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Long post warning - but still featuring GSF content!! I’ve been a petrolhead for a long time - ever since my first Matchbox car I guess. Later, as a young teenager, my posters of semi-naked ladies were forced to share space with car pictures; I remember staring at both a lot. Another thing I remember, just next to my poster of Lindsey Dawn McKenzie (remember her??!) was an older picture of a Dodge Viper, a gen 1 car, in red - I’d had this poster since I was 8 years old. The Viper lacked some of the more refined design cues that Ferrari and Lamborghini boasted, but she seemed to have an evocative, outrageous and curvaceous style all of her own. There was nothing else quite like her - I was smitten! The car was nice too. (please excuse the grin... 😂) A couple of decades later, and after a track day driving one, I thought “why not?"; so here’s my new toy, a 3rd gen imported Viper that lived in Florida until very recently. The gen 3 is considerably more refined than the early cars and the original 8 litre V10 now displaces 8.3 litres, which is 14.6 pints. There ain’t no replacement for displacement so they say... Many people will remind you that it’s a truck engine, which is and isn’t technically correct. Originally, Dodge mooted using a big-block V8, but needed more power. The engine was duly handed to Lamborghini, who added two more cylinders and recast the block in aluminium, resulting in an engine both more powerful and lighter than the original V8. Its a relatively simple and old-school giant, 20v, pushrod and with no fancy turbos, cylinder deactivation - nothing. I’ve only done a few hundred miles in it so far, but here are my initial impressions; Firstly, just look at it - the Viper’s doing 150mph just standing still! The enormous bonnet, huge vents/slashes in the bodywork (all of which are functional, to expel heat - we’ll talk about this later) and massive fat tyres - 345/30R19s at the rear, 275/30R18s at the front all edge toward the superlative! The folding roof is manual, can be completed in about 10 seconds but unfortunately does involve opening and shutting the boot. Getting in, the driving position is a little unusual, aside from being a left-hooker, the pedals are offset slightly to the left. When cruising the below-waist configuration could best be described as ‘manspreading’. The driver is cocooned in a very comfortable seat between wide sills, which house the side exhausts, and the immense gearbox in the middle. The steering wheel isn't adjustable, but the pedals can be moved closer or further from the driver to fit. Visibility is a leap forward from the gen 1 cars (where, being 6’2” I couldn’t decide whether to look out of the extreme top of the windscreen or stretch and drive over the top of it!) The engine utterly dominates the car as you would expect. Physically, it’s massive, and from the moment the red start button is prodded, a huge bassy rumble of thunder splits the air, quickly settling into a surprisingly low 600rpm idle. The gearbox is probably the most truck-like of the drivetrain components - it’s heavy, a little vague and fairly slow, although it does deal with 505bhp but more specifically 525lbft (712Nm) of torque with ease. The gearbox almost isn’t required, however. Shifting into first and pulling away, I’d be surprised if you could ever stall it. Gentle driving activates the skip-shift mechanism, which will guide you straight from 1st to 4th if you change before 15mph for ‘economy’. A $30 plug in device can disable this, but I’m undecided for the moment. Torque is everywhere and in the lower gears at least, the Viper appears to have little inertia; you decide how many revs you want to do, and the car’s speed immediately comes up to match. On a motorway, the Viper is sprung fairly softly, the tyres aren’t ultra-low profile and the ride is at least as comfortable as my GSF; which surprised me. There is some tramlining, but it’s easy to drive around that. The cabin is typically American (plasticky), although reasonably refined with little wind intrusion with the roof down. In the ultra-long 6th gear, revs are barely above 1000rpm at 70mph. A country road blast really wakes the Viper up, although it’s a wide car and needs room to play. Above 3000rpm, the brute force of that mighty V10 pins heads firmly to headrests, like a modern day Cobra. It’s not traditionally sonorous - sounding more like a V8 with extras, rather than the wail of other V10s. It handles like a go kart, has very quick steering and ample visibility to create a very enjoyable hoon! A blast in it reveals the engine’s dominance in more than just noise and power however; the heat haze is plainly visible from the 10 slats in the bonnet, and the warmth from the transmission tunnel, and the sills (do not touch these when getting out!) works the air conditioning hard. It’s been my dream to own a Viper, and it was difficult to let my previous track toy, a Honda S2000 go. Let’s hope I did the right thing! I aim to keep this thread updated for as long as anyone is interested, any questions, ask away. Hope you enjoyed the post, and I'll get some more picturesque images once it stops raining!)

