If you have been following this website then you must be a little confused. I like Japanese cars and the site was started because of my first Lexus L400. I owe it to the two Lexuses I owned for giving me an open and creative mind which is where this comes in.
One time I went outside and just stared at it trying my hardest to think of how to make it look better. The body isn't the best as far as looks (I doubt there's anyone out there that actually likes the look). The way it's made leaves very little to work with and modify...
Ofcourse, it would look good lowered with some fitting rims and the whole shebang but without a good amount of work, it's hard to make it stand out. If this wasn't just a daily driver, I would be lowering mine but keeping the stance as it is; lower front, slightly higher back. But the stock rims aren't even bad.
Anyway, it's a decent car but it's my daily driver so I was trying to think of what to do to it and I managed to come up with a few things. I want to take a car that I used to think is borderline ugly and turn it into a nice car. The outside will get the basic treatment but the inside is where the car will shine.
I've never been in a Focus with leather seats before (even though I'm sure it exists somewhere) but I want that to be the case. Essentially I want to turn an economy car into a luxury car.
That sums up the whole idea and I think it's bad#&@.
The car's seats are easy to take out so it will make it a lot easier to reupholster. I'm glad the floor is already black. I'm thinking black and gold leather seats with some artificial fur as the accent.
This is the perfect car to use to learn upholstery. There's a reason for that. Everything comes out so easily; seats, panels, lights, center console... Everything.
The sweeping plastic dashboard and center console make it easy to paint. The entire center console comes out so it will be sprayed black or gold depending on what looks better. The dash will be painted to match.
I'm definitely going to need floor matts so again, I'm probably going to make my own by cutting them out of carpets for example. You can buy carpets at Walmart in different colors like red, blue, black, maroon, etc. I've thought about doing this before but it didn't seem right for the Lexus.
I'm still deciding on exactly where I want to go with this car (ba-dum-chi) but I've already put up a few things I kept from Lexi2 such as the curtains in the back, wide view rear view mirror, seat cushions, and a few other small things. Honestly the car cleaned up nice.
Guys, I have to say that I hated this car for years. I thought it was ugly (it's less ugly now but still pretty ugly) and a POS. I remember being in it and just hearing maybe five different things rattling. It just felt like it was made cheap.
But having had it for over a month now, I shouldn't have hated it so. It's actually reliable - unlike the LS400... (That's my next article. Bad taste in my mouth.) Nothing actually rattles and at 250,000 miles (40k more than Lexi2 died at), it's going to need a new fuel pump eventually as this one is going bad. I can feel it. That's the only problem I can see. The AC just needs refrigerant.
I'm still deciding if I want to full blown pimp out the interior with purple fur and neon colored leather. Imagine that? Unassuming Ford Focus pulls up and as you open the door, before you is an interior with frickin yellow carpet (there's slippers and a shoe holder), yellow leather with purple fur trim seats, and suede or velvet dash, doors, and other panels. At night, you have your LEDs that change with the music and with the VIP curtains, you're good for a night on the town.
Guys... Thank you for reading. I will be posting again regularly. I'm working again steadily and living life as rich (not money wise) as I can.
You can expect one of the next couple articles to be about the Lexus LS400's notoriety as a reliable car. I want to share with all of you what my personal experiences were.
- Rokas Kirvelis
norgin@gmail.com
