New toy - 1992 LS400 Mk1

Spottedlaurel · June 20, 2020

As alluded to in my message yesterday about classic insurance (thankfully resolved at sensible cost), I've just got myself back into LS ownership:

Camry and Lexus by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

1992 Lexus LS400 by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

As purchased, unseen after I first had a chat with the owner back in 2013 and left my number with him. Have seen it every so often since then, he finally rang me in the week and we agreed a price that meant I could try and give it a long-term future. It'd sat unused in his garage since Christmas but fired-up first time on a Battery I took with me. MoT was just about to expire, but just today it got extended so I can use it sympathetically and then work out what to do with it.

Treated it to a wash on the way home.

Three related cars here. Very interesting to see the similarities between the Camry and LS. LS has more sense of occasion to drive than the RX, lovely as that is.

It's done 161k and runs nicely, temperature good. Cam belt probably well overdue, if it doesn't need too much else on brakes/suspension/bodywork then I'll get that done as a priority. Edit: Just found that it was changed in 2011, 15,000 miles ago. So OK on mileage, but probably several years beyond the recommended change interval?

All the family mucked-in with giving it a good clean-up inside, for the mileage it's worn its years well. Most things seem to work.

I think the pearl white and silver colour scheme is fantastic.

All present and correct, barely used. The chap I bought it from said he got it from someone who'd had it as a company car. It was sold new by Cooper Park Lane, London, and I still have the Club Lexus cards for the first keeper. Looks like Park Lane serviced it until 2001/118k miles.

It drives really well, looking forward to enjoying it over the next few months then thinking about its future. Always wanted a Mk1 and this seems like a good start.

ambermarine · June 21, 2020

Yes it is a terrific example and would imagine those miles are motorway cruising being a company car.

The belt change is recommended at 10 years if that comes first.

The oil mist around the right bank head looks like a pcv valve issue could do to change that out and a clean up should bring the engine and bay back to its classic look, not as today shrouded in plastic.

The leather will come up really nice with a professional clean and feed the paint looks good so its a keeper ,can only go up in price from here in.

PCM · June 21, 2020

Great post, great story, great pictures!

Spottedlaurel · June 21, 2020

Thanks Phil and Piers. Good tip about the PCV valve.

Just enjoyed a trip out to take daughter to work - any excuse! I think last week I used my 1973 Datsun 1200 which is the most ludicrously basic car you can imagine, so it was a bit of a contrast....

It definitely feels like something to keep, even if I have to store it for a bit until I can get it really nice.

Everything here seems to work, and more importantly go out when it should. The floating effect is so cool.

I built this Tamiya 1:24 kit version of the Celsior back in the early-mid '90s, never thinking I'd end up with a real example one day.

Malc · June 21, 2020

Nigel, she looks a lovely car for sure .......

Reminds me of my J reg Mk1 all those years back ................ same colour as mine then, pearlescent white

Problems I had at about 160k miles, the front UCAs had to be changed and the pas reservoir leaked onto the alternator and burnt it out one night on the M20

The expansion tank cap failed and cost about £5 in those days from a factor

The 15" wheels and brakes not so good as the now 16" for sure ... the wheels look the same but they aren't, there's one spoke more for the 16"

I had her till about 186k miles ( when I bought my M reg Mk2 ) and had the cambelt changed at about 120k miles, it's first change I thought .... didn't realise about the waterpump needing changing too in those days ..... long while back

My first taste of a Ls400 and I've had one every day since, about 20 years now

You'll enjoy every moment of her, just use her as much as you can, they are amazing cars to drive and as cheap as chips to keep on the road ...... whenever you replace something expensive ( with OEM ) it wall last another 160k miles .... forever

Good luck

Malc

ambermarine · June 21, 2020

2 hours ago, Spottedlaurel said:

Thanks Phil and Piers. Good tip about the PCV valve.

Just enjoyed a trip out to take daughter to work - any excuse! I think last week I used my 1973 Datsun 1200 which is the most ludicrously basic car you can imagine, so it was a bit of a contrast....

It definitely feels like something to keep, even if I have to store it for a bit until I can get it really nice.

Everything here seems to work, and more importantly go out when it should. The floating effect is so cool.

I built this Tamiya 1:24 kit version of the Celsior back in the early-mid '90s, never thinking I'd end up with a real example one day.

Yes it is a terrific example and would imagine those miles are motorway cruising being a company car.

The belt change is recommended at 10 years if that comes first.

