Rokas

I wanted to share this because I think it's interesting the difference between those who would say I'm a dummy for spending all this time and money and then there's car enthusiasts.

Starting from the beginning, I noticed an acquaintance had crashed his car and I needed one so I asked him how much. I didn't even realize which car this was at first. I've loved the LS400 for years but at the time, I had $300 and I needed a running car.

The damage and status:
-Slow crash right to dead center front so hood, radiator, condenser, and radiator support are all bent.
-About 220k miles and after further inspection, this car had BARELY had its oil changed for all those years...
-Power steering pump leaking.
-PS ACV valve leaking PS fluid onto alternator.
-All but tranny fluids bad.
-Old brakes although for some reason the front had new rotors... Interesting. Just rotors.
-Whoever worked on this car was able to get whatever it was running but surely nothing was done right... Bolts missing, loose nuts and bolts that are part of the brake assembly which was put together wrong...
-Engine had a lot of sludge, I'm assuming from few oil changes.

Here I am about a year and a half later, probably $3000 into it, and I am no longer a complete newbie mechanic but I know my way around an engine a little bit! This was half the point of keeping the car. The other half was because it was a frickin Lexus with a V8 and rear wheel drive! Yeah baby!

The ONLY thing I ever had someone else do was change the power steering pump. Everything else was me.

Instead of writing a book about what happened throughout the year and a half to get to where the car is running fine, this is what I can remember I did:

Fluids change
New radiator
New alternator
New coolant temp sensor
New engine temp sender sender
​​​​​New vacuum lines to replace old dry ones
Front and rear brakes
New hood - have new radiator support, need driver side hinge to line up hood
New throttle position sensor
New crank sensor
New spark plugs, wires, and distributor caps... Gotta do rotors
Cleaned IACV somewhat (story is in my other thread)
Used MMO to greatly clean out the sludge in my engine and to clean fuel injectors

I have a timing belt kit and waterpump waiting for someone to put it in.

I also taught myself interior work. I was able to reupholster the center console and back seat along with the shifter. I wrapped the center woodgrain in flat black wrap, got black seat covers, used vinyl paint to paint the matts black, and the change is huge. I'm not done. I plan on reupholstering the front seats aswell as the bottom of the back seat.

A lot of time, anxiety, sweat, frustration... But when it drives good, man it's a great feeling.






The black leather is the part I did and I will be doing the bottom which is currently just a seat cover.



Please let me know what you guys think of it so far. I know only a couple of you know anything about the car but there was a time when it lost 90% power, alternator went out, something got stuck keeping the throttle open... Fun times!

ostneb

spuds

I think this car is going to reward your efforts with a lot of miles.You've really done a lot!

Hobycat

Rokas,
I salute you, highly commendable.
I have made my living with my hands for 36 years and appreciate effort, thought, and sweat. In a throwaway world you brought a gem from the brink.

Rokas

Thank you all!

My efforts were totally worth it in my head and I am happy to see others agree.

I've owned a number of nice cars - first gen turbo GSX, E30 but the AWD 325iX, a Saab 900 turbo... All cars I loved, and although the LS is a different car, it brings together the best out of those cars into a luxury package. I KNEW I had to keep it.

I'm gonna reward myself with some spacers today. 15mm should be fine, yeah? I did all the mechanical work first so now I can start getting it looking right.

This is my crappy sketch of how I want the interior:


(Darker = leather, lighter = cloth)

​​​​​
The idea is this. I live in Florida where it's either extremely hot or cold. Now, we all know that sitting down on hot leather sucks so bells started ringing in my head... I've never seen a two-fabric upholstery job... Two-tone yes, not different fabrics combined.

The idea is twofold - keep your butt from burning or being cold and create a unique looking interior.

I can't just leave the leather on the back of the back seat, though, so I had to come up with something that flows.

In the sketch, you see that the bottom of the back seat will be done in microfiber cloth (similar to velvet but strong), as will most of the front seats. To keep it flowing, though, there's gonna be leather patches where you sit, then it continues onto the back of the front seat, and yet goes farther as I will be re-doing the part of the center console that opens in leather aswell. The front of the front seats? Microfiber. This is the cloth - I think it will look amazing.



You would imagine I've had a lot of time to think about how I want the car to look.

I want those covers that cover maybe the top inch of the headlights, making them look mean as hell. Other than that, a rain shield on the sunroof, tints, and eventually nicer rims. Before I get those, I'll probably re-paint mine the same color.


(The headlight covers)

I'm not dropping it to the floor either. When I lower it, I only want to go down a couple inches. I like not scraping everything. I am considering a front lip eventually and while the car above is a UCF10 (I believe) which comes with yellow lights, I want them on my 95. What is the best way going about getting my headlights yellow? I'll look to see if it's even legal in Florida. However I love it because when I was a kid growing up in Europe, that's how all headlights were. Especially in France. I just think it looks great.

Any stories of something like this? Opinions? I'm enjoying this discussion.

I started a blog when I first got it and it ended up turning into an automotive website. I don't know if I can post links but it's Driving for Broke on Blogspot.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention - I did this living paycheck to paycheck. At one point, I almost ended up on the streets! Haha. It's all good.

It has been an adventure and this car is mine until I die. It happened to come during a huge change in my life and I just love everything about it. I call it The Chariot although her name is Lexy...

