JP's SR20-Swapped Lexus IS300
Swapping an SR20 into an IS300 isn't the obvious choice. Most people keep the 2JZ, add boost, and call it a day. JP went the opposite direction. He pulled the inline-six, converted the car to right-hand drive, and spent years fabricating an engine bay so clean it looks like Lexus built it that way from the factory.
That's exactly how he wanted it.
Welcome to Behind the Build.
Built, Not Bolted Together
If you've spent any time around the LZ compound, you've probably seen JP with a welder in his hand. Fabrication is what he does every day, splitting his time between the LZ shop and Mazworx, and this IS300 has become the perfect canvas to showcase that skill.
He's owned the car for around five years, and it's never stopped evolving. What started as a naturally aspirated 2J-powered Lexus eventually became a low-boost NA-T setup before taking a much less conventional path. About six or seven months ago, JP swapped the 2JZ for an SR20DET and completed a full right-hand-drive conversion.
It wasn't about building the highest-horsepower IS300 on the internet. It was about building the car exactly the way he envisioned it.
More importantly, he wanted every modification to feel intentional. Nothing flashy under the hood. Nothing that screamed "engine swap." Just a finished product that looked like it belonged there.
The Engine: An SR20 That Looks Factory
At first glance, you'd almost miss the fact that the engine bay has been completely reworked.
That was the goal.
Rather than cutting the chassis apart to force the SR20 into place, JP modified the engine brackets to work with the factory IS300 subframe and standard 240SX engine mounts. The radiator, factory cooling fans, and much of the surrounding layout remain exactly where Lexus intended.
It's the kind of detail most people won't notice, but that's exactly what makes it impressive.
Power comes from a fully built Mazworx SR20 making around 375 horsepower. While the engine is capable of supporting roughly 500 horsepower, JP intentionally stopped well short of that mark.
Coming from his previous low-boost NA-T setup, the jump to 375 horsepower was already significant. Rather than chasing dyno numbers immediately, he wanted time to learn the car before turning up the boost.
For JP, drivability comes before horsepower.
Nearly every fabricated component under the hood was built by his own hands, including the turbo manifold, intercooler piping, and exhaust. The mid-mount manifold wasn't chosen because it made the most power—it simply looked right. After helping build similar manifolds at Mazworx, JP wanted the opportunity to run one himself and experience its performance firsthand.
The result is one of the cleanest engine bays featured in the series so far, balancing custom fabrication with an unmistakably OEM appearance.
Engine Components
- Mazworx-built SR20DET
- Approx. 375 WHP (500 WHP capable)
- Custom fabricated mid-mount turbo manifold
- Custom intercooler piping
- Custom exhaust system
- Link StormX ECU
- Radium Engineering Top Feed Fuel Rail Conversion
- Mazworx Trigger Kit
- KOYO Lexus IS300 radiator
- OEM Lexus cooling fans
- Custom engine brackets utilizing factory subframe mounting locations
Building It Like Lexus Intended
One philosophy appears over and over throughout JP's build:
Modify the parts—not the chassis.
Instead of cutting and notching the factory subframe for additional engine placement, he chose to redesign the engine brackets instead. The oil pan sits extremely close to the subframe already, and going any farther back would've required permanent chassis modification.
That wasn't worth it.
If something happens at the track, JP can simply source another factory subframe and bolt everything back together instead of rebuilding custom fabrication from scratch.
The same mindset extends throughout the engine bay.
Power steering still uses the SR pump, but with modified Altezza steering lines. The coolant system retains factory Lexus components. Even the reservoir placement was updated to maintain a clean OEM appearance.
It's a level of restraint that's uncommon in swap culture, where more fabrication often gets mistaken for better fabrication.
Sometimes the cleanest work is the work nobody notices.
Suspension: Keeping It Simple
Despite sitting low enough to turn heads everywhere it goes, the suspension setup is refreshingly straightforward.
Up front, JP runs BC Racing Extreme Low coilovers paired with a Drift HQ angle kit, using relocation plates that adjust both the knuckle and tie rod geometry to increase steering angle.
Spring rates might raise some eyebrows.
The car runs 30K front springs and 28K rears, numbers that sound intimidating on paper. In practice, JP says the car remains surprisingly comfortable and predictable, proving that spring rates alone don't tell the whole story.