Thanks Paul, thanks to all of you for the well wishes, it will never be goodbye, still plan to help out and offer advice for anyone that wants it. Car won’t be going anywhere unless I can get what I feel is a fair price. Current bid doesn’t fill me with much confidence, but had some calls and emails that were a lot more encouraging. If it’s meant to be, then it will go to a new home. If not, that’s no hardship either! Has been a real labour of love, but I’m really pleased with how it turned out.

There aren't really any issues with early cars which don't also affect later ones - not that there are any major issues anyway. Main thing is brake calipers, especially the sliders - but they all have the same maintenance requirements. Very early cars have solid rear brake discs - they were changed to vented in 2007 but it doesn't make any great difference. Older cars are just...well..older. Main thing is specs - they changed pretty well every year in some respect or other, even in minor ways such as the trim levels and colours available. People on here always say to get the top specs - SE-L etc. But consider - then you get a lot more electronic stuff to potentially go wrong. It's a lot more irritating to have some equipment not working than to not have it at all. I've had my 2006 SE for 7 years now. I did have a serious problem with a body ecu - I suspect due to a chafed wiring loom - but apart from that - nothing.

Why am I always repeating myself Why am I always repeating myself Why....

For a long time I've put off attempting to fit headers to the SC430 but with some help from PPE Engineering in the US and MIJ in Walsall, the task has now been completed. It was a costly exercise but I'm happy to report that there does seem to be a fairly significant power gain. The original near side header is a direct fit. The offside header has to be modified to avoid the steering shaft of the right hand drive model so PPE shipped the parts and with some considerable effort MIJ were able to fit the nearside and then make up the offside manifold to fit. The 4-1 short pipe headers are designed to bolt directly to the cat flanges. PPE tests show a 20 whp gain when combined with a 3rd cat delete and a free flowing exhaust. I won't know until I book a dyno session but the signs are good.

All the best with the sale Pete, I can still remember being 4 cars back on the motorway and hearing her go, I hope u get what your after and stay in touch, all the best, Paul

Just a thought - are you sure that the towbar is factory fitted in Japan and not fitted before going to the dealer in the UK. I mention this because living in Gloucestershire I know that a lot of modifications are carried out at Mitsubishi HQ in Cirencester before the cars go to the dealerships. Wonder if it's the same with Toyota vehicles. If that's the case then might be prudent to get dealer fitment

With so few numbers Mark just keep your eye on all the usual means. good chance you may have to travel if you have particular preferences. i know where there is a very nice supercharged version in the South East for sale 👍🏻

Long shot, but if you fill it up to the brim it might be flooding the return system for fuel vapour. The associated canister might be taking a couple of days to dry out and cause a back pressure for the vapour in the interim. Like I said, a long shot and not even relevant if you don't fill right up, but might just be the issue.

I was told by my Wife's Toyota Dealer that Lexus were offering free updates before Xmas. Clearly some Dealers do & many don't yet it is available on the Lexus Tech website whilst My Lexus have updates available @ cost. Having paid c.45k for my Chelsea Tractor 6 weeks ago my Nav is up to date currently & I am determined to secure free updates till 2022. Over 20 years with Lexus; their Customer Service has been excellent But never straightforward as,like any Organisation,the Customer is so dependent on the Contact & what he or she understands. Escalation works wonders :eventually. Tel

I’ll try to remember to check when I get home. My 2018 NX had the detachable tow bar fitted by a Lexus dealer after it was a month old. The invoice may still be in the paperwork but it was definitely lower than £1000 fitted. This was carried out by the original owner so I may not have kept the paperwork - I bought the car at 5 months old.

