grnstreak

If the timing belt was done at the dealership, you can take your VIN number to any dealership and they should be able to tell you if your 60K was done. A normal 60K consists of new Fluids, Filters, Belts (including the timing belt), and water pump(might as well do it while the timing belt is out). Most cars nowadays usually have a 60K service done. But, theres no need to be paranoid about it. The car is still drivable. A 60K is mainly Preventative maintenece. Even if your timing belt snaps, I'm pretty sure the 1UZ-FE is a non-interference engine (someone might want to verify this for me) where if the timing belt breaks, the valves will never touch the top of your pistons causing pre-mature engine failure. Just make sure to get to it when you have the time/money. Tommy.

The cars you want are all different each with its pluses and minuses... It really depends on what you want and what your uses will be for the car. As for the SC's being more reliable... all lexus's are reliable, as long as you take care of your car and do your preventative maintence when needed all of the cars you mention should make it at least until 200,000 miles. I personally prefer the SC over all those, just because its the only one that came in manual transmission, and its potential to be really quick. Im not a big fan of all the other cars but since you live in jersey too, you have to realize we have some crappy winters and rwd isn't fun in crappy conditions. if you ever plan on going out in snow, don't buy the SC or the LS400. The es300 and the legend will do fine in crappy weather. If you like speed, then the sc300 would be the logicial choice, due to all the potential solutions to make it fast, but transplanting a 2JZ-GTE is more than just dropping in an engine. It's really not as simple as people make it seem. It's true that the motor mounts bolt right up, and the motor itself but there are tons of supporting modifications that must be made for the car to use it. It won't be cheap but its a great option if you plan on making the car a monster.

Yeah, I'm slowly putting together the Dave H kit. I have a sidemount intercooler from my dsm, but I'd rather wait to buy a decent front mount and get a buddy to weld the pipes for me. Alot more little stuff I have to get before I toss this thing on jackstands. ( Headgasket, ARP's, fuel pump, injectors)

Finally got around to running the Lex at the track. I'm pretty pleased with my time... I didnt do soo bad. I just wanted to see what the car is capable of doing bone stock, before I start modding it. My best time: ( my two other timeslip is around somewhere... 15.8@89) I just got the car about six months ago and wanted to see what the car and I were capable of.. I'm not too dissapointed :D Tommy.

LOL it only took me about 30 mins to get the engine bay that clean....before that it was dirty as hell... I srubbed everything down with purple power and wiped down all the excess dirt with clean cloths... then I used some old school car show tricks :-) I covered up the battery and distributor with small bags.. then sprayed Armor all Tire foam on everything... let it foam up, get shiny then wipe excess off with a cloth... Try it and post before and after pictures.. you'll see a HUGE difference :D

The oil pan drain plug isn't under the cover anyways... it protrudes behind it... The plug is facing towards the passanger side fender and closer to the passanger side tire... keep looking and feeling around, look past the cover. You'll find it :D The oil filter is under the engine bay, look under your intake manifold (drivers side) its sticking out about 1 foot under the manifold. Its a pretty tight squeeze so you need a small oil filter wrench or some really strong hands.. Good luck.

:D finally got pics of my car... I got this car 1 month ago at a dealership up here for a little under 10K. 62K miles at the time.. I racked up a couple since then lol. The rims are from my other car.. (the DSM in the background).. and I painted the valve cover, but it looks like !Removed!. Im gonna repaint it black this weekend. Now to save up enough to give my baby a heart transplant :P (GTE)

Yup plops right into our motor mounts... When I get ready to do my car I'm not gonna be concerned with the motor though... I've just got a lot of soldering to do lol. Heres a site from a guy thats done it before.. you can purchase his manual, but hey.. a step by guide for wiring harness......sweet, you really can't beat that. http://www.fly-hawaii.com/lexustt/ good luck with it... and happy boosting :D

already said that in my first post :D

The manual transmission is a bit harder to come by, up here in Jersey, they are pretty rare. I was looking for months for mine but when I found one, the dealership had another one on their lot, with lower miles, newer, 5spd, and immaculate condition... so i bought that one lol. The other one is still for sale up here if you are willing to make a trip, he wants 9K for it 92, 82K, maroon with all options, and 5spd. Its almost in mint condition. Just keep your eyes open, check out all the online resources like www.autotrader.com And wait for the perfect deal, you won't be dissapointed :D

its a V8 - 1UZFE

Theres a possiblity its a bearing in your transmission... Change your fluids it might help...

If you want to swap in a 2JZ-GTE, then it does matter which one you get... you need to get an SC300 then. Not only are the motor mounts different in the SC400, but they only came in automatic transmission, so swapping in a V160 would be a lost cause... not to say it cant be done... but Its just a waste of money. The best choice to get is a 92-97 Sc300 5spd...

