The Slowest Project: Part 4 - Dead + New Car

I loved Lexi2. I really did. But she just couldn't treat me right... So I killed the b$#&@! Wow, what a way to start my comeback.

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

The Slowest Project: Part 3 - Mini-Tutorial: How to Install Simple Lights

I finally found work - and lots of it so now I'm going to be busy - so with that money, the project will be moving quickly. Although I took Sunday to rest for my first day of training at my new job today, I did put together something that I thought was pretty unique.

I knew I wanted these lights somewhere but I had no idea where to put them except somewhere on the front. Pretty vague. But then I realized I have two holes already drilled into my bumper that match the thread and diameter of these lights. Perfect. The location?

But wait don't worry. They're not going to be ugly, ugly orange. Actually during the daytime, they will look like two electric boxes of some kind. At night, I can turn them on and I now have 6 fog lights total... Not bad... Fog is dead to me...

No but check this out. I tinted them so they will blend in during the daytime. I think they came out great despite me dropping one before it was completely dry on the table. Oops!

I think it will compliment everything so perfectly at nighttime. It will make for some great shots. And who has done this? Anyway, I would like to say that I will scrap this if it looks bad but I'm sure it's not. Maybe Lexi will be a Cyclops. Remember also that I can flash these lights. So much cooler than flashing your highbeams! Ha!

And yes, if there is any miscommunication, both will be installed there. See the bolt with the washer in the other hole in the first image? It was actually for a front license plate. These lights I found have the same diameter bolt that sticks out of the back so you simply screw them in.

Tutorial
I'm going to run through this quickly and simply. I am getting my power from a switchboard. It has a set of seven inputs for your positive and negative and corresponding buttons. The unit runs off of your cigarette lighter. It can not out put more than 3 amps per button/terminal. Don't try it. I don't know what happens.

(Editor's Note: I am picking up from where I left off a few months ago due to life problems so please keep this in mind as you read.)

If you have a handheld 6v or 4v battery (up to 12v), figure out which places are positive and negative. I think the bolt type piece on the lights I have are the negative while there is a piece of wire sticking out that is positive. Whatever light you're using, make sure you hook up the leads correctly or at worst you will blow your bulb or at best, nothing will happen.

I think you can see how the install goes. Connect the wires to your main wires going to your switchboard. I would measure it out but leave extra that you can roll up and ziptie. Splice them together by winding them together after cutting off some rubber on both pieces of wire. Wrap it up with electrical tape.

When you press the button to turn this on on your switchbiard, all it does is allow current to pass from the source (I prefer cigarette lighter) to the accessory which in this case is these two lights. I think as long as they're in the right location, a couple extra small lights make the LS400 look better. Now, sad but happy to report...

That Lexi2 died a terrible electrical gremlin death where it seemed the ECU wasn't working right at times, it killed the battery cause it would only hold a charge of 11.6v. You can get more from a jump start but once you take the wires off the alternator, the car dies in seconds.

The alternator had gone out so this was the replacement. Not only did it take a very long time to get it replaced at a certain big name auto store (it took 4 different people at 4 different times to see that indeed, it is under warranty except it's listed under a 2009 Chevy Spark for some reason. I'm glad because I would've wasted money.)

So this new alt didn't work right away. I re-did the connection by breaking the connector and slipping each wire on. This worked fine for my '95 and seemed to work for this car.  At least, no more battery light. But I might have finally killed the battery. And the car was overheating for some reason.

With all of this done to it, not to mention putting a new timing belt, water pump, fuel pump, spark plugs, spark plug wires and a whole bunch of sh#@.

It honestly kind of makes me mad. Hear me out. I definitely got my money's worth out of the car (maybe $1,500 because I did most things myself). Only I expected better. Let me go farther back.

Before I got Lexi2, you guessed it... There was a Lexi - a banged up 1995 LS400 that I was set on restoring. Got about a year out of it and spent a grand more than Lexi2 but it got me into these cars. The V8 was intoxicating. I've never owned such a fast four door sedan - a big one too! It smoked the majority of cars that want to race you... Especially from 40 mph! Whoooo-wee!

