1998 Lexus SC400

This is my 1998 Lexus SC400, I call her “Onyx,” in memory of my childhood favorite show, Pokémon. My last car was a 1995 Lexus SC300 5MT that was finished in Renaissance Red, and her name was “Ruby,” so it felt natural to keep the rare gemstone nomenclature.

Onyx is 1 of only 1189 made by Lexus that year at their Fuji production plant and has an astoundingly low 96,000 miles on the powertrain. In Japan, the equivalent car would be the UZZ31-chassis Toyota Soarer 4.0 GT.

This car is powered by the 1UZFE-VVTi 4.0 liter quad cam V8 engine making 300hp and 300lb-ft of torque. It has an A650E 5-speed gated automatic.

It’s finished in 202 Black Onyx paint and has a matching black leather interior.

I purchased this from its second owner in September of 2018 and in the time of me owning it, I’ve replaced many old/failing parts and maintained it all by myself. This car was in very rough shape mechanically when I purchased it and now it runs and drives like a brand new car. From things as small as trim pieces to as large as a transmission service, I have maintained this car to the best of my human abilities.

Performance modifications to the car include R1 drilled and slotted rotors with carbon ceramic pads, custom 2.25” catless exhaust with Flowmaster Super 40 mufflers, Cusco strut tower brace, and a Spectre drop in air filter.

Future modification plans include aftermarket headers, bigger fuel injectors, ARP head studs, Megan Racing coilovers, aggressive aftermarket tune, aftermarket cams, Kaaz or Tomei LSD, Driftmotion suspension components, polyurethane body bushings, Mishimoto radiator with electric fan setup, aftermarket head unit and stereo system, LS400 big brake kit, cold air intake, Optima yellow top battery, and CD009 manual transmission swap.