Proton Wira modifications under RM1000 project 1

modification program

A couple of months back I wrote about "Rejuvenating a well used car - repairs with a Proton Wira 1.3 M". Well, I was which has a chat with many of my friends, discussing the pros and cons of repairing and modifying old cars over buying brand new ones.

I think that Malaysians on the whole take good care of their cars but once they pass a clear number of years, other than irregular service, they sort of stop replacing worn-out parts, you can find dents and scratches everywhere, rust in numerous parts remain untreated, their headlight turn yellow as we grow older, the bumpers are nearly falling off plus the you have a tendency to hit the velocity bumps when you go over them since the shock absorbers are way past their deadline.

The dilemma facing a great deal of owners of old cars quite simply do not want to repair/ replace the various components as "it is an existing car" and you are therefore thinking of upgrading into a newer car. But you continue driving the identical car until 1 day, the bumper falls off or worse, reduces in the middle in the highway. A friend was telling us so it would cost thousands to repair/replace my way through his old car which set me thinking: How much modifications/ improvements would you do with your car with just RM1000?

I was lucky I had the perfect car because of this project - my dad's old Proton Wira Aeroback. Based around the Mitsubishi Lancer platform, this car is usually a favourite among car modification enthusiasts in Malaysia, since of the lots of accessories and aftermarket parts available as well as the affordability.

The car continues to be running beautifully with no major issues. As mentioned within my previous post, the timing belt was changed this past year and I recently had the shock absorbers and several other parts changed. However, that it was clear the car had seen better days. The paint is pealing off about the rear bumper, the Proton logo right in front has also fallen off. 

Of course I have to clarify that the mods I anticipate doing are mostly remedial and/or aesthetic. I do not anticipate doing anything relevant to performance enhancement or engine. I also do most from the work myself whenever I can to lessen the cost whilst keeping under the budget. 

First coming from all, I had to take into account all the various which were essential. So I went about replacing the earlier wipers. I bought Genuine Bosch (BE17+BE20) Proton Wira ECO Wiper Blades for RM54 on Lazada. This is one with the things that any of us can do ourselves and need to go with a workshop for. This is not my very first time that and I had the newest wipers on in the couple of minutes. 

modification program

Next I sent your vehicle off to painting specialist M. Spray Work in Taman Mayang Jaya along with the rear bumper painted. The big ugly patch for the bumper became lowering the image in the car. That set me back RM200, which took a large chunk from my small budget. However, Mr. Tan did a very good job as well as the bumper appears to be good as new.

Before

After

Sometime back I had read a write-up on car soundproofing kits which helped to scale back vibrations and noise in the vehicle. After a dose of searching online, I found a vendor -Fsmotoersport on Lelong.com.my, selling soundproofing kits for Proton Wira cars. It set me back RM40 with the custom made bonnet soundproofing kit and yes it finally arrived day before yesterday. The pieces were custom cut to adjust to the spaces around the car bonnet along with the experience was like doing a jigsaw puzzle as I were forced to figure out which piece went where. There was you don't need to use glue as being the pieces were self adhesive with easy peel away backing and it turned out all carried out less than half sixty minutes. I was quite unsure whether or not it would work but was quite happy after driving around our neighbourhood. There is really a noticeable lowering of the engine noise. 

before

After

Of course, I also needed to get a new emblem/logo to go for the front grill. The font looks quite plain with no logo. I initially looked at replacing it using the original "old" Proton logo - the main one with a star and crescent moon even so while experiencing Lelong.com.my, found someone selling the revolutionary Proton Tiger logo/ emblem. Though it is meant to the Proton Iswara, I think it will fit perfectly within the Wira also. It set me back RM19.90 and I am looking forward to it to reach. 

All together I have now used an overall of RM313.90 which leaves me with RM686.10 for other improvements.

What should I do next?

modification program