Tutorial: Installing Fender Flares

I've always thought widebody cars look amazing and so do fender flares when they're done right. I will be teaching you how to properly install them on your car. It will require drilling holes into the body. So what are fender flares actually used for?

Lexi II is starting to look real good. She's waiting for her carbon fiber wing! 

Fender flares originated in the racing scene. What they allow you to do is mount wider and bigger tires than you would be able to fit in the stock wheel wells. What you would do is cut a part of the wheel well off, giving enough room for the new bigger wheels, and then mount fender flares on top to hide where the original wheel well was cut.

If you look at the above picture, you will notice that the front wheel well has been cut to fit that tire yet this car doesn't have the fender flares installed in the front yet. They're installed in the back.

I would imagine they did the back first and waited to see where they would have to cut the wheel wells for the front wheels to be able to turn before mounting the front fender flares to make sure they get the flares in the right spot. Also, the guy probably was hating me for taking pictures of his almost-finished car!

The use of these eventually transferred to the modding community. They're used for VIP cars to fit big wheels, for example. And they also just look good. In my opinion, this is one of the best things you can do to make your car look better as long as it fits the overall theme.

Installing them is not hard but it does take patience. If you don't have the patience to do it properly, maybe pay someone because you will need to make proper measurements so that the fender flares are in the right spot on both sides. You also need to make sure you get them where you want them and where it looks right.

Try to get someone to take a couple pictures of you holding it up to see. The lower you put the flares, the lower it makes the car look. In the front, make sure they don't scrape at full turn. This means you can't just put it as low as possible.

Man, they look good!

Installing the Fender Flares
They usually come in black and they're made out of a plastic that is meant to bend if needed. That means if your fender flares are a little too wide for your wheel wells, you can squeeze them together so they fit correctly. Again, they're designed to do this.

You need to decide if you're going to paint them. If you are, which is probably a good idea unless your car is black or has a black second tone, I recommend using Duplicolor 2x Paint and Primer. I used Gloss White.

This is my flares after painting. 

Someone recommended that specific paint to me and I've been using it ever since. It seems to come out thicker, doesn't run as much, and the colors look great as well as bond well to plastic and metal. It's just easy to use.

Before I forget, I recommend drilling holes for your screws, rivets, or whatever first. Look in the picture above. I drilled the holes in the fenders before anything else. After painting, they're ready to go on the car.

You will need:
- a drill (a basic one is fine)
- a small drill bit; just smaller than the screws you're going to use *. Use a "hard" metal bit like iron or better because you will be drilling through sheet metal (also iron)
- a bunch of small screws. I used "wood screws" from Home Depot. I got the shortest ones they had. Make sure you get short screws
- ready-to-go fender flares
- a Phillips-head screw attachment for your drill
- a marker or something that will fit through the drill holes in your fender flares to mark locations on the body

*Though you can use rivets and other things to attach the flares, this tutorial will focus on using simple screws. This way, the holes stay small and if you ever want to change the method of attachment, you can.

To start, you will need to determine where the fender flares are gonna sit. Also keep in mind that your fender flares may have two shorter pieces for the front wheels and two longer pieces for the back. Don't get these mixed up when you do this!

To figure out where they're gonna sit, there really is no better option than holding it up to the car and doing your best to determine what looks good. Again, for the front tires, make sure you can still turn them fully without rubbing.

You may want to get someone else to hold them up so you can look from further away or you can have someone take pictures in different positions. It will be readily apparent where they should go based on the body lines anyway. For example, the curve of the flares exactly matched the curve of the door in the location I wanted it on my car in the rear.

When you go to install these, both sides must match exactly. You will need to make measurements. Start with the rear and line up your fender. Take your marker and mark where it sits on the bottom on both sides of the tire well and mark the very first drill hole aswell. There is a trick we will use to help line these up.

See the tiny black line I made with the marker? Well it just happened to be perfectly 6 and 1/2 inches from the trim that goes around the whole car. It's easier to measure from there. I made that line by holding up the flare and marking it real quick on both sides. I was alone - this job is easier with two people.

Once you got your measurement for both sides of the wheel and you mark them, you need to go to the other side of the car and mark where the flares will go according to those measurements.

