i will be stopping by the dealer tomorrow to get all the details on this 98+gated shifter and wood shift **** conversion to compare parts from 95 to 98 to see if's possible to do -and then do some research in finding the parts for a very discounted price,of course if the price for this kind of modification is astronomical in expense-back to the drawing board,but i think this mod would definetely be worth checking into.....................wish me luck!!!

oh and by the way.....if anyone reading this post has any helpful input towards this project..please post!!!



-thanx

 

Nextlevel,

You do realize that 98+ had a totally different tranny. Its a 5 speed auto instead of a 4 speed auto. Also note that the dash has a different shift indicator as well.

The only reasonable thought I have come up with is that you might be able to "trick" the interface between the shifter and tranny. I just looked on ebay and it appears that there is even a slight difference between the 98 and the 99 - can someone please explain this!

I really, really, wish you luck - this is one of the last frontiers for us with older SCs. I honestly think our best bet is to modify the shifter and make a new console piece entirely out of wood. Look forward to others thoughts.

Ryan

 

This is from a '98, notice the bottom gear "L" by itself.

 

try this:

 

Here is the dash on the same car:

 

Okay, by the time I posted this I think I just figured something out - the 98 SC400 is a 5 speed and the 98 SC300 is a 4 speed. Can someone please confirm this. Also, if this is correct, how does the auto tranny in the 98 300 compare to the 92-97 SC400?

Here is a post of the 400 shifter:

 

sorry, here you go:

 

Here is the dash for the same car:

 

Just a tip along your journey: disassembling an actual 98+ SC's gear shifter and removing the instrument cluster to study it will reveal a lot for your project. Somehow I think you'll have to heavily modify or completely replace the metal shift rod inside, but if you're lucky Lexus designed them similarly between the 92-97 and 98-00. Keep us updated, I want to do the same thing!

 

Your findings will be REALLY interesting. Please let us know. thanks.

 

thanx for the support guys, i'm about to get the schematics for my 95 and compare it with the 98 sc300 gearshift(being that it is a 4 speed auto like my 95 400)but i am going to try to get it to work with my 95 dashboard.
i will keep you all posted as i get more info...............

 

Please don't give up and let us know - we all want to do something.

 

still working it out.............

 

A while back, some guy was selling his car on eBay. He had the conversion done. I emailed him about the price and he said it was about $5000. So it has been done. Good luck on your project and keep us all inform.

 

That's correct Ryan, there is no 5 spd auto SC300, and all 98+ SC4's have the 5spd, same as the GS4. I can't see the conversion being anything but a major PITA, but good luck to you, of course with enough cash anything can be done...