Neil E

A272....I am quite familiar with it. It's quite scenic, there are some very good twists, turns, long straights and twitchy bits but unless enjoyed very early in the morning or late evening the density of traffic will definitely restrict progress. On the weekend, add in the caravans, bikers, tractors, unmarked cars, village fetes, cycle time trials and....well you get the picture. If I go to work early in the morning it can be tempting but then there are the pheasants, rabbits, badgers, fox and stray deer to think of.

I agree, I would settle for 470-ish bhp with headers but I have enjoyed following the RR Racing progress on Club Lexus. On the other hand, think how much quicker your lap times would be with 625bhp from the blower.

When you have time at the weekend, I suspect the plastic liner will just need to be pushed back into position and secured with bolts and plastic push fit clips. The picture isn't very clear but look at the hole where the top arrow is and note the lower arrow that points to what I think is the blurred image of the retaining clip for the missing 10mm screw-bolt at the wing arch edge. This is one of the positions the liner should be fixed to. Good luck, I hope that's all it is and there are no suspension issues.

Er....my eyes aren't the best but looking closely at the second picture, is that not a loose arch liner? It should be a very easy fix once the wheel is removed, it might be fixable just with the wheels on full lock. The plastic liners are usually held on with a few 10mm screw bolts and push fit retainers. It took me about 10 mins to remove them on the SC. It's difficult to understand why a competent garage would check it and not fix it.

I can see the attraction but why would @Flytvr have one with 2 cylinders missing when there are some very nice quick V8 models to choose from.

@Dar I agree sir, the RX is hard beat but not the most sleek or pleasing on the eye. I can't say i ever really look forward to driving mine unless there's snow around but it takes whatever you throw at it and it never looks out of place. (Okay maybe not on the grid, unless it's a back up vehicle or towed the race car there....see never out of place) Convertible? If you're going to have one, it might as well be a reliable V8. Best get one with unusable back seats for when you want to exclude all but your favourite co-pilot. www.ebay.co.uk/itm/LEXUS-SC430-SPORTS-4-3-V8-CONVERTIBLE-/132155973964?hash=item1ec51c214c:g:rhUAAOSwc-tY7Jg9 @Mark6pot Like it, must admit, the Nitro isn't an obvious choice but I hired one on holiday in the Yukon, drove it on the Alaska Highway for hundreds of miles and it was so much fun.

@Big Rat Yes been into Toyota Lexus for some time. There was an LS with an occasional ribbon but no banner and again in the correct colour. @Rusty Crobar I think this is a copy of the picture of the TT carputer progress report that woke up the SC400 club across the pond. I'm not sure that it inspired Mercedes a decade or so later but it was fun to do it. And whilst I'm in the archives, I'll confess to a few more crimes against the Soarer and hope for leniency. The older blue V8 had a little hifi/AV system.

@Big Rat Okay, I'm not sure you're ready for this but ....dragged from the archives, in order of least modified.....it was a while ago...particularly the Soarers, I'm nervously including a pic of the Soarer TT 'infotainment' system just for your amusement. GS430 Gen2 high in the French Alps en route to Monaco. The later GS430 was the quick silver model. High spec V8 Soarer Limited with air suspension near Ullapool in NW Scotland on the trail of the NC500 long before it was called that. This was my favourite. TT Soarer with bodykit on the South Downs near Devils Dyke and Fulking - careful how you say that. The days of the digital dash, cruise to work, play some sounds, log on to the PC and if you get stuck in traffic, watch TV. All from a Soarer built in 1991. Both Soarers had big hifi systems installed. There was a thread on the SC400 US site many years ago about inspirational interiors (or something like that) and I sent in a night shot of this little lot under construction with a Centrafuse display, etc. I can't find the picture but it wasn't well received by the traditionalists. I learnt that evening why the Soarer was packed full of tech in Japan and a completely analogue SC400 in the US. The Soarer had the digital dash, active/air suspension, ultrasonic mirrors, rear camera, on board diagnostics, etc. It was way ahead of its time. This is the lesser but quicker 2.5 GTT with TEMS. After all the work I did to it, it met with a sudden sad end in Germany in the hands of the new owner on the drive back. Just a few miles from home, in sleety conditions, it slid off the road into the armco at around 40 mph. Earlier it had reportedly been doing 163 mph on the autobahn. The young driver walked away with very minor injuries but the car was a mess.

@Rusty Crobar I think the rapid Aristo thunder-saloon might be of more interest. I owned 2 Soarers and 2 GS430 models, they were all very quick and comfortable.

I agree, I think it's stunning. If I could afford one, I would buy an RCF. Perhaps an 'SCF' design might have sold more units but I saw the RCF as the replacement for the legendary Soarer and then along comes the next model.