Now you need to mark the first hole you're going to drill. You're going to drill one hole in the body that you will use to perfectly position the fender flare.

You're going to start with the first screw (rivet, whatever). Line up the flare to the lines you drew and now stick your marker in the first hole.

This is a simple trick. Now you have your first drill hole marked using your marker. Put the fender flares down for a second and drill a hole where you marked the spot.

Get a screw, put it in the first hole in the fender, line the fender up with the hole you just drilled in the body, and slowly use the drill to get a screw through both holes. I say go slow because otherwise the screw tends to stray and not want to go in any farther. If that happens, unscrew it, and try again slower.

Now imagine - your fender is secured on one screw. Just being mounted on that first screw, because you measured, the flare is in the perfect spot; you just lift it up or down.

Lift it up to the line you marked on the other side of the wheel well. Again, use your marker to mark the first hole on the other side of the wheel well. Lower the flare for a second, drill this other hole, and secure the flare (now on the adjacent side) using another screw. This will give you your base.

Now you have it secured in both bottom places. You can't go wrong drilling the other four holes or so. Put the drill bit directly through each hole in the fender and drill slowly - if you drill fast, it will heat up and not drill right. Just as long as you're pushing as you're drilling, that hole will form. It's really just sheet metal. Hold the fender down as well taking care not to squeeze it super hard.

Do that to the rest of the holes. I wish I would have taken a picture but to be clear, again, your fender is already kinda secured in the right place with the two bottom screws.

Right. Once you drill the other holes, now it's time to put the other screws in. Since the holes are lined up, put them in one by one.

Keep this in mind: put the screws in slowly. Don't push the drill trigger all the way. You want to go slow because I don't know what it is but the screws tend to go sideways if you go fast.

Oh yeah.

I tried to write this as simply as possible to make up for the lack of pictures. Everybody should be able to understand but if something is unclear, just leave a comment, add me on Instagram (rokask1), or email me (norgin@gmail.com). Much love - bye people.

Missed Opportunity: The Foxbody Mustang and Me

The Foxbody Mustang has been one of my favorite cars since I first saw it. You see, I moved here from Lithuania when I was 10. There, you're lucky to see an E30. When I left, if there was an "import" - meaning an American or Japanese - car, you could pretty much be sure a mafia guy is driving it. I remember my father's friend bringing his CRX with - I sh$& you not - the Firebird (Burning Chicken) logo on the hood!

That CRX was the talk of the neighborhood and no one believed it was my dad's friend that owns it. That should give you a picture of the car scene in Lithuania around 1995. Most cars were Ladas, crappy Russian cars that you could fix solely with zipties, causing them to actually run for a long time.

This is a Lada Riva (I think but who really cares?).

It's a landscape dotted with 1970s and 1980s cars, German and French mainly, with some newer ones thrown in. We had Peugeot (of which I still can't pronounce the name), Alfa Romeo that no one bought because they broke down, then we had the aforementioned Ladas for most people and then the few people with money might have had an older BMW or Mercedes.

A car enthusiast at 8 years old, loving Michael Schumacher in Formula 1, I was taken from a drab, gray city to New York. The culture shock was enough but the cars floored me.

I had never seen a Miata in person. I remember yelling at my dad to "Look!" We would walk around and just look at cars at dealerships. My first favorite car was the Lincoln Town Car. I swore I would have one but the looks surely didn't last... It doesn't look as good as it did back then.

Besides the trucks of which we have none in Lithuania (maybe 1% of vehicles), something else that didn't really exist was fast cars. Sure, we had Volgas (another Russian car; I like that one) with big, slow V8s. That was the luxury car.

It's a crap car, once again, but there's something about it that makes me want one. 

This GAZ Volga was the generation before and some models came with a V12! And no, you do NOT want one (I do...).

As a kid and to this day, I thought the model right above was amazing looking.

You might be wondering why I'm telling you all this and not a dang thing about the Mustang. There's a reason. I realized that some of you may be wondering who I am.

Just give me the money and I won't kill you.

