Best car I've ever had and also most beautiful - in my opinion ofcourse.
It was her predecessor, a 1995 Lexus LS400, that made me start this website. I've had an array of cars and the LS400 was the best car I've ever had... When it ran.
Right before this post is a very old one. That was written when the car was still running. So what happened? I wouldn't have literally junked the car without a very good reason.
The alternator went out which was no big deal, except having to take it to AutoZone four times to finally get a replacement under my warranty cause nobody could find it. Apparently. Whatever.
I put in the new alternator and to my utter disgust, the frickin battery light was on the dash. That means this new alternator was not charging properly. It would keep it at a steady 12.8v or so but that's not 13-15v that a healthy alternator should put out.
Somehow I got it to work right for about two weeks. No warning light, charging at 14v on average. Then out of nowhere, back down to 12.7v or so.
Tested the battery and it was good.
Anyway, this time I figured the voltage regulator wasn't getting a good connection. It was loose in the clip so what I did was something that worked on the '95 - just broke the clip and clipped each wire on individually.
And that's as far as I went. The battery light went away. However, NOW the battery went bad. Am I saying that's what made me sell it? Yes.
I think the alternator was finally charging again and the car was OK but the battery went out at the same time (common theme with these cars). I probably could have gotten it exchanged and kept on driving. But you know what? I couldn't risk having it die again... Also, I'm not sure about this but there may have been something starting to go wrong with the ECU. One time the car just revved up and down, up and down. Then it would put lights on the dash without a key in and would make a 'bing' noise sometimes.
Listen guys, me and the wifey are doing horrible financially. And so I had to think about rent, too. My wife got laid off as her restaurant closed with no warning. I didn't make ANY money this month. Whether or not it would've kept driving, I junked the car to pay for insurance and registration.
For my new 2005 Ford Focus. I'm on the Sunrail here in Florida going to pick up the car and drive it to the DMV. My plans for this car? I want to see if it's even possible for it to look good. But it will mainly be a daily driver until I get something better.
Editor; P.S.: Here I am probably two weeks later from when I originally wrote what you see above. I have now gotten a job I like and the Focus is doing great, actually. I just started changing the interior. I detailed it as much as I could (didn't vacuum yet) and put on Lexi2's steering wheel cover which fits perfect along modified with the simple back-and-booty part seat covers up front.
I fixed some paint that had been chipping. I even planned out everything for my next project. But you have to wait for the next article to hear about that.
I really didn't like the car when I first got it. Actually, I was biased about it but the truth is that this is a good car. Mine has 250k miles and runs great. They're pretty reliable. They use a timing chain.
Anyway, I'm not selling you on it but what I will be doing is this. I will be re-doing the interior of my new 2005 Ford Focus ZX4. It is actually much easier to work on than the Lexus and I'm confident and excited to do this project.
The car isn't very fast. I believe this one has a transverse inline 4 cylinder engine that puts out about 140hp and similar torque. Because the engine is transversely mounted, more of that total horsepower is able to be sent to the front wheels. Although the Focus is peppy, it's not fast because it lacks some power. But it's a good car for rallying in and I believe it's not a bad base if you're gonna boost it.
There are better cars for the money for speed and economy but still, I like the Focus. It grew on me. It's very responsive to the driver; you can feel every bump in the road. This is great for racing.
If you like this car but your only reason for not buying one is the engine, I say you consider putting a supercharger or a turbo on it boosting 10psi or so. It will keep the car somewhat reliable with enough power to compete with fast cars. Especially on dirt rally courses - trust me on that. This car makes a great rally project car.
In the next article I want to show you what I have done to the car so far (looks much better already!). Like I mentioned, I'm liking the car more as I make it mine and I can definitely see myself driving it for a while, even if it does say "Grocery Getter" on the side.
Just a little spoiler - it's gonna be done VIP style. Ofcourse it is... An American VIP economy car. But you know what, just wait and let's see how this ends up being.
Thank you my fans for coming back. I will be posting more often now.
- Rokas Kirvelis
