CLass of 1

Hello all, my name is Nick. Welcome to my build thread. I am the proud new owner of a 1997 SC 400 with 165k miles in (nearly) all-original condition, finished in Royal Sapphire Pearl over Black interior, with Nakamichi sound. I bought the car from a gentleman in Washington state who owned the car for over ten years. The car spent it’s life in between Washington and California and now resides in sunny Orlando, Florida.


Being loaded

3,000 mile trip ahead…

First night home

Next to my daily

Interior

The condition, all things considered, is excellent. People who see the car for the first time are really impressed by it. To my eye, it needs quite a bit of work, however. And, as I bought it sight unseen (aside from pictures and videos) much of it’s needs are a surprise to me, as the previous owner really spoke about the car in glowing terms.

Despite reality not quite matching the description, my enthusiasm for the car is not dampened. I know I have something special. An original RSP car with black interior.

I had a build thread for my last car, a 1993 Mazda RX-7. I was able to update that thread periodically with work I’d done and it was generally well-received. I plan to use this build thread in a similar fashion with less “how-to” information and more before/after type content.


At an RX-7 meet

400 whp - did everything myself except porting

I have yet to really get stuck in, as I’ve been traveling a lot for work lately. Over the holidays I should have more time and I’ll try to get cracking on some of the more pressing work that needs doing. Areas I’ve identified so far, that need my attention:

- P/S leak
- Engine oil leak
- Torn ball joint boots (front UCA & LCA, rear LCA)
- Front left speaker blown
- Clearcoat on roof is hazy
- Swirls and fine scratches all over body
- Slight pulsation when braking
- Driver’s door panel has slight play (needs reinforcing)
- Acceleration seems sluggish
- Brake fluid is black, needs flush

Already quite the little list I have. The only thing I probably won’t address in the near future is the speaker, as I just am running out of budget. Currently in the works:

- Purchased all new fluids from Liqui-Moly, and I mean ALL
- Bought two good condition Lexus front UCA’s
- Bought new spark plugs (Denso iridium) and wires (Denso) will do a “tune up” and replace these plus clean the throttle body
- Complete detail upcoming including polishing with DA polisher and ceramic coating
- Coilovers
- Wheels

I’m also having my old wheels off my old RX-7 redone to fit the SC.



CCW Classic Race. New specs aren’t finalized yet, but I’m thinking F - 18x9.5” +44 (255/40-18) R - 18x11” +38 (285/35-18). Unfortunately, my mounting pads are kind of thick and I’m being prevented from achieving the offsets I really want here. They’re a bit too aggressive, but I don’t plan to slam the car, so perhaps they will still work.

Speaking of slamming the car, I did also purchase a set of Fortune Auto MSC-1 Mόller coilovers. They’re being built with my desired spring rates of 14kg front and 10kg rear. I did a lot of research on this and think this is the best coilover for my tastes. I’m looking for looks and handling, but comfort is the top priority. These coilovers are specially designed to be a “luxury” coilover and come with Swift springs as standard.

My long-term plans for the car are incredibly ambitious, and quite frankly too much to get into at this late hour. Perhaps in my next post I’ll detail my build goals and share some of the details. For now, thanks for looking and thanks for reading. More to come after my next couple work trips.

Nick

KahnBB6

iTrader: (5)

I'm glad to see this build thread getting started, Nick! Beautiful SC400 and you know I like those classic 90's era wheels!

I can't wait for you to get into the "ambitious" details of your build here since we have spoken about it at length. It's going to be something for sure!

CLass of 1

Thanks Craig! Yeah, I’m excited too man. I appreciate your encouragement and support!

Nick

RudysSC

Awesome to see you get started. Love the FD pics, love the wheel swap, and can't wait to see more of this in the future!

CLass of 1

Thanks Rudy. Yeah, I’ve always been partial to CCW Classic’s and the Race versions in particular really do it for me. Plus they’re a little lighter, so that helps with our, let’s say voluptuous cars lol

Nick

RudysSC

Nick - they are classic indeed! It's always hard to go wrong with either. These things are indeed quite voluptuous haha, however, you'll surprised how much lighter on their feet they feel after upgrading your suspension, some bigger brakes, and some light wheels with sticky tires.

CLass of 1

Agreed. I’m really looking forward to experiencing the car with those tweaks made. As Craig already knows, I am a big proponent of “factory plus” solutions. So, I plan to do Supra sway bar mod, to just make the suspension geometry a little more sporty, but not overdo it. Also want to do some weight reduction such as CF hood and trunk, but painted RSP. I want the weight savings, not interested in the show (well maybe a little!).

