Allow me to introduce... myself.

[XfactorRA29]

Hello,

I'm Thanh, am car crazy, live in SoCal (805) and drive a 2002 IS300. I'm usually over on grassrootsmotorsports, my.IS or Clublexus but a member of more forums than I can count (yay automotive ADD) I am a Toyota fanboy at heart, I love wagons and BBS wheels. I have an 8 year old son who is the definition of awesome and has gas in his veins just like me and the RA29 is for us to wrench on together as our first project.


My IS3 when I had it all kitted a few years ago.


What it looks like now, pretty much. (A little higher)


Bought it sight unseen (saw pics) from ~400 miles away and in another state. Used uship and had it delivered last Wednesday.
I was originally looking at E34 Tourings but this car was meant to be mine cus it found me
Was buying junkyard parts before I even finalized the deal on the car


I'm so overdue for a project, I can't do what I want to my IS300 as what I'd like to do is out of my budget at the moment and the car is my daily, no good to have it down or unreliable. To get my fix I've been working on cars for friends/sisters/parents/3rd cousin's boyfriends mailman's roommate from college, 2nd year. Mostly maintenance type stuff with a few widebody sr20det 240sx's type stuff thrown in here and there. This is the biggest automotive project I've ever had and I hope I didn't bite off more than I can chew.


Won't be able to start work on it yet though, I bought this 2 weeks earlier, it's a surprise gift for my dad and have to get it roadworthy first.

Look forward to reading/writing with ya'll!

[73GTV]

Nice introduction, welcome to the site.

[faffi]

cool cars, welcome

[XfactorRA29]

Thanks guys!
I can't wait to start on the RA29, been busting butt every weekend to finish up the LS400 and my motorcycle and clean out the garage so I can start. She's a motivator for sure

[cheela]

how was using uship? I've never had a car shipped before. Thought about it since a rust free celica is hard to find in Wisconsin. How much did it cost to ship if you don't mind me asking?

oh and welcome by the way. Looks like a nice project. What are your plans for it?

[XfactorRA29]

how was using uship? I've never had a car shipped before. Thought about it since a rust free celica is hard to find in Wisconsin. How much did it cost to ship if you don't mind me asking?

oh and welcome by the way. Looks like a nice project. What are your plans for it?

Thanks for the welcome
I had never used uship prior to this either, it's sorta like ebay, post the location of the car, where you want it delivered and the timeframe you're working with and different companies and independents submit quotes. You pick based on price/feedback. Car came from North Nevada to me in SoCal, approx 450miles and iirc the price was $1 per mile. I got quotes as low as $300 and as high as $900. I chose a shipper with a good number of feedback, most of which were very positive, the few negatives were from unreasonable expectations or deals that didn't end up going through-nobody got outright screwed or damaged. Well, I did email them first to ask about insurance, licensing, making sure the truck would be able to get where the car was located (seller provided helpful info) and get it to me securely.
Price will depend on if you're along a popular route or not, if the shipper can book multiple deliveries along the way or one going each way that will bring the price down a bit. An acquaintance who drives trucks locally told me I got a good deal. Beats me trying to find a trailer, truck and a weekend to drive up there.

My plan... stopping it from returning to earth by removing the rust and coating it, get it running and driving and looking reasonably well until my skill level/budget grow to allow me to get her into pristine condition later on down the line. Restomod-ish, I guess. I'd like to do an engine swap someday. I plan on doing all of the work myself (with help from my 8 year old) and learning as I go. I definitely need to learn to weld.