Kevin's 93' Ls400 AYEEEE

[aLaFleur]

Well hurry up and don't keep us AND you waiting any longer.

[KEVIN.E]

I like them just bolted on. Looks tough as hell.

exactly man, hella beefy, Im stoked to get the rears on and see this car with the wheels on, its been parked sitting on those stocks for around 3 months

[aLaFleur]

I like them just bolted on. Looks tough as hell.

[KEVIN.E]

This is turning into one of my favorite builds on S|W. Keep it up man, you have something good going on here.

DO LIKE DO LIKE!! this is def. different with the flares. are you plan on molding them?

thanks guys, building this car in my own way has been my motive since day 1, just because its a Japanese luxury sedan doesn't mean that it has to be strictly "VIP". I planned on immediately molding the flares to the body and hiding all seams, but the raw look of the flares with the hardware looks pretty gnar to me so I've decided to leave them like this for awhile. Later when I paint and do body work I will probably mold them.

[244Brick]

DO LIKE DO LIKE!! this is def. different with the flares. are you plan on molding them?

[aLaFleur]

This is turning into one of my favorite builds on S|W. Keep it up man, you have something good going on here.

[KEVIN.E]

Found a set of 245/40s at a different Mexican joint, they're pretty low on tread but they are good enough to get my car back on the road. Got them for a steal too, 70 bucks for both mounted and everything haha. The only thing that sucked is that one of my rear wheels isn't holding a seal properly so the air is leaking from the hardware.

Not much stretch but I'm going for beef anyways


IMG_4537 by KEV.E, on Flickr


IMG_4544 by KEV.E, on Flickr

Since I have 1 wheel to work with I can finally start cutting up the rear panels. Here's a sketchy mock-up


IMG_4546 by KEV.E, on Flickr

cut through the outer layer and peeled it back to expose the inner section


IMG_4550 by KEV.E, on Flickr


IMG_4554 by KEV.E, on Flickr

trimmed it down some, thankfully the Honda stocks are so sunk I could work on the car without jacking it up and taking the wheel off.


IMG_4555 by KEV.E, on Flickr

Had this idea to get the inner section pulled out and upwards to meet the outer edge, made relief cuts and threw a notebook in there and lowered the jack


IMG_4562 by KEV.E, on Flickr

came out like this, good enough to give me a rough idea of how much clearance I had. I still need to trim at least another cm.


IMG_4567 by KEV.E, on Flickr


IMG_4566 by KEV.E, on Flickr


IMG_4565 by KEV.E, on Flickr

after both sides are all cut up I can tack-weld the panels back together and bolt the flares on to clean up the fitment.

[Jesus Christ]

Flares are awesome, good work!

[Chuckdee]

Ls is lookin super clean sir! Major props....I have faith that you'll bring back the cluster eventually lol.

[Nick475]

Perfect amount of stretch! Mexican tire shops are always down to stretch, even if they have to use lighter fluid. The wheels look great as well.

thats what i do to get tires mounted too!

[Daviticus]

You are a bolder man than I, sir. I've tried this with a friend's SC300 a few years back and we were never able to bring it back. I did at least get all the LEDs inside the needles to light up though. I think every Lexus has this happen at some point in its' life.

[KEVIN.E]

Attempted to fix my instrument cluster yesterday, common problem with this generation ls400. The lights eventually go out, sticky or non-moving needles, inaccurate gas gauge. Basically had to solder 3 new capacitors to the circuit boards.

Tron world


IMG_4514 by KEV.E, on Flickr

I need to go find a 25v tantulum 4.7 capacitor, instead of the 35v electrolytic one I have


IMG_4520 by KEV.E, on Flickr

Super small


IMG_4524 by KEV.E, on Flickr

Peeled off the copper receptor on accident and had to scratch a contact spot and solder straight to the board, here's the capacitor that I need to replace again.


IMG_4525 by KEV.E, on Flickr


IMG_4528 by KEV.E, on Flickr

found some rust behind the cluster


IMG_4518 by KEV.E, on Flickr

took the rest of the cluster apart to try and clean the backs of the needles, which ended up not needing cleaning


IMG_4530 by KEV.E, on Flickr

Boards removed


IMG_4531 by KEV.E, on Flickr

Here's the back of the needles


IMG_4532 by KEV.E, on Flickr

Ended up getting my lights to work but the needles still don't move. I've been driving the car for 3 years without knowing how fast I've been going haha. I'll have to give another run at it soon and fix it entirely.

[KEVIN.E]

Hey man cheers for the reply, how much is needed to be cut out of the strut tower for the uca, Do you have any pics?

I need to redo them because the lower you go the higher the UCA compresses, so my original holes aren't giving me maximum clearance anymore. Originally I cut 3 inch holes and welded in rings, but now I'm going to go with 4 inch holes and rings for more clearance because the arm itself might be hitting now instead of just the balljoint area. I'll snap some pics later today

[coronawags]

Hey man cheers for the reply, how much is needed to be cut out of the strut tower for the uca, Do you have any pics?

[Poopy]

Looks good!