I’m on my work trip now but I’m going to outline my plans next week. Eager to hear some feedback from you guys.

Nick

KahnBB6

iTrader: (5)

I definitely understand your desire for a "Factory, Plus" treatment You will find that doing it that way will be a mix of mostly factory but also some aftermarket bits with them for the best results.

Find yourself new or used Supra MKIV rear subframe mounts. If aftermarket there should at least be polyurethane bushings in there. Try Figs Engineering first but if you can find new OEM... do that. For the sway bar find a used 1993-1996 Supra TT rear swaybar (22mm). Then buy the OEM metal loops for their mounting and the OEM bushings for THOSE model years (or aftermarket polyurethane bushings if you prefer). The 1997+ Supra TT's all got 20mm sway bars. I prefer the 22mm factory rear bar on my own SC300. For the front end you can stay with the OEM SC400 front swaybar.... the Supra MKIV style will not fit with your V8.

The CF hood and CF trunk aren't going to do much in the way of meaningful weight savings. Seibon is the best such vendor for those. However if you want weight savings you'll be looking at stripping out the interior, also going with Seibon CF doors, the recently available metal interior door skins, etc. Basically that would be full track car spec. Also the factory seats... those can be swapped out for a lighter set (SC factory driver's side seat alone weighs 74lbs) with bolsters on the sides. I went with bolt-in MKIV seats many years ago but they are probably very expensive on the used market now.

These are not lightweight cars but they don't really benefit too much from extreme measures like the CF doors, hood and trunk treatment in real world results. The CF doors can also be a hazard on the street versus in controlled track conditions but that's just my opinion.

What really makes the most difference is going over the entire suspension with upgraded parts, fresh OEM bushings (and polyurethane in key areas if you wish. The steering rack being one of them), and adding an LSD to your final drive gearing, changing the final drive gearing with engine and power changes, upgrading the brake calipers and rotors, going with a good set of wheels and tires in 245mm/275mm staggered widths.... and adding more horsepower and torque. And as is often the popular option... a manual transmission matched for the engine application.

For even better weight savings the elimination of the sunroof and welding in of a new reinforced steel panel in the roof before sealing and painting over it would also save *some* weight but it's not really done to that level of perfection on SC/Soarers. Usually finding a unicorn hardtop model is the way to get a lighter overall shell.

...

Rudy, you're going to love what Nick has in store for his overall build plan

RudysSC

I'm already excited about this. Stunning car, great interior, and who doesn't love the good ol "Lexus Supra" end goal. Keep it up man!

CLass of 1

Great points as usual.

I don’t ever envisage removing virtually any creature comforts however. I want to retain power seats, for example, just find a lighter set. I was thinking of the Mustang Recaro’s with power adjustment. Or maybe a GT-R factory seat. Something with more aggressive bolsters, but lighter weight and power adjustability. The sunroof would be a must and as for the door cards, well they’re going to be made heavier, not lighter! I eventually want to reupholster the doors in leather and customize the door cards to accept one or maybe even two 6.5” speakers, plus sound deaden the whole door.

I realize most of what I plan to do will add weight, but like you mentioned, adding power will offset much of it. And, there will be weight savings in a number of areas. If the hood and trunk save me 30-50 pounds between them, that probably offsets anything I’d do to the doors and half the Dynamat I plan to add under the carpet. Suspension and brakes will save a few more pounds. A full stainless exhaust, lightweight battery and wheels, remove spare, stuff like that. If by the end of it I have a net weight gain of 0 pounds, I’ll be super happy.

The fact remains that at around 3600 pounds, our cars are still less heavy than the vast majority of “sports cars” made today. If I can get her down to 3500, great. But she stays at 3600 I’m still a lot lighter than Challengers, or even RC-F’s.

As for the rear sway bar, I’m curious what you think about a full Supra rear subframe swap? I found a JDM rear subframe for like $800 online and figure that could be an all round better option. I plan to eventually remove every nut and bolt from this car. I want to clean everything up, remove road grime and any surface rust or undercoatings and return everything to factory original, showroom fresh. If I bought a whole subframe I could freshen it up off the car and have it pristine, ready to install. Drop the SC subframe out, clean the body up and then bolt in the Supra subframe as one big piece. Done.

I’d now have Supra suspension geometry for a more dynamic driving experience and a showroom fresh rear subframe. Any downsides to this that I’m missing?

