Sc430 Progress Thread - Craigison

CraigIson · May 28, 2014

Hi all

This is my SC430 that i picked up a couple of weeks ago, Thought i would start a progress thread ...

2001 (51) Lexus SC430 - Silver - Originally from Liverpool - 35,000 at pick up.

Silver Exterior, Black leather with Walnut trim.

Completely Stock ...

The Day i picked her up ....

Bye Bye Clio ... Hello Luxury! :P

Everything appears to be mechanically sound. She's just in need of a bit of TLC to get her back to looking like new.

Absolutely love the car, Engine and gearbox are fantastically smooth. Ride is a little soft but hey, Its how its suppose to be for this type of car (Im been used to a MK3 Renault clio on hard coil overs for the last few years, So anything seams soft compared to that!) ... So far, so good :)

Things to do ...

1. Remove corrosion and repaint the two radiator locator brackets. At same time replace/protect any bolts with slight corrosion.

2. Replace Fuse box (Next to battery). Previous owner couldn't figure out how to remove the lid, So he took a screwdriver to the side and smashed the casing ...

3. Battery box is missing. Find a replacement.

4. Full underside rust proofing (As underside looks like it has never seen rain before!!! would like to keep it looking like this!)

4. Small dint to be removed from Bonnet and Passenger side rear arch.

5. Gold Emblems to be cleaned up and re-plated if needs be.

6. TPMS valve stems are damaged (Threaded part) are worn/damaged to the point a valve cap won't fit.

7. Mark Levinson 6x9's in both doors have perished and will either be repaired or replaced. Or all speakers replaced with higher quality units, But retain the OEM Head unit.

8. Figure out why the head light washers aren't working (Possible seized motor). Passed its MOT before i picked it up, so should be working!

9. alloys have just been refurbished, But not exactly to a high standard, so will be redone at some point. One alloy has a crack in it (apparently) so this will be looked into/replaced/fixed

10. Restore Head Light lens's as slightly yellowed at the top on both. Replace yellow side light bulbs with whiter bulbs (To match HID's) that are "E" marked (Not L.E.Ds as I've been caught out by a MOT tester before over this)

11. Cam belt, Serpentine belt, Water Pump and Thermostat to be replaced (all 13 years old so being water pump and thermostat being preventatively replaced) along with a full service with transmission fluid, Brake fluid and Power steering fluid change.

12. Replace tyres as they are 6 years old. Also a full alignment check as steering wheel is slightly off centre.

13. Check if recalls have been done ...

14. Full interior clean with leather feed and treatment.

15. Full Paint Correction for exterior (As she's never been polished before going from how rough the paint feels!)

16. iPod connectivity to head unit

17. All air filters to be replaced (Air con to be cleaned and re-gassed)

... Basically, I want to get her back to looking and working like she's just come off the production line :)

After all this ... (This is were some of you might fall out with me!) ... Unfortunately The plan is ...(eventually) get her sat on Air Ride, US rear bumper (Deleted fog lights) with deleted reflectors front and rear (or possible body kit change, but nothing OTT) and some very large, Very wide, Very cambered wheels and things like pressed number plates, custom exhaust (Currently a little too quite for my personal taste) ... Effectively going down the V.I.P Style route .... However, these plans will probably change!

CraigIson · May 28, 2014

Update ....

Now the weather has finally started to perk up. I've had a little play with the roof and getting the rear quarter windows to come up when the roof is down.
My car doesn't have a LuxLink module. So i have to do it via the valet button in the glove box. The windows do come up, but the "Bong" alarm sounds when you try to drive with them up. so unfortunately i can only have them up when i have the roof down and the car is parked up. But i will be trying to figure out a way to get the alarm off with out any mods in the future.

Also gave her a VERY quick clean. Found a fair few light scratch's on the boot lid and bonnet. Looks like the last owner had a cat that enjoyed using them to sit on ... Nothing that can't be sorted with a bit of elbow grease though :)

Next up ... clean up the Headlight lens's ....