Fast forward some time later. I was enamored with the Lincoln for so long that I didn't even care about cars like the Mustang. I guess my perfect car is a luxury car - it's always been what I wanted. To tell you the truth, I started admiring the 3rd generation Mustang early but I didn't realize how awesome it was until my friend bought one.

Now, these cars never came with more than 200hp stock which was really weird to me because Dan the Man, my friend, would spin the tires every time he got the chance. It was stock and it was fast. Then again, sometimes it's not the horsepower. Actually horsepower doesn't mean crap if your car can't handle it.

There's basically two performance versions. Enthusiasts divide the Foxbody Mustang into two groups. Ones made from 1979 to 1982 and cars made after that until the Foxbody was replaced after 1986. Here's a fun fact. Ford was going to make the Mustang front wheel drive after this.

God Himself must have slapped some sense into them so they continued making them rear wheel drive and made the Ford Probe their front wheel drive sports car. Remember that hunk of s&#$? Barely, right?

Back to what I was talking about. Before 1983, the Mustang only managed to get 140hp out of their V8 which they called a 5.0 but was like 4.9l. The other "fast" one was the 4-cylinder turbo which came in at a whopping 132hp. 1983 and later on, I think some trim levels hit 200hp.

Those lines... So beautiful.

I can't hate on them too hard. This was when the government put into place much stricter emmisions testing, robbing cars of power until we figured out how to make catalytic converters that don't do that. At the same time, it's not hard to get more horsepower out of either model I mentioned. It will even take an LS1 if you're up for a swap.

The Foxbody Mustang, called that because of the Fox platform that Ford built to fit both smaller sports cars and larger economy cars to save money, is a missed opportunity because for under $3,000, you can buy a rolling chassis and that's about it. Should've picked one up when it was $1,000! Same thing with Miatas.

Hope you guys enjoyed today's article and I urge you to comment and let me know what kind of content you want to see. Take it easy, have a good day, and work on that car!

Why Older Cars Are Better

It's a cliche to hear an old man go, "They don't make 'em like they used to!" Well I'm not old - 29 - and I think cars took a turn for the worse around the year 2000 to 2005.

Just because you have the 'cool' trim all around it doesn't make me forget there's literally a computer running your car. You know, the computers that are slow, can crash, and are prone to hacking. 

You see, smart phones were coming out and computer gadgets suddenly became hip. It started with onboard GPS and now we have cars with autopilot and four TV screens.

One of the reasons cars have become crappy is electronics. Nowadays, 2018, most cars have so many sensors and things that it truly is going overboard. See, once your warranty runs out, these sensitive sensors (I like that) start dying one by one causing who knows what symptom (I don't like that). Scotty Kilmer was the man that demonstrated a Mercedes Bi-turbo that was a few years old and had 22 check engine codes from normal driving. I think 20 of those were sensors.

There's drive-by-wire, eliminating some of the driver's feel of the car. The 1995-97 Lexus LS400s have a throttle cable while the 1998-2000 ones have a drive-by-wire system and like 40 more horsepower. Guess which one is faster. It's the older one with a throttle cable if you're not sure.

They build cars now to be leased for a few years, driven to 150-200k (if they make it to 200k), and junked. A lot, maybe most, car companies now use special tools on their cars meaning you can't work on them yourself. The dealership has to do it.

In the past, actually until recently, cars were built to last because a car was an important part of the family and would be used for over twenty years by baby boomers, for example. By the 1990s, car manufacturers - with newer technologies and years of experience - hit their peak making cars that would drive to 4-500,000 miles if well maintained.

I'm sorry if I mess this up but I believe one of the first really reliable cars was the Mercedes 240D. There is more than one with over a million miles. I believe this man was the first to accomplish that.

He did it by... You guessed it... Maintaining it! Since this man, there is a Lexus LS400 at around 980,000 miles as I write this - Matt Farah's Million Mile Lexus. There are also some Volvos and Saabs that are in the million mile club. The 1990s Saab 900 was one of these 4-500k mile cars as well. I had one that had a working turbo at 292,000 miles before my alternator died.

Let me show you something.

That's a really nice interior. It has literally everything you need. It's the LS400.

