2JZ Swapped Lexus GS300 Drift Car: A Street-Legal Build

This 2JZ-swapped Lexus GS300 started life as a non-running Marketplace find and ended up as a street-legal drift car that its owner, Tony Lam (@cakes_hero), drives straight to the track. Photography is by Adam Delgadillo. Here's the journey in Tony's own words, followed by the full build list.

From Honda Guy to 2JZ Swapped Lexus GS300 Owner

Hey, my name is Tony Lam, and this is my journey with my 2000 Lexus GS300.

Growing up I have always been a Honda guy, which is how I originally got my nickname, TonyVtec. I always enjoyed the thrill of street racing, the high speed, the adrenaline you get. But as I got older and wiser I started maturing and grew out of that phase. I sold my Honda S2000 in 2015 and got a truck, which is still my daily driver.

I took a few years away from the car scene, until a few buddies and I decided to rent a shop for our projects and some work. It was the perfect opportunity to get back in the scene! So I picked up an Acura Integra, a JDM front end and a whole Del Sol just to pull the B18 motor and trans out of.

Finding the GS300 and Chasing the 2JZ Dream

One day my buddy James and his son went to a drift event, and my wife and I tagged along. She got a ride-along and fell in love. So what do I do? As soon as we got home I was on Marketplace searching for something RWD. I found a non-running GS300 a couple of streets over from the shop and offered the Integra as a trade.

Sure enough, it's midnight, and me and the homies are trying to unload a GS300 with bent suspension and a missing front end off our trailer. In my mind I'm like, "Shit, all 2JZs make 1000hp with a big enough turbo!"

So I went down the rabbit hole and ordered forged rods, pistons, valve train, everything to build a monster drift car. But one thing led to another and I could never get the motor to run right. I ended up selling everything and buying a 2JZ-GTE and dropped it in, and ran into the same issue.

Months of diagnosis later, after pulling all the wiring diagrams, we found a 5-amp fuse for something like a glove box light (I can't remember) that tied into the ECU and kept it from running this whole time! Kept it twin turbo for a while!

Car Shows, Autocross and Finally Drifting

The boys stopped drifting and got into car show stuff, so, me being me, I wanted to join the boys. For the first stage of the car, I painted it purple, with stock bumpers and everything. Just slammed, with some wheels.

We did car shows for a bit. After not having fun with that, and feeling the need for speed again (by this time I'm a father, so street racing was a big NO for me), we eventually got into autocross and had a blast! After some drama within the autoX community, we decided to stop. One of my buddies was like, "Hey, let's go drifting!" And I was all for it! That's how we ended up here!

Dialling In a Street-Legal Drift Car

I finished up my single turbo conversion with a BorgWarner S366SXE at midnight the night before the event. We went out there and had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. After that event, we needed to dial the car in.

So before our second event, I had a custom roll bar made, plus custom floor-mounted seat brackets since I'm a big guy and need the room for my helmet. I paired that up with a nice Buddy Club seat and 4-point harnesses. I still had no idea what I was doing the next couple of events, but here we are now. Two and a half years in, I feel like I've finally dialled the car in to where it feels perfect for me. The major things that really helped were a decent "angle kit," a more responsive turbo, and a good seat and harnesses to hold you in!

I feel I've gotten my 2JZ-swapped Lexus GS300 to a point where I'm comfortable and can drive it whenever I need to (yes, it's still street legal!), or straight to the track with the boys! No one makes a lot for these cars since everyone does VIP-style builds on them, so there was a lot of trial and error.

I am a strong believer in doing everything yourself, and not just dropping the car off for this, then bringing it here for that, then over here for paint. With the help of my team, Hero Garage, I can say everything was done in-house from the welding and fab work to the first paint job, and now a wrap.

What's Next for the 2JZ Swapped Lexus GS300

My future plan for the car, hopefully after this 2025 season, is to pull the motor and go through everything: all new seals and gaskets, basically a whole motor refresh. Maybe some aftermarket head work like cams, springs and retainers, so I feel that peace of mind when I'm at the top of 2nd or 3rd around the corner. It's been a long time coming, but it was so worth the journey.