CraigIson · May 28, 2014

Update ... Headlight restoration

Got hold of a headlight restoration kit by Meguiars (and some slick 50), after a quick read of the instructions. I had soon masked the lights up ready to be worked on.

The lights wasn't as bad as some that i've seen around. but they was starting to go at the top on both sides.

The kit comes with some sanding pads. Normally, you start with the coarsest and work your way to the finest and then use a polishing compound to remove the finest sanding marks. But because my lights had only slightly discoloured, i decided to skip all sanding, and only used the polishing compound with the supplied polishing pad (Attached to a drill) and see how much discolouration is removed this way.

Before ...

After ...

Defiantly a improvement! and took less than 30 minutes to do both lights.

CraigIson · May 28, 2014

Update ... PARTS!

Nothing massively exciting, but anything new is always fun :)

Air filter, Pollen filter, Floor mats and some body clips (Found some that had broke in the engine bay)

Old Vs New ...

Next up ... Engine bay cleaning!

CraigIson · May 28, 2014

Update ...

Engine bay cleaning time!

No fancy steamers or jet wash's for this! Just good old elbow grease! Trim dressing and PATIENCE! (oh and a few numb fingers!)

Trim dressings used: AutoFinesse Revive and AutoFinesse Drezzle, Autofinesse Verso APC. Dressing applicator pads and Rags.

I removed the Airbox + Intake pipe and ACIS system, All removable covers on the Fuse box, Relay box, ECU box, and any covers i could get off with ease. Cleaned them with a soft brush and Verso APC. Dried them, and them dressed them with Revive (for the larger covers) and Drezzle for any rubber pipes (after cleaning with Verso)

This wasn't a deep clean. But it was a start to get rid of the fair few years of dust/leaves that had built up. Also gave me the chance to look around the engine for any leaks or split hoses. So far so good :)

Starting to look a bit more presentable :)

CraigIson · May 28, 2014

Update ... The SC's first show!

On the 23rd-25th May was Modified Nationals at the East of England Show ground. I am part of UK-Mods.co.uk which is a group of car enthusiasts who all enjoy modifying there cars (Simple as that! And yes, I know the SC is still Stock! but its the thought that counts :P)

Other than giving the outside a quick clean, Nothing else has changed. But it's the first time i've had chance to get some photos of her with a decent camera.

CraigIson · May 28, 2014

Update ...

Battery box and Fuse box has arrived ...

Also ... Cargo net for the boot and the Lexus tool kit (Missing from car) has arrived too.

CraigIson · May 28, 2014

Update ...

Seeing as the weathers took a turn for the worse again :( ... I've tinted the front fog lights yellow as i'm a bit of a sucker for yellow fogs.

Dead simple job. Offers a little bit of protection to the lens from stone chips (Kinda!)

(The 'L' badge has been sent to be re-plated, its not been stolen!)

Yellow fogs are one of them things that are a throw back to the 'olden' days for me ... personally i like them :)

steve2006 · May 28, 2014

Blimy some money being spend on the project but looking good :)

Did you buy the Battery cover,fuse box cover and toolkit new?

Nearly as clean as my 1994 LS400.

TigerFish · May 28, 2014

Nice work.

Amazing how much better an engine bay can look with a few minutes work B)

Impressed with how well the headlamps came up.

CraigIson · May 28, 2014

Steve2006 ... looks like we've got a friendly bit of competition for the next meet :P
The Battery box was about £75 and the fuse box was £45, the tools was something like £25 in total. All direct from Lexus in Nottingham. Apparently parts are still available but they might soon start becoming hard to get hold of

I also think thats the first 1uz I've seen with the engine cover still on!!! :)

TigerFish ... They came up really well. But i think I'm going to go the hole hog and sand them in the summer as the passenger side has a few tiny chips. And also go over the rear lights as they have some fine swirl marks. But yeah, for a hours work max you can make them look brand new :)

steve2006 · May 30, 2014

The engine cover was only fitted to the series III models on, mine being a series II did not have one originally but with a bracket and some dome nuts was easily converted.