The leather will come up really nice with a professional clean and feed the paint looks good so its a keeper ,can only go up in price from here in.

This was mine for 17 years.

The-Acre · June 21, 2020

I've always said the early engine without all the plastic covers is a work of art, such a picture. How many car engines can you say that about!

Malc · June 23, 2020

oh, another major disaster from my 7 ? years ownership of my Mk1 was a new windscreen ............ on insce

AND catastrophic electric fault

replacing one single offside rear stop lamp bulb and the fiddly bulb that light's the centre top above the dash and windscreen

and all in a miserly 80k miles in 7 years :thumbsup:

never a moneypit for sure

Malc

Spottedlaurel · December 6, 2020

I've had this old thing for approaching six months now, time for a quick update before I have to make a decision on its future.......

1992 Lexus LS400 by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

It gets used as a commuter and dad's taxi in the very rural area where I live, so it's ended up looking like this:

1992 Lexus LS400 by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

Other than fuel, screen wash and a bit of air in the tyres, I don't think i've put anything in or spent anything on it during the 1,000+ miles I've done since late June. That's not to say it doesn't need any work, quite the opposite I suspect, but its been wonderful to drive and perfectly reliable. Based on what it cost me that wasn't necessarily a given thing.....

1992 Lexus LS400 by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

As it was looking a little disgusting, I thought I'd give it a quick clean. Came up OK, it'll be filthy again after a day or two.

The extended MoT expires just after Christmas. Due to the usual financial pressures of the season, and the precautionary need to buy a new Battery on the RX, that will have to wait until next month. If it fails drastically then I'll have to work out what to do with it, whether that's sell it for spares/repair or keep it myself as a spares donor for any future LS I end up buying.

I've enjoyed the experience of this Mk1 as much, if not more, than the MK3 I had a few years ago. It has a certain purity and way of doing things that I really like, and it makes for an interesting comparison with my Camry of similar vintage and the newer RX. I think the LS does a better job of being a luxury car than the RX, it certainly has a more cosseting ride. The V8 is so smooth and quiet there are many times when it doesn't feel like it has engine providing motivation, so in that way it's much like the RX. Let it go beyond 3,000rpm and the smooth, rapid way it picks up speed and gets around to the redline is a great experience.

I can't afford to spend ££££s on it, but I'd contemplate spending a reasonable bit to keep it going - looking at what they go for on the open market, and knowing that I have a reliable starting point I think it would be worthwhile, even if it will never be immaculate. Getting it through the MoT will only be the first thing, it'll then need a damn good service, cam belt change and various little things sorting - it'd be nice to have low and medium fan speeds for example, not just nothing or full speed. One nice thing is that all the HRW elements work, something I always look for, and the interior is pretty good. The bodywork will never be perfect without spending an eyewatering amount, but then if it was too good would I want to regularly use it?

Fingers crossed when it goes in for a test this time next month........

The-Acre · December 6, 2020

That reminds me of the MK2 I bought, a 92 model. I knew nothing about Lexus but loved the look, I didn't even know who made them. I thought it would be good fun to buy it at £1,500 and it turned out to be my most reliable car ever, I kept it for five years and spent hardly anything on it. You'll regret it if you let it go!

PCM · December 7, 2020

Great post Nigel and great thread.

ambermarine · December 7, 2020

The points you have made in this excellent post are testament to why this model is one of the most sought after classics of the modern era of Asian cars .The pedigree is second to none and the history is unmatched by any other vehicle so you might well have bought yourself a keeper,the biggest concern of this model is rust in the chassis and wings if it reasonably clear of that then everything else is still obtainable but not on some parts new.

It is'nt eating nowt as we say up north so hang on to it and make yourself some money because they are only going up in value.

Malc · December 7, 2020

if it really is a Mk1 and not a Mk2 then I know for sure that the cambelt is non-interference and the cambelt change might not be that pressing perhaps

Malc

Spottedlaurel · December 7, 2020

3 hours ago, Malc said:

if it really is a Mk1 and not a Mk2 then I know for sure that the cambelt is non-interference and the cambelt change might not be that pressing perhaps

Malc

That's interesting Malc, I assumed the engine continued pretty much unchanged from Mk1 to Mk2. Mine is certainly a Mk1, with the 15" wheels, analogue odometer etc, although admittedly a late example (first registered 30/09/1992). It would be nice not to have an imminent cam belt replacement to consider - as previously mentioned it's only done around 15k since it was changed in 2011, and it's been in a garage for much of the time when not in use, so not subject to significant temperature changes.

