hello all, new here (duh) but not new to toyotas. little info about me first..
i've got an 86 Hilux Pickup Truck 4x4 w/22rte turbo motor
87 AW11 MR2 with 4agze s/c swap
90 ST185 Celica Turbo Alltrac 3sgte (known as a GT-Four in the rest of the world, winning WRC titles while Evos & Scoobs were still in diapers)
and a 99 Camry with 5sfe motor i was going to turbo

i do all the work with my husband & shop for parts for all the builds. as you can see, i'm a bit of a boost addict. i'm also the only female Mod over on alltrac.net

i'm shopping around for a replacement for my Camry which was wrecked & have always wanted a 1st Gen GS300.

i know there are always differences in model years ... facelifts etc & was wondering if there was a list of the major differences between the years. toyota always seemed to love to add little extras to the last model years of a chassis it seems.
obviously 96-97 had OBDII & the tails are different but other than that anything else?

what year would be the best year to get?

my plans are suspension, bushing upgrades, 2jzgte swap from an aristo, exhaust, & BBS LM rims (no replicas for me)
going for a clean look with turbo power, no VIP, no stance - nothing wrong with either it's just not my thing.

thanks in advance!

 

This has been discussed before, but off the top of my head the major difference was that the transmission went from a 4 to a 5 speed auto in the 96-97. Unfortunately, the 5 speeds are known to be weak so might want to look into a pre-96 if the transmission is a major issue for you.

edit: search came up with this...
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/gs-...r-96-97-a.html

 

Thanks for the link ... I feel like such a noob not searching but I've been sick the past few days so please excuse me for that.

Trans really isn't an issue b/c I want to swap to an aristo 2jzgte so i'll prolly just get a built trans to hold the power levels i have in mind.

 

No problem feel better! Another small thing I remembered reading was that the 96-97 came with a one-touch moonroof function. Besides what was mentioned above the differences seem to just be aesthetic. Seems like you have some nice plans so please post a build thread!

 

Will do once I find a suitable chassis. So far all I am finding are ones beat in the ground with body damage.
I've only found a couple that look decent but I feel they are overpriced & I would have to travel a decent distance to get them.
So far this has been the best candidate I have found. Might let them keep it awhile longer & see if they can switch back to stock rims to get the price down a lot more. the rims are ugly as hell anyhoo & i don't want a 4x4 on 20s
http://lasvegas.craigslist.org/cto/3762100455.html

Upside is it gives me more time to do more research into suspension & brake upgrades as that will be where I will want to start first.

 

I've been keeping an eye on these cars for a while. I think the car on the link you posted is a great buy for $3500, seeing as most will have a totally trashed interiors and dinged bodies, but this one is very clean. Just offer to provide your own rims instead of the ugly ones on the car right now. Good luck in your search.

 

I contacted the seller about the car in vegas. he's put the stock rims back on it but the car has been repainted. If I were closer I'd go take a look at it to see what the paint job looks like in person. I've been burned on repaints in the past so decided to pass on it. The interior is very nice though especially compared to what I've seen available for sale. Seems most of these cars just have been beat to hell & back.