My current want is this one too https://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C1103835

Europeans tend to be very dismissive of American performance cars, without really appreciating that although the engineering approach is different it is still very valid and also appropriate for the market - for example, while a mini cooper or Fiat 500 Abarth or something is a hoot on european back roads, american roads aren't so small and tight, and those cars just feel lost there. The engine bay pic is fascinating - how far back is that engine?! This is a mid-engined car! The weight distribution must be superb, and done properly (not by hanging heavy bits out the back end to try to balance the front... I'm looking at you BMW). Suspension engineering of american cars is also very sophisticated, but done in a different way. The european response to the Corvette is typically "hur-hur-hur.... leaf springs... hur-hur-hur" - without comprehending that the composite transverse leaf spring is a brilliant technical solution that replaces 2 coil springs and the anti-roll bar with a single component that weighs less than just the anti-roll bar alone. Volvo used a similar setup in their 900 series cars, and it made a return recently in the SPA platform (current 60 and 90 series). What is the Viper suspension setup? Love to see some pics of that. If I recall the design brief for the later generation viper engines was 500/500/500 - 500ci, 500hp, 500lbft. You touched on the V8 origins of the engine, but not the resultant cylinder bank angle - the ideal V6 or V12 are 60 degree, the ideal V8 is 90. The ideal V10 is 72 degrees (Lexus LFA), but this is 90, like a V8 (and BMW's V10). Love to see more.

All too complicated for me I'm afraid. I've put it to bed and will forget all about it. Thank you all for input though.

Doing a compression test will show if there are issues with the rings. Highly unlikely that they would all be broken. As mentioned, white smoke is not really indicative of burning oil, but of water. Blue tinted smoke would be oil. Any sludge in the water at all, or white sludge on the oil filler cap? A pressure test of the cooling system could help rule out head gasket failure. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

You didn't miss it - you quoted it right there! It will indeed be a 3.... a 3 SR+ in Deep Blue Metallic. Anyone wanna buy a Leaf? I've never bought a new car in my life before, and making a mad stretch to get this, but knowing what I know (I'm an electronic engineer working in the automotive field, so I'd like to think that that's quite a bit)... the only other car out or coming that interests me is the Model Y, and that's not going to hit the UK for another couple of years at least.

Thanks @Cezar B that's another reason to justify my future step up to an RCF. I have seen 30 mpg and 12 mpg on my ISF and stopped looking after that as 12 was closer to the norm. My man maths however equates this to a high 20's average which covers conversation within earshot of the wife.

Ok guys, thanks again for your guidance. I think I'll take the NX off my wish list. I had high expectations I guess. I bought a new Lexus 400h back in 2006 and the performance was excellent. Loved that car. I guess I was expecting the same from the slightly smaller NX. There are a lot of new hybrids coming onto the market in the next couple of years so I'll hang onto the money for a while and see what turns up. You've been a great help, Thanks again!

What did I do today ? well yesterday actually 😊 I gave it a wash.

Thought about the vanilla magic tree but the insurance costs were prohibitive. Went with the "New Car Smell" in the end which isn't considered an upgrade or modification but now nobody on Instagram will talk to me. Great that people who aren't gold members can now sell on here . How do i go about downgrading my membership status? 🤔😉

Afternoon Folks, Just thought I would chime in and clear up a few points. No, car wasn't offered on here, being an owners club, most people already have an IS-F, so are less likely to be in the market for one. I also didn't want to break the rules by advertising without Gold Membership status. Regarding the price, even if someone does offer me close to the buy it now price (£26k), this is well under half what I have spent on the car. If I was trying to recoup my costs, the price would be over £50k. If you are looking to buy an IS-F, then tune/modify the car to make big horsepower you would spend a lot more to make a stock car look/perform like mine does. Also keep in mind the modifications are not extreme like most (no neon lights, lairy colours, spinners etc), car is still very subtle, and can be used daily if the new owner so chooses. If the current bids and offers are anything to go by, car won't be going anywhere. Worth pointing out I had a genuine offer of £17,500 which I respectfully declined. If you were in the market for a Japanese saloon that has over 600hp and is reliable, you would be hard pushed to find anything under £30k. I have no grief or ill feelings towards anyone on this forum, nor do I have an issue with people having their opinions, but to try and say modifications de-value a car or don't add any value is wrong. If you notice 'The Hulk' GTR is also advertised on eBay at the moment. I know the tuner who built it, Severn Valley Motorsport (SVM) and they want £155k obo. If you apply the it's a 2009 model worth £28k book price for trade-in, you would argue this is ridiculously priced, no one will buy it etc. My car is a one-off, the parts used are all high quality items and couldn't be bought/fitted/setup for less than £50k IF that's what you wanted to do. The supercharger kit alone is close to £10k plus the installation, setup, running in etc. I accept the fact I won't get my money back, that's the way it goes with modifying cars. What I will not accept is the idea of giving it away for a silly price. I am not desperate and there is absolutely nothing wrong with the car whatsoever, lack of free time is the main driver for potentially finding the car a new home. It is worth what someone is willing to pay for it, but if that price is too low, it won't sell as I would rather keep it. Hope that clears things up and if it did find a good home, rest assured I would still be around to help folks out with any technical issues or modifications they might need in the future. Cheers, Pete

