BodgerBen

Hi Mike, Good luck with getting your car mot’d and back to good health, you’re a braver man than me. But I would stick with an LS400, just one that needs less work, but we do get attached to cars, my Scimitar was my mums, she bought it when it was a year old, and it has power steering, and a little bit more go with the 1UZFE engine. I hope to keep it until I can no longer drive. I now have a superb LS400 that I hope to get many years of enjoyment from, so can only commend you on your decision. Any excuse for a piccy of my lovely LS, good luck with yours

I only got into LS’s as we bought one for the engine and box. That was a 94 and this is what it went into. So not all 1UZ’s go into drift cars. A low mileage, non interference 94 engine/box must be worth 2K, but to get the car back to a respectable condition that won’t cost money every year will be a lot more than that. Personally, I’d sell it and go for something else.

Very common for valve clearances to close up, as the head of the valve hammers into the valve seat so the stem gets closer to the cam lobe. Old British OHC engines like Triumph Stag/Dolomite/TR7 etc. would close up much earlier than a 1UZFE, as the valve seat material is much better on the 1UZ, and TBH most unleaded engines have much better quality valve seats and valves. The valve itself rotates as it opens/closes and will loose a minuscule amount of material every nK open/close cycle, hence closing the gap to the cam. Also remember that the cam/follower is lubricated, the valve and seat are working in a much harsher environment than the cam and follower.

Niza, give Opie Oils a call. https://www.opieoils.co.uk Speak to them with the cars history and they will recommend the correct oil, they used to have a thread on PistonHeads where you could ask for your mileage, driving style etc. but now it’s best to pick up the phone and talk to them, TBH rather than going thinner 0-20, I’d go thicker, 5-30 or even 10-40, but speak to the oil experts first.

We did pop into Lexus Guildford, with the aim to keep the service history with Guildford up to date, but. There was nowhere to park, the dealership was/is undergoing a major refurb, reception in a tent, a complete mess. So, as our silver LS has history from the specialist Grove Garage in Brighton, we took the car to them for a complete check over, cam belt change and annual service. Leigh did the cam belt change/service and found nothing else that was needed. We’ve swapped the DHP wheels from our silver LS and the silver one has now gone to a happy new owner. A set of five Michelin Pilot sport tyres get fitted tomorrow, and it’s booked in for a complete lanoguard protection over the Christmas holiday, which allows time for a thorough clean and dry before the protection is applied. We’re very happy with the car, the guy we use for valeting, AK AutoKleen said the presentation was perfect, the car is great, which was reinforced by Grove Garages verdict, that it’s about as good a LS400 as you’ll get.

Good luck with the sale Qamar, yours does look a lovely example and for a fair price.

I didn’t haggle much with the dealer, so I paid pretty much full asking price. And I’m happy, it was delivered on 8th November, in atrocious weather. The trader will have made a fair few quid on the sale, which is absolutely fine by me. It’s what I had hoped for, a full main dealer service history with all the invoices for everything that had been spent over the 20+ years ownership of the second owner (old boy) and third (his wife). I did go to Lexus Guildford for this years service and cam belt change, but it’s an absolute mess there. Nowhere to park, a tent for sales and service. The dealer is in the middle of a big update or refit, which is a minor bit of inconvenience for me, but does allow me to try Grove Garage in Brighton, who has done a fair bit of work on my silver LS400. So this car is booked in for a full service and cam belt change on 5th December at Grove. I’m currently a very happy owner of a rather nice green LS400.

Lovely looking car you have there, enjoy.

For portable garages, look at motorsport garages/awnings, you can’t bang spikes into a tarmac/concrete paddock, I’ve use shelters from Hamilton Classics, metal plates under each leg that can be weighted down (cheap plastic buckets filled with postfix and then stacked on top on each other, the buckets are easy to move and each leg can have 25/50/75/100 kg on each leg depending on how many buckets of set postfix you stack). The awnining company have some fantastic marques, seen in many paddocks and can supply metal weights for each leg. These collapsible structures can be easily stored and are always wanted by motorsport guys, so have resale value.

That is a lovely looking car, someone will have a superb car there. No, I don’t need three LS’s.

Sadly I couldn’t resist, the green LS400 will be delivered to me on 8th November, then I’ll get it booked into Lexus Guildford for a service and cam belt change. The underside is good, but will go into the body shop after the service to be protected where necessary.

Yes I would have bought that car as the price is the same as the price of my repaint, then I have my suspension to sort out. Unfortunately its the same colour as my last LS which just doesn’t work with dogs, which was the main reason for not buying it. My black interior is easier to live with. The MOT history has the usual items, but I would also do the timing belt, water pump etc. as the last one was 2013. An earlier car I wouldn’t worry being non-interference, but I just wouldn’t trust a 10 year old belt irrespective of mileage on this car. All in all, if we didn’t have the dogs, I would have bought this and moved my silver one on, it does look lovely.

We have had the estimate back from the bodyshop, which was just under my finger in the air guesstimate at 105 hours work plus materials, which I have accepted and I am currently awaiting when we can get it booked in. I’m hoping that they can work on it over winter and we can use it in the better weather next year. In the mean time, I’ve been looking on amayama etc for suspension bits and bobs, as this is what it currently looks like, please note the shiny new spring 🙂 So whilst in for body work I may drop off a load of suspension bits that can be fitted instead on having to fit them myself. If I order pretty soon the bits may arrive before it’s in the workshop.

Thanks guys. I have a few odds n sods coming from amayama, the only advisory was for front anti roll bar drop links, so those and a few other bits are on the way. I took the car to the bodyshop, they will de rust everything they can, which will make my life a bit easier seeing what needs replacing, 2K (ish) for a suspension refurb will be factored in. The body needs, screen out and repair rot N/S top (just visible - but will have to wait and see when the screen is out), around the boot lip, front and rear bumpers, OSR door (has scratches that will not polish out), both front wings (just starting to bubble on lip), top of N/S B pillar, door mirror covers, inner rear arches (after cleaning you can just see the rot starting) and anything else found when doing that lot. It will go in for that lot over winter. Our Forester had a similar refurbishment last year, so I know what can be found once you start prodding. I will re-iterate, this car will be used as our summer cruiser, it will get scraped and scratched as the roads around here are narrow, it’s bound to get the odd ding. But I’d like the car to be reliable and comfortable. I’m not on Facebook, but Mrs BB is, I’ve just asked her to like LSCowboyLS. Paul and Malcolm - I’ve spent a fair bit of time reading up on your posts, so thank you for all the info you have provided.

I might as well add a picture of the Lexus engined Scimitar. I haven’t updated this page for years, but the car had a full repaint including gel coat repairs at C&S Coachworks, so looks much better now. Scimitar page