Building a Yakuza-Inspired Lexus LS400
**Article: The Journey of Transforming Tristan's 1998 Lexus LS400 into a VIP Showstopper**
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### Introduction
Hello molecules, my name is Tristan. Some of you may know me, and others might not. Recently, I was discovered in the desert, close to the brink of death, by the folks at Donut. This drink—it’s my 1998 Lexus LS400. I acquired it around four years ago with the ambitious goal of transforming it into an extraordinary VIP build. However, my journey took a detour when I got sidetracked with my S14 project. But today marks a new chapter as we begin to bring this vision to life.
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### Preparing the Car
The first step in this ambitious project is ensuring the car is clean and ready for modification. My LS has been sitting unwashed for about three to four years, accumulating layers of grime that need to be removed. We decided to take a ride around the block to assess what we’re dealing with.
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### Removing Old Parts
Before installing the new body kit, we need to remove all the old bumpers and skirts. Jimbo and I started by taking off the wheels to access the numerous nuts and bolts holding the fenders in place. Tristan humorously wondered if there was an order of operations or if it was just a matter of pulling bolts until everything falls off.
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### Installing the Body Kit
Next, we moved on to removing the side skirts, which were held on by small clips and weather stripping at the bottom. During this process, we discovered a random aluminum half-tube in the foam—a fascinating find that none of us had seen before.
With all the old parts removed, it was time to test fit the new body kit. Tristan purchased these Junction Produce shark fenders from someone on Instagram a couple of years ago. To our surprise, the body kit fit almost perfectly without much hassle. However, one challenge arose with the grill, which didn’t align initially and required some adjustments.
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### The History of VIP Style
As we worked on the car, Tristan took the opportunity to discuss the origins of VIP style. Rooted in Japanese tuning culture, VIP cars emerged from the boso zoku scene during the 70s and 80s. These street racers were known for their flashy and loud vehicles, often leading to police crackdowns.
After the boso zoku era ended, lower-level Yakuza members sought a new way to emulate the bosses they admired. Unable to afford luxury cars like BMWs or Mercedes, they turned to more affordable sedans like the Lexus LS400 and Toyota Crown, adding their own unique touches. This gave rise to VIP cars, characterized by dark paint, low suspension, excessive camber, loud pipes, tinted windows, and distinctive wheels.
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### Challenges and Solutions
The process wasn’t without its challenges. The grill needed significant adjustments, requiring sanding and notching to ensure a perfect fitment. Tristan humorously compared the car’s new look to a “fat Camry,” but he was thrilled with how it turned out.
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### Painting Process
With everything removed and fitted, the next step was prepping for paint. Tristan visited a neighborhood paint shop to gather supplies and met with locals who were eager to see his project. He spent time massaging and detailing the car, even using scotchbrite sandpaper and high-fill primer to prepare the fenders.
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### Final Assembly
The painting process revealed some orange peel texture, which would be addressed with a cut-and-buff method to achieve a smooth, mirror-like finish. Tristan expressed confidence in the paint job, anticipating how stunning the car would look once completed.
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### Conclusion
As the day came to a close, Tristan reflected on the progress made and the challenges overcome. He acknowledged the hard work put into transforming his LS400 into a true VIP showstopper. The journey wasn’t just about modifying a car; it was about embracing the essence of VIP culture—a blend of luxury, individuality, and street influence.
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**Note:** Tristan also took time to mention his sponsor, DraftKings, encouraging viewers to download the DraftKings Sportsbook app and use the code "donut" for exclusive offers. He humorously compared himself to a ball pump, feeling victorious after each achievement.
With the car now swagged out and ready for its final touches, Tristan concluded the video by thanking his audience, urging them to like, subscribe, and stay tuned for more content. The project was far from over, but Tristan’s passion and dedication were evident as he showcased his creation to the world.
WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: ena hello molecules my name is Tristan some of you guys know me some of you guys don't recently I was found in the desert at the brink of death by the folks at donut drink this drink it this is my 1998 Lexus LS400 I bought it about four years ago in hopes of turning it into this crazy VIP build but unfortunately I got sidetracked with my S14 project but that all changes today we're going to be putting a bespoke body kit ERS a wing on this thing and it's going to be absolutely it's going to be incredible along the way we're going to learn about where VIP style came from and why I'm choosing to turn my perfectly good running and driving Lexus into a Japanese drug dealer car my name is Tristan welcome to Donut all right so here's the dealo we've got a lot of work to do in order to install this body kit the right way but first I need to get this thing nice and clean to see what we're working with my LS has been sitting unwashed for like 3 4 years so it's got a lot of grime that needs to come off all right so let's go for a ride around the block and I'm going to fill you in on everything I've done on this car first things first we got it bagged on airlift 3p whole bunch of different suspension arms to fit these uh SSR conic but what's really going to elevate me from being important to very important is the body kit and arrow we're going to be installing this aim gain June VIP body kit these gorgeous Junction produce shark fenders and this one off drag wi from Japan baby dude I'm so stoked we're doing this today ah but before we put all this on the ls first we got to remove all the old bumpers s skirts and all that jazz let's start taking this car apart me and my boy Jimbo going to take these wheels off so we can access the 100 billion different nuts and bolts holding these fenders on oh yeah is there an order of operations for this Fender or is it just bolts just keep pulling bolts off until it falls off hey that's what's up dude oh it looks better already all right we're moving onto the side skirts these OEM ones are just held on by these little fillips in the side and a bunch of weather stripping Clips at the bottom oh there we go oh y look at that isn't that interesting there's just like a random aluminum half tube in the foam have any of you guys seen that before it's off all right cool now that everything is off the car the next step is to test fit the new body kit I bought these off of some dude on Instagram a couple years ago these are Junction produce shark fenders and as expected it's taking a little bit of muscle to rigle it into place but it doesn't fit that bad and then something happened I wasn't expecting the body kit just lined up it fit there you go damn there we go yeah dude this fits well doesn't it next up we're going to be removing this trunk liner so we can get underneath we're going to be drilling some holes to fit this wing and this thing is it's big it's got a lot of surface area it's heavy and I'm not going to trust double-sided tape on just this section alone so we're setting some Riv nuts today it's fine it's fine it looks pretty I trust Tristan it looks like he's going right to your hand D me up D me up D me up all right we got Tristan's rear bumper going to get out of the packaging get it mocked up I'm so strong and then we got the full kit on there then we just got to get it to the paint shop by the end of the day dang this KS nice dude dude it's really nice the cherry on top a beautiful bespoke aim gain badgeless Grill it don't fit right out of all the fiberglass pieces the grill is definitely the most complex shape so I'm not totally surprised it doesn't fit we just got to notch it right here sand that smooth so we can get a nice clean fitment that's better boom yo dude it looks like a fat Camry I love it it does bro I love this car now that I know everything fits it's time to prep everything for paint oh hey there as an official ball pumper I don't get a team ring when we win but I don't need a ring to feel like a winner because I've got today's sponsor DraftKings if you want the chance to be a winner too can download the DraftKings Sportsbook app today and sign up using Code donut right now all new customers who bet $5 will instantly get $250 plus 1 month of NFL Plus premium with $250 in bonus bets you can bet even more on anytime touchdowns I mean draft Kings is the place to bet on touchdowns they're an official partner of the NFL for a reason download DraftKings Sportsbook app now remember new customers that sign up using Code donut and bet just five bucks on any wager will instantly get $250 in bonus bets plus one month of NFL Plus premium that's code donut only on DraftKings Sportsbook now get out of here I got balls to the pump earlier I took a trip to the neighborhood paint shop to buy some supplies and meet with some of the locals I'm knocking them out the boot