Here We Go Again!

[preeder1963]

I don't know if its the weather but each year about this time I get a bit creative with my Mk1 Sport. Was thinking again about replacing it but when serviced recently the head mechanic (not Lexus) described it as "a bl**dy nice tool". Its 9 years old its over 130k miles and there's nothing wrong with it. I'm doing 1200 miles a week trouble free and apart from pushing the international price of oil up I can't see any down-side to running it for another year.

Could sell it for about £4000 and get a nice Renault or Kia with extra cash but somehow not alot of appeal there. Whats more when I do get a new car I'm going to keep this one in an old barn under a cloth like in one of those Hollywood films where the kids say "don't touch that its Grandpas '59 big block Chevy cruiser" etc. Or I might make a dining table out of it like in the Pulp Fiction Diner.

So here we go again, if I'm keeping it its going to get a facelift and I'm afraid I'm going to have to bore you all stupid with my progress and pics. Quick summary:

Past 3 years progress:

Cleared out yellow bits from indicators and put on RX clear side repeaters.

Put in a K&N panel filter.

Got dents etc repaired and sprayed at back.

Dark tints at back and rear window, medium tints at front.

Next on the list

1. Respray front & bonnet and get stone dents out.

2. Have my eyebrows (Prolex) fitted at same time as spray job.

3. Get it lowered (by say 20mm just to close in wheel arch gap) - in fact on this point I nearly bought a full body kit from USA but it would be a waste of the standard Sport body bits so I reckon taking the existing nearer to the ground will be a decent budget option.

4. Get an exhaust made up (as cheap as possible)

5. Get one of the Blitz things Maneesh was talking about.

6. Get wheels done by Spit'n'polish - again on this point I was considering some gansgta style chrome alloys but the existing wheels are too good to waste. If i get them reconned and get rid of the grey paint for £200 I think they'll be quite sparkly and I keep my 10" rears.

7. Lightly tint rear light clusters and central plastic panel. I think the big plastic panel at the back looks really late eighties Toyota and so without being too illegal I just want to blend them in a bit and get rid of the silver GS300 motif.

8. Maybe one of those rear window lip spoilers if I can fool myself into rethinking it into being justifiable. Was considering the wind deflectors to side windows but not too sure about these.

I've got a Sonus/Portacable polisher from Autopia I've started using - will take a few weekends though. And I'm going to get a DIY air con recharger from Halfords which I will use by October probably. Also got front & rear green stuff pads to fit in readiness for when wheels are nice.

Sorry for the life story but if I find out anything of use to the others I'll post it along with my progress & photos. There seems to be alot of reasonably priced stuff in Japan & USA that could be worth risking. Everything I've done or found out about has been through this forum so thanks for that it really is remarkable.

Two things strike me about this car. Its older so there's not many mods/kits available. Its older so its the ideal subject for modding up (I wouldn't have risked some of these things when it was newer and worth a bit more). It still gets people leering at it out the corner of their eyes outside Blockbusters when all the fake M3's and pimped up Corsa's no longer impress. I know that's three things.

Oh yeh, and if anyone has any comments about my plans please let me know. I'm not too sure for eample about the wisdom of trying to get a sport model lowered a bit.

I'm very "fits and starts" with this forum and my car in general but I promise to post some photos and some progress etc and this could well be the year I drive it up to one of the meets. Better 3 years late than never....

cheers

Paul

[Adie]

Nice one mate. There's loads of info around for plenty of mods you can do to your car. Failing that I'm sure Maneesh or Tony9R can point you in the right direction along with others. :D

Good luck and keep us informed :winky:

[chips229]

Hi,

Looking forward to see some pictures of the car,sounds like its well looked after :)

[Tony9r]

Go for it mate :D

[norkep]

Look forward to seeing your beast at a near meet, sounds like a good list of mods

Not sure about lightly tiniting the plastic guard on the boot but would be interested in your ideas and the finished look though.

Good Luck and happy Modding

BR

Paul

[maneesh]

Put some pics up dude...

Hmmm, dropping the car another 20mm will require new springs. Is it just cosmetic you are after, you could get some coilovers which would make a bigger difference to handling than just new springs?