Yes, I love the 1990-2000 Lexus LS400 but you cannot maintain one anymore if you're broke. I sold mine because I was being given a new car on one condition - that I sell the Lexus to pay to register it. Yes, I am BROKE. Me and my wife right now - it's been hell. So yes - I traded a cool non running car for a reliable "uncool" car.

I have seriously stared at this thing to think of something I could do to it that's cool but there is seriously nothing much unless you lower it, put new rims, tint it, the whole treatment.

But we're driving broke here at Driving for Broke so my new project is getting a frankly really ugly economy looking right. Without spending a lot of money. Post your ideas! Oh and yes I do have the different rims which I will be switching out. (Did anyone catch that in the photos? 2002 vs 2005 rims.)

First thing I want to do is tint the top of the windshield. I need to look into the engine to see if it's worth, you know, working with. I'm also planning on a lot of upholstery work! I am definitely re-doing these crappy seats. Probably either in an original color like burnt orange or beige or black. Any would match the gray and black. I will probably do the dash in suede so adding a trim like the burnt orange I mentioned would look nice. I can even paint some panels in similar colors!

I think the Ford actually has a LOT to customize. And everything is super easy to remove. For example; you know the center console? Where your shifter is and maybe some cup holders and a storage compartment? In this Focus, it's one piece that just lifts out. It is SO easy to work on the interior.

I never thought I would be excited about a Focus.

To be continued...

The Slowest Project: Part 2

I'm back with some good progress since the last article. I was stunned at how good these LEDs look. Have a look yourself...

They are definitely brighter than my floor LEDs and now that they're in there, I realize I've never seen anyone do this before. I'll tell you one thing; Lexi2 was turning heads! Every other person was looking as I was cruising down downtown Kissimmee.

I knew from the very beginning that subtleties is what was gonna set the car off. Now, these blue LEDs are probably the opposite of subtle (and make me worry if some rookie cop is gonna pull me over) but now that that's in there, notice how the license plate is lit in yellow. I know I'm totally biased but I've stared at that picture - not gonna lie. Anyway, the yellow IS subtle but adds a lot.

That button (red) looks cool but not very useful. Oh - that's my floor lights. They change colors and it just happened to be blue in this picture.

So yes, I successfully transferred my shitty battery-to-button fog light setup into a 7-button switchboard that actually runs off a cigarette lighter. It's perfect for things like this - especially in an LS400. TRUST me - these cars are super sensitive to any electrical changes. Having everything run off the cigarette lighter actually seemed to smooth out my super mild misfire and also helped with my new small problem.

That is now installed in my car but I haven't been able to install it exactly how I want yet. Expect to see that in the next article.

When I start the car now, the battery light comes on. It started doing this seemingly randomly. Actually, it started doing it on the road. Initially the car would start up like this but upon putting it in drive and driving for a couple minutes, the light would go away. When it lit up as I was driving, I realized it was getting worse so I started looking around.

I did notice that one of the electrical connectors to the alternator wasn't pushed in all the way. Seems like it may have wiggled out a little bit. I pushed it in and now the light usually goes off within 30 seconds or as soon as I drive. I'm still wondering what's causing that, though. I figure getting power from the cigarette lighter is better so I did that as well.

These will be in the front for more visibility or messing with people... I MEAN being safer.

Moving on, I'm adding two small yellow/orange lights to the front that I can flash and I will still have a couple terminals left. I greatly recommend the switchbox. It's no good if your accessory needs more than - I believe - 3 amps. And yes, that's per button. But it handles everything I have fine. LEDs use less than 1 amp anyway unless it's a huge array.

Interior
Besides all of this, I am thinking of re-doing my seats. I've said this before and I'll say it again. Seat covers really suck.

The covers look nice but they don't want to stay... Adults will take it off getting out of the car. Kids? Forget it. 

I'm going to stop pretending the car is good and dandy and kind of work up from the bottom. I've been doing the opposite - working my way down from the top so I won't have a good base. I need to get rid of the seat covers.

I don't even care if it looks worse for now. The fact is, seat covers will come off every time your friend gets in your car. You have three people in the back? Oh it's going to be wrecked completely. And that is the definition of a cheap fix. I think seat covers are supposed to protect them - not refurbish your interior for free!

