KahnBB6

iTrader: (5)

Exactly. And the former Lexus dealer GM I spoke to backed this up as well. Some of the SC300's that came with no sunroof, a manual tilt & telescope steering column and no seat memory. cloth seats, no CD changer, no leather wrapped steering wheel and a non-leather shift **** (whether M/T or A/T) were a small handful of super stripper examples that were spec'd like that by some dealers just to be able to have a car in their inventory that was as low on the MSRP as possible for advertising purposes.

The SC400 just had a couple more features (such as factory leather) as standard equipment for the USA and Canada.

Of course Lexus could have offered much more differentiation if they had gave us some of the more interesting features that the Soarers had on their option lists

KahnBB6

iTrader: (5)

Oh, nothing about the steering column conversion seems very hard to do in my opinion and I still want to do it to my SC. I just haven't done it to my car yet despite having collected all the necessary parts since I've been tremendously busy for months for a number of reasons helping family and haven't been able to dig into any major car projects for a while.

What I meant in my post that you quoted is that the needed *parts themselves* are not easy to come by and acquiring them all these days is the hardest part.

The factory ignition tumbler security bolts need to be tapped out on both columns and new security bolts are needed to swap your ignition tumbler over. The SC300/400 TSRM explains the removal and reinstallation procedure. I tried to think about how to do any short cuts but after discussing it with Gerrb since he's done it a few times with the auto steering columns you just have to follow the manual procedure exactly.

It looks to be easier with the engine out of the car but on SC300's it looks to me as if draining the engine oil and removing the oil filter may provide sufficient clearance for accessing the steering shaft joining clamp.

I documented my column swap project so far in my build thread and will document the rest when I can get back to it. Feel free to check out those sections if they may help!

Currently the next step in my column swap progress is finding the signal and wiper stalk wiring pinouts in the wiring TSRM and building a wire-by-wire breakdown so that I know where to add a couple of wires to convert my 1993 SC to be able to use a 1995-2000 SC USDM lighting stalk which has the factory fog light switch built in. I have had 1997+ SC factory fog lights installed in my car with my own aftermarket switch but I want to eliminate that finally and tackle the 95-00 factory fog switch stalk installation at the same time as the manual adjust column installation.

But I need to get the car running again first with yet another re-capped ECU which will be followed with a Haltech ECU. I've just had a lot on my plate lately that has taken all my focus.

KahnBB6

iTrader: (5)

You can get an upholstery shop to do anything you want if they are willing to do custom work with cloth, alcantara, wool... whatever alternatives besides leather. But Katzkin and Leatherseats seem to make their templates for each car primarily in leather. But I think these days they have options to mix that with alcantara also. Using those same seat templates with a high quality cloth is possible but I couldn't say if anyone has had that done.

To get genuine OEM SC cloth you'd probably do a next best by purchasing Z30 Soarer cloth rear seats and matching front cloth seats. Then you'd need to take apart the front seats and reverse the skins onto SC factory driver and passenger seat frames and possibly mix some parts and wires.

DarkRegent

Ok, I gotcha.

Yeah, I think I got my hands on the last black manual steering column trim (45286-24906-C0) in the world. I've tried to buy another one and have been denied in both the U.S. and Japan (Amayama/Megazip). I think the only option for those now is used.

The steering columns seem to be pretty prevalent (used), but generally have to be imported. I got two pretty good ones from Australia, off of cars they imported and parted out, but I see them for sale in Japan pretty regularly.

The column switch was a little bit of work but for me really just involved buying a used Soarer switch and just swapping over one of the plastic brackets from that (around the lighting stalk) and removing the powered column controls. It seems like Japan had a lot of manual column cars. Your situation is definitely trickier, though.

Thanks for the pointer on the security bolts. I definitely need to look at the service manual for that. I'll be doing a full GTE/T-56 build on the car and will tackle the column while I'm disassembling the dash for transmission tunnel work. So, I haven't gotten to that yet. I'll definitely check out your posts. The ignition tumbler/steering lock was the part I figured would be the worst.

I'm ditching the stock seats and losing the seat memory controls anyway, so I figured it'd be better to remove the added weight and complexity of the powered column while I'm at it.

KahnBB6

iTrader: (5)

I was looking up and down for all of the manual column cover part numbers I could find several months ago. ALL of them came back as discontinued for me. However you managed to get a new black one-- bravo! I'm not surprised it's the very last one.

