So I probably should have posted this a while back but I have a tendency to do then think. So in this case I bought my ever so lovely 95' SC400. Less than 2k with 105k on the dash but with quite a few issues. I'll have the listing posted below but will hide the sellers name.

Now you may be thinking why are you telling us about it when you have already bought it, well the reason is uncertainty. I'm not sure if it's worth putting maintenance in.

When buying the car I convinced myself since it was at a low price that it was the perfect idea, because I'd gain some experience working on the junk myself (what i can) and that buying it for the low would give me money room for maintenance/parts.

I'm not sure if its frustration or me recovering from lemon goggles that's diminishing my thought that this was a good idea.

Anyhow the things that I have done so far was replace the coolant, radiator, radiator hose, detail the engine bay, change the rotors and brake pads and fix a power steering leak under the battery tray. Everything else is untouched.

As like all my post I would like to know your personal thoughts on this as I dont have much experience and hopefully you can give me some game or let me learn the long and hard way.

My next plans are to do a timing belt and valve covers, and maybe replace some surface rusted pulleys and serp belt. Then worry about tires, sus, & wheels after.

Here is the listing below (PT 1)

 

(PT 2)

 

The SC you bought was posted on the forums, so I'm sure a few members have seen it.

It's a typical neglected SC. If you want a good daily driver, it might be worth fixing up bit by bit. I was tempted to buy it myself, but decided against after adding up all the costs of repairs (I also don't have time to work on a project car). But if you do some minor bodywork, fix the AC, do the maintenance, replace the speakers, replace the seat covers, etc etc etc, you have a good daily driver. So I would say potential gem, if you're willing to do the repairs (and many of them yourself).

 

No body rust or damage is very good and so is the sound mechanical running of the vehicle. This comes down to common long term maintenance and repairs like any other older vehicle. Everything the previous owner stated the car needs are things easily enough addressed. I would focus on them one by one in order of safety and critical nature first and then move on to secondary and/or cosmetic details.

Check the health and age of the tires and focus on the timing belt service first. Use Toyota OEM valve cover gaskets and familiarize yourself with the TSRM procedure. Addressing the A/C should come down to how hot it is in Illinois right now. Since the A/C isn't currently working anyway this would be a good time to remove the HVAC head unit controller and mail it to Tanin Auto for LCD replacement repair. That is one of the first things I did with my car.

Next, your auto tilt steering column can indeed be fixed easily with the DIY we have posted in our "Sticky" section. the fix consists of getting to the plastic gear inside the steering column and adding some very thin washer spacers from any hardware store to move the gear's tooth engagement with the metal worm gear into a less worn position.

Alternatively you can pick up a Standard Motor Products C82006 column gear kit from ebay (if still available) and install that in place of your old gear. I would still keep your original gear no matter what though just in case its ever needed.

The dash cluster bulbs going out as well as the original gauge needles is very common with age. Everyone will address that at some point. If either or both of your RPM and Speedometer gauge needles "stick" or are slow to respond then that is also something that Tanin Auto can address by sending your cluster in to them. They also have fully rebuilt and LED upgraded replacement clusters available for no downtime so long as you have an automatic SC (the only reason being that the 5-speed M/T and late model auto clusters are harder to come by).

The body looks really good! I always advocate for upgrading to 17" rims and LS400 front brake calipers for night and day safety and braking capability but those stock 16" wheels do look really good on the car!

Cosmetic SC parts are generally available on eBay. Some are a little harder to find in good shape than others but if you stick with your searches or ask here on the Marketplace forums additionally you will find most everything you will need to restore that interior.

Since the original Pioneer amplifier is likely burned out on your SC it may be time to consider installing an aftermarket one and an aftermarket subwoofer that fits under the rear package tray. The main speakers for the rear and fronts are I believe a standard 4" size and easily replaced once you take apart the interior pieces in the right order (DIYs available here on CL). Same for the front speakers so long as you choose models with the correct depth so that they fit. Only the small tweeters in the upper door surrounds are very specific OEM electronics but even those can probably be replaced with something available on the aftermarket.

If you wish to retain your factory retractable antenna's function there are ways to wire it up so that it will be controllable with a simple switch for up/down operation. This is what I did as I still prefer to keep good AM/FM reception even with an aftermarket stereo head unit installed.

Look up threads by CL member Raine for extensive information on how to wire an aftermarket stereo head unit into an SC with the factory amp as well as how to do it with an aftermarket amp.

Barely over 100k miles is nothing for the SC400's V8 engine. There will be maintenance here and there over the life of the car but that engine is capable of many hundreds of thousands of miles of life still.

If this car appeals to your sense of style and it puts a smile on your face when you drive it then I think it's entirely worth it!

In terms of stock vs modified there are always many ways to take a stock SC's capabilities and feel far beyond what it is in unmodified form. However they are excellent machines no matter how stock or modified they are.