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Hello,
Been a member of clublexus for years. First joined when I bought my 93 LS400.
Disposed of that one and currently own this 97.
Two weeks ago I picked up this sad example of a IS300 for $1500.
The interior should give you an idea of what the PO thought of the car.
It's an Automatic. First thing I did was remove all the stickers.
Every wheel is either bent or cracked.
I then pulled the motor that suffered from "rod knock".
Lol, yes you can see the tailights of my LS400 through the hole"S" in the block.
I pulled a 2j from a 1999 GS300 last week and I'm waiting for my new motor/trans mounts and engine gasket kit to arrive. I plan to drop the motor back in this Sunday.
I've been fighting the urge to drop a 1uz vvti in it because I'm in the middle of my mk3 supra project. I want this IS300 on the road ASAP!
If I still have this heap by the Fall, a toyota V8 will go in her.
So, I bought this heap on 3/15/16 and put it on the road 4/1/16. Quickest project for me ever. The $200 junkyard 2jz runs perfect. I was concerned when I first started it because or the loud rattle noise from the head. It disappeared after a few seconds. I guess the cams were dry from sitting for a long while. Been driving/ cleaning it everyday this past week.
I removed the illegal tint, swapped my MK4 supra TT/NA wheels and removed the crappy eyelids and lip. I'm looking to trade the aftermarket axleback exhaust for a clean stock setup. Gonna change the amber lense fogs for OEM style clear fogs with amber bulbs. Also checking the local junkyards for a full black interior.
Dude, you paid $1500 for that non-running pos with a hole in the block???? I sold a non-rusty southern 1993 Toyota truck with 177k miles on it, straight frame, ran/drove great, new clutch, new water pump, new exhaust, new brakes, been hit in the front and had a bent bumper, fender, and door, but it was a great truck if you could get over the cosmetics. Sold that sob for $1400.
^ You are comparing apples to oranges. Early toyota minis with a clean frame and good 4 cylinder drivetrain can still pull a premium because rusted out examples are found all over craigslist. I'm always getting 3-5 grand offers on my 87 toyota pickup with a 5 speed/ 1uz swap and I've never offered it up for sale.
As for the IS300, I'll pay a premium for a clean, undamaged chassis with ORIGINAL paint. I refuse to put effort into making a car roadworthy if it looks like crap and is embarrasing to be seen in. I can do any of the mechanics for a fraction of what body work would cost me. So $1500 for the car, $200 for the motor and add in two weekends worth of work, yielded me a great running IS300 for $1700. An IS300 in the condition it's in now would cost $2600-$3000. I WIN!
I got pretty lucky over the weekend, The interior of my IS300 is tan and it's filthy. The fake suede is dirty and worn. Looks like terry cloth now. The more I scrub to clean it the worse it gets. The carpet on the driverside is dirty and torn. I went to a pick and pull yard to check out a LS430 and while there I walked past this car atleast twice.
With most of the frontend missing, I thought it was a civic till I saw the taillights as I was leaving. OH CRAP!! I pulled the full black interior.
Thanks for the comments. Have since repaired a broken bolt on the rear swaybar bushing, replaced the front strut rod bushings,tinted the rear tailllights red. Swapped the rear fart can for an oem muffler, then swapped in a Manzo exhaust I found on CL for $70. Also picked up a cheap set of new power agency wheels 18x8.5 for $300 shipped on ebay.Not a fan of black wheels but the price and fit are good.
Now looking out for a set of clear OEM fogs and ducktail spoiler.
Thats an incredible transformation. The IS300 has always been a Lexus I've wanted to pick up, but never could find the right one for my price range. The few that I see come up for sale are either pristine with a ton of miles, or are in the low-mid 100s and are just beat to hell. Since your IS and LS come from complete opposite ends of the Lexus spectrum, how do the two compare?
Thats an incredible transformation. The IS300 has always been a Lexus I've wanted to pick up, but never could find the right one for my price range. The few that I see come up for sale are either pristine with a ton of miles, or are in the low-mid 100s and are just beat to hell. Since your IS and LS come from complete opposite ends of the Lexus spectrum, how do the two compare?
To be completely honest, there is no fair comparison between an IS300 and even the first gen LS400. The LS is several steps above in ride quality, interior feel and power delivery. I find myself choosing to drive the LS400 over the IS the majority of the time. So much so that my wife drives the IS300 most of the time. In my opinion, the IS300 is mostly a modern version of the toyota cressida which I also own.
The ride is very similar to my cressida but the IS300 definitely handles far better in stock form. I am impressed with how well it handles. I bought the IS300 cheap to do a quick fix to get it on the road and then set up for a 1uzvvit swap after I finish my supra swap.
The supra is now 95% finished. Just drove it for the first time yesterday.
The IS will get the same treatment but keeping it auto if the wife lets me. She's fallen in love the IS. She likes whipping through traffic with it and the gas mileage is great compared to her RX300.
Thanks for the comments guys. The IS300 is still running strong. My daughter has been driving it all summer. Luckily she's leaving next week for her first year of college and as a freshman no cars are allowed. I called my insurance to see if there is a student away from home discount. Yes there is as long as the student is 100 miles away. The agent search the distance of the university and it's 97.8 miles away! Crap! I'm gonna see what can be worked out on this. Never the less, the wife will have the IS back.
I pulled the black wheels to strip the black coating for polishing the aluminum. If I don't like the look, I'll paint them gunmetal or graphite. Right now she's rocking the SC430 wheels.
2001 IS300 Project Basket Case.
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