Also, there are LOADS of mods for Mk1 GSs, you just have to know where to look.

www.takakaira.com for some parts, also look at www.clublexus.com and see what's been done there on Mk1 (they even have a separate forum for mk1s)

Come on, you know you want gangsta chromes

[Lexual Feeling]

Maybe i got out the wrong side of bed this morning but all this talk of modding a MK1 gets on my nerves. they look terrible when they've been played with... bodykits, differents alloys and sh*t. If you want to stand out just get the car looking like it just rolled out the factory with everything looking original. easiest way to de-value a car is to spend loads of money on sh*t that doesnt belong on it.

[maneesh]

Maybe i got out the wrong side of bed this morning but all this talk of modding a MK1 gets on my nerves. they look terrible when they've been played with... bodykits, differents alloys and sh*t. If you want to stand out just get the car looking like it just rolled out the factory with everything looking original. easiest way to de-value a car is to spend loads of money on sh*t that doesnt belong on it.

Time for a new bed mate!

[craig7022]

Maybe i got out the wrong side of bed this morning but all this talk of modding a MK1 gets on my nerves. they look terrible when they've been played with... bodykits, differents alloys and sh*t. If you want to stand out just get the car looking like it just rolled out the factory with everything looking original. easiest way to de-value a car is to spend loads of money on sh*t that doesnt belong on it.

Thats what i love about modifing

It sparks a reaction from everyone good or bad.

Everyone has a option and thats what it's all about :)

It's a personal thing, it's not about the money(unless thats your business).

It's about standing out form the crowd.

My option is nice and subtle so people look twice.

but a mate has a Evo 5 and he's weighted it down with alsorts of add on's. I think if there is a car that doesn't need messing with it's a Evo. but he loves it.!!! no a counting for taste

Just my 2p worth :winky:

[preeder1963]

Yes I agree with Lexual Feeling a fair bit myself. I don't want my GS to end up looking like a 1970's cortina. Not unless they still do those anti static strips with the zig zag lightning symbols that used to hang down at the back. And I would prob give in if offered the rubber door protectors that had the integral amber reflector inside.

Seriously, the only thing I'll add on thats not standard is the eyebrows for the headlights as the Mk1 lights are quite outdated now. I do get a bit fed up that I'm the only person I know that hasn't got "Lexus" lights and I'm the only person I know who has actually got a Lexus. Lowering it a bit with the coilovers etc etc like Chips pictures won't stop it looking like a GS, it will just be a bit less Jag like round corners.

The devaluation issue is precisely the reason I'm going for a bit of modding. The car is so cheap now its not worth selling so I might as well have a mess round with it and make it a bit better on performance and style. If Mk1 GS's suddenly become collectable in standard form and that takes it above the £4000 mark all the mods I'm considering are reversible.

Although if Utterly Butterly ever bring out a 3kg tub size I could cut one down and spray it up as a dummy air intake on the bonnet.

[Ryo]

and i thought i was on my own when it comes to moddin' the mk1

keep it standard is what i say, as i said the maneesh the other day, went looking for a set of new wheels for mine, had all these loads of wheels that would fit, and not one looked as nice as the origional TTe's that were on it any way .

Steve

[Keith Bowler]

I don't know if its the weather but each year about this time I get a bit creative with my Mk1 Sport. Was thinking again about replacing it but when serviced recently the head mechanic (not Lexus) described it as "a bl**dy nice tool". Its 9 years old its over 130k miles and there's nothing wrong with it. I'm doing 1200 miles a week trouble free and apart from pushing the international price of oil up I can't see any down-side to running it for another year.

Could sell it for about £4000 and get a nice Renault or Kia with extra cash but somehow not alot of appeal there. Whats more when I do get a new car I'm going to keep this one in an old barn under a cloth like in one of those Hollywood films where the kids say "don't touch that its Grandpas '59 big block Chevy cruiser" etc. Or I might make a dining table out of it like in the Pulp Fiction Diner.

So here we go again, if I'm keeping it its going to get a facelift and I'm afraid I'm going to have to bore you all stupid with my progress and pics. Quick summary:

Past 3 years progress:

Cleared out yellow bits from indicators and put on RX clear side repeaters.