I'm going to leave the ones that simply lay on top and connect to the headrests. Those are actually very good. In the summer, they stop your butt from being burned when you sit down. And they cover the majority of the rips because they cover the problem areas. And they move around freely instead of slipping off of the edge.

Wiring
With the covers off, I can make sure I tuck all of the wires for the lights in the original way the car was built. It's the best way to do it. I'm going to have the 7 buttons to the left of me on the B pillar. This may seem strange but actually it lets you turn things on and off by touch with your left hand and is also positioned in the best spot I could think of when it comes to hiding the bundle of wires coming out of the thing while taking into account that I can't just put it anywhere because it has to be in that location the way I'm wiring everything. Holy run-on sentence. Anyway, finally the control unit for the floor lights will be hidden in the seat pocket. Right now, it is ziptied to the rear AC vents on the center console. No, it doesn't look good.

My biggest challenge will be hiding that bundle of wires coming out of the switchboard. Wish me luck.

By the way, I will be posting a tutorial on how to hide the numerous wires that come with installing strips of LEDs. It's simple; the guide will be short.

Please have patience. I've been doing this for two years and I haven't stopped. However, like I said, this is again one of those times where life is kicking me in the balls but nonetheless I will do my best to bring good content as fast as can be. Keep checking back every once in a while.

- Rokas K.

The Slowest Project: Part 1

I apologise to my previously constant readers. Ever since I moved, not only has life been busy and a constant struggle (in a good way) that I haven't even had, say, $30 to spend on the car!

Alternate high beam. Handy to flash people to move, too. 

I mean, I kept it moving forward. I did get the exhaust tips and I fixed a problem with the Coil Pack. Now I have some money and boy - I'm so behind on my plans for this project. That's why I'm calling this series The Slowest Project. I will be posting new parts to this series whenever I get something big done. Life and being broke in general has kept me from doing anything.

No more. No more being lazy or procrastinating. When I have money. Which I do... Now.

If my thoughts seem disorganized then I apologise - I'm literally in a manic state planning three things out in my head - mainly. I'm going to paint the car completely. That's going to be the last thing I do.

I need to change the front brakes which I'm doing tomorrow. Whoever installed the last ones did something wrong because they're not evenly worn. I swear, some people don't have any sense when it comes to fixing cars. I'd rather figure it out myself than let anybody I don't know do it.

I've needed this for a long time. This unit actually plugs into a cigarette lighter for power but lets you hook up 5 12v accessories! You can get it at WalMart - I couldn't find it in any car store...

Anyway, the first thing I will probably do is connect all of my lights to one 5-button unit. I finally went out and got something I can connect all of my aftermarket lights to. I have fog lights, a yellow spotlight that I am deciding where to mount (probably right in the front!), floor LEDs that change color, and I have two blue strips of LED.

One of those blue strips will go in the very back to light the back up in a nice blue at night. You will be able to see the VIP curtains and such. Normally, you can't see anything.

Maybe I should get a complimentary red one and say screw it!

I will be installing the other blue LED strip probably on the grille. Why? I know it's one step from impersonating a Popo but I'd use it sparingly... Yeah, with my inhibitions.

No because I will have the middle headlight which is what I'm going to call it. It's a super bright square yellow tinted spotlight. The car will need to be renamed Cyclops or something.

To be honest - don't hang me at the stake - I think Lexi2 should be called Nagasaki Nightmare. This car is comfortable but if you're in front of me driving slow, you should get the feeling you need to get over now. That's kind of what I want to evoke with this car... Is that bad?

There is also another thing that needs to be done. The floors are completely dirty. I don't know how it's possible to get them this dirty but it is. What I will have to do is probably re-paint the carpet with beige vinyl paint after getting as much dirt as possible out.

This is as clean as I can get my baby with normal cleaning products. Not very clean... At least not the carpet. 

Also - I've been toying with some more expensive materials. I got a little bit of alligator hide, ivory beads, and things like this and while I can't imagine what can end up in the car (besides a new cross - a Knights of Columbus rosary), something probably will.

Beginning to set up the panel with multiple buttons.

