90LS400Lexus Posted December 4, 2003 Posted December 4, 2003 Has anyone ever thought that it was odd that Lexus never put "LS 400" badges on the 90-94 LS 400s? I have not noticed ANY exterior "LS 400" badges on any 90-94 LS. 1995 was the first year I have seen with the badge. Did Lexus have a reason for this? You would think that at least by 1993, when there was a ES 300 and a GS 300 and even the SC 300 and SC 400, in the Lexus line-up, they would have put "LS 400" on the LS 400. I searched E-Bay and did not see any exterior badges (other than the "LEXUS" on the left side of the trunk and the Lexus emblem in the center of the grille, trunk and wheels) on any of the 90-94 LS400s. I do not understand their rational.
1990LS400 Posted December 4, 2003 Posted December 4, 2003 Yes, I spent about five minutes wondering about this same thing when I bought an LS in early 1990 and noticed that the ES250 had a model designation emblem on the back but the LS400 did not. (At that time there were just these two models.) I thought it might be a marketing gimmick - as in "if you don't know what model it is then you must not know anything" approach. Or maybe the U.S. dealers cringed when they saw the Celsior emblems that were on Asian market cars. Here is a photo from the web.
CanadaCraig Posted December 4, 2003 Posted December 4, 2003 Hi 90LS400Lexus!! :) I never took note of that UNTIL I bought MY 93 LS in October of this year. Very odd - indeed. In fact - 'LS400' doesn't appear anywhere ON or IN the car. I wish it did!! I did see a '94 LS [on ebay - I think] that DID have 'LS400' on the trunk - but maybe that person put that on himself. Maybe the idea behind it was to get people to focus on the name 'LEXUS'. Acura got rid of the 'Legend' name [so I've heard] because they wanted people to remember 'Acura' and not [as they were doing] the name 'Legend'. Stupid move - I think - but there you go. Craig!! :) ps maybe we should paint all of our '94 and older LS's a bright yellow to match the colour of those 'no-name' brand foods. [taking a chance that that joke is funny where YOU live!!]
90LS400Lexus Posted December 4, 2003 Author Posted December 4, 2003 It is strange. I too seen something interesting today. I took my car to the local Lexus dealer for service and there was a 1990-1992 LS400 there that also had the "LS 400" badge on the right side of the trunk. I guess that they also installed it, or perhaps was a option?
tansupplyman Posted December 4, 2003 Posted December 4, 2003 Mine had the LS400 emblem(s) there when I bought it about 3-4 years ago--but it was part of a GOLD package bought by the other owner in '96(I think) as per the Lexus history sheet; but never seen another with it. Package even included a gold antenna nut. Note that the standard 2 emblems have holes in the trunk lid and clips[as well as 'sticky']--I just put new gold ones on !!; and the LS400 is 'stick-on' only.
90LS400Lexus Posted December 4, 2003 Author Posted December 4, 2003 Mine had the LS400 emblem(s) there when I bought it about 3-4 years ago--but it was part of a GOLD package bought by the other owner in '96(I think) as per the Lexus history sheet; but never seen another with it. Package even included a gold antenna nut.Note that the standard 2 emblems have holes in the trunk lid and clips[as well as 'sticky']--I just put new gold ones on !!; and the LS400 is 'stick-on' only. My car also has the "gold" package- which includes gold antenna nut, gold grille, gold "LEXUS" badge on left side of trunk, gold emblem on the trunk, as well as gold emblems on the wheel centers, but still does not have the "LS 400" badge. Perhaps it was an addition with the "gold" package in 91 or 92, because as mentioned- I saw a 1990-92 LS 400 at the dealer today and it had the "LS 400" gold badge.
silvermate Posted December 5, 2003 Posted December 5, 2003 they didn't start putting the LS 400 badges on until '95, i have a '92 and i just got my LS 400 badge in yesterday, i purchased it off of ebay. the badge has 2 studs on each side with sticky tape. u have to drill a couple holes in the trunk to slide the studs in. u can also purchase the LS 400 badges at. www.lexus-parts.com i think they are around 50 some odd dollars, with like 8.50 shipping and handling
tansupplyman Posted December 5, 2003 Posted December 5, 2003 Mate: Suggest you grind off the studs before you install. Do not drill the trunk lid. You have to have the plastic inserts to go in the holes before you install the emblems(a dealer item). The emblems do not just mount in the drilled holes. But the biggest problem is lining up the emblem and marking the holes exactly---if the holes are just barely off, then the emblem(s) will be crooked---not good!!!! The 'LS' is one emblem and the '400' is one emblem----not connected. Also unless you paint the edge of the holes you will have rust streaks down the trunk lid!!!! My gold emblem(s){LS400} did not have studs. Note that the other emblems have studs[ the L in the middle has 2 large studs and 1 small stud and requires 2 different part numbers for the plastic inserts]. The 'stick-on' emblem has been on the car since '96 and has not come off----you use emblem tape(JCW) to install unless the emblem is new and has sticky as yours is.
