I paid $300 for my 1996 ls400 that was in similar shape to yours. I stopped counting on my parts total after $6000. I never tracked how many hours I had into it, but I think you could imagine. Want a look into your future- here is my story:
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls-...new-owner.html

 

Hold on there now! I said "market condition," not "fully restored." And it looks like you got a seriously neglected LS. Aside from the awful looks and a couple of easy to replace bolt-on's this this runs like a champ!

I'm gonna start by reworking the ECU. It looks like it has been poorly or partially recapped. Yamae agreed and pointed out the issues with the job after I noticed the 220uF was only a 10v.

Then I'm going to grab the missing trim and some replacement interior parts from a Pick-n-Pull. Too bad it's about 2 hours away. Good that it is even the same year and color codes! IMMA GET THAT NEW DOOR TOO! AND they have 2 LS now! So I SHOULD be able to grab an abundance of parts.

My biggest concerns are the front suspension and steering. I'm probably going to rebuild the pump myself, but short of salvaging most of those parts are probably where my money will go on this car.

 

I agree with you on fixing this one. It looks bad, but you've located the parts and are willing to put in the work so why not. You're not looking to make a huge profit from it. You're clearly into LS's and you'll learn so much from this project that you'll be ahead of the game even if you lose a few dollars when you sell it.

With a recapped ECU and a solid driveline you've got good value there. I'd keep an eye out for a car with a clean interior and body and a f.u.b.a.r. engine. Clean car with title + solid drive train = LS400 bliss.

Keep us posted, this could be a great stream of tutorials.

Thanks,
John

 

I got my capacitors in and this 1991 was a lot easier than the 1994! But I got it done and now everything stopped blinking! Sort of. I gotta rev it up to get everything to come on and it runs like its gonna die at low RPMs. I guess I'm in the market for an alternator.

 

But now she needs plug wires, caps, and rotors. My RX400h is having a battery problem and I had to get my 1994 LS400 running and on the road. Feels like I'm driving a marshmallow tho. Needs some serious suspension work. But at least I have now completed most of a tune up and a half!