Flashback Friday with This 1992 Turbo SC300
When the SC300 and 400 were sold on our shores under the badge of Lexus, we all knew deep down in our hearts that there should have been a model that came with the single and twin turbo from the Supra. This owner looked to rectify that issue with his build of a boosted SC300/Soarer right here.
Seed money in the bank
Lindy Melendez, the owner of this car 1992 SC300, starts things out by talking about how to build a JDM modern classic without going broke. "My first project car was an S13, and in '97 I did the swap so it was one of the first ones in Tampa with an SR20. It seemed like I spent twice as much as I did on the SC just because everything was rare on that car. Whereas with this car, because everything fits on the 2JZ and the Supra, I was able to build it a lot cheaper," Melendez says. Fortunately, he got rid of the 240SX at the right time. He continues, "I sold it right when 2 Fast 2 Furious came out, which unbelievably helped me sell that car; it went on eBay in like an hour for 15 grand!"
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Finally his... and then gone
When he was trying to think of what car he would purchase after the S13 for the next build he went with a car that had always caught his eye. "I always liked the shape of that car. If you look at an S13 coupe, the SC almost looks like what the next one should have looked like instead of the S14. Unfortunately, at the time the SC was so expensive, but later it depreciated a lot. I bought my original one for $3,500 at an auction. I totaled that about two years ago when some lady made a U-turn right in front of me, but then I bought this shell for $900." So, with a chassis, his former trashed SC serving as a parts car, and a good amount of experience under his belt, Lindy got to work.
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Second time around
His last SC had a Bomex bodykit but he decided to dial things down with this one and went with a more subtle look from a JIC kit, and a carbon-fiber hood from Seibon. The devil is in the details and so a rear window with its OEM wiper from a Toyota Soarer went in the back and Ganador mirrors went on the side as well. The exterior of the car received some fabrication when the spare tire well was gutted to make room for a custom center-exit exhaust. The paint on the car comes from the palette choices of the Lamborghini Diablo and the wheels are Volk GT-C. Jutting out just enough from the spokes are beefy 8-piston HP brakes in the front and a Supra TT setup in the rear. The lowered stance is from Maxspeed coilovers, with Daizen camber adjusters and polyurethane bushings.
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From SC to something more
Inside the cabin, the front seats were replaced by more supportive ones from a Supra and were reupholstered in fresh leather. When it came to adding an adding an infotainment system to the Lindy went with a computer that can do whatever the best stereo head unit could do and then some. "I can go online, I have navigation software, it plays MP3s, videos, it's basically a computer that costs like half of what a head unit costs. I only have about $600 in it. I used the factory face since it's kinda contoured and then blended in the touch screen so it all looks factory." In a mod that was well ahead of its time in daily driver car, there are shifter buttons on the IS300 steering wheel that actually work. They're wired into the unit that resides under the hood.
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Sweet turbo goodness
Since this car was just a chassis at the start there was no 3-liter NA V6 under the hood. What is there now is a JDM 2.5-liter 1JZ-GTE with a massive GReddy T78 turbo. Lindy did all of the installation himself and fabricated whatever he needed to make sure that the got the output he wanted. Putting his skills to work as a graphic designer, he drew up plans on a CAD program and had the throttle cable and catch can brackets cut out with a water jet. Also, all of the intercooler and exhaust piping was cut and he had a local welder spot weld it all together.
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Our hat is off to you, Lindy
While the engine was working amazingly the automatic transmission wasn't handling the power output so well. The stock one breaks at close to 450-475 ft-lbs of torque, the last one broke in one day, it took me longer to put it in than to break it. The one I'm currently building is supposed to hold the horsepower. I got the valve body modified and I bought all of the Raybestos clutches and springs from Import Transmission Performance," Melendez says. "I'm trying to show the car as much as I can because it's been such a long process."
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