OverlandRR

Okay so I'm looking to pick up a second vehicle and although I was gong to buy a classic 4x4, the girlfriend likes sportscars. I used to own a got so I'm not totally in the dark with these things but I'm definitely more of a 4WD guru than a tuner. That being said I know the SCs are supposed to be solid cars and I think it would make the perfect car for her and my needs.

SO HERES WHERE IM BEGGING FOR HELP

First I know certain cars have their good and bad years, engines, transmissions, etc but I know nothing about the SC's. Is there a good resource for what to look for or does someone here want to school me on it? I'm looking to buy one local for 4600 that has 103K on it. Seems like a good deal from what I've seen so I want to move quickly. its a 95 SC400

Second, I want to modify the vehicle LIGHTLY. Mainly suspension wheel tire swap with an intake and exhaust. Nothing drastically lowered but definitely stanced. Once again is there a resource for this stuff or is browsing the related sections the best option?

Thanks in advance y'all. I look forward to hearing back!

crenfro

iTrader: (2)

Sweet! It's always nice to see another person looking into the SC's! My main thing I would tell you is if you're looking to just lightly mod your car, definitely go with the 400, nothing better than that toyota v8 with a nice exhaust and stanced. The only reason to look into a 300 is if you have plans on going turbo and it seems you're not on that route.

$4600 is a decent price but you could negotiate lower, offer $3500. You'll love the sc400, thats what I started on! Good luck!

Tabaka

iTrader: (8)

Since you mentioned that you will be modifying the SC lightly, this makes me assume that you're not interested in any major performance gains including a turbo kit. With that said, the 1995 non-VVTI 2JZGE stock engine just blows. It's 189hp to the wheels, and that's pushing 3,500lbs of weight around. I have no idea what your girlfriend and you weigh, but I'm going to add another 300lbs total. Add a full tank of gas, you're a 4,000lbs lead sled with an inline 6 that has 189hp. Sports car numbers? No. The factory suspension is also 20 years old. The shocks are done, control arm bushings are shot, rack & pinion bushings are non existent, and the car has vibrations when you drive 65mph+.

My advice, buy a 4x4 truck or cherokee and get a great job where you can buy/finance a true sports car down the road. $4,600 is a lot of cash and unfortunately, it's not enough to buy a really nice sports car. Maybe you can find a SC which has already been swapped with a GTE engine. The average person makes roughly $150 per day in this country. You've now spent 30 straight days of your hard work to buy a vehicle at $4,600.00. I'm not talking you out of it, this is just the facts.

Best of luck with your decision. This is a great forum which will help you in your time of need. Will there be a time of need? Absolutely. There's only three or four people on this earth that will help you fix a car. A mechanic that will charge you arm and a leg, your father, close reliable friends, and yourself. It's a 20 year old vehicle that breaks about once a month if you daily it. First it's the fuel pump relay, then the alternator dies, then the power steering pump is leaking, then the radiator hose leaks, then you change the timing belt cause everyone said too, then the water pump starts leaking even when you just replaced it, then the car overheats cause the thermostat is stuck or the fan clutch dies, then the car misfires and sputters for no reason one morning, then the car runs rich cause the capacitors on the ECU burn up, then the passenger seat floor is like a swimming pool one day, the cluster needles burned out, then the climate control screen bleeds, then the windows stop working, the door handle snaps in half, the tail light indicator comes on once a month and another bulb burned out, then only one fog light comes on....you'll hate it and love it at the same time.

PJSC300

The Lexus SC300/400 are great cars and will outlast the majority of cars of their era. Maintenance is key. The Lexus SC400 is the better one out of the two, when you are considering basic performance modifications. For $4600, that SC400 is reasonable price considering its mileage. Although SC300/400s have great potential, I would not consider them sport cars in stock form. I would suggest a Miata.

OverlandRR

Thanks for the replies y'all!
I wouldn't be opposed to a turbo but I don't want to dump 15k putting one in when I'm already paying to maintain an old car either. What do they run?

Tabaka - This is starting to sound like my 95 Range Rover Classic hahaha. All seriousness though I'm a Land Rover owner and Volkswagen Van owner so unless these things are crafted by satan himself I doubt they could be worse! I have access to a full shop with air tools, snap on, full lift etc so I expect to do my own work.

Could you clarify which cars come with which engines though to save me the research? My assumption is based on lexus numbering that the sc300 came with the 6 while the 400 came with the 8. Based on their *** backwards logic they probably made few 400s with manual if any at all as well right?

