https://www.tfrspec.co.uk/logs daily 0.75 2026-01-22 https://www.tfrspec.co.uk/logs/fmt16txoyzkw6pymuqfhx5r2yzt5il-3bfs2 monthly 0.5 2026-01-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/66958ad11835c31470b96bf7/153482a5-7cb8-458c-be88-47084621a91c/4EE5F113-8358-40C8-A66C-F83F464D494F.jpg Logs - Toyota Century - When you’re too Hipster for a Lexus - So, I bought one…. It was purely by chance that an early GZG50 Century came up for sale, imported just over two years prior in 2019, not 10 miles from work and way under the going price. Unusually it hadn’t already been snapped up by another enthusiast, but I put that down to the misspelling in the eBay listing. I’d owned a UCF20 Lexus LS400 before, so I kind of knew what I was getting into with the Century, this one was slightly rough around the edges but still far better shape than most UK market Lexi of similar age. Needless to say I spent the test drive attempting to hide my excitement before immediately placing a deposit. Once I got the car back home the rhythmic waves of excitement hadn’t yet left me - I was absolutely besotted, I crawled over every inch of the car, opening every cubby and feeling every material of every surface like a cursed ASMR streamer. For the next few weeks I ended up having my lunch breaks in the reclining rear seat until I ultimately reverted back to my daily driver for commuter duty. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/66958ad11835c31470b96bf7/848e5a8d-30f4-4731-b3e3-69be16967d3f/IMG_7013.jpg Logs - Toyota Century - When you’re too Hipster for a Lexus - But it’s just a fancy Lexus LS400 right? Yeah - I can’t really argue too much with that, the similarities are hard to deny, both the Century and later model year LS400’s share a lot of parts, major parts like suspension and gearboxes, even minor parts like the steering wheel and indicator stalks. Suggesting the Century is just an LS400 in a hand made suit would be selling it quite short though, for starters the 300kg weight difference, almost 200mm wheelbase and near 300mm body length increases over the LS400 make the Century drive and ride like something else completely. On the inside it’s quite easy to see where all that weight and space is distributed, polished wood, finished metal and soft leather are laid on thick. Something Japanese cars are rarely afforded. Almost every interior adjustment is motorised and almost every switch backlit and labelled in written Kanji. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/66958ad11835c31470b96bf7/1eb4b556-ab94-4a55-b1f7-00611d78e989/6ED9A5F7-E3A8-432E-83E1-DEBD4C3C8AEB.jpeg Logs - Toyota Century - When you’re too Hipster for a Lexus - A tale of two halves The Century’s interior experience can quite neatly be summed up from two perspectives: From the front you’re provided the instrumentation needed to ensure the most smooth driving is practiced, the digital speedo along with a myriad of radio and climate control buttons help dial in exactly how this particular journey should play out. The only distraction potentially being the lingering odor of passenger feet from the pass through. The driver’s seat feels suspended separately to the rest of the chassis, combined with the light steering and deep travelling pedals, nothing reacts to your input in a way that evokes stress or encourages haste. From the rear (and despite my Century being a poverty spec single screen car), all the cares from your previous board meeting will melt away in the reclining, heated and (somewhat rudimentary) massage seating. Although there’s nicer places to be, what the Century provides as a unique selling point is peace of mind. Not only can you not hear the engine back here, it’s difficult to hear the indicator stalk click when engaged. I can also personally confirm that the wool interior is fantastic at both muffling the sound and trapping the smell of even the most aggressive of human backfires. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/66958ad11835c31470b96bf7/63108285-18f2-4687-9f5c-33e483db8eb6/IMG_7297.jpg Logs - Toyota Century - When you’re too Hipster for a Lexus - and it’s a V12? By far the star of the Century’s feature list is the silky smooth 5 litre 60 degree V12 1GZ-FE engine. Unlike the 1UZ-FE V8 (which I still believe is the best engine money can buy in a 90’s Toyota) the 1GZ-FE uses its extra cylinders along with ACIS and VVTi to produce the 1UZ’s peak torque figure of around 400nm after only 1000rpm. There is an argument the 1UZ might be superior in other ways, but scratching the surface of the 1GZ and learning of Toyota’s no expense spared specifications, notwithstanding titanium valve shims, three timing chains, magnesium cam covers or the hydro-electric cooling fan, soon puts any spreadsheet analysis comparison to bed. This by far is the biggest draw to driving or riding in the Century, as it barely needs to turn 2000rpm to reach national speed limit, and in which time it never requires full throttle or shows any signs of labour during acceleration. The A342E Asin automatic does date the Century’s straight line speed with it’s vast ratios and spaced out shifts, but to try and rally or race a Century is denying the car what it’s able to do best - long lazy wofts along gently bending roads. