I know you didn’t mean it in a bad way, just though i would share some info after living with it a bit. After all there’s not many people here that have one and use it daily. I’m sure if you had the oportunity like i did you would buy the k3vet in a heartbeat. But destiny chose the 3SZ for yours 
For the lolz here’s a little comparison from when we had a first look at the car. Not that big of a difference is it? 
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That’s actually not as big a difference as I’d thought 
however, the difference in wheelbase is just 10mm, so it kinda makes sense, I think 
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Oh I love the K3-VET. It makes all the right noises and it’s so much fun winning drag-race against a BMW with a Daihatsu. That’s why I want an m300 with a K3-VET and a manual transmission. Seems like the perfect recipe for me 
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But to be honest I didn’t like the yrv platform. Not enough grip in the front and it wouldn’t give me a stable feeling mid-corner. It looks awesome but there’s allot of room for improvement. Or am I being to harsh? 
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I think that’s about right. The advantages are also the disadvantages and vice versa. I like how practical it is on the daily use, you sit slightly higher and have heaps more head room compared to a m100 Sirion, but as you said with the higher center of gravity taking corners fast takes some balls
Running 195/50r15 tyres helps, also the fact that the Turbo has stiffer springs and front ARB but that does make it fairly uncomfortable on the day to day basis. When i first saw it i didn’t really like the styling or the MPV shape, but it grew on me quickly and now i love how it looks!
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The first word that comes to mind when I’d describe the YRV’s styling, is “quirky”, and I think that’s why it could take some time to grow on you. On the other hand, most of the Daihatsu’s are quirky in their own way
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I love the styling. As a kid it was all I wish for. The only problem is that everyone thinks it’s a normal yrv. No one over here knows the turbo. So it’s kind of a sleeper now that I’m older I like the styling of the m300 more.
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Yea the m300 sport looks very good i agree, however what kills it for me is the interior. I just can’t get over how ugly the dash and especially the gauge cluster looks 
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Agree, luckily that’s fixable with the dash of the 1.5. Although the dash is the same the gauge cluster is way better.
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CLEAR INDICATORS
This has to be one of the first things I’d put on my to-do-list when I bought the car. I hated the orange indicators, but clear indicators were only available in Malaysia, which sucked.
However, a few months ago I was watching a video about a Micra K12 being cleaned for the first time in over a decade, when I noticed those indicators. They looked similarly in terms of shape, so I decided to look up what the dimensions were. And waddayaknow: almost identical to the ones on an L7.
So to everyone who wants clear indicators on their L7: you can use the ones from a Nissan Micra K12, Nissan Note 1, Nissan Primera and maybe a few other Nissans from that era. The plastic is very brittle, and the glass will immediately come off. I simply glued it back on, works fine now.
I had to cut a little piece of the housing and do some wiring (which will be redone properly in a while), but other than that it’s just plug 'n play.
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Looks nice. I actually can’t chose which colour I like best. When are you going to swap the mirrors? You had some jdm ones laying around right?
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Wow, nice work - that looks really purposeful now! Keep the updates coming.
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Correct! I’m thinking after the swap. The wiring on those mirrors is a bitch, as there is no diagram available or whatsoever, so I have to figure that out first. I’m going use the wiring harness from a YRV, so if I make everything work now, I’d have to do it again later.
Btw I’m not keeping the chrome look, I think it’s hideous on this car . I might paint them blue, or black (because that’s my secondary colour). We’ll see!
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Oh great, I don’t like chrome xD a bit of chrome for the logo is beautiful but not the complete mirrors. For the M300 there are auto fold mirrors. I really like to get this since my parking is a bit tight. So make sure to post a beautiful how-to
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Will do! If I can make something out of it…
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SWAP UPDATE
So, I have been busy. After waiting a couple of months, I finally got my own garage! It’s very spacious and has power outlets, which is nice.
After getting the keys on a Thursday, I decided to buy myself a donor vehicle on Friday.
It’s a YRV 1.3 from 2001, and it’s not a bad thing to take it of the road. It’s hard to see on the pictures, but it just looks tired. The paint is faded (although I love the colour!), there’s loads of rust, bits are missing, the interior smells funny etc. . I’ll need a couple of parts to make the 3SZ work with an L7, and this was the easiest way to do it. I’ll try to sell some bits, and then send it off to the wreckers.
I’ve spend a few days filling up the garage with junk that was at my house (how the hell did I manage to put so much stuff on my room?), and it’s starting to look like… well the garage of a Daihatsu owner I’d say .
With the help of a friend, we checked the inside of the 3SZ, and it looks just fine! Calling it ‘brand new’ would be unfair, but you can definitely tell it hasn’t done all that many miles/kilometers. Happy days!
I’ll continue to buy parts, and hopefully strip the YRV very soon, because I want to be able to work on the Blyatsu as well .
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Wait, i thought that the 3sz only came in a 1.5 liter and not in the yrv?
Sorry I’m being a nerd. Really cool that you now got a place to work in peace on the car it essential when swapping an engine. Doing it on the driveway is not that fun I imagine…
Aha it’s a 2sz, also known as the K3-VE
Thought I was losing my mind there for a second. Really doesn’t matter what the engine code is, its a upgrade nonetheless
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I’m still going to put the 3SZ in my car, but I need all the YRV bits AROUND its engine to make it work. I’m going to take apart the K3-VE for educational purposes, since it’s basically the same as a 3SZ. It’s nice to know the engine inside out .
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Yup I’m a total idiot for forgetting that you were already some steps ahead. Great idea to practice on an other engine first. Now you got the space to work on in! Are you planning on getting an engine stand or are you just leaving it in the car?
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PS: nice lexus. Always had a weak spot for those cars
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