Nick

CLass of 1

Lexus Supra, with a twist…

Nick

joewitafro

Did you buy this from Vancouver? I'm certain that is the car I was looking at buying but didn't come to an agreement with price with the owner. Glad to see someone bought it who is doing it right. How much did you get it for if you don't mind me asking?

CLass of 1

Yea, this car is the very same one. How much I paid…maybe over a beer I’d disclose it, but not here in a public forum haha — hope you can appreciate that.

I will say that I did negotiate with the previous owner.

Nick

CLass of 1

I am back home after a week on the road. Long trip, but productive. I wanted to share with you guys my long-term vision for the car. I do want to preface my post by saying that this is probably a five to ten year project. I am a regular guy, with a regular paying job and can't pull this off all at once. Add to that I have a one year old daughter and another on the way, and you get the picture.

Whenever I build a car, I feel it's important to establish a benchmark. Having something to compare your work to, or even to emulate, provides clarity in your decision making and guides you to the best overall outcomes for the car. With my RX-7, the benchmark was a Porsche GT3. I wanted my FD to be made in it's image. Performance, lightweight, handling, sharpness -- these were all the qualities that the car should embody.

Now, with kids and an older body, my aim is different. With the SC, I aim to model this build off an Aston Martin DBS. Power, handling and athleticism, but with style and comfort right at the forefront as well. With the DBS as my guide, I will hopefully pull off my goals.

Engine:
1GZ-FE 5.0L V12 DOHC

I know this has never been done (or at least I've never seen it) in an SC. There are some Supras which have managed it and there is a company out in Australia who is currently selling billet aluminum swap parts for Supras. As we know, if it fits in a Supra, it fits in an SC. The kit isn't cheap, but it's essential to my ultimate vision.

I had originally wanted to swap the 2JZ-GTE engine that we all know and love. But, after long consideration, I felt like it didn't meet my demands for refinement and smoothness, nor was it unique. In stock form, the engine is incredibly smooth and refined, but at my power goals, it would no longer retain these qualities in sufficient measure. To be clear, this is not a knock on anyone who has a GTE swap. I envy you. It's a glorious engine. But, I aim to make this car a true one-off, and for that the GTE just won't do.

Now, I'm determined to have my SC be at least as fast as my old RX-7 was. I need that kind of power in my life again! So, the stock 1GZ-FE won't be up to task. It will require a build. Luckily, the engine comes with a forged crankshaft and six bolt mains, but that's where the good news ends. Skinny rods and weak pistons accompany the stout crank and as such will need to be upgraded. I've found a couple places online who advertise JE Pistons custom-made with whatever compression and overbore you want. My intent is to just clean up the cylinder walls with a .5mm overbore piston and bump the compression ratio considerably to reach my power goals, without power adders.

Most Supra guys who are either doing this swap or have done the swap go all out and add a couple turbos and make 1200 horsepower. That's super cool, but again, not fitting with my vision for the car. So, me, I'm going to do it naturally aspirated. An NA build is tougher and more expensive often times, but I want the throttle response, linear power band and the refinement. It has to be NA.

My goal is to make between 500 and 600 horsepower on 93 octane. I think with the advancements in standalone ECUs these days and the excellent fuel we have access to, that this should be attainable. The stock compression ratio for the 1GZ-FE is 10.5:1. After some light research, looking at engines like the Voodoo Ford V8 (same displacement) which makes 526 horsepower with it's 5 liters of displacement and a 12:1 compression ratio, I believe I can achieve my goals. I will consult with my engine tuner (whoever that ends up being, still early!) and figure out if 12:1 or 12.5:1 will be needed, but I'm confident it will be one of those two options, with redline being increased to around 7500 RPMs. I don't anticipate really spinning her beyond that, because it's basically a square engine (81mm bore x 80.8mm stroke), but I am encouraged by the Voodoo being basically the same with only a 1mm oversquare setup.

Wrapping up the engine, I will almost certainly be in need of a custom intake manifold, custom exhaust manifolds, huge fuel delivery upgrades, custom grind camshafts and about a hundred other custom parts to make this a reality. I intend to purchase one of these engines in the next two years and put it on a stand to begin this work. In that span, I will learn to weld and fabricate (my father in-law is a welder by trade) and hopefully be able to pull off most of this myself.

