Progress Thread Akumu No Dara Ra's LSX swap and build Thread! Updated (2/10/22 @ 8:30PM CST)

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In news that completely shocked me...

I may have landed a job at $20/hour with tons of overtime available- potential to earn 6 figures yearly with Mercedes-Benz. Full time and then some, Full benefits day 1, union job (so I won't get **** with). If that happens, expect this build to be reorganized a wee bit. Assuming I do get the job, I'll probably end up buying an S10 or a Ranger to get there and back, and then i have to make the hard decision

Do I buy a 70-73 fastback for this swap? or do i get something you wouldn't expect a LS in like a CRX? Do I buy my dream car, a Lotus Elise in Isotope Green and enjoy that? Hell, 70k/year and no bills? :poo:, I'm building a race car, leggo.
 
In news that completely shocked me...

I may have landed a job at $20/hour with tons of overtime available- potential to earn 6 figures yearly with Mercedes-Benz. Full time and then some, Full benefits day 1, union job (so I won't get **** with). If that happens, expect this build to be reorganized a wee bit. Assuming I do get the job, I'll probably end up buying an S10 or a Ranger to get there and back, and then i have to make the hard decision

Do I buy a 70-73 fastback for this swap? or do i get something you wouldn't expect a LS in like a CRX? Do I buy my dream car, a Lotus Elise in Isotope Green and enjoy that? Hell, 70k/year and no bills? :poo:, I'm building a race car, leggo.
That’s a LOT of OT to get from $20/hr to six figures!
 
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You will get it
In news that completely shocked me...

I may have landed a job at $20/hour with tons of overtime available- potential to earn 6 figures yearly with Mercedes-Benz. Full time and then some, Full benefits day 1, union job (so I won't get **** with). If that happens, expect this build to be reorganized a wee bit. Assuming I do get the job, I'll probably end up buying an S10 or a Ranger to get there and back, and then i have to make the hard decision

Do I buy a 70-73 fastback for this swap? or do i get something you wouldn't expect a LS in like a CRX? Do I buy my dream car, a Lotus Elise in Isotope Green and enjoy that? Hell, 70k/year and no bills? :poo:, I'm building a race car, leggo.
. So lets roll.
 
Didn't get the job. Shocking how "Just need people to show up on time" and "75% turnover rate" means "We're not hiring people who have never missed a day of work in their life, even though we're having most people quit day one." Kinda irritated on that.

Drove a 98 cobra. Hated it. Clutch pedal extremely hard to push down (wife says might be cus it's not hydraulic, and all the cars I previously drove were). I went to drive an SC 400 (which was what I originally wanted about a year ago, financial hard times and whatnot) and they just happened to have taken it in that morning. I liked how it drove a lot but it was 5k too much for what it was. It had 150,000 miles and beat up outside, which wasn't an issue. Mechanically, the cobra was okay-ish but needed too much for the cost. Car had been in a front-end collision at some point and was headed to wholesale. had lived an extremely rough life. Trans fluid was burned and I swear the oil smelled funny. Scrapper.

The SC 400 I drove was fairly solid. It felt planted. Was a solid body but needed suspension work all the way around and the transmission clunked going into reverse. I still plan to T56 swap it eventually, although I'm weighing my options on transmission again after finding out where the WTQ is likely to fall on this engine. It had 200,000 miles but ran and drove nicely. Def had some loose heat shields rattling around the exhaust and I also found a $50 on the lot, so that was nice.

I've got it down to three cars, might elimintate the 3rd because I'm kinda set on a 2 door vs a 4 door. Still need

99-04 GT - I heard the clutch on the GT is slightly easier, but a hydraulic conversion makes that a moot point.

Lexus SC 400, with a preference of 92-94 or 98-00. (engine differences, 95-97 models have the original 1uz with significantly weaker rods, later ones have an A650 5AT instead of the old A430 4speed and significantly more HP/tq thanks to inclusion of VVTi, but have weak rods.) The difference between them is largely moot since the end game is a manual swap anyway.

Lexus GS 400, 98-00. Was actually the fastest production sedan in the world in 1998 before the M5 came in 1999 and kicked it's ass. Ironically used the same engine as the 98-00 SC 400 AND the same A650 5 speed auto. The GS weighed slightly less than the more expensive SC 400 (Which was a Sports Coupe and even cost more!) and was nearly a full second faster from 0-60 due to the different rear end. Just about anything you can do to a SC 400 you can do to a GS 400.
 