2JZ Swapped Lexus GS300 Full Build List

Tony's 2JZ-swapped Lexus GS300 is built on a Pulsar 6262g single turbo setup, an ECUMaster EMU Black standalone and Wilwood brakes, wrapped in Candy Metallic Neon Pink. If you like seeing these sedans done differently, check out this 1998 Lexus GS300 sleeper built for speed, and for more sideways action, there's Heather LaRoche's LS-swapped Mazda RX-7 drift build.

Engine and Turbo

• 2JZ-GTE VVTi
• Custom Turbo Manifold with Dual Wastegates and T4 Flange
• Pulsar 6262g Turbo
• Twin-Twin MVS 38mm Wastegates
• ATI Super Damper
• Megan Racing Dual Core Radiator
• Mishimoto Fan Shroud for a MK4 Supra, Modified to Fit
• Custom 4-Inch Intake
• 4-Inch Downpipe
• 3.5-Inch Mid Pipe to a FlowMaster FX Muffler out to a 4-Inch Tip
• ECUMaster Black Standalone ECU with all WHP Sensors
• Tune by Ben Lee at VPF

Drivetrain and Fuel

• Colorado AR5 5-Speed Transmission
• Action Clutch 6-Puck Clutch Kit
• Shaft Masters 1-Piece Solid Driveshaft
• Heat Lighting Speed Shop Clutch Pedal Bracket with Wilwood Master and Pedal
• Fab Bot V2 Remote Shifter
• 15-Gallon RCI Fuel Cell
• RCI Fuel Pump Hanger for Internal Pump
• DW400 Fuel Pump

Suspension

• 12k/16k BC Racing BR Coilovers
• Heat Lighting Speed Shop 1.5-Inch Extended Lower Control Arms
• Heat Lighting Speed Shop High Angle "Cut Knuckles"
• Battle Version/VOODOO Mix Outer Tie Rods
• Manzo Rear Toe Arms
• Adjustable Front and Rear Upper Control Arms
• Stock Sway Bars Front and Rear
• IS300 Solid Subframe Bushings

Brakes

• Twin Turbo MK4 4-Piston Calipers (Front)
• R1 Concepts Rotors
• 428 Fab Dual Caliper Brackets
• Wilwood Dual Calipers
• PBM Hydro Handbrake Setup
• Chase Bays Dual Piston Brake Booster Delete

Interior

• GReddy Black Edition Steering Wheel with Chasing J's Gold Hardware
• NRG Short Hub and Quick Release
• Custom Cluster Panel
• PowerTune Digital Dash
• Custom Radio and AC Delete Panel (houses battery kill switch and USB for the ECUMaster)
• 8-Inch Tall Shifter Rod
• PBM Purple Shift Knob
• PBM Hydro Setup with Matching Purple Handle
• Custom Shifter Bezel and Boot
• Custom Floor-Mounted Seat Brackets
• Buddy Club Racing Spec Sport Seat (driver)
• Buddy Club 4-Point Harness
• NRG Bucket Seat (passenger)
• Custom Roll Bar

Exterior

• OEM Toyota Aristo Grill
• KFD Team Vertex Style Kit: Front Bumper, Skirts and Rear Bumper
• Seibon Carbon Hood
• AeroCatch Hood Latches
• Custom Front Bash Bar
• FDF Hood Vent
• No-Name Rear Duckbill
• Custom 1 of 1 Rear Over Fenders (shout out to Max F from @BlackCloudBrotherhood, who made a mold from his car and had it sent off to 2F Performance to have them made)
• Desire Motor Factory Front Over Fenders
• Candy Metallic Neon Pink Wrap from Vinyl Frog

Final Thoughts on the 2JZ Swapped Lexus GS300

A fuse the size of a thumbnail cost Tony months, and a midnight turbo install nearly beat the clock, but the result is a 2JZ-swapped Lexus GS300 that does exactly what he wanted: drifts hard on Saturday and still drives home. With a full motor refresh planned, it's only going to get better.

Want more builds like this in print? Grab a copy from the Stance Auto Magazine store on Amazon.

Owner: Tony Lam, @cakes_hero

Photography: Adam Delgadillo, @0adam7 | Facebook: Adam Delgadillo Photography