@Big Rat Not at all. The men in white coats claimed me long ago. The ISF forum is excellent therapy, how many other forums could skillfully weave a thread combining multimedia enhancement with a high speed giant cow chasing an F? @Jgtcracer Yes that looks nice. I've looked at 2 silver 460s and 1 dark grey one. 90% of the time I would prefer to be in an LS but the other 10% is that F-un part of your life behind the wheel that defines you as an enthusiast. Back at the ranch, I wonder how the install is going?

Yes plenty, it's worth having an F on the drive just to play along on here. The private plate is off the SC ready to go but as recently mentioned, the plan is/was to replace it with an LS. If the right grey (I really mean silver) F appeared now....I think I would buy it. I have been viewing LS460s and though lower on thrills, it's so much more car for less money. My sensible head says I should buy a 460 and just lurk on here when I get depressed.

I've never worried about losing settings as my car is always in bits anyway so I'm happy to disconnect the battery but it might be worth trying the procedure below as it is supposed to work for the SC, perhaps it works for other models too? If you want to reset the ECU without losing your seat and stereo settings, perform the following procedure: 1. Get in your car and insert key. (It doesn't matter if you close the door or not.) 2. Turn the key to the on (not start) position. 3. Press the gas pedal to the floor. 4. Hold the pedal to the floor for five seconds, then turn the key back to the "off" position (don't remove the key), then release the gas pedal. 5. Wait 2 minutes. 6. Remove key. 7. Done

@Big Rat or should I say Ernie? That could just be the fastest milk cart in the west. It's only a small diversion to Mark off the M1, I'm sure he would appreciate some moral support with warm milk and cookies.

@Big Rat you're going to need a lot of Guinness to accompany that. Quite impressive but it's not an image of an SC with a tow bar/pulling a caravan. I searched but couldn't find anything then discovered someone in the US has actually made their own. This is one modification I'll pass on.

Yes it's usually quite quick to route from the back of the dash under the glove box and up the A pillar. Refer to that part of my build thread (if you can find) to see how the sill trim can be removed to release the door seal and carpet. My USB camera lead takes that route to the back of the rear view mirror. 10 minutes and you're done. Much easier than mounting a proper antenna on the roof at the back of the car.

As an after-market TPMS for peace of mind, these are quite good and plug straight into the 12volt socket. The sensors fit onto the wheels as locking valves.

No doubt you have already viewed this really good installation video. Where is the external DAB aerial going to go? Are you drilling a hole in the roof? It should be simple to feed the USB cable back through the centre console to the armrest if that's where the USB lead is going. On the SC430 my USB cable is cut into the seat heater control for easy access. I searched but couldn't find a decent tutorial for the ISF glove-box removal. If it follows the usual Lexus format, there should be fixings, probably 2 x 10mm bolt/screws at the bottom that will be revealed when the trim in the foot-well is removed (pulled down) and then I think there will be 3 x 10mm bolt/screw fixings inside the top of the glove-box to take out and no doubt a light connection/contact before the whole glove-box will release. Once the glove-box is out, threading the cable should be very easy. If it's similar to the SC this might help a little (page 20) forum.lexus-world.com/threads/a-darker-shade-of-grey.438/page-20 Below is a schematic for the centre console and armrest. Hopefully that will explain how the components fit together. I would try to find a convenient point for the USB plug so that it can be easily reached.

Looking good Bob, bet it sounds nice too.

Yes agree, round or slightly oval looks right. Well in most cases.

Nice job, they look very smart. The original chrome tails do seem to be a weak point on the SC and Lexus quoted me about £80 each if I remember correctly.

I like that a lot. Great tip Bob.

A wind up? Surely not, it's taken a lot of time and effort to increase the power and torque of the SC to be able to pull the caravan. I fitted the Beat-Sonic interface to play DVD video whilst driving to compensate for the 50 MPH restriction. If only it was 1 April.....I would show you a picture of the lowered SC, roof down, complete with tow hitch and caravan fish-tailing behind. That could be a tall order even for the Big Rat picture library. Here's the double din Alpine install But look, no tow hitch...........so far. I'm sure the ISF 'Blat around Wales' will encounter very few caravans and have an absolute ball.

Yes I agree, silver is the right colour for the LS but it would probably lean towards something like this before too long. Upgrading the hifi on the LS460/600 might be a challenge, there doesn't appear to be very much out there so far. Perhaps the kit Mark is getting could be adapted.

Bore da Brendan, yes like the sound of that. I might copy it to the caravan club as they were looking for ideas for next weekend. If the kit can be delivered and installed before the 'Blat' at least Mark will be able to play with the infotainment system whilst the ISF convoy is stuck behind pony trekkers, tractors and flocks of sheep. Agree with your views on the LS, it can't be beaten for mile munching yet still has enough agility to thrill when required. The LS430 is brilliant so the hybrid/2UR powered LS600H must be 'something else.'