When I purchase the vehicle (unless its one thats already been done) I plan to immediately redo the suspension including shocks springs bushings etc, plus all new fluids plugs brakes. Anything else that can be trouble spots? I know on my rovers and VWs the hoses all went to hell by 100,000 miles. Is that an issue with these?

As a side note I'm not buying this thing because its what I can afford. I just think they are awesome. Could I go buy a new sports car and have less maintenance? Sure. But I wouldn't enjoy it as much. I usually just buy what I love and then go from there. I have spent far more on mods alone for my 4x4 than this car will cost. I just want to make sure I get a good deal. Just because you CAN pay it doesn't mean you should haha.
This is my current daily driver and fun rig which Ill be keeping

t2d2

iTrader: (8)

You sound like the perfect candidate for SC ownership. You want something sporty but not necessarily a sports car, are looking for aesthetics more than raw performance, and have the competency and desire to do your own wrenching. These cars will give you plenty to tinker with.

Your assumptions are correct. My mechanic theorized that the 300 and 400 refers to displacement (3.0 and 4.0), but I haven't seen that confirmed anywhere. The SC400 only came as an automatic. Once I get all my initial functional stuff sorted out, I'm starting to look into performance torque converter vs. W58 manual transmission swap to really uncork the car's performance potential. Stock, it's sluggish below 2,000 RPM then starts coming alive quickly. Above 3,000 it hits hard. It's a shame you can't tap into that power band easily with the automatic.

OverlandRR

Yup Im a sucker for pretty cars haha. Honestly I don't want it to hit too hard because my girl will be driving it. Dont tell her that though! Haha as she learns more performance driving I may look into making it faster.

It sucks the autos are like that. I feel like someone mentioned on the forum however that the SC400 was one of the fastest autos for its time. Granted thats for its time, so by todays standard thats slow but it can't be all bad haha

t2d2

iTrader: (8)

I rate the SC quick but not fast. My other car is a supercharged Miata and it's way, way faster in the 0-40 mph (and maybe higher) range, but the SC400's torque levels the playing field further up. Of course, how often do you really get to use that? The lower RPMs are really what define the feel of a car.

If I accelerate moderately from a light in the SC, modern minivans and econoboxes pull away as fast or faster. If I'm a bit more aggressive with the throttle, I have no problem matching them. So, the power is there, just hidden under several layers of luxury cruising smoothness.

eknine9

iTrader: (8)

In 98 the SC400 v8 became vvti which meant a noticeable increase in HP from earlier models, so if there is a 98+ SC400 around you should ****** it up and happily pay the extra it will most likely cost, but those are rather rare and hard to find.

As far as the SC400 you're looking at, $4,600 is a bit much to pay for one even though it is what it's worth. I'd offer $3,500 (like was said earlier) - $3,800 cash in hand and expect to be negotiated back up to around $4k.

If you have access to a shop the suspension work should be cake. You can just use the search forum here to find coilover discussion and a couple places to buy bushings for the car. Main ones you'll want to replace will be all upper and lower control arm bushings, along with the steering rack bushings.

As far as the intake goes, search the forum for thread about a B.F.I. that will be your best bet as far as intakes go for HP gains. Exhaust I don't know too much about but again you can just use the search function it's been discussed to death on this forum. And wheels and tires are easy so long as you know how much room you have. Also consider upgrading the brakes to a BBK, some forum members replace with LS400 or Supra OEM brakes as they are rather easy to install on our cars, but the choice is yours.

These are definitely head turners with just a minimum amount of exterior work, a drop, some rims, maybe a kit and front lip, get the 97+ tails (unless the car is red or gold in which case stick with the 95-96 tail lights), debadge and light tint and you'll even have trouble walking into the house from the garage because you won't even be able to stop staring at it two years later.

