Just when I thought I was out, I stumble into a car that pulls me back in. This adventure starts with me picking up yet another car that I've always been fond of - the 92-00 Lexus SC. Folks overseas know this stylish coupe as the Toyota Soarer. If you're building or restoring a car that has been exposed to the elements, there's a good chance that many of the plastics have been weathered. In this case, the headlights were yellowed pretty badly. Let's see what we can do for this "Supra in a Tuxedo."

Repair or Replace? We've all heard the term "wear and tear," but few of us actually know this term intimately. And when I say understand, I mean to have first-hand experience with a full-on restoration. I deal with customers of all types, some are picky and some could care less if their car had an interior let alone worry about a yellowed headlight. The most important step is to determine whether or not you can afford the luxury of buying replacement headlights. Depending on availability, new (or new-old-stock) replacements are a wise investment depending on how long you plan on keeping your vehicle. If you're thinking of buying an aftermarket light, be advised.

The Spouse-Factor (Skip if single or divorced): Now in the name of "preventative maintenance," I had already managed to convince my wife that we absolutely, positively needed a new replacement set of OEM headlights. So, I just happened to have an extra set of new headlights on-hand prior to starting this project. Now I guess I *could* just swap out the old lights and install the new ones, but what fun would that be? Not only would I end up with stock looking lights, but I would actually end up being a good, honest husband! Jokes aside, I'd love to hear from the 2 female readers who accidentally stumbled onto this page to explain to me why you just happen to need six overpriced purses when most guys one wallet for a minimum of 5-10 years.

Unknown Variables: Okay boss, so you decided to go the restoration route, eh? No problem, I understand. You want to be a good, honest husband and don't want to hear the nagging. Well the bad news is you're probably going to hear even more nagging because you just opened up a can of worms. Not only do the lights need serious lens refurbishing, but the projector lenses are cracked around the edges. This is common as earlier projectors were not engineered with thermal expansion in mind. The interior of our lights were filled with glass dust and shards. The entire headlight needed a deep and careful cleaning. Expect the worst when working on old headlights, its common to find stripped adjusters and warped/cracked plastic. Even the sealant begins to deteriorate and when that happens, your old headlights can double as nice fish tanks!

Budget & Goal: For a mere $600-$700 dollars, I picked up a new set of Lexus SC headlights and have no regret in doing so. My line of work offers me certain perks. For instance, I just happened to have newer, more efficient replacement projector lenses here in stock to replace the old cracked lenses. Furthermore, I wanted to document the process and didn't mind putting in the time to restore these old yellowed lenses. Even with all our equipment and years of experience, I replaced one of the two headlight lenses as it had stress fractures in the grain structure of the plastic. While slightly yellowed lenses with stress fractures are acceptable for some people - it was NOT acceptable for me. I had plans... BIG plans! Splendiferous plans!!!

The Quest to Upgrade: Fellow car-enthusiasts are like addicts, they always push you to take things to extremes that you may not always want. I had a friend that would say "Well, while you're there you might as well..." For example, if you're replacing one bent factory wheel - might as well buy a new set of forged wheels. Of course, if you purchase forged wheels you might as well purchase a set of super-wide & sticky extreme performance summer tires, right? Absolutely! In this case, I chose to upgrade the factory parking and signal lights since I knew I was renovating the entire exterior of the car with updated, highly customized LED lighting. After all, its just one of the perks I was referring to earlier.

Aesthetics & Performance: I avoid cheap products like the plague. It was brought to my attention that aftermarket headlights for the 92-00 Lexus SC do exist, and they are awe full. (Don't believe me? Search eBay.) Not only are they unsightly, but their build quality is sub-par. One can only wonder just how poor their lighting performance is. High-performing optics and high profit margins don't go hand-in-hand. In the case of the factory SC headlights, these lights are not only of superior quality but also look period correct.