So I found a 97 SC 300 that I'm interested in and wanted to get some input on it.

Pro's
It's a 97
1JZGTE Swapped
R154
Swap is claimed to have 90k miles on it
Heat and A/C work

Con's
Over 200k on body
It's a 4 hour drive to go and look at it
The roof is peeling and will have to be repainted.
Power steering is leaking.

I got the guy down to $5800. My concern is that it may be a wasted drive (8 hours total) and I have to assume that every car I look at needs a paint job because so far nobody seems to understand what "clean" means. Also the body has a lot of miles on it so it may be a maintenance *****. I can fix it myself but the problem is it's my daily driver and I'm usually really busy.

Is it worth it to take a look at it? Is there an easy way to check to make sure it has a R154 and not a w58? The power steering leak seems to be a common thing, isn't it typically the line and how much would that cost to fix?

Thanks in advance

 

its always a risk buying a car that was swapped. You never know what kind of "tool" was working on it. Good luck man...any pics?

 

Well theres a couple factors you'd be taking a chance on.
1. Does the swap actually have 90K
2. 5800 is still a little high for the car seeing its gonna need some work mechanically and exterior wise.
3. Possibility of something going bad at any time.

I got my '97 SC4 with 150,000 miles on it with no mechanical problems since I bought it, and the body is near mint condition. Couple door dings but no rust, even underneath is clean besides surface rust on the exhaust. I'd try to knock him down more before you drive 4 hours out of your way and 4 hours back with or without the car in hand.

 

A few things to double check is the paper trail. Make sure it has a clean title and wasnt in any accidents. Carfax is decent worth the 30 bucks if you are gonna spend 60k. See if he has any paper work for the swap; who did the work where did the engine come from, what else was changed, etc. make sure to check the radio and all the speakers and antenna. Check the balljoints and the suspension (bounce test). Check for rust in the truck under the spare tire. check to see if it has cruise control. Most important get it up to 80 or 100 and see if there is any funny noises or shakes/vibrations. Good luck and let us know how it goes...snap a few pics too

 

BTW here's a few pics

 

looks decent in the pics..

 

^ ya, looks really nice in the pics. I'd say go look at it. You'll never know until you do. That swap looks pretty clean..

 

Dude... $5800 sounds good #s... Go look at it and decide there. The swap looks clean from those pics.

 

Yea the swap looks very OEM..

 

That's what I was thinking, but so far I've driven a total of 14 hours to look at 2 different SC's that ended up being crap so I'm hesitant to just hop in the car and drive.

There's a bunch of other pictures I have, the body looks straight, I don't see any scratches but those are hard to see in pics. The guy says its clean other than the roof.

It does have a lot going for it in my book though. Finding a 97 thats swapped or NA-T with a tranny that will actually hold the power is kinda rare for this price. Not to mention the interior looks really clean

 

Another question is, what are you looking for? Are you looking for a clean OEM, this is a Lexus, oh baby the luxury, skeet skeet I got 1JZ Imma fast bro, or Toyota, the reliability!!!

IMHO if you're option is number 1, get a 98+ SC400. If you want to have the luxury, the reliability, and the fun, try to find a 5spd SC300. Otherwise, the pictures look good on this one. I'm not sure how smog law are in TN, but I don't think 1JZ is going to fly here in CA.

 

I just want to get a new daily driver that's a little more fun than my B5 Audi A4. The majority of the reason I want an SC is for a JZ engine so a 400 is out of the question. My plan is to fix whatever is wrong with it, wheels, drop, and eventually a big single.

 

i have extra parts if it needs random stuff. Just dont call out mikesrex cause that puss wouldnt ever race me

 

I paid 4200 for mine, drive 8 hours site unseen to pick it up. Body is pretty good but the interior is demolished. Its just a stock 1j swap and everything on it works with 210k on the chassis and like 80k on the motor. Granted mine is an auto though.

 

Pics wise it looks worthy to go look at man. I mean you never really know untill you see it in person. Good Luck to you