Guys and gals - I will have more resources when I find a job and/or start making money with my business. While I did sell auto parts, I had to get out of the business honestly because of eBay's ridiculous policies. What happened?

Warning to everyone. I had been selling parts as "Will Take Returns" for months and didn't have a problem until one day I was asked for a refund. I was testing everything. Well, long story short, the guy returned my item in my original packaging inside his own (he didn't even open it). I gave him the hundred bucks back for the sake of positive feedback.

Farther along; I have added the power source for the floor lights and also have the spotlight ready to be hooked up. I have one more LED strip to add and I need to exchange my one button for my fog lights for these five and hook those lights up as well.

Like I say, I tested all my parts. I also started designating "No Returns" in all of my auctions. Now that option they should leave out completely. Want to know why? Because people can still return items to you even if it's in perfect condition, just as described, exactly as in the pictures. And eBay, through PayPal, will go right in your bank and snatch that money. Oops, now you overdrafted.

This is what inevitably happens. You will be doing good but one day you will need to take out all of your money. This is what happened when I was moving. Man... That's when everyone wants their $100 back. After paying back a good $500, I stopped responding to eBay and PayPal. However, I know that will go on my credit history until I can pay it and eBay just charged me another $40 just two days ago when I haven't been on there.

Needless to say, I can't support myself like that so I had to dig deep and your man is becoming a jewelry and gemstone salesman specializing in vintage and antiques. I am also flipping silver for cash but that's a secret.

This electrical box will finally be hidden. Also, that's not where the set of buttons is gonna go; it's going to replace the button on the dash. 

Why did I just rant about something that apparently has nothing to do with cars? To show you that there's another way besides sitting at a 9-5 your whole life. Find what you like doing and find out how to make money doing it. Hell, cars is one of the best things to do it with but follow your true passion. Cheesy, I know. How low have I sunk?

This is what I'm using for my blue LEDs if you're wondering. They're very cheap at Walmart. Twice as cheap as AutoZone or Advance... Why do they do that?

I suppose I'm just happy that life is finally moving along. As for Lexi2 and this article; there will be at least 3 more. Articles, I mean. One for each thing I want to do to the car. Thanks people!

- Rokas K

@rokask1

norgin@gmail.com

Best Advice Buying a 25 Year Old Car

I want to give you the best tip anyone can give you if you're going to buy a 25 year old luxury car like a Lexus LS400 or something similar. But first, let me tell you a little story that shows this is what you need if you don't want to suffer many headaches.

You see, I bought both of my LS400s with the last of my money and between the two cars, I think I'm going on year 3 driving these cars living paycheck-to-paycheck. Ok, I'll just give you the advice.

Have $1,000 set aside just for problems that will come up. Even if you're a mechanic - which helps a lot - you may need tows and parts. Set that aside JUST for the car and trust me.

This is what happened two days ago that made me write this article. I'm telling you, I was ready to trade this car in for an '80s Chevy truck. I was practically spitting on it. Today I love the car again.

Here is the problem with older cars and especially ones that lived where it snows. They rust. Where it's hot, stuff dry rots. So even though the major problems are actually few and far between as long as you do the major maintenance, there's going to be gremlins that pop up that will make you wanna kick the motor.

I was going to Walmart for five quarts of oil because, of course, my car leaks oil. I noticed my car was kind of driving shaky. All of a sudden, I thought my damn tire partly broke off the studs because I started hearing the worst banging from the back right. I pull over as soon as I can.

I check the wheel and somehow I didn't see that there was a bump in the tire but the noise was from the right side of my exhaust breaking off! The weld rusted through! Well, better than my wheel. I managed to get home and got the exhaust clamped down good.

So I went for a test drive around the neighborhood and I keep hearing a noise from my tire. I pull over and check again - the tire is holding air but it has a half foot bump with wires going everywhere. Great.

Remember, I'm broke so I patched my spare using a screwdriver to stick that gummy stuff in a nail hole. That was fun. So now I've conquered two issues and I'm ready to go to the store.

I grab my wife. I should've let her rest because a few miles down the road, the car just died. I mean it just shut off. No warning, just off. I put it in park and it cranks but it will NOT start. At this point, I still hadn't eaten and was so tired I wasn't thinking straight.