The rear suspension uses adjustable upper arms, lower arms, and toe arms, while braking duties are handled by Z32 calipers front and rear using a Part Shop Max conversion kit.
Behind the transmission sits a CD009 six-speed paired with a welded 3.7 JZX differential, though JP admits he may eventually switch back to the shorter factory 3.9 gearing.
Not because the current setup doesn't work.
Simply because the car never quite finds the limiter.
Suspension & Drivetrain
- BC Racing Extreme Low coilovers
- 30K front / 28K rear spring rates
- Drift HQ angle kit
- Adjustable rear suspension arms
- Part Shop Max Z32 brake conversion
- Nissan CD009 six-speed transmission
- Mazworx SRVQ adapter kit
- Welded Toyota JZX 3.7 differential
Interior: OEM Feel Meets Hot Boy Style
The right-hand-drive conversion is easily one of the most ambitious parts of the build.
Unlike some conversions that simply relocate components, JP performed a factory-style firewall swap, cutting out and replacing the firewall before seam-sealing everything back together. Having completed similar conversions for customers in the past, it was simply another fabrication challenge.
Inside, the transmission tunnel received the same attention.
Rather than accepting the CD009's rearward shifter location, JP modified both the shifter assembly and mounting bracket to place the lever almost exactly where the factory IS300 intended. The result feels OEM, surprisingly, retaining the stock Nissan shifter rather than switching to a shorter aftermarket unit that would introduce additional vibration.
Then there's the style.
Bride seats, a Power Tune digital dash, a matching steering wheel, driving gloves, and the unmistakable right-hand-drive layout give the cabin undeniable hot-boy energy. But unlike a show car, every modification still serves a purpose.
It's stylish without sacrificing function.
Interior Components
- Factory-style right-hand-drive conversion
- Power Tune V5 Digital Dash
- Bride racing seats
- Nissan CD009 factory shifter (relocated)
- GKTech hydraulic handbrake kit
Exterior: Drift Cars Wear Their Scars
JP isn't interested in spending thousands on bodywork that's destined to meet a clipping point.
The front bumper began life as a fiberglass TRD Neo replica before JP extended it roughly two inches to improve its proportions while maintaining an OEM-inspired appearance.
Modelo Drive front overfenders add additional clearance while integrating functional vents, while the rear features Dunlap Aero Solutions overfenders designed to blend naturally into the factory body lines.
The side skirts?
They're inexpensive fiberglass pieces.
Not because they're perfect, but because drift cars inevitably destroy aero, and replacing a $200 skirt hurts a lot less than replacing premium bodywork.
JP also handles all of his own paintwork.
Instead of repainting the entire car after every incident, damaged panels simply get repaired and resprayed as needed—a practical approach for a car that sees regular seat time.
Even details like the adapted GKTech S13 mirrors reflect the same philosophy seen throughout the build.
Simple modifications.
Factory appearance.
Maximum function.
Exterior
- Modified TRD Neo front bumper
- Modelo Drive vented front overfenders
- Dunlap Aero Solutions rear overfenders
- Fiberglass side skirts
- Click Tuning rear wing
- Vertex-style rear lip
- GKTech S13 mirrors adapted to fit the IS300
- Kiwami wheels
Driving Philosophy: Build It, Learn It, Improve It
The biggest adjustment hasn't been the horsepower.
It's been everything else.
Changing to right-hand drive while simultaneously swapping engines transformed how the car feels behind the wheel, and JP admits he's still adapting. There have been plenty of spins along the way, something his friends are more than happy to remind him about, but every event leaves him a little more comfortable than the last.
That's also why the car sits at 375 horsepower instead of chasing massive dyno numbers.
He's choosing to grow with the car instead of trying to outrun his experience.
After all, this IS300 has never really been finished.
Every season brings another idea, another fabrication project, or another detail to refine.
For someone who makes a living building parts for other people, it's only fitting that his own car remains a constant work in progress.
JP's IS300 isn't defined by one big modification. It's defined by hundreds of small decisions, each made with the same goal in mind: build something custom that still feels factory.
It's a drift car with hot boy style, fabricator-level craftsmanship, and enough OEM influence to make you look twice before realizing just how much has changed.
That's what Behind the Build is about.
