Hey fellas, this is my first post on this forum so hello to all. I've been extremely interested in buying an SC400, model year doesn't matter too much to me, just whatevers in my price range. However most on craigslist around my area (Vancouver) are 1995-91. I really love the car and the 1UZ engine. However I don't really know anything about it. I know its a super reliable car and it looks great, thats about all. I want it to be my weekend/joy ride car, so lm willing to put a lot of money into it to make it the exact why I picture it in my head. Everything from basic exhaust mods and a wrap to a manual tranny swap. So l'm just looking for general buying advice from owners. Good tips about maintenance and performance modding abilities. Any and all help and advice/tips is HUGELY appreciated!!! Thanks a bunch and l hope to be buying one VERY soon and become a part of the lexus family!!

Current Car: 2004 Cavalier Manual

 

If you plan on modding the engine you may want to look into the SC300 because the 2jz engines have much larger aftermarket performance part support from various brands. The 1uz has some too but there are less of them and they are more expensive. If you plan on keeping the engine stock however then a 98+ SC400 is what you want to look for. The earlier years make less power but are more mod friendly than the later year models. There are a lot of manual transmissions swap diys on the forums and google so just do a search on that and you'll get plenty of results but remember its not going to be cheap and most of the normal mechanic shops wont touch the conversion so you'll either need to do the work yourself or find a specialty performance shop that will do it for you. It really all depends on what that picture in your head is. Are you looking for a stock SC400 with some light modding or do you plan on adding a supercharger,exhaust,suspension,brakes, etc,etc. Also the body of the car changed from in 97. Most people like the 97 look more (myself included) but that's personal preference. If you do like the 97 look but want the mod-ability advantages of a pre 97 car there are body kits out there that you can buy. From vendors AC makes the best one IMO but you can also get a used 97+ kit from the forums or craigslist which would have been pulled off of another vehicle.

There is enough info on this forum to fill books about this car so search is definitely your friend here. If youre having trouble finding something using the forum's search engine, try searching the same keywords in google and add 'clublexus' at the end.

Best of luck!

 

I do not have a 400 but the V8 is a nice platform.

If you really want to go down the tranny swap to a manual, though, a 300 is more viable. In fact, you may want to look for a "factory 5 speed" if you don't plan on doing any massive horsepower mods....

Either car though, take a hard look at the condition of the interior as repairing/upgrading the interiors of our cars is way more expensive than one would expect (the door panels, window trims, and seats are high failure areas)....

 

^ Good advice on the interior. I'd say buy the nicest one you can afford, be prepared to wait several months for the right one to pop up. These cars are great if somebody cared about it, ie did all the maintenance(including timing belt), kept it garaged, kept it clean, stock and nice. I wouldn't worry so much about miles as much as condition and how the previous owner treated it. Find one that isn't beat, pay the premium. Stuff like engine rebuilds, suspension rebuilds, body work, paint work, new leather, that's all several thousand dollars if you want it done right. Buy a nice original car that doesn't need restoration. I know in the states, you can find really nice, low mile SC's for 5-8k(maybe 3-4k if you're lucky and don't mind one with some miles on it). You could easily spend $3,000+ restoring that junky $1500 SC and it still won't be as nice as that original car that was $5k.

Also since you are in Vancouver, I'd highly recommend you look at Toyota Soarers. Same car, but its RHD, engine options are the 1UZ V8 or the 1JZ-GTE twin turbo inline six, which is a great place to start a performance build. If you can't find what you want locally, contact a Japanese importer, the 1JZ-GTE cars in Japan are cheap and rather under-valued IMO, especially when you compare them to Supra prices(both JDM spec and especially compared to US spec Supras).

You need to give us a budget, that will really help us guide you in what to buy.

