centre vent bezel/bracket for a 1999 LS400

[ScousePaul]

Hello chaps,

After a brief hiatus away from LS land I'm back (what a surprise...) with a rather lovely 1999 Mk IV (sat-nav version). It's close to immaculate (and I did pay top dollar for it) but it'll be a keeper for a number of years and with the mileage I do (2-3K/year tops) I intend to keep it looking that way.

The one tiny thing that triggers my OCD is that the centre air vent has two hairline cracks in it. It's obviously been glued back together and is hardly noticeable, but I'm curious if the bezel surrounding the air vents can be replaced separately. I've seen a few on *bay for this model but they're either the whole unit (some missing the wooden strip that goes underneath, others with the wood strip intact but a different shade to mine). Is it possible to just prize out and replace the bezel or does the whole unit need to be replaced? If it's the whole unit can the wooden strip be prized off and replaced with the one on mine?

Here's some pics of what I'm on about

Thanks!

 

Paul

 

[runsgrateasanut]

Now that really is OCD!

Is there a crack in the adjoining part, I think I can see?  Twenty year old car and if that the only OCD thingy then you've got a bargain.

Personally I'd not want to remove parts for fear of causing further damage. rear clips break etc.

Touch up paint would for me be the way to go - after very careful checking to get exact match.  A bit of tromp l'oiel.   But then, I'm a cheapskate! 

 

ps looking at younger Jap Crown Majesta's the wood trim is peeling away and multple cracks to the Upper foam covered plastic.

Good luck with your search

[ScousePaul]

I know, it's trivial but it bugs me :). The car is really in fantastic condition. 80K on the clock, unmarked everywhere (apart from that hairline crack) and every service/mot/maintenance history ever carried out (including 2 cambelt changes and a recent underseal). The previous owner(s) really took good care of it. I've found a matching part on the bay except the wood trim is a different colour, so that would bug me even more 🙂. I'll keep half an eye out for one and work on my OCD...

 

Thanks,

Paul

[steve2006]

Sod’s law, had my project 1999 LS400 for 3 years and got rid of it a few months ago with that part left in it.

[ScousePaul]

My OCD got the better of me and I found a replacement central air vent on the bay for £30. Was very trivial to replace once I'd read some how-tos. The wood strip looks different but it's just down to the new phone I'm using (and not sure where that green tinge is coming from). Looks exactly the same anyway, and now I can sleep better at night.