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/66958ad11835c31470b96bf7/06261fa5-7a3a-4ebd-811f-4aac87a10655/DF736162-776B-42FF-A6AA-BC33DA8CECF8.jpg Logs - Toyota Century - When you’re too Hipster for a Lexus - GranToyota A-Spec In 2021 my partner surprised me with tickets and entry into the Toyota Parallel Pomeroy Trophy, hosted at Silverstone’s infield alongside the VSSC Pomeroy Trophy on track. Honestly it was an amazing day out and it’s unfortunate there hasn’t been another since 2022. I entered with the Century, which I had outfitted with staggered wide summer rated tyres and a make shift alignment I’d fooled myself into thinking would provide a performance advantage, on arrival the car was stickered up with an entry number before being slung around a selection of beginner friendly autocross-lite type cone challenges. The second pass around these challenges was after some pretty heavy rain which made things interesting. Despite being fairly competitive for its fighting weight, the Century handled about as well as you’d expect a 5.2 meter long luxury car to perform. Terminal understeer which when provoked only gave way to the slowest of rotation both on or off throttle. Given the 1.5:1 ratio of second gear and open differential out back, there was hardly any reaction from the drivetrain or chassis even when violently man handling the controls. It did make me reflect on my aforementioned LS400, which with the dynamic handling pack was a surprisingly responsive handling car for its size. After quite a lot of specific stimulation for a seasoned Toyota nerd, a quick pit side interview that gave me a chance to completely butcher any facts I might have known about the car and some photo ops, the day was over. Sticker and Toyota branded hat aside, the memories alone made this a really special day that I’d never forget. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/66958ad11835c31470b96bf7/d1b61983-b4b0-44ed-8792-af70b0cc467d/IMG_5828.jpg Logs - Toyota Century - When you’re too Hipster for a Lexus - 6 Years on… It has been several years since all these major events - and I have to admit, other than the occasional day out and the odd MOT test, I’ve done next to no miles in the Century - it certainly isn’t looking as loved as it once was. I owe it to the car to bring it up to my standard and give it the attention it requires, but I keep finding excuses to become side tracked. Since owning the Century I’ve experienced far more with cars in general than I had prior any point in my life - and despite many cars coming and going the Century has been a constant. I feel one day I’ll have gained enough experience and rounded off enough fasteners on my other projects to finally bring the Century into the focus of my attention. I suppose to try and conclude this post in a somewhat final way: It’s easier to meet your heroes than it is to live with them. https://www.tfrspec.co.uk/logs/fmt16txoyzkw6pymuqfhx5r2yzt5il monthly 0.5 2026-01-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/66958ad11835c31470b96bf7/7d0b6e71-070b-421a-b12b-204f5cea4443/IMG_1652.jpg Logs - Mommy-Wagon Obsessive - The First One wasn’t a great purchase My first date with Toyota’s minivan offerings was an XR20 Estima Emina 2.2 turbo diesel, four wheel drive. A completely blind purchase, made in a shameful and frantic torrent of self imposed buyer excitement. I had this car delivered to my door and it turned out to be one of the worst purchases I’ve ever made, fan belts squealing on arrival. Chassis rust, oil leaks, blown turbo and what became a massive blown head gasket - the Estima, even after hundreds of hours of tinkering, only lasted a few hundred miles before completely breaking down. Not one thing worked right for its short time with me, yet I grew so fond of the space and driving experience. I still believe Toyota were at their best in the late 90’s after owning even this rough example. I was heartbroken, and I needed something else to fill the mommy-wagon spaced hole in my life. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/66958ad11835c31470b96bf7/bee4486b-c4fc-463f-9614-787fb033268e/IMG_3336.jpg Logs - Mommy-Wagon Obsessive - The second one was arguably worse The second purchase was an early ACR30 Previa CDX 2.4 petrol. Learning from my previous purchasing mistakes I went to go see this one, after shaking the seller's hand and driving off, not 15 miles later, the head gasket blew. There’s a specific denial anyone who’s had a head gasket let go on them adopts, like the stages of grief; first there could be a number of reasonable explanations for those symptoms, then the spiralling denial despite growing overwhelming evidence, before finally, acceptance and internet searches for local machine shops. I was forced to turn the Previa around quite quickly once home, given we’d already booked the NC500 two months later. I somehow managed to get it all back together, cleaned up and roadworthy just days before the 1500 mile round trip began. