Hello, this is my first import build. I currently work on offroad trucks but the opportunity to compete in an endurance race presented itself and I was all in. We wanted something reliable with big horsepower rear wheel drive and so the SC 400 platform seemed like the perfect build. Below are some pics.

 

 

Looking for suggestions on making her faster... Ideas are single turbo, and to run either a R154 or R150 manual Transmission. Any ideas?

 

Im running single turbo and w58 swap on sc400 1uz i love it but im selling them off to do a soarer swap

 

We are having difficulty finding a power steering rack. ANy suggestions? Ours was snapped by the track crew who towed the car into the pits. WE are also looking to remove the entire dash, heater core, ac compressor... anything we can to make it light...

 

Contact member "Aliga", he has numerous SC's at any given time being parted out and will have anything you need. Otherwise the ol' online auction sites have always been good for me.

Neat build man, are there any restrictions for what modifications you can do? A buddy of mine raced in the 24 hour "Lemon" races and besides weight reductions and the required cage, there really weren't any other mods allowed.

 

Thanks Kris9884, ill look into that..


This was our first "Lemons Race" so we had no idea what we were getting into! We understood you had to purchase a vehicle for "around" $500 bucks and add safety things like a roll cage, better brakes, tires- all which doesn't go towards the initial $500. We are totally green to road racing and so we knew we wanted a rear wheel drive big motor car, and wouldn't you know an SC400 was on the market. Prior to this we had no idea of the SC or any of its performance capabilities. The car was overheating, the driver door didn't open, the car drove like a boat because the shocks were blown. Turns out this was the original owners son who now had the car and drove it into the ground. We offered her $300 and she said "NO way! I purchased that car brand new for $38,000!" So we got it for $400! We changed the water pump, timing belt, thermostat and got rid of the hydraulic fan. We installed 2 high rate "puller" electric fans added the roll cage and put some ducting into the front valence to keep the brakes cool, got some rims off craigslist for $100 rattle canned them black got new tires and That was it!


We showed up to the lemons racing thinking we got this thing! Unbeknownst to us there were BMW's Lotus's, Corvettes, Mustangs, dodge caravans, Porsches all with full nascar chassis! We though we were pushing it with the brake ducts! We immediately started to shave weight from the car and right there in the pits started pulling the windows, door panels and sunroof off to shave weight. Everyone was surprised to see such a "heavy" car. We saw cars with turbos sticking out of the hoods, and an Toyota MR2 that had two motors!! It was pretty insane. Needless to say we are now hooked.


So far I have completely gutted the door panels, trunk, and huge sunroof. Bad thing is now the cage is 2 inches below roof. We are also changing the brakes from a Lexus LS400 and I am gutting the exhaust and putting in an X pipe. We are also looking to put in a 5 speed and possible a turbo for the next race. Ill post some pics shortly.


We are so fortunate that we stumbled upon the "Beauty" that is the SC model. Now doing research I have discovered that the vehicle had something like $400 Million dollars in research to build the car! And the door hinge on this thing is a piece of art! We are excited that there are so many options and so many forums and topics on getting the most out of this sports car.

 

Here we are staged in the pits.. Our theme was crash test dummies and a crash test vehicle.







Here is a picture of me gutting the inner sheet metal..




Here is the removal of the sunroof..




This is a pic of the rack.. its hard to see in the pic but it is cracked 360 degrees...

 

Whoa cool story, I had no idea there could be that huge arrangement of cars with that many mods? My buddy bought a 5 speed Acura Legend and gutted it to the bone. added all kinds of coolers/fans, ripped off the exhaust and drove the hell out of it lol..

 

Started working on the front end. Found a steering rack at Pick apart for $45.00. I am also going to build a small bumper behind the stock plastic..

 

Started the 2nd phase of the drift style "push" bumper.. Here are some pics of this weekends work..


Here is the frame horn trimmed..






This is with the plate I cut out with the Plasma torch.







Here we are with both plates welded in place..







Here is a pic of the link bars







Here is a pic of the 1 1/2 .120 wall mild steel round bar behind the bumper..





And here is a front view and a top view of the bumper..

 

Awesome custom bumper! Great build man. Go to a local gas station with a scale and get us a weight when your done!

 

Thats pretty cool!

 

That is really cool, you got some mad welding skills.

 

That's exactly what I was thinking.(your welds)

What I also think it's cool is how irreverent your approach to getting the results you want.

I have exactly the same colour car but the interior looks a bit healthier!

Keep posting with photos and any engine mods.