The Celica spoiler had to be highly modified to fit. It took me ages, longer than the rest of the body kit and in fact, I still have the 'whale tail' first attempt hanging in the garage. 2 owners in the states asked me to make them one but I don't really have the skills to do it economically. On the matter of age and comfortable cruising, I'm sure you are correct however one of the quickest road going SCs I know of is owned by someone over 70. I'm not quite at retirement age but well on the way. In my experience many of the go faster (my turbo is faster than your V8) brigade on the boards type and banter as if they are 17 but can ride most buses free of charge. I'm a big fan of the LS, I had a 6 speed prior to the SC and I do miss it. A 600 beckons if I can act my age and stop looking at ISFs. In the front, the SC is almost as comfortable and there's plenty of room, it's a nice place to be. It's not as quiet and a little less remote from the road as an LS but if you tried one, I think you would be happy enough. My garage tells me the SC is quite a bit shorter than the LS. The coilovers are adjustable and everyone seems to agree that the MeisterR's improve the handling with no detriment to the ride. On standard wheels and tyres I would say it improves it but allow a little more feel of the road for the wider rim set up. Air ride would be my choice if money was no object, the standard suspension set up is pretty good, it's no slouch but with these few additions you can certainly enjoy the countryside curves a little more.

And with changes made so far. MeisterR adjustable coilovers, modest drop, restyled bodykit, Celica style rear spoiler, total respray, drilled and grooved brake discs, 19 inch LM Mesh wheels, staggered fitment 8.5 front, 9.5 rear with Continental 245 35 19 front and 285 30 19 rear, strut brace, up-rated anti-roll bar, up-rated drilled and grooved DBA brakes front and rear. Alpine 585BT CD/DVD/Iphone head unit with modified Beatsonic interface to integrate with ML amp and Lexus Navigation/steering wheel controls. DLS A5 amplifier powering 2 JL10 3v3 subs in sealed enclosures. rear camera, bluetooth interface for OBD monitoring on Ipad. Modified PPE headers, 3rd cat delete, free flow custom exhaust, quad tailpipes (sounds like a V8 but it's not too loud)

Well that's the underside of the car covered. I thought there might have been a little interest from the 4.3 V8 community in a genuine power upgrade, perhaps most are content with the standard 279-282 and why wouldn't we be? it may even be the first time it's been done in the UK? PPE said they hadn't sold any others and were only aware of one right hand drive GS430 in Australia that has them fitted, all the others are on LHD cars. Here are a few pictures of the evolution of the rest of the car. I bought it as a project, as the last in the line of Soarers with the intention of making it more 'in tune' with my view of the original spirit of the Soarer. Many, including Top Gear and indeed much of the Soarer community have been critical of the SC430 but I always thought that very few of the detractors looked beyond the 'boat' like styling to appreciate what a clever concept it was. I will admit that I wasn't sure that I would be able to live with it for very long as it really is limited to carrying 2 people in comfort but though I don't think they will ever be loved as the earlier Soarers are, I do think that unlike the SC fans in the States, a lot of people in the UK have overlooked a really good car. Purchased less than 2 years ago, this is how it looked to begin with. It looks very good but there were a good few minor blemishes in the paint work that made it an ideal project car.