glex4

Stock 92 SC400, what is the name of the yellow/beige part/rail underneath the white body? That's what I would like to get replaced. As you can see, the body of my new car is white pearl, below that is that plastic piece which is beige/yellowish in color.

The reason I want to get this part replaced is that, as you can see in picture 1 and picture 3, theres a crease in the part..I'm a picky dude..rest of the car is immaculate

The links are 100% safe (photobucket).. I don't know how to embed pictures on here..

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/...-49-29_552.jpg

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/...-49-58_721.jpg

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/...-50-08_395.jpg

Thanks!

glex4

Anyyyybodddddddddddy?

Luxor

iTrader: (15)

I think it's called a rocker panel.

k7q

iTrader: (37)

that's part of the chassis. dont think you can replace. i think thats what your talking about.

your not talking about the door molding on the bottom of the door are you?

roc

iTrader: (7)

bodyfiller can fix that my friend

glex4

Luxor

That's what I thought too. I told that to the Lexus parts department over the phone and the person was confused. I'm going to the dealer this weekend to get my new car inspected so hopefully they can figure it out when they see it in person - lol.

K7q

I think it can be replaced. I looked underneath the car and I saw screws. It's not part of the actual body. The "rocker panel" has a vynl or plastic feel to it and as you can see from the pictures, it is a different color.

Roc

Good thought bro. I also thought about getting the issue "repaired" vs replacing the entire piece. I'd have to find an autobody store that could do the bodyfiller job for me.

biturbo632

this is the rocker panel, and it's welded to the car.. don't replace it for that, just get it repair at a good car repair shop. The plastic feel when you "knock" it is because it's covered with gravel guard.

So it's all metal a repairable. And.. too much a pain in the *** and $$$ to get it replaced!

pmpdaddyt

iTrader: (4)

you wont see that imperfection if you cover it with sideskirts!!!

WOOT for Body Kit!!!

glex4

Bitturbo, I'm surprised this piece is "welded" to the car. It also feels like I could put enough pressure with my thumb on it and could indent it, or maybe that's just a feeling I have - def. doesn't feel like metal lol..

I think you're right that I should get this repaired vs replaced..

pmpdaddyt, maybe down the line I'll get a kit..I just purchased the car on Sunday so I'm letting it all settle in and marinate right now..i love the car..only 61,000 miles of awesomeness!

gambit4000

iTrader: (1)

you need the [IMG] tagged links from photobucket, like so:
[img]your image link here[/img]







and like said before, its the rocker, fill and paint it or get side skirts

glex4

Thanks Gambit . I'm going to do the following:

1) Find out if this rocker can be replaced and how much it would cost from the Lexus Dealer, expensive I bet.

2) Find out how much it would cost to fill and paint the rocker from a good body shop. Would you guys suggest painting the rocker white to match the body?

I read on the boards somewhere that 97 SC400 OEM side skirts would fit on a 92 SC400? I guess the side skirt would "cover" the rockers on both sides (instead of removing the rocker and installing the side skirt)? Hopefully, that won't add too much additional weight to the car, it's usually fiberglass anyway.

I really am nit-picking on this, huh? lol.

gambit4000

iTrader: (1)

you're not nit picking, it would seem that you don't know how that part of the vehicle is assembled.

If you look at the following picture, you can see that even when completely stripped, the rocker area is not removable in the traditional bolt on method.



To repair this area and look like an original 1992 model, you have two main choices,

1) Cut and remove the affected area, then replace the panel with new (Most likely not available) or used. The panel will need to be welded in place, and then refinished.

While this is the "correct" way; I wouldn't be surprised if the repair cost far exceeds the value of the car.

2) Leave the panel in place, using various dent pulling methods and filler, repair the shape to original, then refinish

This leaves covering the area with a side skirt, Yes any 97 and later OEM skirt will fit, as will an aftermarket skirt. most people will probably recommend this as it upgrades the styling to the later look.
I would only do it if you are going to use 97+ front and rear bumpers. IIRC the OEM skirts are urethane

Using the 97+ skirts and painting them white; will visually lower the car without sacrificing much ground clearance.
Simply painting black rockers in body color is a very common method of visual modification.

You should know that any method of recovering or repainting that area without using the texturing will leave the area more susceptible to paint chipping. The main purpose of this coating is to provide a softer finish to prevent paint chipping and to have a textured surface to make paint chips less noticeable. It's too bad it looks like crap and discolors paint over time(especially noticeable in white), because it does keep the paint chipping down.

glex4

Very informative post gambit. I'm going to pursue the repair route. There's a good body shop I know of in NY that works on high-end vehicles. I've already given them a shout. They can probably get the rocker panel looking back to factory condition and also coat it with whatever material is necessary to help protect against chipping and so on if that's possible to do. The texture would be hard to reproduce, as you stated.

So, painting the rocker panels black on my white pearl SC400 would look good? I think that would stand out too much. I might just go with white. As you said, that will give the impression that the car is even lower than it currently is. Also, it would be easier to see chips/nicks on black vs white.

Thanks for your input!

biturbo632

gambit4000 is totally right!!!