[Macskyver]

I just bought back my old LS430 from my friend after it started having engine problems... Long story short, it has a blown head gasket... which is just fine by me as I've been wanting an excuse to tear into an LS430 and modify the crap out of it.

I really love the LS430s. They are super comfortable, have really good suspension, amazing turning radius, very good aerodynamics (and consequently fuel efficiency). I would argue that it is the best platform made by Toyota/Lexus.

They are not without fault though. They are very complicated, lots of systems/feature, etc. The connectors on the wiring harness in the engine/transmission area basically turn to dust. Even though they are super reliable, it seems like once something starts going wrong, it's never ending. They are also unfortunately expensive to maintain.

The purpose of this build is to completely simplify and "de-tech-ify" the LS430 and make it the best car for me. I'm shooting for an ultra-reliable, fuel efficient, fun to drive, comfortable vehicle that can survive the next Carrington event.

There's also a certain philosophy behind this build centered on taking cars back to a simpler and more sustainable place which is why this build is on Ecomodder and not some other forum. Modern cars just piss me off. They use screens that require to you divert your attention to operate (instead of tactile switches). They beep at you incessantly, often times for no reason. They steer for you and brake for you and generally make it so the driver needs to pay less and less attention. They require monthly subscriptions to take advantage of all their tech features. They also seem to be suited for our "throwaway" culture where it becomes more economically viable to throw them away or trade them in than maintain them and use them for many years. And even if you wanted to maintain them yourself, they seem to be designed to make it unfeasible for the average person.

Enough of my ranting... I'll address each component of the build in separate posts: