Biddles

iTrader: (2)

Found this little gem on craigslist Thursday...and drove it home Friday. I have a strong passion for the Platinum Exterior, Black Interior combo, and have been looking for a new SC since I decided to call it quits on my 92 model a few months back. It was just putting money into a car I didn't really care for, the exterior, interior, and engine had too many problems it just wasn't worth the effort considering the cost.

I gave up for a while, but this last month I searched craigslist multiple times each day like a fiend. I missed out on some great ones by being late, not checking my email on time...but I guess I got lucky because I found the ad a few hours after it was posted, and I was the first guy to meet up and bought it after a fairly quick inspection. Interior,...clean, Engine....clean, Frame/Under Carriage....clean, Exterior, multiple dents/dings/scratches, Test Drive....perfect.

Well It passed the 4 out of my 5 point inspection, and that's good enough for me. The guy listed it for $2900, and would only be squeezed for an extra $300 before letting it go. The seller was a second owner. A nice old man who had the car since 2000 with just 30K on it, and had complete service history from the Lexus dealership. He was getting rid of it simply because he rarely drives it anymore, and wanted to see it go to a good home. In fact he would have backed up into a pole parallel parking it have I not been there. At 116K this 1996 SC400 still drives like new.


Fixing the exterior is going to be the most expensive part of restoring her. The pictures don't tell the full tale. Being a city car that only moved 6500 miles a year you accumulate a bunch of dings and dents, and in NY it's pretty much expected. Mechanically everything is in working order, I couldn't find anything wrong with it. Electronically the only problem I could find were the electric side mirrors did not work, so I adjusted them by hand and that's that. Interior wise it's very clean. Rear seat seam needs to be restitched, the door trims have the common crack, and I could use a new ebrake boot but other then that its perfect.

All original manuals, tools, spare tire, first aid kit, and even the car cover is present. Both keys, original key chains, and keyless entry. Newer Kenwood head unit(single din) with USB/Aux inputs, and speakers have an aftermarket Amp powering them which is plenty for now. The windows are also lightly tinted.

This is what I wish I had started with last year when I bought my first car(92 SC400). Now my second time around.....I think I got it right. She drove great from Manhattan to Eastern LI. Great gas mileage, very smooth, not a single hiccup in how she performed. I pushed it to 110 on the expressway and it handled fast and flawlessly.

This is the replacement/repair maintenance history, so if you see anything missing that I should address please drop a line, because I do plan on keeping this car mint. There was a control arm report that I don't know if they were ever replaced so I'll probably address that first. I didn't see anything regarding Distributor Cap/Rotor, Water Pump, and the tensioners/pulleys which look fairly old.

Service Done -- Mileage Perfomed

Replaced Radiator -- 113K
Repaired Leaking Valve Cover Gaskets -- 113K
Replaced Lower Engine Pan Gasket -- 113K
Replaced Leaking Transmission Pan Gasket -- 113K
Replaced Serpentine Belt -- 113K
Recharged Refrigerant -- 108K
Replaced Pads, Rotors, Calipers, Shims, Rear & Front -- 105K
Replaced Catalytic Converters -- 95K
Replaced Both Oxygen Sensors -- 89K(Bank 1 Sensor 1)
Replaced Both Rear Struts -- 85K
REPORT - Needs Front Control Arms(Unkown if replaced as of yet)
Replaced Front Struts -- 76K
Replaced Cracked Drive Belt -- 73K
Lubed Front and Rear Sway Bar Bushings -- 64K


Well here's some pics. Any advice this time around feel free. I know the dents, dings, and scratches are going to cost a lot to fix, but considering the engine and interior are near perfect I feel it was well worth picking up. (You really cant see the dents in the pictures at all, its a gloomy day today).

Planned Work : Gated Shifter, Complete Audio Overhaul, 3 Spoke Lexus Steering Wheel, 97+ Tails, HID's, New Head Lights(Unless I can fix these cruddy yellow ones), 18" G Spider Wheels perhaps. I can't say for sure just yet...maybe complete a complete 97 body kit...maybe.








And my old one Silver Spruce sitting on 20's.......retired for parts...unless a family member wants to fix it.



I'm glad to be back(Although I never really left).

Maserati

iTrader: (1)

NIce Pickup, but i'd swap the headlights from the 92 since those look more cleaner, Car looks nice, if the dents aren't too bad, i would just leave it alone and work on fixing the mechanics. Nothing wrong with 95 tails/body style i'd leave that alone. Get a lip probably switch the wheels from the 92 and probably call it a day.