Transmission:
CD009 6 Speed

Not too much to delve into with the transmission. We're all aware of how stout the CD transmissions are and the appeal to me is that there's a large aftermarket available for it and plenty of swap kits as well. Because the 1GZ-FE uses the same flywheel bolt pattern and the same A340 family transmissions from the V8 equipped Lexus' out there, I have a lot of choices here. So far, I'm partial to the Fisch Racing Tech adapter as it looks basically factory. I don't like the transmission adapters that force you to cut the bellhousing and then stick a weird adapter on there that obviously looks out of place. With Fisch's design, the adapter is a bellhousing as well and pulls off a near factory look. All of my mods must be able to fool the uninitiated. Their adapter seems to do that.

I had considered the T56, but I don't know, it just seems like it doesn't shift as smoothly, according to people I've spoken to, and it's an American transmission. There's something about borrowing a JDM transmission that appeals to me more. Maybe I'm weird.

Suspension:
Fortune Auto MSC-1 Muller coilovers
Supra TT rear subframe swap

Suspension is where you can ruin a car if you're not careful. As previously mentioned in this thread, I chose the Muller collaboration coilovers because they are known to be a "luxury" coilover with an emphasis on ride quality, not just stiffness. I considered Supra coilovers, as there are more options there, but after consulting with an old friend who engineers custom Ohlins coilovers, I decided against it. The Supra coilovers are all shorter and therefore have less stroke and inherently will ride stiffer. I may tap up my buddy to make me a custom Ohlins setup in the future, but the $4500 it would cost just doesn't really fit my current budget.

My aim is to lower the car to a factory-type height, similar to what you'd see from oh, I don't know...maybe an Aston Martin DBS? I love the look of a slammed car, don't get me wrong, but this is ultimately a car I want to enjoy with my family. Scraping on every dip in the road or having to drive into parking lots at 2 MPH at funny angles is not the life of a guy like me in his mid 30's.

The Supra subframe I am hoping will act as a magic bullet. One big modification that will transform the car. My feeling is by swapping over the Supra TT subframe, I will introduce the Supra suspension geometry and therefore it's sharper handling characteristics to the SC. I intend to also upgrade the front sway bar to the stock Supra bar and then go from there. I have a suspicion I will be happy with that, but I remain open to further modifications after these major ones.

I know that poly bushings are popular on this forum and with enthusiasts the world over, but they often times are noisy and introduce more NVH. I don't intend to use poly bushings, but in a few key spots, such as the steering rack. My aim is to use the bushings to improve feel, but not actually change handling dynamics or eek out another half second from my lap times. This will be a 100% street-driven car! This over-arching philosophy of enhanced feel over all out performance, will be the guiding light to any and all further suspension upgrades.

Exterior:
Minor enhancement

Short and sweet: tweaks to the exterior. No wide body kits or huge wings. I may choose to pull the rear fenders to fit a wider wheel in the future, to maybe just give the car a slightly wider stance and look, but outside of that, it's just front lip, sideskirt and simple stuff. I mentioned CF hood and trunk earlier in the thread, both would be sprayed RSP to match the car, though I am toying with the idea of a CF accented vent in the hood, to just convey a little bit of specialness. Oh, and you best believe the car will don an SC 500 badge :wink:

I am also going to take on custom-making a set of LED projector headlights with LED DRL, mimicking the Lexus headlights of today and yesteryear.

Interior/Sound:
Completely custom

Now this is an area that will really soak up a lot of my budget! The interior and the sound system are kind of intertwined in my view and so they're grouped here. I actually work in the hi-fi industry for a major speaker company, so for me, the sound system is critical. For the sound system, I will probably try to use my company's drivers that we use in our speakers we sell to consumers. They're excellent quality and the price I get them for is stupid cheap.

My sound system will consist of one 6.5" bass drivers in the front doors, custom molded into the door cards and then the door cards wrapped in leather and alcantara or some other contrasting material. Then, I'll custom fiberglass the A-pillars to accept a 3.5" Uni-Q driver which incorporates the midrange and tweeter. On the rear deck, I'll use three 8" subwoofers, cut into the deck and modify the rear deck grilles so that all three match and look uniform.

I want the seats to be borrowed from another car with functioning power adjustability. I am dead set on Recaro seats right now, but this might change because there's so few power options from Recaro. Some in consideration are the factory Mustang seats and the CTS-V seats. I'll probably end up removing the side airbags from the seats as they'll need to be reupholstered anyway, to change color. Hopefully, I'll find a wrecked car with the airbags already deployed to save some coin.