silvermate Posted December 5, 2003 Posted December 5, 2003 ok, i was kinda wandering on how i was gonna do that this weekend. u suggest that i just grind of the studs and just use the sticky tape on the back?? i was just worrying that the tape alone wouldn't be strong enought to hold the badges on for a period of time. thanks for the advice.
tansupplyman Posted December 5, 2003 Posted December 5, 2003 Certainly don't want them to fall off because of me !!! Don't know what kind of 'stick-tape' is on there, but when mine was installed in '96[not by me] it was a dealer part and had sticky on it. They stayed on until I took them when the trunk lid was replaced last month due to a rear-ender. Also took the other emblems off that I replaced with new ones. The other ones also had sticky on them as well as the studs, obviously like the LS400 ones you have now. I cleaned the old sticky off then put on small pieces of emblem tape sold by JC Whitby in 1/2" wide rolls. Also had to buy the small plastic inserts to install the other two. One thing-if you do remove the studs, do not get dust,etc. on the sticky tape(leave the plastic cover strips on)--Dremel tool with the round saw blade would be best. Also, put solvent on the area to remove the wax before installation. Make sure you layout the location with a ruler and pencil marks[similiar to the location of the 'Lexus' emblem] before the install; once they touch the car you can't twist them to relocate. good luck.....
silvermate Posted December 5, 2003 Posted December 5, 2003 thanks man i appreciate the advice. they have the stock sticky strip on them so i'll just measure em up and put them on. thanks
wlo0328 Posted December 5, 2003 Posted December 5, 2003 90LS400Lexus, you mentioned that you also have the gold emblems on the wheel centers. Do you or anyone else know where you can get just the gold emblems for the chrome wheel centers for chrome stock wheels for a 1992 LS400? I just recently purchased the gold package (from ebay), but it did not include the wheel centers as I knew it didn't when I purchased, because I have not been able to find. Any references would be greatly appreciated.
tansupplyman Posted December 5, 2003 Posted December 5, 2003 Mate: I can't find them there--you sure ??? They have the complete chrome 'hubcap' with the gold logo!!
silvermate Posted December 5, 2003 Posted December 5, 2003 LS400 4-Door Sedan V8=>1992=> A/C and Heating Accessories Body Books and Manuals Brakes CD Changers Cartridges Clear Mask - Invisishield Cooling Detail DVD / XM Radio Electrical Emblems and Logos Engine Filters Floor Mats Front End Masks Car Covers Fuel Golf Ignition Keyfobs Miscellaneous Miscellaneous Mobile Telephones Moonroof Wind Deflector Pinstriping Radar Detector Repair Manuals Service Kits Steering / Suspension / Chassis Style Guide Sunshade Tires - Original, Factory Window Tint Available Parts: Online Price 42603-50010CC - Center Cap (chrome finish cap w/chrome logo) $41.75 42603-50010CR - Center Cap (chrome finish cap w/gold logo) $54.00 42603-50010 - Center Cap (silver finish cap w/ chrome logo) $39.45 42603-50010G - Center Cap (silver finish cap w/ gold logo) $60.00 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- i just thought u meant the center cap with the gold L badge. here it is under wheel accesories for a 92 ls
PIONEERSUBY Posted December 7, 2003 Posted December 7, 2003 the ls400 under identification is from a long tradition of automotive history. i collected 1930's to 50's packard cars and the more expensive the model the less it had any name markings.the 12 cylinder said packard no where on the car. the low end 6 cylinder packard said it 14 times on the car extrerior.. the 12 had cloisonne hubcaps with no packard name on them. the 6 cylinder has large packard script. the 6 bumper even had had packard script in the chrome.. the elegance of the 12 needed no names. so the rebagded camry needed lots of lexus identification in 1990. . the 3 times as expensive ls400 didnt need any. by the way the 400 300 250 200 model numbers on lexus are exactly the same as the 1950 packard nomenclature.
90LS400Lexus Posted December 9, 2003 Author Posted December 9, 2003 Just thought I would post this. Here is a 1991 LS400 on E-Bay, with the "LS 400" on the trunk. BTW- lot of money for a high mile car isn't it? $7995. for a car with 206K? http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAP...&category=14240
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