SC400slide

iTrader: (11)

Looks nice. Great find!

Biddles

iTrader: (2)

Yea I cleaned the 92 headlights in the past that's why they still look good, I'll try and clean these and see how it goes because they are scuff free. The dents are pretty bad, the pictures don't really show it. I have no idea how much the dent repairs will cost me, I remember you had some body work done, what did that set you back and how did it hold up? Still looking clean I'd imagine.

bigwes

Not a bad pick up if u ask me. I would leave the stock body and jus add a lip kit, or use ur 92 OEM lip and put it on ur 96.

Maserati

iTrader: (1)

Man my body work was intense,and i needed a new door lol. It's holding up fine. I still have to change the fender due to a gap that's there. Overall it looks clean still . For me it was 1,300$. Im doing my bushings this weekend coming so that should be fun.FOr ents you can maybe do the paintless dent repair? my friend had that done but it looks like an orange peel effect on the paint. which is quite obvious. Maybe get a close up of the biggest dent?

Biddles

iTrader: (2)

Damn that's expensive....I figured it'd cost well over a grand to do mine as I need some paint touch ups too. I have close up shots but they came out crappy not really showing the problems. The guy who I got the car from was at the Lexus dealership and he was offered Paintless Dent Removal for $500 but declined. It sounds like a good deal, but there's no way they can fix all of it for $500, but I'll go to the dealership and ask. Either way I'm happy right now as it is because driving it is just blast compared to my old SC, and then when I'm looking around the cockpit and it's damn near flawless I'm just that much happier.

lilSCsteve

iTrader: (71)

Yep, definitely a come up...can't wait to see what you do to her?

steve

99rx

iTrader: (6)

Looks real clean! I've always liked this color combo. I personally love the color of your 92. Wish mine was silver spruce/tan.
Looks like you've got some work ahead of you, but sounds like you'll have fun doing it. Can't wait to see the final product. Are you going to be parting your 92 out at all?

Biddles

iTrader: (2)

I'm going to swap some parts, probably the headlights, the brakes are new so probably those, maybe a fender or two and repaint it platinum depending on the cost difference to fix the scratches/dents. I'd then like to sell the rest as a whole just to keep another SC on the road, but really it's not worth much.

It looks better then it is. The 92 has over heating issue(prob water pump), has a bent rim, needs an 02 sensor, ac blows hot, and the power steering is shot. There's also a coolant leak. On top of that lol the steering wheel isn't centered due to putting in a steering rack incorrectly. Maybe I'll keep it around as a very very slow side project and to help learn some things so I can then perform them on my good SC.

Maserati

iTrader: (1)

Man my whole side was damaged!

so coming from that to this is pretty good for 1300$,

Thats really expensive, i doubt that's the whole car,Being a Lexus dealer and all, i'd double check for sure.

dwebb99

iTrader: (17)

I am always impressed with how good of work my PDR guy does (Paintless Dent Repair). His work is perfect and price is very reasonable. You might try and track down some different local PDR guys and get some free quotes. Beats the hell out of bondo and resprays bigtime.

Biddles

iTrader: (2)

Wow...what a difference. I like your wheels man those are stock chromes? What year is your car? EDIT: Ha didn't realize I had the same wheels, just the Alloy ones I guess....

I have dents, but nothing that bad, just a lot of little ones all over the car, with the worst being on the trunk, a branch fell off a tree on it....apparently a pretty big branch, doesn't effect how the trunk opens or anything though.

And yea I'll definitely get a PDR guy to check out my car, thanks for the tip. The PDR guy at Lexus told him $500 and he was honest and upfront about every detail of the car so I have no reason not to believe him, just not sure the extent of the dents that would be repaired.

How much does your PDR guy charge dwebb99, and what was the extent of the dents fixed?

dwebb99

iTrader: (17)

He charges $75 per panel, and will come to my house so I can watch. PDR works great unless the paint has been chipped or cracked, then it might need detail work. My guy has been doing this for 10 yrs and I trust his opinion on what he can and can't do. Plenty of youtube videos of PDR guys at work. It is a real skill and to do well takes a lot of talent, experence and the proper tools.

SportC400

Yeah Maserati $1300 for that much body work sounds pretty good. Did they paint the whole side or just touch it up. I'm assuming yours required more than a little pdr. I have some minor body work that needs done am I'm in Florida. Who do you recommend?