lexuscfour

I'm interested in buying this car off of Craigslist. Is there anything I should know or ask? I've had 3 SC400 over the past 3 years so I'm more than familiar and comfortable with the 1UZ and all it's quirks. I have no experience with the JZ series and wanted to know if there's anything that I should be aware of or watch out for. How reliable are these engines and those twin turbos?

According to the seller, this car is bone stock, straight swap. Seller also mentioned that someone backed up into the front bumper last week and it would need a repaint. Got a quote of $470 to repaint and realign the bumper, but there's a 95 DWP on CL for $150. Are there any clearance issues with that bumper? Also, the hood has a dent on it and looking at the pics looks kind of rough. I'm going to see the car either today or tomorrow. Any help would be great.

http://miami.craigslist.org/mdc/cto/5230180341.html

Studiogeek

iTrader: (6)

I don't get good vibes.
Not enough info on the build and parts. A car built with love, is generally accompanied by an owner anxious to type about it. I don't think a swap can be "bone stock". Some supporting mods are needed to do it right in most cases.

Only said it runs "pretty good". Given peoples tendency to over sell, this car MAY run poorly. Stock twins usually blow first on a JDM GTE.

If you wait, 8-10K and some time will reveal some gems.

Don't rush, you have to live with and pay for haste during this stage.

mikef

iTrader: (3)

I wouldn't look at cars in Hialeah in the first place. your best bet is to find someone who has a full list of parts put in with recipes. also it goes to show the character who only puts a side skirt on and paints right on the car.

chnk

iTrader: (12)

Drive it and check for any issues here is what I'd look for.

- smoke out exhaust - possible twins going out or hg - white is probably turbo, blue is oil
- rear main seal leak - will be oil on the bell housing
- auto trans - does it shift smoothly and confidently through all gears or hesitant through all gears? check fluid color
- wiring - does the temp sensor work? does it look clean, are there random grounds everywhere
- compression test
- if no compression test, take a wrench and turn the crank without the batter attached, if it turns smoothly with some resistance then the piston rings are not in bad shape. if it turns too easily then they probably haven't in good shape.

nice thing about the 1jz auto ecus is they hit fuel and boost cut pretty quickly, so you can't abuse them that badly

Knuckleup

iTrader: (1)

I have to agree with these guys. Find out if he has receipts for the swap. Maintenance records etc. Anything to show you that he has cared for the car and maintained it. Not just beat the hell out of it and now is trying to dump it off on someone else.

Reyke

Call me odd, but if the interior looks as good as the passenger seat shot, I wouldn't turn my nose too quickly. In my area, every SC I've seen has a trashed falling apart interior.

The other thing I'd be curious about is the mileage there's a lot of items that wear out over miles of use and yes I know the 40k for the swap but there's more to the car than the swap.

Go look at the car bring an impartial friend who will scrutinize the car and keep you on track, test drive it, bring flashlights, check all the obvious items, flip switches, actuate all electronics, see if he did the ac relay mod when he did the swap.

There's more but everything you've seen listed above me is a good starting point.

That interior though, if it's as clean as my black on black car I'd pick it up off course after some strong negotiation.

sebasc300

That car is not worth it to me. I think you are much better off finding a clean 97+ since they can be found for under 5k nowadays, then swap a 2jz/1jz into that or turbo the GE.

As mentioned above I would run far away from Hialeah cars.

check out this 99' in Palm Beach for 4.5k

https://miami.craigslist.org/pbc/cto/5248035962.html

See if you can talk the guy down to 4k then put the remaining 2k you were going to spend on that s*%tbox into the 99'.

mikef

iTrader: (3)

Just be careful

soloist3

Why buy a car that you can drop a 2JZ right into and then go put a 1JZ into it? Lol...I am sure that sounds crazy but I'll be dammed if I go DOWN in displacement...ever, 2.5L is just a tease when the 2JZ is just SO much better. A 1JZ in an SC is almost sacrilege to me, but I am probably the only one that thinks that Anyway, a clean car is a clean car, you can't be all that choosy when the well is drying up on finding any of these cars in good shape. Reminds me of my Acura Legend 6 Speed Coupe days, they only made 3000 of those cars TOTAL, across all trim levels and all years, even though I wanted a black on black LS I ended up getting a black on tan, had I not compromised I would have likely never owned a Legend 6 Speed coupe. Maybe not a great example, but, good enough

Studiogeek

iTrader: (6)

Man,
Have you ever driven a really nicely modded Soarer or 1J SC? The 1J is a wonderful motor as well. There is something about that sound on boost, near red line. You can hear the Yamaha pedigree. i have 2J but if it was a 1J at the same HP, I'd be fine with it.

soloist3

Tough call, I am sure it sounds great, small motors like to scream, but at 2.5L's that's a damn small I6. I am all about torque, to me the 2JZ is still a liter too small The 1JZ, 2JZ, and even 1UZ are great motors, for whatever reason having the Supra chassis and putting the smaller motor into it just seems wrong to me; I am sure it's the minority opinion though.

Oh, btw, I am looking to swap my SC300 for an SC400, found a guy that has a pretty nice SC4. My SC3 is a 1998, diamond white pearl, almost "collector" condition, no dings, dents or scratches on the entire body, paint looks almost brand new, 117k miles, timing belt/water pump changed at 91k miles (Lexus Dealer), no tears in the leather, almost like a brand new car, everything works perfectly, no issues at all, $5k if anyone is interested.

Reyke

Well I currently own a 1jz car, an NA-t car and a few more lexus and the 1jz with the factory transmission, 4.27 gears, 19" rims, and 255 wide tires hooks and books I'm still on 11psi. Every time I get someone they all think it's a 2jz, they usually don't know what a 1jz is. Plus the 1jz has a different tone in it's exhaust. I like it, plus screw it, if I want the displacement then I'll bolt my spare 2jz bottom end on it.

mikef

iTrader: (3)

It's much better to go with 2j because you can stop at any local toyota dealer to get parts

Kris9884

iTrader: (7)

Lol do you even automotive bro? The Soarer CAME with the 1J, how is that at all out of place? The 1J serves the SC perfectly. The 2J is in NO way "SO" much better, they are practically identical.

And don't get me started on Legends, I love those cars! The Legend coupes were timeless, amazing cars minus head gasket issues. I had a pretty beat up 91 coupe on OZ Superleggera's, SR5Guy ECU, Type 2 heads with a 3.5 block, 1 of maybe 10 ever made Web cam sets, KSports, 6 speed swap the list goes on.. To this day a production number has never been given to the public of how many 6 speeds were produced. There were over 330,000 Legends made between 91-95, I reeeeally doubt only 3k were 6 speed but who knows?. But anyway, fun cars, too bad they are FWD and had zero aftermarket support.

Since Legend fans are rare, here is my old one before I got the SC, I miss that car.









Thread jack over, as you were...

scmaluco

iTrader: (6)

Best answer so far far.... Can't go wrong. But 6k sounds a little too much. I wouldn't pay more than 5k for that.. If everything checks out..