But like Tabaka says at times these cars turn into a frustrating money pit. I had a good 17 monhs where the extent of my repairs was the harmonic balancer, engine thermostat, and I replaced all of the rad hoses just because, and something else small that I can't remember. But these last 7 months have been horrible. First the distributor cracked and was leaking, but I didn't realize the oil leak was coming from a cracked distributor, so I just bought new o-ring seals for the distributor and put those in. There was no more leak the first 2 days so I assumed it was good. 9 days later the alternator goes out because distributor leak continued and knocked out my alternator. Got a H/O alternator and put it in, car ran for like a day and then I noticed battery was dying from the stress of no alternator for the little while I drove it to get home. New battery. Then car entered limp mode 3 days later and I was trying to figure out what was up. Cleaned my MAF, did 12v fuel pump mod, replaced distributor cap and rotor, got new spark plugs before I realized my distributor was actually cracked which also explained the leak so I got a new distributor. And yay, my car was driving even better than before and 4 days later my starter dies while I'm on vacation 250 miles from home, so I had to buy a cheapo on from Autozone while keeping my OEM starter. Cool got that working and drove back home. On the highway a dog decided to run across the 2 lane highway while I was passing a semi-truck. I could see him until he ran out in front of the semi-truck giving me all of two seconds to lock up my brakes. Cool, dog ripped off my front lip, seperated one of my tires from the bead an started a slow power steering leak. Got my spare on (which is smaller than my rims and tires so lol driving ~45 mph on the highway the nxt 127 miles and stopping to top off my power steering pump every 40 miles or so. Get it home and after a week pull off the power steering lines (my banjo bolt was a completely different size than the OEM one for some reason), and have the refitted, great the power steering leak has stopped. On my way home the car starts wobbling like crazy, sounds and feels like a flat tire, but all of my tires have less than 5,000 miles on them, but I check them anyways, and they're all inflated. Nearly home so I just drive really slow (like 20 miles an hour) until I get home. No time to check the car so take the buick to work the next 5 days until my next day off when I discover I snapped two of my wheel studs somehow so I replace those over the course of the next 3 days during the 3 hours I have between morning classes and work in the evening.
Got those done like 1 week ago and today there was a weird vibration at idle and when I turned the AC off the engine almost died as the RPM dropped to ~250 for 7-8 seconds before it came back to normal. I don't know whats going on there and I'm not looking forward to finding out, but such is life with an SC. When it's good it's great, when it's bad it's terrible.

maynanator

iTrader: (1)

The Sc is a good platform for those that want to modify their cars. I assume that since you wheel a rover you know full well that modifying can cost a lot and that maintenance can be even more. If you pay attention to what the sc needs and keep the maintenance up, it will take care of you. If you are looking for a good starter car, the sc400 has the advantage of torque and a nice v8 rumble. If you want a stick, finding an sc300 5 spd will be the easier and cheaper route. Now you can put a stick in the 400 (early versions are better for this) relatively easy, (not cheaply); you just need the right conversion parts. If manual isn't a necessity then a later (1998-2000) sc400 would be the best out of the box platform. It has the most powerful stock motor, it has a 5 speed auto, it has and updated exterior, and it will be newer and most likely still owned by someone who has the money to maintenance it properly. The only downside to a later model is the issues if you do decide to go full tilt on the build. With all the new electronic nannies it will take more consideration and tinkering to make all the computers work together happily. Like a land rover, the maintenance history is everything you need to care about when picking up an SC. Good Luck, and make sure to let us know if/when you get an Sc by dropping a ton of photos in an intro thread.

Ramblerman

I would say go with SC400, they only come with auto trans, but it's nice not to have to hold down e 13k pressure plate @ a long red light in traffic, my 68 Javelin is a bear (not so bad when I was younger) I have a 96 SC400 I love dearly, nothing better than the rumble of a nice V8. I'm an experienced mechanic with all the tools, plus body man,so old cars that need a little work. No problem! Make sure the car your looking @, has not been tampered with & has a good maintenance record. then enjoy the ride! You will have to work on it once in awhile as they are old cars & parts wear out. A good chip will help the performance @ low cost.

Tabaka

iTrader: (8)

eknine9 - Our cars must have been built on the same Friday evening.

babowc

iTrader: (1)

It's something you will expect with a heavy, old car.
Bushings are first to go.
Then you have the usual maintenance parts as Tabaka and eknine9 mentioned.

If you keep up the maintenance, any (most) car can be made reliable.

eknine9

iTrader: (8)

Lol, we've both been cursed with SCAIDS. I keep saying that I'm finally done and can get around to all of the fun mods I want to install, but this car keeps proving me wrong lately.

Ramblerman

LOL! You would've had to been there. When someone pulls right up on the rear of your car on a hill in Pittsburgh, you have no roll back room, so you have one foot holding the brake & gas the other holding the clutch. Modern hydraulic clutch systems are so much more user friendly,such as the ones in my 325I & my Tegra. Gets kinda tiresome shifting all the time, but when I want to I think I have something to do it in. Love my Lexus!