 147 eye candy, if you will...
This was a 2 1/2 month long project from beginning to end. Rather than get into car payments, Matt decided to fix his beloved 147 up a bit. Over the years he's been very good about the maintenance on this car, replacing the usual 147 issues (lower control arms, ball joins, tie rod ends, window regulator, crank pulley, etc.); mechanically, the car was in great shape but the exterior and interior needed a little freshening.
We've had a Veilside kit set aside at Backyard Creations for several years with the intention of putting it on this car. One thing led to another, and as time went by it became apparent that the car needed a complete respray.
We did a few trick things, shaved the antenna hole, rear emblems, rolled & smoothed the rear fenders. The kit was a pain to get everything alignede properly, but the guys at Backyard Creations spent the time to make it fit right. The new color is Lexus Indigo Ink Pearl, chosen for a bit more visual 'pop,' and it seemed appropriate being a factory Lexus color. The paint is PPG with a nice clear and lots of colorsanding & buffing.
After the paint dried for a couple weeks (but before we picked the car up) the front of the car and the exterior mirrors received the Clear Bra treatment - the bumper is 100% custom cut.
While the car was torn apart for paint, we sent the seats to Osorio's for a full makeover. A two-tone grey color scheme seemed like a nice upgrade and the material is soft and luxurious - more so than the stock seats ever were.
I also pre-wired the car for two amps in the trunk, a new Pioneer deck, and installed Boston Acoustics 5.25" separates in the front, 4" coaxials in the rear doors, and a 12" Boston sub in a custom 1 cubic foot sealed box in the trunk. A vertical board next to the fuel tank houses the two Pioneer amplifiers.
I also re-worked the rear package shelf, re-skinning the faded subwoofer grille and repairing the broken grille tabs. Looks good as new.
After the car was painted, a new windshield went in, the grille was painted, and all the plastic lenses were polished.
Also, the Eibach springs (with KYB struts/shocks) were deemed to have an insufficient drop, so a set of Tanabe springs went in.
Almost forgot the best part:
D2Forged VS5 wheels- "BBC" (Brilliant Brushed & Clear, featuring polished 'windows') centers, chrome outers, and charcoal metallic powdercoated inner rims were custom built for the car with offsets I specified. The D2Forged center caps are art, with a beautiful engraved detail and a killer finish.
Wheels are 20x9.5 front & 20x11.0 rear - the biggest set-up I am aware of on a 1GS.
*A special thanks to Derrick and Stefan at D2Forged, great work guys!*
Rubber is Toyo Proxes 4, what I believe to be one of the best all-around tires on the market currently. Sizes are a massive 255/35-20 front & 295/30-20 rear. (shout-out to Stan at Toyo Tires)
Once the car started coming together I installed the Pioneer double-DIN radio (BlueTooth and iPod control built-in) with the new Metra double-DIN radio kit, and installed the instrument cluster, which LexTech had treated to their "The Sixteen" LED conversion and new needles. The system sounds great!
Enough with the technobabble... on with the photos!
Interior shots, next post
02-11-09, 10:09 PM
#2
Lexus Champion
Thread Starter
Interior shots:
(all custom, not a "kit")
Radio installation with new Metra double-DIN kit:
(you can see a bit of the "darkwood" treatment we did a few years ago on the center console and door panels - looks like dark cherry wood)
Thanks for looking! My brother is very proud of this car, as he should be.
It's cool to see a unique, older model car out on the streets that someone takes a great deal of pride in.
Keep the '147s alive!
(all custom, not a "kit")
Radio installation with new Metra double-DIN kit:
(you can see a bit of the "darkwood" treatment we did a few years ago on the center console and door panels - looks like dark cherry wood)
Thanks for looking! My brother is very proud of this car, as he should be.
It's cool to see a unique, older model car out on the streets that someone takes a great deal of pride in.
Keep the '147s alive!
02-12-09, 05:21 AM
#5
Can't say Im a fan of that kit, theres just something about it to me. But I think that blue looks real nice...and I usually dont like blue on cars much either 
Like the interior as well, when I redo mine it's going to be similar but with the colors flip flopped. Is it going to get turbo? I can see it begging me for big, shiny FMIC. Any pictures of the gauges in the dark?
Like the interior as well, when I redo mine it's going to be similar but with the colors flip flopped. Is it going to get turbo? I can see it begging me for big, shiny FMIC. Any pictures of the gauges in the dark?
