With the GTR running insane amounts of power and achieving the quarter mile times I set out for, I’ve been looking for a more challenging build to take circuit racing, and eventually onto Time Attack next year.
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Owning an IS300 (2JZ-GE) as my daily I kept a close eye on the Lexus IS on the LOC and MY.IS forum. On Driftworks I saw that Martin was selling the full carbon fibre wide arch kit for his Time Attack Lexus.
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In terms of the engine, with a monstrous car like this, a 2ltr or even a 3ltr wouldn’t do it justice. So after doing some research I decided on the 1UZ-FE engine. This is the Toyota V8 engine used in the Lexus LS400 and Toyota Soarers. It has 250bhp and 260lb/ft in stock. With some very simple upgrades can be pushed easily to 400bhp without even taking the engine apart. Throttle bodies alone gives you an extra 25%, and forced induction can take you up to 400bhp without any issues.
The difficulty is sourcing the gearbox, conversion adaptors, driveshafts etc. Luckily I’ve been speaking to Roger @ Thor Racing who has been giving me tons of advice on what I need to get the V8 into my IS body shell.
Since my IS300 is absolutely mint I set out to find a cheaper donor car and one of my sponsors GTBitz who has been supplying me with parts for my GTR gave me his own Manual IS200 to use as a base car at a really cheap price, it had under 60k on the clock. The only downside is that the car is Green! but with so much of the car being replaced for carbon fibre it will be a challenge to find any green when I’m done.
Within the first weekend the bonnet, front wings and bumper were stripped off the Lexus and the wide arch kit was quickly fitted.
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Last weekend we stripped the interior out. The interior was tanned colour, so anyone who thought of the colour scheme Green and Tan leathers really needs there eyes checked it was hideous!
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Please feel free to leave any comments below!
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