This is the LS500. Why does it look like predator built it? Also, as in most cars now, you control most things through, again, a computer screen. There's hundreds of electrical components. Lexus doesn't build bad cars but this shows this stupid trend of completely hooking up every system to the computer.

That's not a good thing. First of all, most of these problems - I repeat myself - you won't fix yourself. The electrical part of cars is the worst part to work on anyway. Then we have... Aesthetics. Look at this 1990s Honda Civic Type R.

I'm just generally not a fan of Hondas but I admit, it looks good. It has nice lines, not too much going on...

Aaaaaand what happened? This is the new Honda Civic Type R. Right away, any semblance of flow is destroyed completely by the explosion of trim pieces. My favorite are the vents in the back that don't do anything. It just seems like they slapped every ricer thing they could get away with on it and called it a day.

I could go on and on. Just literally feel how every trim piece connects and the leather and plastics used in 1980-90s cars and then go try that with a new car. I think they ran out... Of care.

There's still good cars being made and there always will be. The Corvette is a great car, we have the Subaru BRZ and Toyota GT86.

To be honest, I was gonna crap all over the Toyota by comparing it to the Supra but actually it's a step in the right direction. It's more of a pure sports car like they used to be - not driving iPhones.

They were so much cleaner. I don't know, maybe I'm a hater, but I don't hate new cars... I just don't like them and probably wouldn't buy one.

Check this out. Name some sick cars and what comes to mind instantly? Nissan 240, older Mustang GT, SC300, 3000GT, Eclipse GSX and it took me this whole time to think of a new one. Taurus SHO. That's a good new car.

Older cars are also better because they tend to be cheaper although some really sought after models are still expensive. But what this means is that you can get a car that is just reliable as a new one for far less money.

Thanks for the read, peeps. Please spread the word about the website.

Phase 1: This Feeling of Accomplishment

Today is a good day to die. I believe this originated in Japan and may sound negative to you. What it really means is this; if I died today, it would be good because I am proud of everything thus far. Well dear readers, it's a good day to die.

A year and a half later, after replacing the spark plug wires about an hour ago, I have a fully functioning LS400. It has more power now than my '95 ever did and my neighbor commented on how nice it sounds, randomly.

Best believe - I thanked my maker. I mean it was a hell of a time.

For most of it, I was replacing this and that part constantly on the lemon black LS400 I had. It was a lemon because it was a rebuilt title. After one day it pooped itself, like I like to say, and wouldn't go past 30mph - that was it. I junked it and found Sexy Lexy II. (It's just Lexy II.)

When I first test drove her... Heck, when I first saw the car, I knew it was mine. I just drove around the parking lot. It was bucking and doing weird things which is probably why the lady still had it but I literally had a concrete idea of what each problem was. And I was right.

$350.00. What did I do to it? Spark plugs and just now, wires. New coil pack. Changed out the fuel filter. Changed out the fuel pump and with the aforementioned plug wires, the car is good, thank God almighty.

To whoever it may help, the code I was getting was p0300. Sometimes it would actually flash. That means random misfire. Sometimes I would also get like p0306 sometimes which would mean cylinder #6 is misfiring.

I heard through the grapevine that you should pull over if your traction control and CEL are blinking together. That's bull-doodoo; because of this peculiar problem that makes the CEL flash, if your traction control button is also flashing because IT has a problem, then both will flash. I have never heard of those two lights blinking to mean that before but I thought I'd mention it. This is for the LS400 in particular.

I'm not going to make this very long but I have to celebrate with an article and by scaring my wife when I pick her up.

I want to show you some of the f$#&ery that I was doing in the beginning. Meet Lexy the First... If you haven't.

This is it after I got a new hood and lights for it. Initially, the grill, radiator support, headlight, radiator, and AC condenser were damaged among body parts.

Amazingly, it ran after just putting in a new radiator. It ran pretty good at first but this car was wonky. It was a rebuild so it was two cars in one and you could tell sometimes.

I started learning upholstery not only because the seats were ripped to shreds but because I wanted to learn a new skill. I still suck but have made some better items.

It really wasn't a super bad car. I mean look, this bird is looking inside. Checking it out. However it had too many problems and the fact it was my first didn't count as much as the problems.