CraigIson · May 31, 2014

Ahh that'll be why i haven't seen any then :) Looks better IMO

any idea on how to get to the side light bulbs ... got new ones to replace them ... I know its a take the arch liner off job but is there any guides?

steve2006 · June 1, 2014

Not seen one but will have a look for one.

CraigIson · June 2, 2014

Don't worry Steve, Figured it out lol. Its not a easy job :/ Not something i want to do by the road side!

john leeds · June 9, 2014

I like what you have done with the lights,so I went and bought some of the solution that you used 22 quid it did the job on my wife's car first(in case I did it wrong it's on hers and not on mine) and then did mine one side and then ran out .when I read what its made of I noticed it's the exact same gear as universal t-cut so I did the other with that it's 2 quid and has done the same job .which when you think about it you are t-cutting the lens .

CraigIson · June 9, 2014

Its the first time had to clean up light clusters, But i only used about 15-20mls worth of compound to polish them up :/

Effectively it is just t-cut, but i think it has some UV protectants in it to stop them from discolouring again (Apparently!) ... Going from what others have said, Toothpaste also works but its a bit more hit and miss to how good it leaves the finish.

Cleaning them up really makes a difference to how the lights look and i think makes the car look a lot younger!

john leeds · June 9, 2014

I agree ,but since doing mine 2 out of my 7 neighbors have done there's but the other 5 have new cars anyway ,but it is an easy job with a big impact .so your post is a very good one in my opinion.thanks

CraigIson · June 16, 2014

Update ...

She's been in for her Cambelt/Waterpump+Thermostat/Auxbelt replacement ...

Was a bit sad to leave her at the mercy of a Mechanic, But i did get the keys to a New CT200H F-Sport for two days :D

Got to admit, it was one of the nicest courtesy cars i've had was a pleasure to drive, even though it did lack a fair bit of power compared to what i'm used to in the SC, But it was more than enough for a city car IMO. The ride was a bit on the Harsh side, But i think that could have been because of the F-Sport Pack (low profiles etc). But all in all. It was a nice car with plenty going for it :) (I did close to 60 miles around town and only needed £5 worth of fuel to brim the tank!!!

The water pump that was took off looked pretty much brand new (So i think i'll be keeping that just in case!)

Unfortunately, when they did a health check. They discovered that the front disks had worn down to 24mm (Min is 30mm!!!) and the pads looked pretty much brand new.

When i brought the SC and took it for a test drive, i noticed it pulled slightly to the right when braking hard, So i had the garage "fix" it before i picked it up. Looks like they just put new pads on.

She's now got a set of new disks and New pads to match.

ALSO ....

Fitted the Halogen Side light bulbs ... Bit of a pig to do as you have to go in though the wheel arch liner. But once i had done the first one, the next one took 15 mins from start to finish.

Defiantly a improvement on the looks of the front end compared to the standard yellow bulbs. And perfectly legal as i haven't replaced the incandescent bulbs with LEDs ... so no problems with the law :)

Defiantly makes the factory fitted HID's look more in keeping and not looking like they was aftermarket HID's

Also ...

Fitted the new Fuse Box Case and Battery case

The fuse box was a bit of a pain to do but that was because of the old box being broke (Thanks Ex-Owner!) after he took a screwdriver to the side to pry the lid off because he couldn't figure out how to take it off!!!

At the same time my OCD kicked in and i had to re-allign the fuses so all the values faced the same way :D

Made a start on cleaning the leather. Cleaning, feeding, conditioning etc. Pretty sure Its never been done going from how the seats have absorbed everything i have given them!!! So this will defiantly be a ongoing job for the next few months.

ALSO ...

The front "L" emblem has come back from being plated ...