 

I have looked at both 300 and 400s, and overall l prefer the 400. The V8 is more appealing to me, l really enjoy having a unique car. Everyone has a 2J, everyone's seen a 2J. But there's something really special about a 1U that l really really love. Its just such a perfect platform for me to build off of. I don't want to do anything insane like build the block and supercharge it (but who knows we all know how the modding bug gets you). But for right now and in the near future what l really want to do is get a very clean and well taken care of sc400 and put my own touches on it, wrap or paint it depending on which is cheaper (I work at a body shop so l get labor for free, only have to pay supplies if l want paint). Get a nice meaty exhaust or straight pipe, l watched some insanely loud straight piped 1UZs and l just went bananas. Then after half a year-a year be done with basic bolt ons like intake injectors suspension (I really want to bag it) and have a super clean super good sounding good powered sunshine cruiser. Something l can come home to with a smile on my face after driving my crapalier all day. Thank you for the info and the help!! It is much appreciated!! I really do have a deep love for these cars! The one thing im just a little unsure on is easy engine performance mods l'm able to do on the 1UZ, so if you have any tips on that that'd be awesome!

 

What's your performance goal with this build? What sort of RWHP do you want??? If you're okay with about 200whp(I'd guess that's what a stock 250hp 1UZ would make) and it sounding cool, then go the 1UZ V8 route. If you want more, you need to do a turbo build on an SC300 or just buy a JDM Toyota Soarer. Honestly, to my hot-rod brain, an turbo inline six with the right exhaust sounds just as cool as a big V8. Different, but man an inline six just sings with the right exhaust.

 

Since you are set on getting aV8 I suggest you hold out for an 98+ one which has the vvti and 5 speed automatic trans. A bit more power and smoother running. I recently picked up a 99 SC400 in the color combination I always want and I am in love with. Mind you I have a 1.5JZGTE swapped 96 SC300. I am enjoying the v8 more.
The earlier years are good as well and a bit cheaper.
As mentioned above you can get one imported fairly easily since you are in Canada. Good luck with your search.

 

+1 if you're set for a SC400 wait for a 98+. It took me 1.5 years to find the one i have now which is a 99 SC400, well maintained and runs so very smooth so patience is key here. And since you have a car that you are currently driving id say take your time and find one for a good price. Low mileage is nice but remember these engines can last longer than the 2jz so dont be too worried about it and just use the high mileage to drive the price down. I plan on doing an interior swap on the car because i have access to a junkyard where i can get interior parts for free. So now im just waiting for an SC with a decent black interior to show up in there.

 

My first car was a 1993 GS300 with the 2jzge. I loved it, after I totaled that vehicle I really wanted to get into the 1UZ, so without looking into the aftermarket I bought a 1995 SC400. I deeply regretted that decision because the 1UZ has no aftermarket and the little it does, it's HIGHLY expensive in comparison to the alternative. Needless to say the next SC I purchased was a 300.

The 1UZ has a beautiful exhaust note, and is engineered incredibly well, it just has no support.

I did always want to 5 speed swap my old SC400 though, that would really liven the car up.

 

IMO, for a good daily driver, a 98+ SC400 would be good; even-more-so if you can get away with a manual swap. If you want power, a 300 would have the best cost-to-power return.

 

I'll tell him that. I owned an original 92 SC400 purchased new and drove it for 20 years. The best car ever. I never saw another car on the road that I would rather have during those 20 years. It got T-boned and was totaled. Way better than an 300!

 

Want power? go 98+ Sc400 from the get go

 

For a daily driver I'd take a stock SC400 over any SC300 all day long.

Can't really beat a stock SC400 for a daily. Yeah it's not going to be as fast as a turbo SC300 but you don't need that for a daily driver. Name one other coupe that has the reliability, silky smooth V8, 5spd auto bulletproof drivetrain and drives like a stock SC400? The only upgrade I'd do to it is maybe LS400 front bbk but that's it.

 

+1 on 98 SC400 stock. Though id also change out the suspension for some lowering springs. Eibach Prokits drops the car 1 - 1.5 inches from what everyone has been saying and is what i plan to go with if i can find a set. BBK is definitely a good upgrade but if you end up doing it youll need to either get some spacers or different wheels because the stock wheels wont clear those brakes without spacers. Not sure about the spacer sizes though.

 

^ I wouldn't bother with the LS400 brake upgrade on an SC400. On an SC300, YES, the brakes were tiny, but the V8 cars did get substantially bigger brakes over the six cylinder cars(that's why V8 cars run 16" wheels vs 15" on the six cylinder, to clear the bigger brakes)