when we come to have now I don't bull I don't play hell yeah man I rub her down and massage her and you know I like that that's what's up all right what are you working on today my little do the girls love it yeah they love everything they love everything we have some scotchbrite sandpaper deaser High fill primer a bunch of sandpaper spreaders filler and an interface pad right now we're prepping these fenders I got it to about 400 grip but I think I'm going to bring it to 600 before I drop it off the paint let's get into it ha all right so I'm doing all this small stuff right now because I want Tristan to just you know kick back relax take some time to just be himself you know look he's been working hard he he knows the drill the unfortunate truth about fiberglass fenders is they are not as durable as your metal OEM ones so as a result every time that tire hits or rubs against it it introduces stress cracks right off the rip I can see a couple of cracks that are going all the way through so I'm going to cut those out with a Dremel and fill it in with panel Bond the paint shop is going to handle getting it nice and smooth with high fill primer and some blocking my goal right now is to make sure that all these parts are structurally sound and that they line up properly Y what I'm doing right now on the backs side of this Fender is applying a ton of panel Bond panel bond is this crazy two-part epoxy that when mixed together creates an insanely strong bond and a very strong surface I'm kind of using this as a cheat code rather than laying a lot more fiberglass on the backside and instead just smearing it all on going to give so much more rigidity there whenever the tire hits it it's not going to immediately go to that thin layer of fiberglass and go boom Fender is ready to go over to paint still looks like absolute garbon boia but I'm so stoked to see the is looking shiny black boosted when I pull up in this car people are going to start acting strange different even that's the thing though don't switch up on me promise you won't so where did VIP even come from in the first place well it's all a part of a big Twisted family tree of Japanese tuning Styles dating back nearly 50 years during the 70s and ' 80s Boku and Osaka Street Racers were terrorizing the locals with their flashy loud and colorful sports cars they ran through tolls cut it up in traffic and generally were an unwelcome and obnoxious presence just like the Takeover kids we have here in the United States some members took their delinquent Behavior far too far resulting in a serious Crackdown and police profiling so what did the Japanese government do well they passed a bill literally titled the act on prevention of unjust acts by organized crime group members in 1992 effectively putting an end to the boso scene but imagine you're a member of the Japanese Mafia whose boso zoku car is too hot to drive what do you do you got to be more lowkey OG the days of looking like a hot boy teenager were over it was time to start looking like a boss and you know what bosses Drive big black sedan so what I'm saying is these VIP cars are gang affiliated yaku's a baby but there is a misconception that I would like to clear up the top Yakuza brass at the time were driving Flagship saloons like the BMW 7 Series and Mercedes S-Class but they're not the ones that pioneered VIP cars it was actually lower level gang members of the Yakuza who wanted to look like the boss they couldn't afford the BMWs or Mercedes so instead they took the more affordable Japanese sedans like the celsior and crowns while also taking inspiration from the absurdly modified Bosa zoku cars of the past so what makes a VIP car for starters dark paint low suspension and it's been modified to have excessive camber loud pipes tinted windows and especially the wheels oh I'm talking Leon hardit's work Euro lines ew traffic Stars the Weds cray line these cars were meant to cruise around town with stees and Big Shiny three-piece Wheels were the formula but the real Ste comes from the body kits and the OG of body kits Junction Produce Junction produce was founded in the early 1990s by Taki hero te atomi he saw the new emerging VIP Market and realized there was little to no aftermarket customization available so it was up to him to manufacture his own body kits what I love about VIP cars is the Indulgence the thoughtfulness and honestly how funny they are why the neck pillows the chandeliers so much camber your car looks broken and somehow it's still luxurious unfortunately I'm not a 1990s Yakuza boss I'm just a low-l grunt but that doesn't mean we can't take my LS400 and make it feel very important now let's get back to it all right I'm over here alongside Castro's super secretive paint shop here with himothy this is a Yoshinoya parking lot we're in a parking lot for a Japanese Kitchen but we can't show the location cuz it is super secretive what up we've