Still haven't got round to polishing the exterior ... Its time will come in-between doing 1500 miles a month for work!

But she's got a bit of a shine from somewhere (No idea where! It just appeared honestly!! :D)

And the engine bay is still in need of a deep clean.

alphacat · June 18, 2014

Suspension should be important.... Unless its been upgraded and swap the 5 speed box for the 6 . The 6 is probably one of the best gearboxes a car could have...

Oh and its got to be de tangoed.. that's a must.

CraigIson · June 18, 2014

The suspension has been upgraded (apparently) but its still as soft as a boat, How ever it will be going on air ride at some point so I'm not to worried.

5 speed vs 6 speed ... Driven both and i don't think i would waste the money on upgrading to the 6 speed box, I find the 5 speed box to be more than smooth enough. And if i want slightly sportier down changes i just pop it into sport mode (Not that i do any sporty driving haha)

De-tangoed ... yeah ... kinda ... The indicators in the headlight clusters are being changed for clear bulbs, but the front fogs are staying yellow (just a look i kinda like). the front and rear bumper reflectors will be going, so will the front numberplate mounts. And the rear bumper will be a US version with no fog lights and smaller plate recess.

.... Its just going to take time to get there :)

alphacat · June 20, 2014

The suspension has been upgraded (apparently) but its still as soft as a boat, How ever it will be going on air ride at some point so I'm not to worried.

5 speed vs 6 speed ... Driven both and i don't think i would waste the money on upgrading to the 6 speed box, I find the 5 speed box to be more than smooth enough. And if i want slightly sportier down changes i just pop it into sport mode (Not that i do any sporty driving haha)

De-tangoed ... yeah ... kinda ... The indicators in the headlight clusters are being changed for clear bulbs, but the front fogs are staying yellow (just a look i kinda like). the front and rear bumper reflectors will be going, so will the front numberplate mounts. And the rear bumper will be a US version with no fog lights and smaller plate recess.

.... Its just going to take time to get there :)

Sounds like a good plan. but I think your wrong about the gearbox it makes a big difference. Lexus didn't change it for nothing.

When you say the reflectors will be going are you going to paint them over or replace them with clear ones. I looked for the price of that and they are available in the US but the price was unbelievable.!!! I mean really unbelievable. $400 dollars 'a pair' I think it was.

CraigIson · June 20, 2014

I think its just down to driving styles really. The only time i will be wanting to select gears is when I'm slowing down, Which i can do perfectly well with the gearbox that its got. I just can't see the point in spending extra cash to replace something that i don't have a problem with :/ Your not the first one to say this btw :) but if something was to go wrong with this gearbox then i might look into a 6 speed swap. I'm used to good ol' fashioned auto box's like the one thats in my Nissan Patrol so i guess I'm just used to sticking it in drive and leaving it to do its thing.

The reflectors will be took off and then smoothed over with filler and sprayed (is the idea) along with the holes for the front number plate holder. But i might look into swapping them for DRL's for the front (And then just have the rear twin fogs and reflectors removed).

... or i might just buy a body kit that has all of these things done already. Only time will tell haha

Yeah I've seen a set going for that price! To say they are basically a pair of bike spoke reflectors with a different clip on the back, they sure know how to charge!!!

alphacat · June 22, 2014

This is the first auto box I have ever owned I am surprised how good it is I tried my sons BMW 335 with an auto box and hated it.. However your right about using it to down change that's the best bit..

I think your idea about painting the reflectors is what I will go for. I do want rid of them. At the same time I have to have the roof done its got slight bubbling on one side as its aluminium its not getting worse (been the same for the 2 years I have had the car). But I think I will get it done. He may as well do the reflectors at the same time.

CraigIson · June 23, 2014

Tbh i can't fault the 5 speed box. Mine is very smooth, And with how silent the engine is (for now!) its hard to tell its changed gear.

I would get them done at the same time. Seeing as the cars going to be masked up to be worked on etc. Kills 2 birds with one stone :)