My 2000 Black on Black SC300
#106
Pole Position
Car looks great - so cool to see you enjoying it so much! As for fender rolling... A heat gun and a LOT of patience will be your best friend. These cars have such thick metal, which is wonderful, but when it comes to rolling fenders it's a lot harder than with your friends tin-can WRX
The following users liked this post:
Bimmerbill (01-09-24)
#107
Driver
Thread Starter
Thanks as always Rudy! The difference in metal between his WRX and the SC is absolutely insane haha. Still need to get to that.
Finally had a chance to read your build thread from start to finish. Super entertaining read and its making me want to go standalone right off the bat with all the little annoying problems you had to chase. Definitely get that now.
Finally had a chance to read your build thread from start to finish. Super entertaining read and its making me want to go standalone right off the bat with all the little annoying problems you had to chase. Definitely get that now.
#108
Pole Position
The thing about these cars is when Lexus built these in the 90's they truly built them to a level that is hard to compare other cars to. It's part of what makes them so special! You forget about it until you get into other cars that are much newer, yet manage to feel so much cheaper and poorly executed...
Thank you man! My car has been a very fun project and experiment for what's been almost 7 years now. I had a SC4 previously that I always regretted selling...
Going standalone with a swap is a great route if you have the means. The problem with old 1J/2J GTE swaps these days is that all the old electronics are getting old, are hard to replace, and are hard to even find in the first place. The motor and hardware are easily repaired and these motors if taken care of last forever and take a TON of power and abuse. However, going standalone and moving over to easily replaceable sensors and things of the like just make the car so much more simple and serviceable. I drive my car all the time and wanted to make it easier to use regularly and keep on the road.
In the meantime, enjoy that bad boy for what it is! A manual SC is an awesome car even with an NA GE motor. They're simple, easy to work on, and you can beat the you know what out of it for forever.
Keep having fun with that car and don't forget that's what it's all about!
Thank you man! My car has been a very fun project and experiment for what's been almost 7 years now. I had a SC4 previously that I always regretted selling...
Going standalone with a swap is a great route if you have the means. The problem with old 1J/2J GTE swaps these days is that all the old electronics are getting old, are hard to replace, and are hard to even find in the first place. The motor and hardware are easily repaired and these motors if taken care of last forever and take a TON of power and abuse. However, going standalone and moving over to easily replaceable sensors and things of the like just make the car so much more simple and serviceable. I drive my car all the time and wanted to make it easier to use regularly and keep on the road.
In the meantime, enjoy that bad boy for what it is! A manual SC is an awesome car even with an NA GE motor. They're simple, easy to work on, and you can beat the you know what out of it for forever.
Keep having fun with that car and don't forget that's what it's all about!
The following 2 users liked this post by RudysSC:
Bimmerbill (01-12-24),
KahnBB6 (01-12-24)
#109
Instructor
The thing about these cars is when Lexus built these in the 90's they truly built them to a level that is hard to compare other cars to. It's part of what makes them so special! You forget about it until you get into other cars that are much newer, yet manage to feel so much cheaper and poorly executed...
Keep having fun with that car and don't forget that's what it's all about!
Keep having fun with that car and don't forget that's what it's all about!
#110
Driver
Thread Starter
Finally bought a manual brake pedal after almost 10 months, lol. Here's a comparison between the two:
As you can see, the manual one on the left turns a lot earlier, leaving more room for your foot. With big shoes, I would sometimes hit the arm of the brake pedal when trying to hit the clutch. Doesn't happen anymore. It also moves the pedal location a bit further to the right which is definitely helpful for heel-toe. Would definitely recommend if anyone is running a cut auto pedal like I was.
Before
After
As you can see, the manual one on the left turns a lot earlier, leaving more room for your foot. With big shoes, I would sometimes hit the arm of the brake pedal when trying to hit the clutch. Doesn't happen anymore. It also moves the pedal location a bit further to the right which is definitely helpful for heel-toe. Would definitely recommend if anyone is running a cut auto pedal like I was.
Before
After
The following 2 users liked this post by bron_karr:
joewitafro (03-01-24),
KahnBB6 (02-08-24)
#111
Pole Position
Lookin good, champ! What a badass little car!
The following users liked this post:
bron_karr (02-12-24)
#112
Driver
Thread Starter
I rolled front fenders a few days ago. Man is it a pain. At least my car doesn't rub anymore, even on the worst bumps in the road.
I also installed a switch for the nss in my cigarette lighter slot because the auto ecu apparently pulls timing and dumps too much gas in the engine resulting in power loss and worse fuel economy when it thinks that it is always in park/neutral. Here's what the finished product looked like:
Doing some 40 rolls with a friend of mine with and without the switch shows a pretty minimal but slight difference in power. I would refute the claims that some people have gained 20whp with this. I filled up with a full tank of gas, so hopefully I will be able to report on the gas mileage soon enough.
I also installed a switch for the nss in my cigarette lighter slot because the auto ecu apparently pulls timing and dumps too much gas in the engine resulting in power loss and worse fuel economy when it thinks that it is always in park/neutral. Here's what the finished product looked like:
Doing some 40 rolls with a friend of mine with and without the switch shows a pretty minimal but slight difference in power. I would refute the claims that some people have gained 20whp with this. I filled up with a full tank of gas, so hopefully I will be able to report on the gas mileage soon enough.
The following users liked this post:
RudysSC (03-13-24)
The following 4 users liked this post by bron_karr:
#114
Driver
Thread Starter
The day after this I realized that my driver's side tail light is filled with condensation . I'm not super keen on doing a diy reseal; what would you guys reccomend? Also, since OG Status is shut down for SC's, what is my best option for headlight reseal and restoration?
#116
Instructor
The following users liked this post:
bron_karr (03-02-24)
#118
Pole Position
Lookin good out there man!
#120
Driver
Thread Starter
I decided to tackle my headlight and taillight situation finally.
I found a local shop to me called Tailored Garage a few days ago and had them reseal, restore and ppf my headlights -
It is 100% worth it! Man, do they look good. I had intended to have them reseal my taillights too, but the guy there said that the most likely cause of condensation is water getting in through the holes where the bulbs go, and to improve the seal between the tail lights and the body of the car itself, so I'm gonna take a crack at it soon.
I also threw some leds in the fog lights for good measure and bought some high-quality leds for my headlights -
I found a local shop to me called Tailored Garage a few days ago and had them reseal, restore and ppf my headlights -
It is 100% worth it! Man, do they look good. I had intended to have them reseal my taillights too, but the guy there said that the most likely cause of condensation is water getting in through the holes where the bulbs go, and to improve the seal between the tail lights and the body of the car itself, so I'm gonna take a crack at it soon.
I also threw some leds in the fog lights for good measure and bought some high-quality leds for my headlights -