made it we're going to be seeing the body kit for the first time let's take a Gand here your fenders we took care of all the cracks we ended up having to go down yeah so all the cracks are gone now hot tip Castro thinks it's good that means it's good the panel Bond on the back side was a success good idea for sure yeah 100 100% you might be wondering what this little bit of textured stuff is and after a fresh paint job sometimes you end up with this stuff called Orange Peel you can get rid of this with a thing called a cut and buff basically it's sanding the surface down getting it as flat as possible and polishing it out it's going to look like a mirror this paint is going to go pop pop pop pop pop you want something you got to pay for it thank you boss man hey man it was a pleasure always all right let's go ahead and put this stuff on all right sitting on the car Tristan I'm not at fault if I scratch this front bumper is on grill is on fenders are on let's take a look boy boy boy damn that looks really good that looks insane that looks awesome all righty it's time for the Big Kahuna and this is how we're going to install it check it out so we already put those rib nuts in I don't think those are going to be strong enough so we are going to be lining up with 3m VHB tape all over the place it's a double siiz adhesive tape and VHB stands for very high Bond y this is kind of concerning mine's lined up right here spoiler update we possibly have one side in and it's almost 8:00 yep is that is that it yeah m I left the back side of the tape so that way we want to put it on we just go hey all we got to do is stay here all night and that way the trunk will be secure yeah that makes sense that makes sense well we went a bit over y couple little doohickeys do dads and wub buubs it happened yeah but take a look dude so much fun no get the the car ooh this car is absolutely swagged out now there's one last thing to do meet up with some of the local VIP High out the room I'm coming through they want to see what I'm about yeah I got skills do it for the thrill I'm on a paper and I also get a vanilla cone a vanilla cone yes please extra extra I'm today's TR topic I put over bull got rocking me I bet on me my all right y'all that's the wrap on today's video I hope you guys really enjoyed it I hope you learned a lot of valuable stuff about VIP cars we really showed what that VIP lifestyle is all about so make sure to like follow subscribe you name it bye grab it thank youa hello molecules my name is Tristan some of you guys know me some of you guys don't recently I was found in the desert at the brink of death by the folks at donut drink this drink it this is my 1998 Lexus LS400 I bought it about four years ago in hopes of turning it into this crazy VIP build but unfortunately I got sidetracked with my S14 project but that all changes today we're going to be putting a bespoke body kit ERS a wing on this thing and it's going to be absolutely it's going to be incredible along the way we're going to learn about where VIP style came from and why I'm choosing to turn my perfectly good running and driving Lexus into a Japanese drug dealer car my name is Tristan welcome to Donut all right so here's the dealo we've got a lot of work to do in order to install this body kit the right way but first I need to get this thing nice and clean to see what we're working with my LS has been sitting unwashed for like 3 4 years so it's got a lot of grime that needs to come off all right so let's go for a ride around the block and I'm going to fill you in on everything I've done on this car first things first we got it bagged on airlift 3p whole bunch of different suspension arms to fit these uh SSR conic but what's really going to elevate me from being important to very important is the body kit and arrow we're going to be installing this aim gain June VIP body kit these gorgeous Junction produce shark fenders and this one off drag wi from Japan baby dude I'm so stoked we're doing this today ah but before we put all this on the ls first we got to remove all the old bumpers s skirts and all that jazz let's start taking this car apart me and my boy Jimbo going to take these wheels off so we can access the 100 billion different nuts and bolts holding these fenders on oh yeah is there an order of operations for this Fender or is it just bolts just keep pulling bolts off until it falls off hey that's what's up dude oh it looks better already all right we're moving onto the side skirts these OEM ones are just held on by these little fillips in the side and a bunch of weather stripping Clips at the bottom oh there we go oh y look at that isn't that interesting there's just like a random aluminum half tube in the foam have any of you guys seen that before it's off all right cool now that everything is off the car the next step is to test fit the new body kit I bought these off of some dude on