I managed to find a good used one in the super dark and deep bluish black hue. I think this might have been from one of the off-blue color interior Soarers but I am not sure.

I reasoned that it might be good idea for someone with one of these manual column covers to get the upper and lower sections 3D scanned for potential aftermarket reproduction with 3D printing in ABS plastic.

AutoExtrude has now begun to reproduce the factory Supra MKIII steering column covers via 3D printing so I know this is possible.

Interesting that the manual adjust steering columns themselves are becoming more available from wrecking yards...

My situation is trickier only because I really want a factory 1995-2000 fog light switch in my lighting stalk. I already have the stalk (have a used one and a new one). I just need to get to identifying the harness pinouts to know where to add the missing wires on the other end on my SC's body harness. I've already got a working 97+ fog light circuit and interior switch. It's just currently an aftermarket switch.

You already solved the little plastic bracket issue as well. Good! Aside, that little plastic sub-bezel is also a part that I feel should be 3D scanned so that it can be reproduced on the aftermarket.

You're welcome!

Here's my relevant post in the build thread for those security bolts. I got tot he point of removal. You can see how the rest of the process will go from there. You'll have one good shot at extracting the security bolts (since the heads are snapped off by design) so use the right tools, center punch and make each extraction count. And try to keep the shavings out of the rest of the column and wiring if you can.

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/bui...l#post11139713

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/bui...l#post11128093

The bolt part numbers are: P/N 45897-12020.

They are specified for Toyotas and Lexus vehicles up to at least model year 2006... so they should remain in stock. I believe they may have been used less and less by Toyota and Lexus as more of their models moved to a keyless ignition remote transponder type of ignition fob.

I ditched my stock seats and swapped them for a set of bolt in Supra MKIV 1993-1996 seats which I had reupholstered in GL603 Ivory color leather which closely matches the Lexus tan interior. I also haven't missed the memory seat functions given what I've gained in a lower seating position, side bolstering and much lighter weight per seat. I got the seat belt buckles to wire up as well.

I don't know how much weight you'll save by switching to the manual adjust steering column but you certainly will eliminate any future issues with the tilt and telescope motors failing. Although they are long lasting in the SC's and I do believe that they are possible to rebuild if someone knows what they are doing with the motors.

The tilt and telescope motors found in later design Lexus models such as the late 90's LS400's on the other hand don't have tilt and telescope motors that are rebuildable as far as I am aware.

Anyway... you and I seem to want the manual tilt and telescope steering columns for the same reasons.

And yes, 1991-2000 Soarers were ordered tremendously more with the manual adjust columns unless a specific trim level had the auto/motorized column as standard equipment. Same with the sunroof-- it's very common to find Z30 Soarers that came in slicktop form. In the U.S. and Canada it's the inverse.

Kira X

iTrader: (24)

I always forget about Leatherseats as they’re actually located in my city. A leather mix with alcantara would look nice. I’ll see if I can get a set mad. If not, I’d be okay with leather.

It’s funny you mentioned buying cloth Soarer seats as I was thinking about that after I originally saw this thread. It could get expensive fast, but that’s another option too. Sometimes I feel like buying a 1JZ Soarer and moving my current SC wheels and parts over might be easier than continuing my current path with my SC300.

KahnBB6

iTrader: (5)

My local upholstery shop can order anything that Leatherseats sells with any custom material or pattern I might want. Most upholstery shops should be able to. Do you mean that the actual company Leatherseats has an office in your city? If so, that's awesome!

I think everything gets expensive fast with these cars!

You've said many times that you've wanted to buy a 1JZ Soarer, Kira. I think you should consider it! : )

BLK13X

I think for Series-3 Soarers only the UZZ31 to 1997 and the top-spec JZZ31 from 1997 came with leather as standard (along with memory and electric steering column adjustment). There are two types of fabric for the seats from memory, depending if the seats were from an L-Package (electric adjustment) or base (manual adjustment). I'm on the fence if I want to reupholster my seats as they're still in good condition (L-Package fabric).

Kira X

iTrader: (24)

Yes sir, the actual company is located here in Oklahoma City where I live. They’re way across town so I’ve never been there before.

I’ve been looking at a few Soarers and even those are getting pricey or the current owner threw a bunch of goofy looking mods on it after importing it. I’ve even considered getting a Z20 Soarer but getting parts would be a nightmare. These old cars get a little frustrating sometimes and I think I should save up for a nice, used RC-F or LC500 instead.