02-12-09, 07:01 AM
#7
Lexus Champion
Clean,clean,clean!
Wow!
the repaint and wheels really catches your eye.
What a fine job Matt, Bob and the D2 Crew!
The car looks stunning!
The interior looks really nice. Great job all around!
the repaint and wheels really catches your eye. What a fine job Matt, Bob and the D2 Crew! The car looks stunning! The interior looks really nice. Great job all around!
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02-12-09, 10:00 AM
#9
what an amazing job done on this GS from top to bottom. That paint is just flawless and the interior looks like a brand new car. And cant say enough about the wheels, just complete the whole look.
02-12-09, 11:21 AM
#11
Lead Lap
Thanks everyone for the comments and compliments. I was shopping for an '04 or '05 LS430 last summer, but realized I would not get much for this car when the paint and interior had issues. At the end of the day, I decided I'd rather go through this car and keep it than sign up for years of car payments. I am so glad I made that decision.
The kit is obviously something that some people will like and others won't. I like it. I was concerned that it might be too aggressive before it went on, but it suits my taste perfectly now.
Choosing the color took some doing. I originally wanted Maserati Blue Oceano, but that paint uses materials that present challenges. I had seen Indigo Ink Pearl (8P4) on SC430s and IS300s. There's another blue on the IS300 that I frequently confused with Indigo Ink Pearl and, while I thought that was a nice color, it didn't have enough pop for me. My brother ended up finding a post on a Cobra forum where a guy showed photos of his Shelby Cobra painted this color. I was sold.
I am a mesh wheel fan and had Zone 1s on the car before, which I liked a lot, but I wanted a wheel that was a very obvious change, so I chose the D2FORGED VS5s. I love the 10 spoke and feel the wheel design is nicely suited to the car. Derrick and Stefan were great to work with and I really appreciate all of their help and input. Through the process of working on this together, I got to know Derrick and Stefan personally and they are friends.
As far as forced induction, I have considered it, but I am not planning to add it in the near term. I have also thought about a 1UZ-FE from a 98+ GS400. I am probably not done modding this car, but I want to give my AE86 project my full attention now so I can bring that car to Toyotafest.
The kit is obviously something that some people will like and others won't. I like it. I was concerned that it might be too aggressive before it went on, but it suits my taste perfectly now.
Choosing the color took some doing. I originally wanted Maserati Blue Oceano, but that paint uses materials that present challenges. I had seen Indigo Ink Pearl (8P4) on SC430s and IS300s. There's another blue on the IS300 that I frequently confused with Indigo Ink Pearl and, while I thought that was a nice color, it didn't have enough pop for me. My brother ended up finding a post on a Cobra forum where a guy showed photos of his Shelby Cobra painted this color. I was sold.
I am a mesh wheel fan and had Zone 1s on the car before, which I liked a lot, but I wanted a wheel that was a very obvious change, so I chose the D2FORGED VS5s. I love the 10 spoke and feel the wheel design is nicely suited to the car. Derrick and Stefan were great to work with and I really appreciate all of their help and input. Through the process of working on this together, I got to know Derrick and Stefan personally and they are friends.
As far as forced induction, I have considered it, but I am not planning to add it in the near term. I have also thought about a 1UZ-FE from a 98+ GS400. I am probably not done modding this car, but I want to give my AE86 project my full attention now so I can bring that car to Toyotafest.
02-12-09, 02:36 PM
#13
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Guys you really can not appreciate this car on the net, you MUST see it in person. When you see the depth and shine of the paint, combined with the dramatic effect of the spokes reflecting off the chrome when the wheel is spinning, its a truly dramatic effect!
Matt thanks so much for choosing D2FORGED Wheels, we realize that at this price point there were ALOT of other options for you. Thanks for giving us a shot!
Matt thanks so much for choosing D2FORGED Wheels, we realize that at this price point there were ALOT of other options for you. Thanks for giving us a shot!
02-13-09, 10:05 AM
#14
Lead Lap
It was an easy choice, Derrick. I love the 10 spoke design, the brushed finish with the polished windows, the brilliant chrome outers, the classy billet center caps, and the metallic charcoal inners. The quality is there and you guys know what you're doing. Thanks again for all your help! You too, Stefan.