It had a different look to it. Was darker and I tried to throw in some purple trim in the back and stuff. If anything, this car would have went VIP.

It looked good.

And here is Lexy II before her eye make-up (tints, man). This car felt five times more sturdy as soon as I drove it. I found the car to invest into. Lexy the First, I hate to say it, was a car I learned to work on cars with, ended up with an underivable car, and junked it. But if I didn't, I wouldn't be so good at fixing the '96.

There they are together. I took a piece of the old car so it can live on as part of Lexy II.

I learned two things from this. Most important; take your L (meaning loss) when you see it's gonna get you farther. I knew I had to sell the black car to get one that will be reliable.

The other thing is, if you're gonna junk your car, leave most of the engine and transmission plus enough suspension to get it on the tow truck but damnit take all the other parts off to sell or use. I could have grabbed my damn ECU - $250. Brand new alternator. New fuel pump. It just had a bunch of small things that I wish I would've grabbed so do that if you're going to junk your car.

If you can store it, instead of junking it for $250, I would consider parting it out aswell. You can also use parts of the old car for yours. I didn't have that option, however. I think you can make a decent $1,000 parting out an LS400 without even messing with body parts. Actually, the motor sells for about $4-500. More than the whole car together. That makes sense!

I got $50 less (than I paid for Lexy II) junking it and they come get it but I had left all those parts hoping to sell it to a Lexus fan so the car would live on but no luck. The guy didn't give me any hint that he just buys junk cars and next thing I know, there's a tow truck out front.

Something about a feeling of accomplishment?
This is just my nature to blurt my real thoughts so actually I am mainly grateful to God for not just helping me and my wife survive but helping the car survive until I could fix it. The belt could've broke in one week from when I got it done, you know? We struggled through many years but it's coming to an end overall. That's my life.

I just want to say something. It's going to sound real sappy.

If you do all you can and truly put everything you have into it, then I promise you He will come in and help you right when you're starting to fail. You might be done but because you did all you could, there He is helping you turn that ratchet one last time. This is the author's personal opinion and that's all. 

Another aspect of this is money. You see, I bought the original car for $300 I happened to have had saved at the time. What was I saving for? A car! I saved that first $300 by putting away $1, $2, $5, $12 at a time.

That's exactly what I used to fix everything. If I can do it myself, I would. If I had to take the car to a shop, then again I would literally hoard money a little bit at a time. Have your spending money but this money you're saving doesn't even exist except for whatever it is you're saving for. This is the hard part for most people. I had to play this mind game with myself. If I ran out of gas and had no money, I would panhandle. I did anything I could to reach my goals (only had to panhandle a couple times thankfully).

Spread those wings and fly!

It's almost time for me to go but I will leave you guys with a little update. Some of the parts I ordered should be coming soon. Next time you see the car, it will be as close to how I want it as I can get it anytime soon.

I'm hoping to buy at least two wide tires for the back not just for traction but to fill out the fender well. The fronts can be the same for now. I don't even care. Now that I can hit the gas, I'm gonna... Sometimes. My rule is like once a month maybe or if the situation calls it. You know, save wear and tear.

If anyone has good ideas on wide tires that would look good with stock fronts, let me know or I will let you know. I figure if I paint them black and they're similar - great! This car is for performance but it still has to look good. I believe that's the Japanese Bosuzoku way - work good, look good, have style? I may have messed that last one up but it's describing how a car should be.

For the style and s&#$, I mentioned what I have coming in the mail. Any day now.

Stylish Economy: 1991-2001 Lexus ES300

One of my good friends actually bought this car at the same time I got my first LS400 and although the LS400 is the flagship car, I can't help but admire a clean ES300.

Honestly, that looks hotter than some LS400s...

Before we start, let me dispell a myth. You might be thinking, "But Ro, aren't parts for this car super expensive? It's a Lexus."

No.

The LS400 shares maybe three parts with other cars and yet parts are about the same as Ford Focus parts. This is the ES300 we're talking about, a car that was made in much higher numbers. On top of that, it's a Camry.