Instagram a couple years ago these are Junction produce shark fenders and as expected it's taking a little bit of muscle to rigle it into place but it doesn't fit that bad and then something happened I wasn't expecting the body kit just lined up it fit there you go damn there we go yeah dude this fits well doesn't it next up we're going to be removing this trunk liner so we can get underneath we're going to be drilling some holes to fit this wing and this thing is it's big it's got a lot of surface area it's heavy and I'm not going to trust double-sided tape on just this section alone so we're setting some Riv nuts today it's fine it's fine it looks pretty I trust Tristan it looks like he's going right to your hand D me up D me up D me up all right we got Tristan's rear bumper going to get out of the packaging get it mocked up I'm so strong and then we got the full kit on there then we just got to get it to the paint shop by the end of the day dang this KS nice dude dude it's really nice the cherry on top a beautiful bespoke aim gain badgeless Grill it don't fit right out of all the fiberglass pieces the grill is definitely the most complex shape so I'm not totally surprised it doesn't fit we just got to notch it right here sand that smooth so we can get a nice clean fitment that's better boom yo dude it looks like a fat Camry I love it it does bro I love this car now that I know everything fits it's time to prep everything for paint oh hey there as an official ball pumper I don't get a team ring when we win but I don't need a ring to feel like a winner because I've got today's sponsor DraftKings if you want the chance to be a winner too can download the DraftKings Sportsbook app today and sign up using Code donut right now all new customers who bet $5 will instantly get $250 plus 1 month of NFL Plus premium with $250 in bonus bets you can bet even more on anytime touchdowns I mean draft Kings is the place to bet on touchdowns they're an official partner of the NFL for a reason download DraftKings Sportsbook app now remember new customers that sign up using Code donut and bet just five bucks on any wager will instantly get $250 in bonus bets plus one month of NFL Plus premium that's code donut only on DraftKings Sportsbook now get out of here I got balls to the pump earlier I took a trip to the neighborhood paint shop to buy some supplies and meet with some of the locals I'm knocking them out the boot when we come to have now I don't bull I don't play hell yeah man I rub her down and massage her and you know I like that that's what's up all right what are you working on today my little do the girls love it yeah they love everything they love everything we have some scotchbrite sandpaper deaser High fill primer a bunch of sandpaper spreaders filler and an interface pad right now we're prepping these fenders I got it to about 400 grip but I think I'm going to bring it to 600 before I drop it off the paint let's get into it ha all right so I'm doing all this small stuff right now because I want Tristan to just you know kick back relax take some time to just be himself you know look he's been working hard he he knows the drill the unfortunate truth about fiberglass fenders is they are not as durable as your metal OEM ones so as a result every time that tire hits or rubs against it it introduces stress cracks right off the rip I can see a couple of cracks that are going all the way through so I'm going to cut those out with a Dremel and fill it in with panel Bond the paint shop is going to handle getting it nice and smooth with high fill primer and some blocking my goal right now is to make sure that all these parts are structurally sound and that they line up properly Y what I'm doing right now on the backs side of this Fender is applying a ton of panel Bond panel bond is this crazy two-part epoxy that when mixed together creates an insanely strong bond and a very strong surface I'm kind of using this as a cheat code rather than laying a lot more fiberglass on the backside and instead just smearing it all on going to give so much more rigidity there whenever the tire hits it it's not going to immediately go to that thin layer of fiberglass and go boom Fender is ready to go over to paint still looks like absolute garbon boia but I'm so stoked to see the is looking shiny black boosted when I pull up in this car people are going to start acting strange different even that's the thing though don't switch up on me promise you won't so where did VIP even come from in the first place well it's all a part of a big Twisted family tree of Japanese tuning Styles dating back nearly 50 years during the 70s and ' 80s Boku and Osaka Street Racers were terrorizing the locals with their flashy loud and colorful sports cars they ran through tolls cut it up in traffic and generally were an unwelcome and obnoxious presence just like the Takeover kids we have here in the United