Didn't get the job. Shocking how "Just need people to show up on time" and "75% turnover rate" means "We're not hiring people who have never missed a day of work in their life, even though we're having most people quit day one." Kinda irritated on that.

Drove a 98 cobra. Hated it. Clutch pedal extremely hard to push down (wife says might be cus it's not hydraulic, and all the cars I previously drove were). I went to drive an SC 400 (which was what I originally wanted about a year ago, financial hard times and whatnot) and they just happened to have taken it in that morning. I liked how it drove a lot but it was 5k too much for what it was. It had 150,000 miles and beat up outside, which wasn't an issue. Mechanically, the cobra was okay-ish but needed too much for the cost. Car had been in a front-end collision at some point and was headed to wholesale. had lived an extremely rough life. Trans fluid was burned and I swear the oil smelled funny. Scrapper.

The SC 400 I drove was fairly solid. It felt planted. Was a solid body but needed suspension work all the way around and the transmission clunked going into reverse. I still plan to T56 swap it eventually, although I'm weighing my options on transmission again after finding out where the WTQ is likely to fall on this engine. It had 200,000 miles but ran and drove nicely. Def had some loose heat shields rattling around the exhaust and I also found a $50 on the lot, so that was nice.

I've got it down to three cars, might elimintate the 3rd because I'm kinda set on a 2 door vs a 4 door. Still need

99-04 GT - I heard the clutch on the GT is slightly easier, but a hydraulic conversion makes that a moot point.

Lexus SC 400, with a preference of 92-94 or 98-00. (engine differences, 95-97 models have the original 1uz with significantly weaker rods, later ones have an A650 5AT instead of the old A430 4speed and significantly more HP/tq thanks to inclusion of VVTi, but have weak rods.) The difference between them is largely moot since the end game is a manual swap anyway.

Lexus GS 400, 98-00. Was actually the fastest production sedan in the world in 1998 before the M5 came in 1999 and kicked it's ass. Ironically used the same engine as the 98-00 SC 400 AND the same A650 5 speed auto. The GS weighed slightly less than the more expensive SC 400 (Which was a Sports Coupe and even cost more!) and was nearly a full second faster from 0-60 due to the different rear end. Just about anything you can do to a SC 400 you can do to a GS 400.
I ended up being basically given my brother-in-law's MX-3 Yesterday, I'm going to pick it up on the 27th after he does the valve seals on it. After that I save up. I've eliminated the GS 400 so It's 99-04 GT 6 speed or I get an Sc400 with a solid body. I kinda put the cart before the horse here.

This way I can save for a nicer car as opposed to a beater that needs a LOT of work. On the other hand, I can buy a roller and slowly put the engine together.
 
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Drove a 98 cobra. Hated it. Clutch pedal extremely hard to push down (wife says might be cus it's not hydraulic, and all the cars I previously drove were). I went to drive an SC 400 (which was what I originally wanted about a year ago, financial hard times and whatnot) and they just happened to have taken it in that morning. I liked how it drove a lot but it was 5k too much for what it was. It had 150,000 miles and beat up outside, which wasn't an issue. Mechanically, the cobra was okay-ish but needed too much for the cost. Car had been in a front-end collision at some point and was headed to wholesale. had lived an extremely rough life. Trans fluid was burned and I swear the oil smelled funny. Scrapper.


How did you find the trans fluid to be burned?
 
How did you find the trans fluid to be burned?
Transmission dipstick. pulled it, color was very dark, wiped it, tested again, still dark and smelled burned. a very drak brownish color and somewhat sparkly lead me to believe it was done. It was tough to get into gear as well. It was almost like someone put engine oil in the transmission instead of transmission fluid. Yuck.
 
Transmission dipstick. pulled it, color was very dark, wiped it, tested again, still dark and smelled burned. a very drak brownish color and somewhat sparkly lead me to believe it was done. It was tough to get into gear as well. It was almost like someone put engine oil in the transmission instead of transmission fluid. Yuck.
A 98 cobra would have the T-45 transmission which wouldn't have a dipstick
 
A 98 cobra would have the T-45 transmission which wouldn't have a dipstick
Maybe it was being sold as a cobra but it was just a gt that just had cobra parts on it. It looked like some kid had the car and got in over their head modding it. Maybe it had a transmission swap. IDK the whole car was sketchy. I didn't have any intention of purchasing that one. Maybe they put a transmission fluid dipstick in the oil. Iunno.