CANDY LEXUS

Cheyne Gross and His Vision

20-year-old Cheyne Gross thought so too, so he bought this ’01 IS300 used a few years back, and slowly started its transformation from stock to show winner. It all started when a friend of his took him to an Extreme Autofest car show, and that’s when the urge hit him to build a legitimate trophy magnet. Shortly afterwards, Cheyne and his girlfriend Alanah made plans for the required modifications to impress the judges.

Customizing the Body: One-of-a-Kind Wide-Body Design

While the stock IS300 body is already considered edgy in appearance with its short front and rear overhangs, factory clear taillights and wedge styling, the idea came to further improve the body. In stock form, the car has a crisp and unique character line that runs the length of the car. In spite of that, the feeling was that something was missing, so a new styling cue was added. The decision was also made to shave off the door handles and fit an aluminum fuel filler door. But more mods would be needed if this car was to be a head-turner on the hotly competitive Cali show circuit.

After studying the basic body shape of the IS300, the judgment was made to resist any notion of purchasing a simple over-the-counter bolt-on or molded-in kit, so a one-of-a-kind wide-body addition was created from scratch.

M1 Auto Body and the Unique Transformation

The staff at M1 Auto Body in El Monte, California handled the project, and it took two months to complete this work, using foam and fiberglass and lots of precise attention to detail. An authentic Altezza roof spoiler was imported and added, along with vented side skirts. The rear of the car is now 2.5-inches wider per side, and each front fender was augmented by two inches, leaving lots of room for wider rolling stock. Cheyne loves the color red, and after looking at several different color options, girlfriend Alanah picked the Candy Apple Red hue from the House of Kolor paint chip book. This classic hot rod color added a great deal to the classy look of this Lexus.

Upgraded Wheels, Suspension, and Braking

The stock wheels/tires were replaced with a set of 19-inch M1 9-spoke MOMOs, 8.5-inch up front and 9-inch out back, wrapped in 235×35-19 rubber. Brakes were upgraded with drilled and slotted rotors, and a set of L-Sportline progressive-rate coils and shocks were added, lowering the car two inches in the rear and 1.5 inches up front. Cornering capabilities were further improved through the use of Cusco front/rear sway bars with several suspension components being chromed for added attention to detail.

Turbocharging the 2JZ-GE Engine

In standard form, the VVT-i-equipped I6 2JZ-GE engine provides 215 hp and 218 lb-ft of torque, good enough for a top speed of 143 mph. Using an 86mm bore, 86mm stroke and 10.5 compression ratio double-overhead camshaft, the four-valves-per-cylinder engine delivers smooth and silky low and mid-range torque. Even so, Cheyne felt he could use more ponies, so a major upgrade was in order.

The chosen method for an increase in power came via a forced induction system, supplied from Swift Racing Technologies, incorporating a single turbocharger/intercooler arrangement.

Detailed Turbo System Components

SRT’s kit includes a divided ductile iron cast turbo exhaust manifold, SRT spec’d GT Series turbo, Turbonetics Racegate wastegate, Blitz Super Sound Dual Drive blow-off valve, 22.5x12x3-inch front mount Garrett Intercooler, Lucas 440cc injectors, Walbro 255lph high-pressure in-tank fuel pump, AFE high-flow lifetime cone filter with built in velocity stack, and a 3-inch mandrel bent downpipe with a built-in Hi-Flow Catalytic Converter.

All related hardware comes with the SRT system, and for this application, the Stage II kit was used. A GReddy E-Manage programmable fuel management system was added, and is a universal piggy-back-type unit, which taps into the factory ECU wiring and utilizes the existing sensors. A Haltech F10X Standalone Fuel Computer and 3Bar Map Sensor were used and the system has a max boost of 11 psi, good for 375 hp.

Interior Upgrades and ICE Modifications

Lots of attention was given to the interior as well, including a full upholstery job by Kreative Auto Interior and Planet Stereo ICE. The area where the glove box was once located received a custom fiberglass box to house a Sony PS2 system, and two XO Vision 5.6-inch LCD color monitors were fitted to the back of the seat headrests. The trunk area was upgraded with a one-off fiberglass enclosure that houses three Audiobahn 12-inch woofers, two A8000T Audiobahn amps and a single Audiobahn 1-farad capacitor.

Accolades and Future Plans

Special thanks goes out to all the sponsors of the car as well as Meguiar’s car care products for helping keep the Candy Lexus always looking its best. The beauty has won trophies at every outing, including “Best Lexus,” “Best Luxury” and “Best Paint” at major events and numerous “Best of Show” awards at the local shows. Future plans are Top Secret, and that’s not Cheyne and Alanah saying they won’t tell; it’s the Japanese Performance Engineering Service that supplies all those radical parts that the drifters are using on their rides.