bighitbike

Hey guys i'm looking at getting a 1st Gen GS and am not really to sure what to look for. I'll be coming form a 2nd Gen and loved the hell out of that bodystyle, but I also love a modded 1st gen. What are some things that I should look for when buying?

Also how is the aftermarket market for these cars? I know the 2nd Gen GS forum is hoppin', but how is this one doing? I would really like to see some of your cars!

What should I be looking at paying for a 100k 1st Gen GS that is really clean?

Thanks,
Elliott

Abear

iTrader: (1)

Aftermarket? What aftermarket, there is none for the 1st gen, as far as performance goes, exhaust are hard to find, you can find intakes, but there is only one I know of and its only for the 93-95 GS, headers..NA supra headers will fit, but will have to be modified to fit the exhaust. Turbos..NA supra manifold will fit, as long as its a pre VVTi manifold.
As far as exterior cosmetics, all the same rims that fit the 2nd gen will fit the 1st gen with a little bit of offset tweaking. There are alot of body kits out there, memoryfab.com has alot.
Depends on the year, but you will probably be paying around 4-6K or more for a nice clean 93-95, and probably 5-7K for a nice clean 96-97. Maybe more, maybe less, but it just depends on how much the person wants to sell it for, or how much you can haggle the dealer.

bighitbike

What's the diff for 93-95 and 96-97?

JeffTsai

iTrader: (1)

If you're eyeing a 1st gen. I'd recommend you save up for a 2JZ-GTE 1st gen Aristo clip(where they saw the car in half and just ship you the front half for motor swap). Everything should drop right in. Factory boosted performance and reliability for 2-3G's .

bighitbike

I was thinking that...electronics and everything would be cake right?

Kaiser

iTrader: (1)

Read the sticky at the top of the forum titled jzs147 swap thread. Should answer all your questions.

bighitbike

That's a really good read...thanks! What should I look for when buying one a 1st Gen?

Kaiser

iTrader: (1)

93-95 GS3 will avoid OBD II issues as the clip you get will most likely be OBDI. Check the outside trim around the rear windows. It's a known Lexus flaw and they are near $400 a piece. KYB struts and Intrax or whatever flavor of springs you want are about $400-$600 complete so I wouldn't worry too much about that. Mine had a bad Lower control arm 2 bushing that had to be replaced. The car felt like it was changing lanes on its own and it couldn't be aligned till it was replaced. Leather replacement runs $700+ if you need it, available from the usual places, leatherseats.com, Katskins, etc. The seams split on the seats rather than the leather ripping. The cup holder if still in place will break so don't worry about it. I think like 25% of us have a working cup holder. Poor design, they eject all the way out. Make sure the A/C works as you will be keeping that part.

BIGGZ

That thing about the cup holder is true and a little funny to me.when I first took my car for a test drive at the dealers,I had the arm rest up and I hit the cup holder and it went flying towards the dash.the salesman just looked shocked and didn't know what to say.I ended up buying the car and loved it ever since.

FlavesLex

iTrader: (1)

Elliot, sent you a PM

bighitbike

Got it Flaves...Thanks!

Thanks guys for your help. I'll be continuing my search!

V300Graham

Worn suspension joints, bushings and strut.
It takes thousands to get it right again.

And most are badly worn from 80,000 miles up.

Just one more thing to check...