Neil E

Yes there is a strict baggage allowance with any SC430 and it's worse in mine but there are some compensations as well as drawbacks. 

It's not so good if you are on a constant touring holiday but fine having a base for a few days or a 2 week, 2 base holiday as we frequently do. I rarely travel over long distances at high speed with the roof down, it's far more comfortable with it on but then you get some summer days when you can soak up the sun and enjoy the full open top experience.

Yes, it's a bit wild for an SC and yes does have a very expensive sound system that is mostly wasted on radio 2 or whatever channel has the cricket on. 🤣 I sometimes feed it some Pink Floyd but clearly not lately as I've clocked up the work miles in the GS and RX.

The shortened story is in the build thread section. It's very much a fun (money pit) project car, not a nice straight-forward example of an SC430. 

11 minutes ago, Mossypossy said:

Same county as me!

What you got?

You know my car surely? It's a dark grey mica with beige interior.  

Might be another SC with a light interior coming to the market soon. My car was MOT'd today, no advisories. The garaged did the usual service checks and top ups but refused to do the oil and filter change as the car has only done 152 miles since they last did it, last December when it was tested. 40 of those miles were driven between home and the garage. If someone can send me directions to the walk of shame, I'll take it. 

11 minutes ago, Mossypossy said:

not many other cars you can fit a roof in the boot.

I tried to fit a Jeep one in mine.

 

Very....... stylish.

A neat way of collecting a car part I guess?

7 hours ago, Malc1 said:

at least she hasn’t room to stuff your body in the boot …… she’ll need a Ls for that 😂

Malc 

Better off with the SC430, boot capacity 368 litres. The LS600h only has 330 litres if the info I found is correct. Knowing how much space the hybrid Battery takes up, I did a quick search on the smallest LS model.🙃

1 hour ago, Malc1 said:

Don’t know what all the fuss is with worrying about Underside Rust

Has one ever appeared for sale or known of that’s had anything other than simple insignificant colouring of surface rust ? 

Malc 

Yes a few examples including some with very nice paintwork.  

31 minutes ago, Mossypossy said:

Cheap one in Morecambe if you are handy with spanners. 

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/1068200107650446/?ref=search&referral_code=null&referral_story_type=post&tracking=browse_serp%3A1132125a-c86a-4d08-b035-398524ce46c7

ABS light, needs a new cat, TPMS light, timing belt due in 7000 miles, galactic miles......but £1750 and Lexus maintained.

Barely run in for a 3UZ.....and no mention of rust. That's a good price for a bit of summer fun if it's been properly serviced.  Probably mostly easy fixes but there may be a few other tired components if the usual suspects haven't needed to be replaced so far. The drivetrain will last for a very long time without too much abuse and regular maintenance. Most of the cars in this age range, even with low mileage, are soon going to need some items like exhaust, radiators, shocks, bushes, brakes, etc. 

28 minutes ago, Craig_f said:

Still looking for the right one, with so much concern over the condition of the underbodies would there be any merit in trying to get one imported from Japan.

Worth considering for body condition or a particular colour combination if you can cope with all of the differences in specification. 

1 hour ago, Mossypossy said:

I think he will come round eventually.....like the guy on Hayling Island who thinks using a local garage constitutes a service history to die for with his 14 grand 2005 car.

 

It's not blue but the one at Hayling Island looks nice. It says 'loved' but it hasn't had much of a life on the road so the service history counts for very little as it hasn't gone very far in 12 years to wear anything out. It's more a matter of what may have decayed, seized or perished through lack of use. If it has always been kept in a warm garage that would help. Tyres and sensors replaced, exhaust was blowing a while ago. I would be looking at shocks, brakes, radiator, bushes, belts too but £14k for a 2005 SC seems very expensive. My 2006 was £8k in 2014.

Looks good Stew. Forgiven, it's from the same outfit. 👍

6 hours ago, Boomer54 said:

 Runs off 18 year old Glenfiddich.

Clearly has good taste. That's high octane Dufftown race fuel.

3 hours ago, Localhero said:

No not unless someone gets legless over Christmas 🤐

Even that doesn't work as there's nothing to sit on. I suppose a small pet could perch on the sub box.🤣

We have seen many examples with different degrees of rust. It's always important to check the underside properly. Most cars at this age are going to have some surface rust unless they were protected early on. 

Loved the design of the wooden dash in the 9000. I had a 99 Turbo for a short while.

I think the blue with ivory interior is the best and probably the most desired colour combination. A black interior is far easier to maintain and as much as I prefer the lighter interior if I did it all again, I would go for black leather. 

5 hours ago, Mossypossy said:

My observations.

Coilovers!