A nice gentleman gave me a push to a mechanic parking lot. Yeah, he just drove up behind me with his truck and pushed. Interesting feeling.

I try and try to figure it out but I had to give up. I just couldn't think straight anymore, I was tired, and my wife wasn't feeling too good so I paid for a tow truck.

I managed to get a code before it came but I had no idea where to start. It was P1305 - something to do with the ignition system. I quickly Googled it and a random website rated the difficulty as 3/3... The hardest. Great. I know the car well but I'm not that good.

This is where experience comes in. This is the next day. When I say I've fixed over 25 different problems on the two LS400s I've had, I'm not lying. Still, even the internet wasn't helpful. Then it hit me. I have an extra coil pack. That's part of that system so screw it, let me change it out.

Boy, when I took off the one that was on there, the problem was evident. The coil pack has two electrical connectors yet for months this car ran with just one plugged in! I don't know if it was just close enough to where a spark was enough but that wasn't right at all.

Matter of fact, the lower clip definitely hadn't been on there for a long time because it was dry rotted in a position where it wouldn't even let the coil pack slide on. I had to break the clip and connect the connectors naked. Again, fun - no room. It took a while. I plugged in the upper connector for the spark plugs and the car fired right up.

So WHAT is my point? My point is that if you want a car like this, you need to teach yourself to work on them and in the best case scenario, you want that thousand dollars in the bank. Inevitably something will come up that you can't do.

I actually knew very little about cars when I got the 1995 and taught myself. I bought it crashed for $300 with that intent. I learned a lot from that one but it was a true lemon and I junked it when I found my current 1996.

Be ready for frustrating problems like a loose connector somewhere. The ACV part of the power steering will eventually fail - look up my "ACV Delete" article. Be aware that although these cars are reliable - it has gotten me home when other cars wouldn't have drove at all - but it's starting to get old. And that's the problem. Things rust, rot, and dry out.

However, with some planning, love, and mental endurance, you will eventually mow through all of the problems that come up and you will essentially have a car with mostly new components. I look at it like this. Of course the previous owner didn't put love into the car so I have to make up for it and eventually I will reach a point where every system is running fine.

This applies to any car.

If this is your only car, there will be days or weeks where you're riding the bus but when the car runs right... It runs right.

- Rokas K., Automotive Dummy

Lexi Phase 2: The To-Do + Ro Needs Help

Getting Lexi the 1996 Lexus LS400 to a reliable state honestly feels great. The maintenance along with some aesthetic modifications brought the car to Phase 1. This is where it's at.

(Sidenote: if you want to help this car get built faster, go to the very bottom of this article. Not asking for money.)

The car just passed 225,000 miles and she hasn't run this good since I've had her. I'm not kidding, either. There was the mildest rough idle as a leftover from the "Random Misfire" code I still have. I believe it is P0300. It has not happened in a few days. I am truly happy with the motor and transmission. Keep reading to see how I got rid of the misfire.

Looks good for now but I definitely need to reupholster the interior.

When I first picked the car up, it was definitely misfiring badly. It would buck a couple times before reaching 50 mph and good luck if you got there, boy! She would buck like a horse. Just no ignition period. The fix was to give it a little more gas or let off the gas a little bit.

The code never went away but I fixed it. I changed out the spark plugs and spark plug wires to new ones. I used a Japanese brand. You should always use Japanese spark plugs and even sensors on these cars even if they say they're compatible.

I also changed out the old fuel pump which was part of the problem. It was just something that happens when you don't do maintenance, people. As far as that code...

My theory is that the computer senses that there is some sort of remnant from that misfire. I never changed the distributor rotors or caps. I don't plan on doing the rotors unless I figure out that's definitely the problem. However I have both distributor caps that I am gonna go ahead and change out. Might finally have no code.

You may be thinking that although I don't feel it, it might be reducing performance a bit. Well I was paying attention to my RPMs and acceleration very much. You see, the rough idle was fixed recently by something that I wasn't using for that...

This is what the problem was. At a red light, sometimes the idle would go up about 100 RPMs. Always assumed it was that random misfire.

