I always thought that would be fun to do a big turbo or supercharged LS build in a 90's Lexus. Now the real question would be do you use an LS, GS, or SC body to start with.

But hacking up a 19,000 mile time capsule like that, I just couldn't bring myself to do it.

 

And here is a real good idea, since there are a lot of new parts, just part it out. Then use the shell with some junk yard doors and other parts with a blown chev or hemi, and build a drag car.

 

No. I'm kidding.
I wouldn't do that with a fine 19,000 mile example like this LS either.

However, my LS....

Mike

 

I would buy it and I would drive it as a DD until the day I die says this 61 year old man. A 9000 dollar out for a 60,000 dollar car that is pretty much new is a no brainer. I drive 2000 miles a year.Take 26 years just to get to the 70,000 miles or so big service.That would make me 87 years old.Another 26 years would have car at 122,000 miles and me at 113 years old.Numbers work for me.

One thing Ive learned is you buy the absolute best example you can find,pay the premium and save a fortune on fixing things going down the road.I dont see it needing any more in repairs or maintenance than any other car just maybe some seals sooner than later,and the body,and interior are pristine.

Sign me up,Im all in.

 

100% spot on.Im not an advertising billboard for some jack@&&.

 

My Hero!!

 

I am coming in late on the conversation. I was surprised to hear the vehemence with which some people respond to a low mileage car. Yes, a piece of crap American car with shoddy rubber seals and crap-for-brake hoses cheesy plastic and pathetic ball joint boots on its first day off the assembly line is not going to like sitting around.

But, a high-quality car with high quality parts is going to tolerate sitting around without too much difficulty, especially one with only 18,000 miles. There will not be appreciable sedimentation in the engine or transmission, and chances are good that even if the rubber main seals do harden a bit, the tight tolerances of a fresh engine will allow those seals to behave.

My '91 Lexus here, purchased eleven months ago at 57,000 miles has not been touched yet, except for weird little stupid things like the cassette belt developed a memory in its long sit, and the needles in the instrument cluster needed a little exercise and a careful glue job to keep them attached to their spindles. It now has 67,345 miles and not a leak anywhere . . . um, after I re-plastic tied the CV boots. The plastic, the door seals, the leather, the vacuum hoses, the fuel hoses, the driveshaft giubo discs are all supple. The exhaust flanges are a joy just to look at (i.e. a socket really can fit on the crisply-defined bolts and nuts).

The brand new Brazilian door seals I bought for my '73 VW Squareback, on the other hand, cracked all around the perimeter of the doors just sitting there in the storage unit for three lousy months of a Georgia winter!

It's about the initial quality . . .
Colin
(oh yeah, I want your Lexus, hairdrmstk)

 

Colin,your car is exactly what I want. Did you mention what you paid?Brilliant minds think alike,plus we are modest.

 

Mine is/was similarly low mileage (I just rolled 100k km a few weeks ago) but I'd tend to agree with some of the earlier posters in this thread. Part of the reason our cars have survived in good condition is that they were serviced not according to mileage but to age and need. I haven't been able to translate much of the Japanese service records that came with mine but some of what I've translated indicates it's had at least one timing belt service before 75k km- much earlier in terms of mileage than most LS400s likely saw but in terms of age it was probably long overdue.

Also, Amskeptic that engine bay is beautiful. I need to get in there and clean mine up before it gets too bad, do you use anything special to keep yours clean?

 

Mine only had 60k miles when I purchased it (1990). Engine and trans are great, however, and its a big HOWEVER, things are dry rotted, seals in the trans dry out, etc. While they are amazing if you are going to replace a whole lot of aged rubber, I would rather one with a regular service history, or atleast was driven once or twice a month.

 

Did you have a bunch to replace that was out of the ordinary,and what were they.Do you know how long yours had sat?

Thanks.

 

I had to replace the shaft seals of the trans, fuel pump, mounts for engine and trans, sway bar bushings etc. Also hadnt had a timing belt change. Lots of hoses and lines were brittle as well. All in all i spent about 1500 on repairs which included building a new exhaust for it myself. Was worth it.

But yes, a low mileage car that is not driven regularly can present some unexpected expenses. Regular driving is important. Mine sad for quite a long time. Years at a time.

 

Thanks Mate,you did real well for 1500.Well spent and reasonable repairs IMO.

 

Cheers. Did them all myself so it was a total pain in the *** but worth the effort. I love these cars. However Im feeling a pull towards a second gen Aristo right now so I might be selling sooner than I had thought.

 

I mentioned it somewhere, $6.700.00 + airfare, so I round it up to the $7,500.00 that I had on Friday that was all gone by next Monday.
Colin