I am considering keeping the interior as a black theme, but lately I've been really digging the idea of saddle leather on RSP. Looking at cars with full leather interiors, you see the saddle on blue with decent frequency and it looks stunning. A cream or white leather would also pop, or even maybe a blue leather. I want the interior to look like it could have come from a $100k sports car. I think that's where the black kind of falls apart. Whatever color I decide, the entire dash will be wrapped to match.

Speaking of black, I'll use gloss black in a few areas of the interior, touches of carbon fiber and I really want to introduce some aluminum accents as well. I am also hoping to incorporate some subtle lighting on the doors.

I think this covers the major areas of emphasis for modifying my car. My vision is bold, I think, and will take a lot of time, money and patience. But, I'm determined to have something special, something I can be incredibly proud of. I hope to build a car that others admire and ultimately, does Lexus themselves proud. If Lexus remade the SC today, this is what I'd want it to be.

For now though, it's back to reality and fixing the leaks and getting the engine really purring again haha -- quite the stark contrast, I know. It's an ambitious build, for sure! Wish me luck...I'm going to need some along the way!

Nick

KahnBB6

iTrader: (5)

Those are good options. I don't know how well they will fit but both those cars have excellent seats. Gerrb used a set of Infiniti IPL black leather power seats in one of his SC's and the result was very good!

Whatever seat option you get I feel that side bolstering is a must. The factory SC seats jut don't have much in the way of that unfortunately.

I still recommend against replacing the steel doors with carbon fiber doors. They're such a substantial part of the car's structure as well as being an essential safety aspect. CF doors are good for dedicated track cars. Now redoing the factory door cards or replacing them entirely to add more features such as additional speakers... totally different ballgame!


That is fair and if I recall my figures from a long while back I do think about 50lbs is about all you would save from using a CF hood and trunk. Do note that at *extreme* speeds (150-160mph) the steel hood's weight keeps it stable. I remember at least one case of a top speed 2JZ-GTE powered SC300 with a CF hood that flew up and off at 160mph during a top speed run. The owner added additional hood pins but that didn't fully cure the issue so he finally went back to the factory steel hood and it was fine from then on.

Granted unless you plan to drive at such high top speed on a straight racetrack or runway strip you aren't going to have to be concerned about that issue. Seibon is again the #1 manufacturer for quality SC/Soarer CF hood and trunk pieces.


Bone stock my 1993 SC300 5-speed is supposed to weigh in at about 3,500lbs. Maybe with the sunroof option that it came with that adds 40lbs or less. Comparing the weight of the original engine and transmission to the new ones that I installed plus the weight differences between the SC and Supra MKIV factory seats I have a rough figure of just over 3,600lbs for my SC.

The heaviest factory trim SC if I recall correctly is the 1998-2000 SC400 VVT-i which is (I think) about 3,850lbs from the factory.

Any way you cut it SC300's and SC400's are all a good bit lighter than the current crop of 2-door muscle cars out there, yes. They feel more nimble, too. I test drove a 2005 Pontiac GTO (Holden Monaro) 5.7L 6-speed M/T before buying my SC and while I liked many things about it I felt the weight of that 3,800lbs+ chassis.

That's an interesting question. I think it should be possible since a holy grail swap for people who used to install V160 6-speeds into their SC's was to swap over the MKIV TT 6-speed's full rear subframe so as to be able to run the 220mm "Big Diff" 3.133:1 ratio pumpkin (a JDM 220mm 3.26:1 Big Diff ratio was also available as well as, I believe, a SUPER RARE 3.5x:1 220mm ratio for the German, Swiss and Austrian markets).

Technically you should be able to swap in a JDM Supra MKIV 200mm rear subframe. The suspension geometry changes would be your biggest advantage gained but it's not really all that necessary. You can swap in MKIV rear subframe mounts and get the rear MKIV TT 22mm (or larger TRD) swaybar geometry with your factory SC subframe. Both the Supra MKIV non-6-speed and most JDM Supra RZ's came with the same 200mm diff setup that the SC's did and they are extremely stout at 200mm already.

Also you have *many* more choices for final drive gear selections with the 200mm diff setup than with an Supra MKIV TT 6-speed's 220mm rear diff.... and you already have that very system in your car already.

I don't feel you would be gaining very much by doing an MKIV rear subframe swap. I would focus on the MKIV rear subframe mounts, an MKIV TT 22mm rear swaybar (there is a 20mm version also so make sure you get the 22mm 93-96 version) and on getting a good LSD for your setup and preferred final drive ratio.