Well I have another problem to deal with that I will get to in a minute. I have a bad oil leak and although ofcourse I'm saving money to get it fixed, it's taking a long time. This repair will be $4-800 depending on if it's a valve cover gasket or the camshaft or crankshaft seals.

So this is how my mildly rough idle was finally soldved. By the way, if you're looking to learn something, leave, cause this was magic. You see, I used a Stop Oil Leak product. You should never put funny liquids in your engine but I had mild success once. This product, although made by the same company for the same purpose as the one I used before, was different.

They're both made by Bar's. What happened was that my rough idle would show itself rarely at this point but once I put this Stop Oil Leak product in, things changed fast.

Immediately, my idle would jump over and over. F#&$. I drove it for about 60 miles and I was actually thinking of cleaning out my throttle body when I realized I have MMO. What is that? Marvel Mystery Oil.

It's a mystery but it WORKS damnit. Everything it says on the bottle, it does. And you can use it like ten times! What is it really? It's a product that has been around since the 1920s. It was an oil additive because it has detergent properties. Oil in the 1920s had no additives so to extend the life of the motor and prevent it from getting gummed up from sludge, people would add MMO to the oil.

Which is exactly what MMO does to your car. Put it in your oil (up to 20% volume - no, I used a fifth of the bottle and it worked great). First start I could already feel it working. But not like it's supposed to...

Oh yeah! Forgot to put it in the gas. It cleans your fuel injectors. Once I did that, Lexi purrs. Oh and Stop Oil Leak products taint the inside of your engine. Stop using them! Shame on me because the same thing happened in my old car with some product I forget.

There are TWO good products you can use in your car. They are SeaFoam (both the type you pour in and the type you spray in your throttle body) and Marvel Mystery Oil. Forget everything else. UV dyes are good too. But nothing that "fixes" your engine.

Phase 2 Requirements

I'm going to start from the easiest or what I can do to what will take some time. By the time this car hits Phase 3, it will actually be honorable on the road. I know it needs paint and has some scratches. But it hauls a$$! No really, it needs a lot more work to get those stares.

1. Carpet

The carpet, unfortunately, was stained to death when I bought this car. I'm not really sure how I'm going to get it out. It seems like layer after layer of coffee and dirt? I don't know but whatever it is, a typical carpet cleaner with the scrubber doesn't do much.

So I'm going with some good ol' fashioned detergent. It breaks down grease and other dirt. Going by how bad that stain is, I will probably have to scrub it, vacuum, and do that five times.

If I can't get it period, I'm just going to use vinyl paint to repaint the carpet. This way the carpet will look super fresh.

2. Paint

I bought the car with most of the clear coat gone and one fender was a different color. At this point, I've painted the fender a gloss white; the same color I'm gonna use for the rest of the upper body of the car.

The second tone was originally going to be white but it gets so dirty that I changed my mind. I'm going with a gunmetal gray or something like that.

And rims? By Phase 2, I want to have new rims but while I'm running on stocks, I need to paint them. They look really bad with half of the paint peeling off the center plastic cap. One rim has managed to grow bubbles. I don't know how I'm gonna get rid of that.

I'm going to do the paint myself. There's an old article describing how to do a professional paint job with certain spray paints. The coats came out perfect when I tested it. Now I just need a good long day to do it.

3. Engine

The engine is running fine right now although like I mentioned, there's a couple problems. The main thing is the oil leak. I want to meticulously clean the engine but I can't do it while there's a leak - it comes back.

During Phase 1, I want to solve the random misfire code. I've even had it flash on and off like it wants to go off. Anyway, if it's not the distributor caps, I am at a loss for what it is. Well, maybe distributor rotors too but that's a big job. Oh well - if that's it, I'm doing it.

I've wanted a good exhaust basically since I got the car but recently I realized that I don't want to mess with the car and have it throw up codes for sound. When I get to Phase 2, though, it's going to be a little different. The supercharger will need a good exhaust...

4. Body.

There's two dents I may be able to pop. There's also places where the paint got scratched and rust is starting to form. I'm gonna sand those spots down.

5. Interior.

Upholstery - this is gonna be the big one. I've practiced enough. I know I can reupholster my seats along with the center console and other areas.

