Davethetrikes latest project,

davethetrike · Mar 10, 2009

Finished pictures at the end of the thread

The project centred around the humble Proton Coupe

Bought for very little..
A little research later and we find that it has

The same floorpan as an EVO

The early 1.8 GSR engine in NA form

Handling that will match an MX5 with ease.

So
Work begins
evo interior - straight swap

Turbo etc

Then, some paint, wheels, front end modified, unichip ecu, interior upgrade, paint, shortshifter, boostcontroller...and lots more

We have
Nice interior

Tidy engine bay

Tidy car

Power is 211bhp without the nos. Boost starts at 1800rpm
Torque at 200. Weight? About the same as a Punto GT

Oh yeah
Build thread here
http://www.protonownersclub.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=7962

AppleSei · Mar 10, 2009

going to have a read on proton owners club project as it 50+ pages long.

Always had soft spot for protons, they get panned but theres a lot of good stuff from other manufacturers in them wouldnt mind one in the future if they bring a hot one out as the range is pretty crap at the moment

Yours looks mint by the way

StevenRB45 · Mar 10, 2009

Good job shall read the build thread when I have a spare hour or two.

davethetrike · Mar 10, 2009

AppleSei said:
going to have a read on proton owners club project as it 50+ pages long.

Always had soft spot for protons, they get panned but theres a lot of good stuff from other manufacturers in them wouldnt mind one in the future if they bring a hot one out as the range is pretty crap at the moment

Yours looks mint by the way

Thanks

I bought it as stop gap and ending up keeping it.
Even in standard form the coupe has 136bhp and weighs less than a GT.
The coupe is basically a mitsubish asti mirage with the 1.8 dohc engine.

Enjoy the thread, it starts out quite tame and then follows the ups and downs of any project. The end result is pretty spectacular, there is very little that can keep up with it

Including me!
You're right though, current Proton range lacks the sporty edge, wish they'd import the R3

davethetrike · Mar 10, 2009

StevenRB45 said:
Good job shall read the build thread when I have a spare hour or two.

Thanks, enjoy the read

There's one more job to do and I'll post it here when its fin

I'll pop it along to a meet sometime

arc · Mar 10, 2009

awww you git, i was gonna get an early night - now im stuck reading the build thread !!

CinquePunto · Mar 10, 2009

You know it makes sense for the Malaysian Masterpiece...

AppleSei · Mar 10, 2009

CinquePunto said:

Noooo it looks too imprezza-ish with gold wheels, keep it as it is.

Well, read the project-fascinating read started off really well for you in that nowt much went wrong then it went a bit pearshaped when fitting the turbo then got sorted in the end

Are you coming back to fiat then?

mrcinquecento · Mar 11, 2009

must say, that is very nice indeed!

, good job!

davethetrike · Mar 11, 2009

arc said:
awww you git, i was gonna get an early night - now im stuck reading the build thread !!

CinquePunto said:
You know it makes sense for the Malaysian Masterpiece...

Hi nice to hear from you Adam

I'll be over for professional pics soon

AppleSei said:
Noooo it looks too imprezza-ish with gold wheels, keep it as it is.

Well, read the project-fascinating read started off really well for you in that nowt much went wrong then it went a bit pearshaped when fitting the turbo then got sorted in the end

Are you coming back to fiat then?

I've been looking for a Fiat Coupe for a few months now. I was also considering a cinq on bike tbs. The coupe is likely the cinq less likely now.

mrcinquecento said:
must say, that is very nice indeed! , good job!

Cheers mate.

Munkul · Mar 13, 2009

thats tidy as fook, certainly the nicest proton ive ever seen. Love it

still think you're a sell-out for binning the punto though:devil:

davethetrike · Mar 15, 2009

Munkul said:
thats tidy as fook, certainly the nicest proton ive ever seen. Love it

still think you're a sell-out for binning the punto though:devil:

As I said on the supercharged thread (before it was locked and posts deleted) I should've put the Punto in a lockup for a while

But hey thats the way it goes.

Still trying to track down a Fiat coupe...
Found one that I wanted but it was 190 miles away:bang:

Thanks for the compliment on my coupe

Munkul · Mar 15, 2009

davethetrike said:
As I said on the supercharged thread (before it was locked and posts deleted) I should've put the Punto in a lockup for a while But hey thats the way it goes.

Still trying to track down a Fiat coupe...
Found one that I wanted but it was 190 miles away:bang:

Thanks for the compliment on my coupe

let me know when you want to sell please

davethetrike · Mar 15, 2009

Munkul said:
let me know when you want to sell please

Like all my projects its always for sale.

Just pm me for a chat about it.

Not looking for loadsa money, you know me, I like to build 'em

davethetrike · Mar 15, 2009

Finished the rear spoiler today.
The spoiler was from a colt.

T.E.D. Jordan · Mar 16, 2009

IMO Its very much a marmite car, love the front end, sooo agressive looking, but the back end lets it down a little. Overall though very impressive work!

Does look great - you've made beauty from the beast lol

No to coupe, yes to bike TB'd cinq

(contact me for all manor of bike tb's - i know someone that literally has every bike set available lol)

Jordan

ChrisUK · Mar 16, 2009

I like it

. How reliable is this setup?...

davethetrike · Mar 16, 2009

T.E.D. Jordan said:
IMO Its very much a marmite car, love the front end, sooo agressive looking, but the back end lets it down a little. Overall though very impressive work!

Does look great - you've made beauty from the beast lol

No to coupe, yes to bike TB'd cinq (contact me for all manor of bike tb's - i know someone that literally has every bike set available lol)

Jordan

I so fancy bike TBs and glad you like the car. Oddly I like the back but am not to sure about the front

davethetrike · Mar 16, 2009

ChrisUK said:
I like it . How reliable is this setup?...

Over 5000 miles, and once I'd sorted the hoses popping. No problem.

To explain.

The 1.8 engine in the Proton Coupe or GTI is the Mitsubishi 1.8 engine.

Mitsubishi use this engine in turbo form in the lancer gsr 1.8

So the engine is based on a turbo lump.
The Proton uses the Mitsubishi loom, hell it is a mitsubishi, A Miitsubisho Asti to be correct. Even the floorpan takes evo suspension, evo seats, strut braces etc.

To turbo the Proton 1.8 you lower the compression with a Mitsubishi MLS head gasket. Plug in a GSR lancer ECU, bolt on a TD04 turbo, using a Lancer GSR Manifold. (some fabrication to the sump + ic etc). And then its good to go, you'll have around 180bhp + at the fly and the engine is the Lancer GSR engine, albeit with slightly different internals and cam.

In short this is a turbo engine thats been converted to NA. Convert it back and you have Lancer power and Jap reliability. Add a good exhaust, a remap and power will reach 180 bhp+ at the wheels

- Mine
Add a td05 from the EVO, an EVO MAF and boost to 13psi and you'll have 250 + bhp
Forged internals and more boost 350+bhp

And it handles, it would, its the Evo floorpan.

Next time a coupe comes up for sale - take it for a spin - as standard they have 136bhp and weigh the same as a Punto GT

Whats not to like?

ChrisUK · Mar 17, 2009

I like it a lot lol

. Proper sleeper :slayer:.

Never even seen one of heard of them until I saw yours!

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