Race chip?!

Outstanding recall, so has not seen a main dealer in a wee while.

Otherwise ticks boxes.

The recall will probably be for an airbag.

The Meister Rs are a good upgrade.

The race chip might be a throttle controller, could be a genuine Yuri all4swap ECU tweak from Phoenix at nearby Shepton Mallet (it often works on the pwr button) or it could be a 'scotch mist' switch. 🙂

Looks quite tidy but I would try to find a newer one.

Thanks Stew that's very kind however I do have the full set of both black and beige. The beige driver's front mat is the only one with significant wear. Highly unlikely anyone will sit in the back of my car to wear the beige mats.🤣

Hi Stew 

Assuming you haven't been on a Welsh rally stage shakedown with the Rav, it could be the speed sensor / ring or a dodgy/corroded connection. It seems the Rav 4 can suffer with corroded multi-plug connections through water ingress via drivers side 'A' pillar area. Might be worth a check to see if there are any signs. I've never touched a Rav4 but Unclebob might know.

Check your front mats for any sign of dampness - see what I did there? 😁

Hi Stew

Found this. 

I will have a look when I get 5 mins.

I think you need someone with Techstream and Toyota experience.

2 hours ago, Boomer54 said:

The idea came to mind ,because over the years I have had a few staircase runners made up to suit my Victorian house. Hence, I know most decent carpet shops always have somebody local who 'spin' the edges to the stair carpets and basically that's also applicable to a car mat. I even thought of having the 'Lexus' overstitched in the same colour. Can't say I care for the washed out gold colour currently on the mats. Playing around with the idea and may be go for it after the leatherwork has been done in January.

Hope I get the opportunity sometime to see your car up close.

It's a dusty project car with lots of flaws including bog standard black mats in the front and immaculate beige in the back 🙃, not that much to look at close up but it's a little bit more fun to be in than the standard SC. 🙂

I wonder if any of the rear mats have ever been worn out?

1 hour ago, Boomer54 said:

Took a moment ,but it finally sunk in !

....Not many standard bits left in my car. I would like to have original beige mats but haven't been able to source any.  Getting some made up with some custom stitch-work is quite a nice idea.

7 hours ago, Boomer54 said:

When you say 'gathering cobwebs' are you talking about an exhaust? Not the (gulp) car surely 😪

There are a couple of log manifolds on a shelf gathering dust but yes I'm referring to the car. Most of the time I use the RX or GS. There's no time for 'top down' or even 'top up' fun these days. It will see the light of day soon as it is due an MOT in December. 

Looking at the list of SCs on AT at the moment there isn't much choice and I would say that most are overpriced.  

7 hours ago, Boomer54 said:

Yes, I see they are plain black. However, I could have the edges and 'LEXUS' picked out in Blue to approximate the colour the car. I think it is a nice little touch that Lexus might have done had they thought of it. Indeed I would have liked the same highlighting on the seat piping.

I suppose you could but I'm not really into personalising and customising. Best left as it was intended. 😉

I think that's an aftermarket mat.

Black is the only colour SC430 mats that Lexus stock now. I think they are around £110 for a set.

On 11/29/2023 at 10:28 AM, Mossypossy said:

Have made enquiries on a few. Amazing how lacklustre peoples responses are. They are supposed to be selling their car to me! I am not prepared to go driving all over the country looking at cars that have been economic with the truth.

One guy claiming his Powerflow exhaust has added 50bhp. No dyno printout....he just "knows".

Not a chance. As Bob said, perhaps 5 or maybe 10 with a remap.

I've got the mad max version gathering cobwebs in the garage if you want to try one that's a smidge quicker.

6 hours ago, Mossypossy said:

You know you can get a spare wheel cover?

3 hours ago, Malc1 said:

That’s a spacesaver wheel ? 
Malc 

Yes - the covers are rare to find and yes. 🙂

The space-saver fits into a 'vertical well' and there is a hole for a bracket and bolt to hold it in place. 

My full size rears are 275s fronts are 255, none of those are fitting so it has to be a space-saver or the roof stays on. Don't tell anyone but I prefer to drive it with the roof on even when it's sunny and hot.

I would say it's unusual for both rears to go down evenly. If it's a small air leak, it's usually obvious at one corner not both.

The pump and height controllers appear to be working correctly at the rear so perhaps there is a small air leak in the back. You can spray soapy water on the struts and the pipes to see if there are any visible leaks. A very slow leak will appear as a bubble or a few very small bubbles on the air bag. 

Do you have the air set to lower itself for passengers to get out more easily when the car stops? Just eliminating the possibility that the rear is working as it should and the front isn't lowering itself?

Try this for more info

and this one