Basic idea? Get the car looking right, running right, and feeling right.

I'm going to get it inspected to make sure I didn't miss anything. When the time comes, that supercharger will go in a rebuilt motor. My tranny is surprisingly good. It may have been changed at some point before I got the car because it shifts so fast and smooth. Not like the 1995 I had. The supercharger is in the next phase so give me a while.

So people, I just want you to follow along. I'm going to post a tutorial or guide on anything I do so that it's easier for the next generation. Not gonna lie, it is hard to find info on LS400s nowadays and the people at a certain Club Lexus forums won't help. I plan on learning a lot these next 12 months so why not join me?

Bonus

My tastes change about every... Two weeks? If anybody is interested, this is the plan with the interior. Colors are subject to change but I'm liking what I have picked out.

Everything is going to be restored. First - the dash. I thought about white but it wouldn't fit and would get really dirty. I've though about a full cover as well but I want to restore it and not just cover it up. I will probably be making a new dash cover to match the material I plan to use to restore the seats.

The seats are going to be furry. I have enough people that hate my car already so why not push it a little further? Jokes aside, I really like the idea of furry seats with everything else being leather. The seats are going to be black probably with some dark red to match the shifter and part of the center console.

Anyway, the dash will be taken out and painted gloss black. The center console will be reupholstered where there's leather, probably the top being this red leather and the bottom being black leather.

The red would be the accent tone. I will be leaving a lot of the original beige except I'm going to repaint everything. The interior is almost 25 years old so it's obviously fading a little.

Of course I have to add some personal touches. Although I like the woodgrain around the buttons and everywhere else, it might have to be modernized... You will have to wait and see.

I have to remove the clear piece of plastic around the shifter without breaking it so I can get the moisture out and possibly change the font of P R N D 3 2 L. I'm too far in to sell the car now so I have to make it mine completely.

Upholstery takes a long time so that will be 60% of this phase. I plan on really getting my skill up and paying attention to every little detail. I am so dedicated that I am putting everything else on hold unless it needs attention, of course. When it's done... I think I'm gonna sleep in it.

Jokes aside, I still remember doing a horrible job reupholstering the shifter on my previous lemon of a car, the black 1995 Lexus LS400. Now I'm at the point where I can do the very thing I was striving for?! It's a very rewarding feeling to me. Look for articles mainly concerning upholstery work and a few about cars for the next month or so.


P.S. Will somebody tell me what kind of content you want to see? Would you rather see a review of a car, info on a good cheap car, something else? Please tell me in the comments!

Thanks for reading,

- Rokas K.

P.S. A call for help.

I'm gonna make this short and sweet. I don't want money (I do but don't send it). Have any spares lying around that you think I can use? Want to help me wrench on the car and live in the Poinciana/Kissimmee/Orlando, FL area? Contact me through Instagram at @rokask1 or email me at norgin@gmail.com. I figured there might be someone out there actually wanting to do this so come join me and you will get full recognition somehow. I could use help with anything and LS400 people are generally cool. Holla!

Heavily Customized Cars

There are some people in this world that don't conform to our social norms. This is most evident in the car scene. The amount of different styles of modification is already crazy enough. There's hotrods, tuners, track babies, showcars, and many more styles of car building.

I want to talk about my favorite. Nothing screams "Passion!" like a fully customized car. Please understand - I am not talking about cars that have been painted, have nice rims, suspension, etc. I'm talking about cars that are completely unique. My favorite ones are the ones you can't tell what car it is right away. Example?

Yes, I thought it was a Dodge too at first. It's an LS400. The lines on the side gave it away.

I'm going to include slightly modified cars to kind of show the progression.  What I want to talk about, though, is the rare unicorn that is a completely customized car and the people that build them. The first person to ever inspire me was my grandfather who, I believe in the 1970s in Lithuania, built his own car from parts he had.

The man ran a successful mechanic shop and although I never got to question him about the car fully, he made a very nice, luxury car from what he had. Don't ask me what motor or anything. I know it had a custom body reminiscent of those big, old cars gangsters would drive in the 1930s and 1940s. The back had no trunk - it was rounded. I'm sorry but I don't know classics like that or I would give you something to compare it to. Just imagine a 1940s gangster car where they're unloading automatics into a store.