4 hours ago, ambermarine said:

The points you have made in this excellent post are testament to why this model is one of the most sought after classics of the modern era of Asian cars .The pedigree is second to none and the history is unmatched by any other vehicle so you might well have bought yourself a keeper,the biggest concern of this model is rust in the chassis and wings if it reasonably clear of that then everything else is still obtainable but not on some parts new.

It is'nt eating nowt as we say up north so hang on to it and make yourself some money because they are only going up in value.

Thanks Phil. By the time it was launched in 1989, the Japanese makers had shown they could make small/medium sized cars as well as/better than anyone else, but I think the Celsior/LS400, Nissan Skyline GT-R and Honda NSX in particular represent a massive step forwards and have every right to be regarded as classics. I'd happily have one of the other two, and I can only count myself lucky that I'm getting to enjoy a slice of that history.

Beyond its various scratches, scrapes and dents I can't see significant rot in the outer panels, I suspect the sill ends might be a little tender and I await next month's verdict on the underside.

5 hours ago, PCM said:

Great post Nigel and great thread.

Thank you Piers.

15 hours ago, The-Acre said:

That reminds me of the MK2 I bought, a 92 model. I knew nothing about Lexus but loved the look, I didn't even know who made them. I thought it would be good fun to buy it at £1,500 and it turned out to be my most reliable car ever, I kept it for five years and spent hardly anything on it. You'll regret it if you let it go!

I'm sure you're right. Until I got this one my wife thought I was stupid to have got shot of the Mk3, and usually she's not too interested in my rubbish.

This is also why I have had a 1990s Camry of one sort or another on the road for most of the last 14 years, with my current 1993 estate having been with me since 2011 and staggering on despite being written-off by an Audi and spending periods of time out-of-use while I've concentrated on other cars. Toyota/Lexus products of that time are remarkable things, they work so well.

Spacewagon52 · December 7, 2020

There is a point where you can enjoy an older car without getting hung-up on using it or parking it. Having said that, I am still careful where I park my LS 400.

They are very special cars. The design is a classic 3 box. The engine is so smooth, quiet and powerful. The instrumentation is not fussy or complicated.

Probably my favourite bit of the car is the dashboard. It is so clear and uncomplicated with a minimum of information displayed. A touch of some buttons on the steering wheel, allows you to scroll effortlessly through the menu.

That dash is a thing of beauty. I wish they had put it in the RX.

ambermarine · December 7, 2020

5 hours ago, Malc said:

if it really is a Mk1 and not a Mk2 then I know for sure that the cambelt is non-interference and the cambelt change might not be that pressing perhaps

Malc

I had the cambelt go on my Mark 1 caused by a siezed water pump and as Malc as said it is a non inteference engine.

The-Acre · December 7, 2020

4 hours ago, Spacewagon52 said:

There is a point where you can enjoy an older car without getting hung-up on using it or parking it. Having said that, I am still careful where I park my LS 400.

They are very special cars. The design is a classic 3 box. The engine is so smooth, quiet and powerful. The instrumentation is not fussy or complicated.

Probably my favourite bit of the car is the dashboard. It is so clear and uncomplicated with a minimum of information displayed. A touch of some buttons on the steering wheel, allows you to scroll effortlessly through the menu.

That dash is a thing of beauty. I wish they had put it in the RX.

Put some fuel in quickly or you'll be discovering how heavy these cars are to push!

Spottedlaurel · December 7, 2020

5 hours ago, Spacewagon52 said:

There is a point where you can enjoy an older car without getting hung-up on using it or parking it. Having said that, I am still careful where I park my LS 400.

They are very special cars. The design is a classic 3 box. The engine is so smooth, quiet and powerful. The instrumentation is not fussy or complicated.

Probably my favourite bit of the car is the dashboard. It is so clear and uncomplicated with a minimum of information displayed. A touch of some buttons on the steering wheel, allows you to scroll effortlessly through the menu.

Get you with your fancy steering wheel buttons and trip computer! Nothing like that in Mk1, or even Mk3 as I recall.

3 hours ago, ambermarine said:

I had the cambelt go on my Mark 1 caused by a siezed water pump and as Malc as said it is a non inteference engine.

Good to have that confirmed. I'll have to see if they replaced the pump when the belt was done.