States some members took their delinquent Behavior far too far resulting in a serious Crackdown and police profiling so what did the Japanese government do well they passed a bill literally titled the act on prevention of unjust acts by organized crime group members in 1992 effectively putting an end to the boso scene but imagine you're a member of the Japanese Mafia whose boso zoku car is too hot to drive what do you do you got to be more lowkey OG the days of looking like a hot boy teenager were over it was time to start looking like a boss and you know what bosses Drive big black sedan so what I'm saying is these VIP cars are gang affiliated yaku's a baby but there is a misconception that I would like to clear up the top Yakuza brass at the time were driving Flagship saloons like the BMW 7 Series and Mercedes S-Class but they're not the ones that pioneered VIP cars it was actually lower level gang members of the Yakuza who wanted to look like the boss they couldn't afford the BMWs or Mercedes so instead they took the more affordable Japanese sedans like the celsior and crowns while also taking inspiration from the absurdly modified Bosa zoku cars of the past so what makes a VIP car for starters dark paint low suspension and it's been modified to have excessive camber loud pipes tinted windows and especially the wheels oh I'm talking Leon hardit's work Euro lines ew traffic Stars the Weds cray line these cars were meant to cruise around town with stees and Big Shiny three-piece Wheels were the formula but the real Ste comes from the body kits and the OG of body kits Junction Produce Junction produce was founded in the early 1990s by Taki hero te atomi he saw the new emerging VIP Market and realized there was little to no aftermarket customization available so it was up to him to manufacture his own body kits what I love about VIP cars is the Indulgence the thoughtfulness and honestly how funny they are why the neck pillows the chandeliers so much camber your car looks broken and somehow it's still luxurious unfortunately I'm not a 1990s Yakuza boss I'm just a low-l grunt but that doesn't mean we can't take my LS400 and make it feel very important now let's get back to it all right I'm over here alongside Castro's super secretive paint shop here with himothy this is a Yoshinoya parking lot we're in a parking lot for a Japanese Kitchen but we can't show the location cuz it is super secretive what up we've made it we're going to be seeing the body kit for the first time let's take a Gand here your fenders we took care of all the cracks we ended up having to go down yeah so all the cracks are gone now hot tip Castro thinks it's good that means it's good the panel Bond on the back side was a success good idea for sure yeah 100 100% you might be wondering what this little bit of textured stuff is and after a fresh paint job sometimes you end up with this stuff called Orange Peel you can get rid of this with a thing called a cut and buff basically it's sanding the surface down getting it as flat as possible and polishing it out it's going to look like a mirror this paint is going to go pop pop pop pop pop you want something you got to pay for it thank you boss man hey man it was a pleasure always all right let's go ahead and put this stuff on all right sitting on the car Tristan I'm not at fault if I scratch this front bumper is on grill is on fenders are on let's take a look boy boy boy damn that looks really good that looks insane that looks awesome all righty it's time for the Big Kahuna and this is how we're going to install it check it out so we already put those rib nuts in I don't think those are going to be strong enough so we are going to be lining up with 3m VHB tape all over the place it's a double siiz adhesive tape and VHB stands for very high Bond y this is kind of concerning mine's lined up right here spoiler update we possibly have one side in and it's almost 8:00 yep is that is that it yeah m I left the back side of the tape so that way we want to put it on we just go hey all we got to do is stay here all night and that way the trunk will be secure yeah that makes sense that makes sense well we went a bit over y couple little doohickeys do dads and wub buubs it happened yeah but take a look dude so much fun no get the the car ooh this car is absolutely swagged out now there's one last thing to do meet up with some of the local VIP High out the room I'm coming through they want to see what I'm about yeah I got skills do it for the thrill I'm on a paper and I also get a vanilla cone a vanilla cone yes please extra extra I'm today's TR topic I put over bull got rocking me I bet on me my all right y'all that's the wrap on today's video I hope you guys really enjoyed it I hope you learned a lot of valuable stuff about VIP cars we really showed what that VIP lifestyle is all about so make sure to like follow subscribe you name it bye grab it thank you