Grandpa Kestas Reklys had to join together a frame, suspension, motor, transmission, body, and connect all of the gauges and seats. The man was a jack of all trades and a master at some. I mentioned in another article that he built two houses.

When it comes to these completely custom cars, I want you to imagine the process the builders went through. Let's go back to the Lexus above. I would be surprised if they didn't completely gut the car. Then they had to fabricate the parts to make the front end look right - not to mention making it. This is a front end swap. It's hands down my favorite type of modification. It turns the car into something completely different.

My dream is a back end swap. I want an LS400 wagon.

The amount of customization differs from one person to the next. This Nissan caught my eye. I've seen a few of these wide body kits but never have I seen someone running 50mm spacers. My jaw dropped when he told me. I said 30mm? And he drifts it. He knows it's dangerous. The balls on that guy...

But what caught my eye was the faded paint and how awesome it actually looks with the wide body kit. It looks like something out of Mad Max. It had a nice exhaust so it shows the guy put good work into it. He said he was eventually going to paint it, though.

Funny - a true car enthusiast will do paint last. Always.

That Nissan is a good example of a car somewhere near the midpoint of the build. I don't know if he just wants some paint and that's it but I doubt it.

I used to think that most custom cars were made in a shop and bought. Turns out that a lot of these cars were created by their owners over time. I used to think you had to have money to do this but it's not true. Yes, it does cost a lot, but you will be putting it in little by little. The average person makes enough money to maintain the car and save up the extra money to get something new here and there. Years later, the car is a complete beauty?

I've had at least three people with very nice cars tell me this; little by little!

Next is a 1990s Lincoln? I believe. This one is customized very little. Just a big drop and paint job. Thing is, I've never seen one of these cars looking like that. And you know what? It looks amazing slammed like that! Made me want one.


(X Mercury X)

These cars are all vehicles I saw on the road except for this Celica. It's truly hard to find a completely customized car. The owner of this beauty has customized his headlights to be one long bar which, to me, is a great look and great idea. It really makes the car stand out

You can do something simple like this and change the entire look and feel of the car. This brings me to the whole point of this article;

1. You don't need to be rich to create an amazing custom car.

2. Small things can completely change the look.

3. Do what YOU like and don't get discouraged by anything - within reason. There are times when we come up with an idea that seems great at the time but a few days later you ask yourself "What was I thinking?" It's good to write your ideas down before you implement them.

4. Write your ideas down. Have a notebook just for that. I have a good 40 designs in mine of which I've used maybe 5-6 and I am waiting for the resources to do some of the others.

5. Before you do any big modifications, you HAVE to fix any problems the car has first. Fix your check engine lights, maybe get a tune, get it inspected. You need to know what potential problems may arise.

6. Have $300 set aside just in case something breaks (more if you can afford it).

7. This goes with 5 and 6; when initially fixing your car, you can start spending a little bit of money like $20 for every $100 you put in to fixing the car. That's what kept me sane waiting. $20 gets you a lot; fenders, headlight tints, hood pins, spoilers. You can work on the look as you work on the mechanics.

I will leave with this. If no one has done something in particular that you thought of, instead of getting discouraged, be the first person to do it! I was thinking of putting a roof rack on the LS400 but I can't decide if I really want it. Roof racks aren't my thing BUT on certain cars they look really good. I don't even have a picture to look at to see if I want it.

My car is in Phase 1. I had to make a set of phases to get my car where it needs to be. Starting at Phase 0, I hit 1 after taking care of major maintenance (timing belt, water pump, spark plugs, spark plug wires, alternator, sensors, hoses, misc.). Another requirement was that I had done some things aesthetically as well.

I bring this up for a reason. As I mentioned before, you CAN build a $40,000 custom car as long as you do it little by little. There's X amount of things I have to do to get to Phase 2 but by Phase 5, the car will either be a wagon, have a front end swap, or something else radical. If anyone has seen an LS400 wagon, please let me know! By 3 or 4, there will be a supercharger. And I know it'll take me a few years but it's fine! I love the car already.

- Rokas K.