Spacewagon52 · December 7, 2020

41 minutes ago, Spottedlaurel said:

Get you with your fancy steering wheel buttons and trip computer! Nothing like that in Mk1, or even Mk3 as I recall.

Did not mean to be rude! Yes mine is a later version. The most important thing is the ride and that wonderful engine!

Spottedlaurel · December 7, 2020

1 hour ago, Spacewagon52 said:

Did not mean to be rude! Yes mine is a later version. The most important thing is the ride and that wonderful engine!

Indeed, it's a quality they all share. My Mk3 was probably slightly compromised in the ride department by running on 18" GS300 Sport wheels, although it still wasn't too bad as I recall:

1996 Lexus LS400 by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

The-Acre · December 7, 2020

7 hours ago, Spottedlaurel said:

That's interesting Malc, I assumed the engine continued pretty much unchanged from Mk1 to Mk2. Mine is certainly a Mk1, with the 15" wheels, analogue odometer etc, although admittedly a late example (first registered 30/09/1992). It would be nice not to have an imminent cam belt replacement to consider - as previously mentioned it's only done around 15k since it was changed in 2011, and it's been in a garage for much of the time when not in use, so not subject to significant temperature changes.

Thanks Phil. By the time it was launched in 1989, the Japanese makers had shown they could make small/medium sized cars as well as/better than anyone else, but I think the Celsior/LS400, Nissan Skyline GT-R and Honda NSX in particular represent a massive step forwards and have every right to be regarded as classics. I'd happily have one of the other two, and I can only count myself lucky that I'm getting to enjoy a slice of that history.

Beyond its various scratches, scrapes and dents I can't see significant rot in the outer panels, I suspect the sill ends might be a little tender and I await next month's verdict on the underside.

Thank you Piers.

I'm sure you're right. Until I got this one my wife thought I was stupid to have got shot of the Mk3, and usually she's not too interested in my rubbish.

This is also why I have had a 1990s Camry of one sort or another on the road for most of the last 14 years, with my current 1993 estate having been with me since 2011 and staggering on despite being written-off by an Audi and spending periods of time out-of-use while I've concentrated on other cars. Toyota/Lexus products of that time are remarkable things, they work so well.

It's interesting that you mention the Camry. Years before I got my first Lexus I rented a car in Canada which was a Camry. With my wife in the passenger seat we traveled a good 1,000 miles and were mightily impressed, now I see why!

rich1068 · December 8, 2020

11 hours ago, Spottedlaurel said:

Indeed, it's a quality they all share. My Mk3 was probably slightly compromised in the ride department by running on 18" GS300 Sport wheels, although it still wasn't too bad as I recall:

1996 Lexus LS400 by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

That looks splendid.

Spottedlaurel · March 10, 2021

My Mk1 went straight through an MoT this morning. A few advisories, but nothing too serious and it's a lot better than it could be seeing as I did no prep whatsoever. Its last test was in June 2019 and it got a 6-month extension last summer, then it's been out of use since late December - as I haven't been going anywhere much there was no point getting it tested back then.

I only took it to the garage because I needed to pick my wife's car up and it was easier to do that then get a lift back!

I've left it there for an oil change and quotes on the advisories.

steve2006 · March 10, 2021

I want to know how much your garage quotes you for pumping up that flat spare tyre 😀

Nothing there too concerning, we all know about the blowing Y pipe joints, the rubber shock absorber covers turn into calamari rings, number plate seems to get mentioned periodically and someone greased up the brake pipes to protect them.

If you haven’t taken out “Agreed Value” and “Nil deduction salvage” options on the classic policy I would strongly suggest you do, getting one of these imported from Japan now has risen to over £10K recently

Spottedlaurel · March 10, 2021

5 hours ago, steve2006 said:

I want to know how much your garage quotes you for pumping up that flat spare tyre 😀

Nothing there too concerning, we all know about the blowing Y pipe joints, the rubber shock absorber covers turn into calamari rings, number plate seems to get mentioned periodically and someone greased up the brake pipes to protect them.

If you haven’t taken out “Agreed Value” and “Nil deduction salvage” options on the classic policy I would strongly suggest you do, getting one of these imported from Japan now has risen to over £10K recently

I'm going to pick it up tomorrow morning. Will be great to be able to use it again once the current restrictions are lifted a little.

Your advice on the insurance is noted (I need to revisit the values on my couple of Datsuns too). I had a bit of a job getting my current insurers to add it onto my classic policy. Hopefuly now it's there I won't have such a job this year, or I'll have to change to someone else.