1999 Lexus LS 400 advice on a wreck

[ambermarine]

11 hours ago, 39buss said:

DHP centre caps worth £100.  I've got a set in my garage that I'd sell for that.

Stick them on eBay,they are as rare as rocking horse pooh ,make sure they are on sale worldwide.

[ThomasD94]

On 4/22/2020 at 10:06 AM, Malc said:

Thomas, if you had a spare barn or whatever on your estate you could pop it in there unmolested for 20 years and then get Bangers & Cash to lift it out to go to their auction house nr Pickering.....  then it will be a true barn find and worth £££ zillions  ( or nowt  )

Malc

hahaha Imagine, I did contact the owner to see if they would sell it

[Malc]

5 hours ago, ThomasD94 said:

I did contact the owner to see if they would sell it

and ???

Malc

[ThomasD94]

On 4/26/2020 at 5:17 PM, Malc said:

and ???

Malc

They ignored me

[ThomasD94]

On 4/26/2020 at 7:39 PM, Greer said:

There's lots for breaking every week....what on earth is so special about this rear windowless LS?........................................................https://bit.ly/2Ybo5JV

I wasn't going to break it, I was going to try restore it 🙂

[Malc]

9 hours ago, ThomasD94 said:

I wasn't going to break it, I was going to try restore it 🙂

in these challenging days of lockdown I can see nothing better than to set oneself an almost impossible task ...........  bit like a 25,000 piece jigsaw ..........  you would eventually make it to the end ........  immense frustrations along the way but oh my, what satisfaction when completed 

a god thought there Thomas  

Malc

[Howplum]

Have you read my topic "1996 LS400 project. Let the fun begin.....!" by any chance?

Mine had never been garaged in 24 years, and nor had it been looked after especially well. In fact, the only saving grace was that the mileage is less than 80,000.

It was very damp when I got it, although there were no obvious leaks, but there is a lot of surface rust behind the dashboard, although the electrics luckily seem unaffected.

I bought the car for £400, without an MoT, although at least it ran, once the alarm/immobilser had been disconnected. My budget to bring the car up to scratch was between £1,500 and £2,000, and so far I have spent £1,300 on parts, the only major expense on the horizon being the parts to change the timing belt and water pump, unless the MoT tester has a surprise for me.

Hopefully I will end up with a very nice car for under £2,500, although this is with me doing all the work myself, including any paintwork.

The work I have done so far is chronicled in my topic, and I must say that if it wasn't for the quality of the engineering and components I doubt a lesser car would have been able to brought back from the brink. Obviously Lexus are not perfect, but so far it has been pretty easy to work on.

I would imagine restoring the car you have seen is never going to make economic sense, but's that's not the point. Perhaps a first step, before parting with any money, is to see what works and what doesn't when a Battery is connected (if the owner will let you).

 

[ambermarine]

The only caveat I would add to Howard's statement is how bad is the rust and where is it.

The underside maybe in a very bad way and from the pics the doors look  bad and the 400 is not a car you want to be trying to botch with body filler on the panels.

My red line would be rust in more than three panels ,doors and excessive rust on the subframe at the rear.

[ThomasD94]

1 minute ago, ambermarine said:

The only caveat I would add to Howard's statement is how bad is the rust and where is it.

The underside maybe in a very bad way and from the pics the doors look  bad and the 400 is not a car you want to be trying to botch with body filler on the panels.

My red line would be rust in more than three panels ,doors and excessive rust on the subframe at the rear.

Thank you 🙂

[Howplum]

My rear subframe is quite rusty, although mainly superficial, and this seems quite common when looking at the MoT history of prospective purchases. 

If it's an issue for the MoT then the temptation/requirement is to rebuild the entire rear end, which I suspect is when the costs really start mounting.

[Malc]

I would be amazed if a rear window wasn't available quite inexpensively from a car breaker tbh ............  now the rubber seal might take some finding perhaps .....  part of the " fun " of the chase no doubt

"  carry on Thomas  " .........  we might all cry 

I think you / we might have a few more months of some sort of lockdown to contemplate .............. and complete your exercise in Ls400 salvation

Malc