Car people... I'm talking about this object like it's alive. It certainly has soul.

Stereorob

major props for taking an old dog ready for the crusher.. -seriously, this thing looked terrible when you got it, and bringing it back to life! as long as theres guys like you that loves these cars, there will always be a few LS400s left on the road.
by the time you get it totally how you want it, youll know every inch of that car inside and out. something else thats cool about it is that it was such a pile when you got it, that its easier to customize because you arent ruining a pristine original example! you can make it more unique.

btw i have a 95 and a 90. im in florida as well. orlando. where are you? dont really see ls400s around here much anymore. my 95 is really clean cosmetically but very very tired mechanically. my 90 is a total hooned out junker that im restoring, like what you are doing with yours!
would be cool to compare notes.

spuds

It does.

As was stated its not like you are taking a pristine car and modifying.So true.You have saved a car and are making it uniquely your own,thats the way to do it,of course thats only my and some others' opinions.

One thing I really enjoy are the race car builds.You have to build them from something,why not a Lexus? Like a VW Beetle to a Baja bug,they still have the same Karma but a very different Mojo,man I love that stuff.

Keep us well informed on all the progress,and pictures,I like pictures!

wahaus

Congrats on your adventure! I've bought cars that needed repairs more or less so I could teach myself how to fix them. That knowledge has saved me hundreds if not thousands, in subsequent repairs.

And mod away. Like it's been said before, you didn't start with a low-mileage garage queen. FYI, if this is your DD, concentrate on everything mechanical before the cosmetic. It doesn't matter if it's pretty if it leaves you stranded.

4litre

iTrader: (1)

Great work! Keep it going!👏

Stereorob

these cars absolutley have charm and soul. people said they are like driving an appliance which might have been true when they were brand new, but now that they are old, they arent anything like that at all lol

Rokas

Wow, I had no idea I would get this much support. I am seriously astounded! Thanks guys!

Yeah, it's true that I can do what I want with it because it was so gone... Haha!

I live on Boggy Creek but I'm in Kissimmee sometimes and also around the Hunters Creek Area (by OBT and Central Florida Pkwy). To the person who asked, I'm definitely gonna message you. I've actually noticed quite a few other ones since I got this one. There used to be a really awesome teal one with long exhausts sticking out but it disappeared....

Rokas

Oh and I have to say to the person that mentioned it, taking care of mechanical problems before exterior is what has kept the car running and it's also why the hood (although new cause I found one for $50!) doesn't sit right. The hinges have been bent forever but oh well! It will be that much sweeter when it looks good and drives great.

I also used this car to teach myself. Once I knew I was gonna keep it, I tried to do as much as I could myself and it taught me a lot about cars like I said. That's priceless and it means I know the car inside-out so if something goes wrong, I can usually figure it out pretty quick now.

I also am finding a sort of love for upholstery even though I'm a total beginner.

Again, thanks so much for the encouragement. My IG is rokask1 if you want to follow with pictures. And yes, the old pics are a big difference!

Rokas

It's 7:41 AM, been up for a few hours, about to get started on some upholstery. Unfortunately the signal here sucks and I can't post a pic but I'm doing the bottom of the back seat in microfiber cloth. It looks great mocked up! Can't wait to show you guys.

If anyone here has thought about messing around with upholstery, man, do it! It's so rewarding! All I have is some needles and cheap stuff. PM me if you want guidance - there's an article on my blog. Again I don't know if I'm supposed to post links. No, right? Can someone tell me?

Also, anybody else in Central Florida, why don't you contact me and maybe we can have a little meet?

jaaa

I had to laugh at the amount you paid($300). Same as I did for my neighbors that was headed for the crusher. I've had mine three years now and am north of $5k now in parts. This last year I've had very little go wrong. There is a guide that I used to do the timing belt if you want to save a little money. What I liked about my experience is all the learning I did along the way. Congrates on saving another ls from the crusher.

Rokas

Something extremely bad happened. I was driving along when, as I hit the gas a little, I heard a loud air type noise. Got close to home and the car wouldn't go past 25mph. It wouldn't go into third gear and getting to 25mph was taking probably a half minute or more...

So I had a mechanic come look and it's what I THOUGHT IT WAS the whole time except everything I did seemed to help until the car was running okay and suddenly whatever vacuum line it is just busted.

So good news, just a vacuum leak. However it is somewhere hidden within the motor... Not visible from anywhere... That's the problem.

Here's the real problem. I was given a Ford Focus which I hate but is reliable and my condition is that I get the car out of where it's stranded right now - my parents house. I can possibly bring it to where I live but life hit me hard...

You see, my roommate and landlord is a hardcore junkie. Me and my wife had to stay here because we would have literally been homeless... It was our last choice.

I've been so down about the car and this morning, well, this junkie landlord is apparently mad and is gonna want to fight or hell possibly shoot me when I go home today. Me and my wife need to get out.

I need to find a place to store my LS400 - I can't sell it! Not now!

And at the same time, I have to take this daily driver because I'm saving so much on gas and reliability. FML.

I had to get it off my chest... I didn't even want to come back here til now. I feel very upset but that's life. Whoever believes, pray for me. Thanks people. I will do my best to keep the car.