Yes, it is an upgraded Toyota Camry but don't write it off. I think the 90s Camry is a pretty good car by itself. Add the Lexus treatment and you got a very nice Camry. For the same money. And it looks better. Much. Have you ever seen the interior of a Camry? It doesn't look like this...

The ES300 has a much better suspension than the Camry which separates it already. I've talked to a couple people who have driven both cars and they all say that even though the ES300 is based on the Toyota Camry, it drives nothing like it. The car is just smooth all around and I hear the difference is night and day. Remember, the Camry isn't bad - this car is very good.

Now, the specs for this car are throwing me off a little bit. The 1999 model comes with 210 hp. The older ones have a bit less. The evolution of this car went almost hand-in-hand with the LS400.

The car I am discussing in this article actually had two generations. The LS400 also has two generations, period, and the timing matched the ES300. In 1991, the first gen ES300 was released while the first gen of the LS400 was out in 1990 and lasted until 1994. The second generation of the ES300 came out in 1996; the LS400, 1995.

It looks like the cars were co-evolving. Lexus was a new company and although they are owned by Toyota, Lexus was developing its own technology. VVTi was introduced in the LS400 in 98 and around that same time in the ES300. It bumped the horsepower up a bit.

There is one thing I find weird. The V6 engine in the ES300 gets worse mileage than the V8 1uzfe. The V8 gets 19-27 in an LS400 while the ES300 gets 19-26...

So why should you buy this over a different economy car and why not?

The only negative to this car is trying to find a mechanic that won't rip you off. They see that badge and automatically bump the price up. It has happened to me pretty much every time I actually went to a shop.

Besides that, I can't think of any negatives. Like I said, it's built like a Camry so it's tough but what you get is a Lexus. It has a good sound system, the interior is comfortable, and the engine has plenty of power for daily driving.

Did I mention it looks pretty damn good lowered? I feel like more people should be modding these but I suppose those people go for the LS400.

I always look at real prices before I write an article like this and there are cars with about 130,000 miles selling for $1,500. I don't have to tell you that's a steal. Even if you do NOTHING to it and drive it until it dies, it will probably be good for like two years.

I think it's because they're less known but the prices are the same or lower than Camrys. The difference is that Camrys are almost all beat to death while these Lexuses were purchased by old people a lot of times so they tend to be in much better condition.

This was on Craigslist.

The interior is a smaller version of the LS400 or a much more luxurious Camry. The picture above is from a Craigslist ad. That's the same 130,000 mile, $1,500 ES300 I mentioned. It's hard to beat that.

My friend is very happy with her car. She got a good deal for a low mileage example that was super clean. This thing still had that plastic cover stuff that is on some parts of the car from the factory. It had the stuff under the floormatts. The guy never touched it and my friend got a steal.

Overall, the car is a quick semi-luxurious economy car. It has very good looks, in my opinion. It's not boring like the Camry (but I admit that's a good car aswell). Being so similar to a Camry, it's reliable. This is Lexus's 3-series BMW. No matter if you just need a daily driver or want to modify the car to a VIP style, it's a very good bargain.

Parts? Ask U-Pull-n-Pay. They only have about 10 at a time and 1 LS400 if you're lucky.

If you want something more stylish and luxurious but as reliable and useful as the Camry or even something like a Honda Accord, give this car a look. It's in the same class and beats the Accord's butt.

Anyway, I'm a bit biased. How can I not be? But at least I will tell you this. I don't get paid for every Lexus sold, trust me. The car is just a good car and a very good deal right now. Like I mentioned, a mere $1,500 will get you a well maintained example at 150,000 or less miles. I'm here to tell you what cars to look for if you have a budget and completely objectively, the 1991 to 2001 Lexus ES300 is a good car. And a good time. My phone suggested that. I agree.

This is a reader's ES300 - very nice. @step_daddy_jeff_official_ 

Have a great day everybody and don't lose sight of your car goals. Fix that thing, keep saving, do what you gotta do! You will be rewarded.

Bulletproof Offroader Cheap: Jeep Grand Cherokee

There is no way I was about to call this vehicle an SUV. People call SUVs "Jeeps" sometimes. Yeah, legendary. In the Lithuanian language, "Jeepas" means... SUV. If you need a Jeep, look no further than the Jeep Grand Cherokee.

