Hello I recently bought a 95 SC 300 for 6,000 dollars. Its green with black leather interior, automatic with 207,000 miles. With some stereo upgrades like DVD TV's in the seats two 12 inch subs and 6 disc changer. Anyway I didn't find a FAQ section for this car so I wanted to ask some questions. First can the Lexus RX330 18 inch rims fit on the SC? Has anyone ever done it? Second I am going to do the 97 conversion kit on it and want the car repainted how much is it to get it repainted in black or silver? I heard people say its 3000 but then I see ads for 500. This car is my project car I couldn't pass up such a good deal. Also I want it to go turbo but I wanna get a newer engine are they expensive? Lastly how much will I expect to be paying for service on this car?

Thanks!

 

Congrats and welcome. ClubLexus member Lex400sc has a very comprehensive web page at www.intellexual.net - be sure to check it out. The repaint job is more a function of the current condition of the car and where you are located rather than the model of car, but 3K sounds about right for a color change.

Plenty of turbo and maintenance info at www.intellexual.net and if you search the engine sub-section of this forum.

EDIT: web page address corrected

 

Thanks! The lextreme website is down. so its going to be 3k for a color change eh? Even for a basic color like Black? I also like the Silver the 97 and up came with so I'm trying to decide between those two colors. I like the RX330 rims I hope they can fit the SC.

 

I apologize- I meant http://www.intellexual.net and it is fortunately up and running and full of good reading.

I am sure you can get a cheaper paint job, but there's a lot of work involved in doing it to the factory standard, and even more work to change the color, and I'll bet we'll soon get posts not to try- it's a tough trick to paint every visible area inside doors, under hood, etc.

Last I heard, all Lexus car wheels have the same bolt pattern- not sure of the SUV's, though. But there's a wheels forum for those kinda questions.

 

i dont think the rx330 wheels fit due to thier lower offset. a used sc engine with lower milage is pretty cheap for 500-1000. But if your going to go turbo and do a engine swap might as well swap in 2jzgte.

 

I also have a 95 sc300, welcome brother.
I was told the wheels from the RX would fit but I didn't ask for specs so that I would know for sure, I took their word on it. Sometimes dealer guys don't know what they're talking about.
With over 200k mi on it I hope you spend your money on mechanics first before you get to the mods. Make sure everything is ship shape. I bought mine with 28k mi and still changed everything I could just to be safe....belts, hoses, fluids. Good luck with her and post some pics.

 

Yeah I am going to take it in for a checkup it runs very well though haven't had any problems. I look foward to being a member on this site it seems like a fun forum!!! I'm already learning alot of things about the SC!!! Never knew there was such an aftermarket for it!

 

The RX330 wheels are 18x7.5 with a 35mm offset. They will fit fine on a SC300/400.

 

That's good to hear (about the RX330 rims...). I've been wanting to get those rims for my SC4. But I was told that the "ideal" offset for SCs is somewhere between 38 ~ 45mm...will the 35mm offset be a big deal? Just wondering....

 

Not for those wheels. They are only 7.5" wide so they will look pretty good on the SC.

 

performance nyc shop out in Long Island gave me a quote of $12,000 for complete us spec 2jzgte and 6 spd getrag swap w/ warranty.

they do good work there.

 

Hey, nice to see you got an Sc with black leather..its somewhat rare. I see you got big things planned. an engine swap, and new body pieces with paint job? The body upgrade you're looking at over a grand. The paint job, you're looking at 2000-3000 for an as many would say (decent job) that 500 dollar stuff like macco or earl schieb, you might start seeing peeling and other imperfections within a month (as my friend did after 2 weeks of his macco paintjob for 200).

Now onto the tens of thousands. If you wanted to do a 2jzgte swap, make sure you find a shop you trust and make sure you are close with them so you are never kept in the dark and they let you know whats going on (on a daily basis).

like others have said, definitely memorize everything on intellexual and dont forget to read over www.planetsoarer.com a couple times.

 

Half the time it is not so much the paint you are paying for as it is completely sanding down a car and reprimering it to do a complete color change. A complete color change involves painting jams, engine bay, and trunk/hatch so it is pretty extensive work. I know a guy around me who is painting my other car (complete color change) and he is charging me 850 to paint it Black and only 90 bucks more (the price difference in paint) to paint it a metallic color. I have seen color changes go from 850-3500 around here but recently 5 of my friends got their car repainted due to hurricane damage and the lowest was the 850 and the highest was 6000 (which included a lot more than just paint) and out of the 5 cars the kids who paid the least and the most had the best paint jobs. A kid payed around a grand and the paint is super blochy and oversprayed. Just get estimates from different places and look at the cars they have done. You can sometimes catch a break and find someone who just like to paint cars and does it at a fair price.

 

Yeah I was looking hard for black leather. I almost gave up and was going to buy a tan one and get buy a black leather kit for it. But then I saw mine and I dove on it! Good to hear about the paint I am going to start looking at different shops around here to see where I can get the best deal.