Put in a K&N panel filter.

Got dents etc repaired and sprayed at back.

Dark tints at back and rear window, medium tints at front.

Next on the list

1. Respray front & bonnet and get stone dents out.

2. Have my eyebrows (Prolex) fitted at same time as spray job.

3. Get it lowered (by say 20mm just to close in wheel arch gap) - in fact on this point I nearly bought a full body kit from USA but it would be a waste of the standard Sport body bits so I reckon taking the existing nearer to the ground will be a decent budget option.

4. Get an exhaust made up (as cheap as possible)

5. Get one of the Blitz things Maneesh was talking about.

6. Get wheels done by Spit'n'polish - again on this point I was considering some gansgta style chrome alloys but the existing wheels are too good to waste. If i get them reconned and get rid of the grey paint for £200 I think they'll be quite sparkly and I keep my 10" rears.

7. Lightly tint rear light clusters and central plastic panel. I think the big plastic panel at the back looks really late eighties Toyota and so without being too illegal I just want to blend them in a bit and get rid of the silver GS300 motif.

8. Maybe one of those rear window lip spoilers if I can fool myself into rethinking it into being justifiable. Was considering the wind deflectors to side windows but not too sure about these.

I've got a Sonus/Portacable polisher from Autopia I've started using - will take a few weekends though. And I'm going to get a DIY air con recharger from Halfords which I will use by October probably. Also got front & rear green stuff pads to fit in readiness for when wheels are nice.

Sorry for the life story but if I find out anything of use to the others I'll post it along with my progress & photos. There seems to be alot of reasonably priced stuff in Japan & USA that could be worth risking. Everything I've done or found out about has been through this forum so thanks for that it really is remarkable.

Two things strike me about this car. Its older so there's not many mods/kits available. Its older so its the ideal subject for modding up (I wouldn't have risked some of these things when it was newer and worth a bit more). It still gets people leering at it out the corner of their eyes outside Blockbusters when all the fake M3's and pimped up Corsa's no longer impress. I know that's three things.

Oh yeh, and if anyone has any comments about my plans please let me know. I'm not too sure for eample about the wisdom of trying to get a sport model lowered a bit.

I'm very "fits and starts" with this forum and my car in general but I promise to post some photos and some progress etc and this could well be the year I drive it up to one of the meets. Better 3 years late than never....

cheers

Paul

Hi Paul

I go through the same too and my GS is also dk blue.

Go for the lowering and eyebrows/wind deflectors/rear screen roof spoiler thingy. I have done all bar rear screen spoiler thingy and I only lowered mine to standard sport spec.

Not sure about tinting rear lights etc but maybe a lightish tint would be good

I am not sure about the induction vs high perf panel filter - I have a perf panel filter at present and an induction setup to try.

I still need to do tints and get some battle scars sorted - can you PM me with details of the body shop you use cos I if I remember correctly you are near Croydon.

If you refurb your wheels again try Lepsons in Gillingham I find them much better than Spit'n'Polish. I'd keep with standard wheels which I personally love to bits, not sure about the chromes, though I must say Maneesh's look quite smart and not to ott.

You may also want to consider changing you light bulbs to LED's and get an HiD conversion kit to improve light output from the poor standard headlights. I am in process of switching most of mine.

[chips229]

Hi,

First of all i say Each to there Own ;)

My take on modding is if its not broke/worn out/drives/looks ok keep your money in your pocket :)

I at a Last Resort spent what id call alot of money on renewing the suspension on my car,it was cheaper than buying stock springs/shocks from the main dealer.I only replaced with new because it was all worn out.

Yep if somethings broken/wornout etc then Upgrade.

As to the 18s Alloy wheels,i bought them new to replace the corroded tatty standard 15s that were on the LS400 when i bought the car.I did prefer the look of the LS400 with the 18s on though :D

I sold the LS with the standard tatty 15in alloys,so the new alloys on the Aristo were kind of free as they have been stored for a not so rainy day

Ive done the modding cars years ago and Learnt the hard way what with trying to sell them on and trying to get your money back.

Again each to there own.

Chips..