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/66958ad11835c31470b96bf7/7ac1347f-b945-4ef3-95a5-8abc818c75c5/IMG_5988.jpg Logs - Mommy-Wagon Obsessive - Quite far and for quite a long time Not only did it manage the NC500, but in fact followed up with a trip around Ireland the following year. Over the course I swept up all the other faults and even added a roof box and tow bar, neither of which were used in serious capacity even once. The Previa ended up cementing why this form factor made the ideal support vehicle. Happily seating the boys for big days out, easily carrying huge marketplace hauls, and even converting into a survivable living space - but I knew there was just something missing from the formula. Several previous repairs to the rear sills had begun to let go, and not even a rigorous undersealing regime was going to keep the Previa roadworthy for another MOT, so something had to step in to replace it…. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/66958ad11835c31470b96bf7/f7c53ef0-9a2d-40f0-947a-c28bec1c85e7/IMG_6227.jpg Logs - Mommy-Wagon Obsessive - I’m not even pretending anymore? Having not been satisfied with the Estima (4 months before breakdown) or the Previa (20 minutes before breakdown) - I took to CoPart to purchase something that had already been ruined. The idea being that a Japanese spec Estima could provide all the quirks and features I’m missing, restoring the Previa to a “better than marketplace used” state. However I soon discovered this to be a project so ludicrously time consuming it was almost a year to date before any real progress was made. The one thing this slightly bent egg shaped Toyota did provide was a new engine; the famously mild 1MZ-FE V6. This engine saw new parts, timing and gaskets whilst being sat cosily on an engine stand for almost 14 months. With the idea of welding what equated to a whole new car’s worth of metal to the Previa rapidly becoming even less viable than first thought, I needed a new plan. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/66958ad11835c31470b96bf7/b2b5c242-fba7-49cf-975f-e22f1ca1b132/IMG_7802.jpg Logs - Mommy-Wagon Obsessive - Fourth Time’s a Charm The Toyota gods must have been smiling upon me as a Toyota Estima came up for sale locally for a bargain price - the reason: its 1MZ-FE had locked up. I’d call the timing perfect were it not for the several years of missteps and bad purchases up to date. I snapped it up, now looking to converge a “best of” from all three previous vans into one ideal spec. The new project got underway: An engine transplant, an Interior transplant and everything else a 25 year old used Toyota might need. The chassis was a real peach, with only a few cosmetic issues and the smallest rust patches. It even had pretty mint pockets.. The Aeras T body kit is also my personal favourite from the smorgasbord of model variants Toyota sold over the years - I could hardly wait to build my dream minivan. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/66958ad11835c31470b96bf7/40e90fdc-c28f-47f4-8ba8-2eead5df3d88/IMG_8142.jpg Logs - Mommy-Wagon Obsessive - Doing everything wrong and twice Despite having plenty of big engine-out projects under my belt at this point, the 1MZ-FE transplant into the new Estima proved to be a huge undertaking. Much like the trial by fire the Previa engine work became, the Estima was proving to be a whole new challenge. The major components came together quickly over several days, but time after time there were trip ups; a destroyed gearbox oil pump discovered after fitting, a no start no crank that required an engine loom replacement, a leaking gearbox seal and failed CV shaft and last but not least - a damaged timing belt guide that tore the timing belt up within 100 miles. Regardless the project marched forwards, counting into the 100’s of hours even before the first start. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/66958ad11835c31470b96bf7/db300202-1bd2-4a48-82e8-7c4f302c2552/IMG_8737.jpg Logs - Mommy-Wagon Obsessive - Finally, all stuck together, mostly working… I’m still in the trust building mileage with the Estima, but it’s finally a roadworthy vehicle. There’s not much serious mechanical work left on the Trello board at this point, and I’ve already indulged in vanity work such as mix and matching my favourite door card features (Blue cloth over grey, with light wood plastic trim and facelift uprated speakers). Each time I spend longer with the Estima, the closer I get to the vision of 2000’s Toyota perfection in my head. 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