I'm talking particularly about the 90s generation of Cherokee with the bulletproof 4.0l motor. Now, I was surprised that relatively new Jeeps were also selling for under that magic $3,000 so maybe check those out.

The Jeep Grand Cherokee. It is no wonder why it is such an icon. It was cheap yet had great off road capabilities, made cruising in a truck-like vehicle bearable - almost luxurious - and came with a powerful engine that was known for making it to 400,000 miles with just good maintenance.

To this day, the Grand Cherokee is a great vehicle. Nowadays it also hauls kids around which is what the old one was good at aswell. If I remember correctly, it could seat seven people so it was a people carrier that could also carry concrete and sh$#.

It could pull a bulldozer out of a ditch... Probably.

This time, I feel like there is no need for specs. The Jeep speaks for itself. There are good examples to this day on Craigslist for some very low prices. I will say it is the cheapest older truck or sport utility vehicle (*ahem*) that is also a great vehicle all-around that I have been able to find. Good running examples of around year 1995 can be found for $1,000.

Without looking up the data, I think it gets about 17 mpg city with the strong 4.0l V6. And you don't really have to worry about anything breaking. Just find yourself a well maintained example and this is really probably the best deal you can get on this type of vehicle.

Entering Phase 1: The Current Plan

Considering the condition this car was in and the miles it's at, I consider myself blessed to have this car. If I was superstitious then I wouldn't say this: I think this particular LS400 is solid.

My long-awaited yellow tints! 

The biggest problem is still that oil leak. After replacing the water pump and timing belt (the key here), the car runs much better. I believe it needs a new fuel pump which I am having someone else do for me. I know - boo. I hate working with gasoline. Getting high on it isn't fun when you're trying to work!

I should warn you. If you don't want to read a bunch of ranting on why I'm pretty sure the problem is the fuel pump and want to skip to the good stuff, scroll down to "Good Stuff."

Always go with Denso, NGK, or another Japanese brand.

When the pump is in, the car should be fine again. Lexy 2 has a random misfire (code p0300) which could be something like spark plugs or wires. I have changed out the plugs and fuel filter which brought me to this point where the car is drivable.

Let me explain why I think it's the fuel pump. These are the symptoms. The car shakes at idle; it's misfiring because the pressure from the pump is too low and one cylinder doesn't get the gas it needs every second cycle (seems like). If I turn on the AC, the RPMs go up by a couple hundred and the engine starts misfiring every cycle at this point. Talk about shaking at idle. It's so bad that I haven't used the AC except for a few times. When I'm driving, it's okay except those throttle points change but it shakes so much that I can't shake the feeling it's not a good thing.

When I give the car moderate gas, it accelerates fine up to 50-70 mph. However I have learned to use the gas pedal in a certain way; let me explain. There are certain "spots" in the throttle where the engine misfires while accelerating. The car shakes while accelerating in these spots. If I give it even more gas at this point, the car will buck on me. Seems like it doesn't get nearly enough fuel then. If I ease off the gas or give it a little more (if I'm still at a pretty low speed), the engine stops misfiring.

If I was smoothly going 50 mph and pressed the pedal down significantly, more than one cylinder will misfire and I have to let off the gas because the car is just bucking on me.

I think that as I press the gas pedal, the pump is told to pump more and more gas and basically craps out after a certain point. That's why I can manipulate the throttle for the car to be in those rev ranges where the motor is getting enough fuel pressure. It's in-between that doesn't work.

I think if it was the spark plug system then it wouldn't be so predictable. I have a set of spark plug wires that I will change out for mine if it doesn't work and furthermore, replace the distributor caps. But I shouldn't need to. I feel hopeful. I know that just a new fuel filter helped.

Good Stuff
Like I said, I feel very blessed because I have been able to order three items that I'm extremely excited for. They are...

1. Fenders! Yes, I found some that even a poor chap like me can afford. All four pieces. Also, I suppose I'm British now, mate.