The 2JZ-GE is a pretty potent platform... but stronger than the GTE... i doubt it. The GE can be as strong, but you need to dump a lot of money in, to pull the kind of hp the GTE does with very minor mods. If your hp goals are for 300-500ish hp, I would turbo a GE, anything beyond that, I would swap in the GTE with the V160. The W58 in our sc's can't handle massive amounts of power... I've heard they can only take up to 350hp reliably... It HAS handled much more hp than that, but the question would be how long can it handle it? BUT, The highest hp i've heard of on the GE is somewhere in the 900's so anything is possible...

The SC300's 5spd was only an option til 1997.. then they discontinued it. Some have black leather... but those are pretty rare. Don't Quote me but I'm pretty sure the 1JZ never came with single turbo, They came twin turbo from the factory. The 1JZ-GTE is a pretty good swap to do to these cars but the problem comes about when you try to source parts. Because the 1JZ was never offered here, parts are difficult to come about. The w58 tranny found on the 5 spds should work with the 1JZ with no problem... My suggestion would be to do the same swap i'm gonna do to mine... Swap in a MKIV supra 2JZ-GTE, the V160 (6spd) tranny, a custom driveshaft and the Supra rearend. These parts might be harder to find, and you have to do a little custom work on your wiring harness, but in the end its worth it. The bare minimum to do a swap on this car would only consist of a MKIV harness, ECU, Engine, and some very small minor things everything else would just line up. A good used 2JZ can run anywhere from 2500 - 3500 dollars, the Harness can be from $300-600, and the ECU would be around 500. So total without labor, figuring in minor things would be around 5-6kish for a bare minimum swap. The 2JZ-GTE is a proven platform to work with here... people are still making massive hp with these engines, the engine is bascially limitless... but it all depends on your goals, and what you want to do. The stock 2JZ-GE can be turbo'd also for some decent power, its a great alternative. :D

The highway speeds are all dependant on your gear ratios. The SC400 is geared toward sport luxury, whereas the minivan was meant to conserve as much gas as possible. The minivans gear ratio does sound a bit high though. The gearing on the 400 sounds normal. The tires you have a performance oriented tires, and are made for higher speeds and werent really considered for comfort. Keep the tires, turn up the radio and enjoy the SC400 as is :D

The SC400 engine 1UZFE has different engine mounts on the chassis. To swap a whole engine in it would be a lot of custom work, and generally regarded as too expensive. SC300 guys already have the 2JZ-GE (N/T supra) engine and find it much easier to swap in a turbo/engine due to the similarities in the supra. As for performance modifications.. the 1UZFE is a very potent engine and a pretty good platform to begin with. Besides for being normally aspirated most 400 guys go with a supercharger, or a twin turbo setup, the latter of these being highly expensive. Personally, a very overlooked performance mod that can be had for quite cheap would be nitrous, lots of facts and myths are thrown around about nitrous, but if used correctly will put no more wear on an engine than a turbocharger would, and would cost about 1/5 of the price. As for pictures of rims... do a search on the internet... there's more lexus forums out there, and a couple even have galleries. Tommy.

Did you buy your SC400 yet? If not I'd suggest getting an SC300 if you like turbos :-) A 1 or 2 mm thicker head gasket wouldn't really compromise your Intake manifold mounting points. What kind of setup are you going to do? Supercharger or Turbo?

All supra shocks/struts fit the SC's. The fronts fit fine, but when using rear shocks, you have to use springs made for the supra. Alot of SC'ers upgrade to stock supra TT suspension and are happy with it.. adding in the supra suspension lowers your car a bit too (about .5 inches) and still gives you good ride quality. As for upgrading suspension... I'm still looking for the best setup for me too. I'm probably going to go with the KYB adjustables with Eibach springs. Tommy.

He probably wants to lower compression to add a turbo or a supercharger, and crank up the boost. The lower the compression on a turbo car.. the more boost you can run before pre-detonation. :D Honestly before modifying the quench areas, I'd rather get a thicker headgasket, or lower compression pistons, I think they make them... but dont quote me I'm not too familiar with the 1UZFE.

You've picked a pretty good platform for drifting, although we are quite a bit hefty weighing in 200lbs more than the supra. Its mainly a choice of preference... The SC300 can be just as powerful as the 400 depends on what you like.. for drifting purposes I prefer the SC300, the chassis can support an engine swap (1JZ-GTE from the Japanese Soarer, or the 2JZ-GTE found in the Supra) and it is available in manual transmission, where as the SC400 isn't. No heel-toeing, no rev-matching, etc. A little bit harder to execute a good drift in an auto. Either or.. the SC platforms rock B)