I've posted this car before and it's almost like it predicted the future but it was a coincidence. This is one of my favorite LS400s and I'm honored to not only have the yellow corner lights but those same fenders. Very classy. I really need to hop on that paint job...

And no, I didn't 'copy' it even though if I did, who would really care? Actually I got the yellow tint because the idea was to do the whole headlight yellow. It's a nostalgic look for me - I grew up in Europe and back in the day, every car had yellow lights. After doing the corner lights, I realized that doing the headlight, too, would be too much. I'm waiting for some clear turn signals to pop up on eBay and I'm tinting those yellow. The orange stock ones look bad... Pretty bad...

2. Spoiler. Yes, a huge wing. Nah, it's a small, classy carbon fiber spoiler. You heard that right, carbon fiber. Jokes aside, again, I didn't expect ANY of this right now.

3. Door Projector Lights. I like playing with lights so I have the blue LEDs inside (a gift), the blue fog lights outside, and I am waiting for Logo Projector Lights. What do they do?

Open your door - bam, there's a Lexus symbol projected by an LED.

Maybe one day I'll get lambo doors for the car.

Overall, really, I'm astounded. This may not be that much money altogether but it is when you're saving every dollar to move up! Life has been getting better. It always does as long as you give it your best shot.

I've already decided on my color scheme. The rims will be Burnt Bronze or Bronze for now. I'm keeping the two tone; my wife likes my car and said I shouldn't paint it all white so you know what? I'm gonna do the bottom in maybe a gloss gunmetal-gray type color but lighter. If not that then possibly a light gold color to somewhat match the rims.

It's not always a bad idea to listen to your wife when she likes your car and actually has good taste. Her favorite car is a 1974-76 Dodge Challenger. That should tell you something.

Black fenders and a carbon fiber wing will complete the look until I decide I want it to look different one week later. You know how that is.

There's also a bonus. Do you guys remember the hood pins? Well, those are going on too. And I can't wait. I've already been hated on for my car but mostly been loved.

I may move the fog lights at a different time to the holes in the bumper. I chose this look to give a nod to rally with the protruding lights. I'm building my car for function. I've stated before that even when it comes to the suspension, I will lower it a little bit but if I need to hop a curb to get away from a crazy mofo with a gun, well, I'm gonna be able to! If I want to be stupid and rally the thing, I can do that, too.

Notice: the inside is blue because of the LEDs and the fog light is as well. This picture is from before I tinted the corner lights. The lights I ordered that project the Lexus logo are also blue.

Short and Medium-term Goals
The most important thing to fix right now is the oil leak. I think it's coming from the valve cover gasket(s) but neither I nor a mechanic was able to tell at a glance. I might have to replace the camshaft and crankshaft seals.

I think whether or not the fuel pump fixes my random misfire (the CEL flashes, by the way), I'm gonna get a new set of spark plug wires and I also have a replacement distributor cap.

I think this car would benefit from a new Coolant Temp Sensor. It should be changed every 100k miles or so because your engine loses a little bit of power as it degrades. If mine has never been replaced, I can expect 30 horsepower and that's no lie. Just an LS400 thing.

Coming at you in the daylight with a flashlight...

There's some minor touches I've done since I last talked about Lexy II. The car came with one of the worst floormatts I have ever seen. I grabbed a new set from the junkyard and used vinyl paint to paint it beige as it was blue before. I also found custom ordered, fitted LS400 car seat covers at the yard. Those are about $60 each new or $4 at the yard... Man I love that place.

The seat covers are really some of the best quality covers you can buy that don't cost $150. I got mine cheap but if you're thinking of buying these, I would recommend them. Don't pay too much but I've tried four different sets counting the one I made and these are the only seat covers that don't constantly slip off the seat. Also they're fitted like I said so they just look nice. Keep in mind, these were all black and I painted the leather parts beige using vinyl paint so the covers matched my interior.

One of the last things is a shifter. The one I had was flaking apart and this one is black, made out of a very good quality leather, feels good in your hand, and has very nice stitching. Matches the black on the new seat covers, too.

I'm going to wrap this up but always remember; replacing/fixing some small things adds up to a lot. It's all about the detail. Have a great day, people.