Recently I'm really frustrated with my cars... Both throwing tantrums at the very same time... I won't talk about FrankenBenz in this particular blog post... So obviously I'm going to concentrate on the 'Pug'... Quite frankly, the 'Pug' is really getting on my nerves and is driving me crazy!!! No doubt it is a very good car when you look at the asking price and the equipments thrown in... Besides that, there is nothing to complaint about the joy of driving it either... So what is driving me up the wall???

Three words!!! These three words is the root cause for all the trouble that we have been through and not forgetting about all the sleepless night (okok I'm exaggerating a little bit)... 'DEPOLLUTION SYSTEM FAULTY'... Isn't it good that the car tell us what is wrong with it??? It is really good in my opinion but please be specified 'Peugeot' because according to the service centre, those three words can mean a lot of things... It does not pin point to the exact problem...

I've sent my car to three different service center and three of them came out with different error code... One of them said it is because of vacuum hose... Another said there is problem with the turbo solenoid valve, turbo and timing chain!!! Can you believe it, timing chain??? Don't really make sense to me... Why I don't think the problem lies with the timing chain is because the car feels under power... This only happens when you drive the car for around 10-20 minutes... I suspect the main culprit is the turbine because you know it is not boosting... I can't even hear the dump valve/blowoff valve... Besides that, I can see that the turbo is leaking oil...

Last week I decided to sent my car to 'Glenmarie Blue Box' for second opinion after the dealer told me that the main problem lies with the timing chain... Before that, they told me they suspected turbo failure as well but need to do some further diagnosis to confirm... After that they said is because of timing chain... My darling's colleague also encounter the same error message and he sent the car to the same dealer that we went... And guess what, they told him exactly the same thing as they told us... Timing chain problem... I'm not buying it... Ok back to 'Glenmarie Blue Box'... After diagnosis they said the problem lies with the turbine and they need more time to take out the whole turbine before they can confirm it... So my darling is going to be carless next week as the car is schedule to admit next week (I'm carless this week!!!)... I'm really keeping my finger cross and hopefully they can settle our problem once and for all!!!

Finally I managed to watch 'Captain America: The First Avenger'!!! I'm a sucker for comic derive movies... If there is someone filming it, I will definitely watch it... Till date, I believe I have watched all these movies showing in the cinema... So I won't leave this one out for sure...

What I like about this movie is the retro feel of it... I'm really into retro nowadays!!! I'm very sure a lot of people will compare 'Captain America' with the recently shown 'Thor' and to be honest, I prefer 'Thor' a little bit more... Don't get me wrong as I really like 'Captain America: The First Avenger', but in terms of story line, I prefer 'Thor' a teeny bit more... The problem with 'Captain America' is you know what is going to happen next... So there is no suspense or whatsoever...

Another thing that I like about 'Captain America' is how a small guy with a BIG heart manage to be the ultimate soldier which is the polar opposite to 'Thor'... 'Thor' was born with mighty power and this makes him damn arrogant... So I guess I'm just comparing apples to oranges huh??? But this is still a very good movie if you ask me... Down to earth kind of movie where you get to cheer on the good guy and hates the villain!!!

After getting my car for a few weeks, I needed to sent my car to the workshop again... When driving I can hear some grinding noise and during initial acceleration, I can feel the car vibrating a bit... I'm suspecting the long shaft to be the main culprit...

After checking my mechanic confirm that something is indeed wrong with my long shaft... But the problem does not lies on the long shaft rather than the mounting... Guess I need to train myself not to step on the accelerator pedal everytime I'm behind the wheel of my 'FrankenBenz'!!!

Besides the long shaft mounting, I'm changing my power steering box as well as the old box is leaking severely... I need to top up everyday and a 1 litre power steering fluid won't last me a week!!! That's how bad it was leaking... After replacing the power steering box, there is a noticeable difference between steering feel... The steering is so much heavier and a lot less free play... This is how it should have been...

What is this 'Proton Savvy' doing in my mechanic shop???

A 'Toyota 4E-FTE' in a 'Proton Savvy'!!! Really Malaysia Boleh...

To be continue...

I don't know when it really started but it seems that I'm really falling in love with 'classic' cars!!! I guessed it started when I decided to start on 'Project FrankenBenz'... There are a few classic cars that I'm really fond of before I even started my 'FrankenBenz' project... This particular car will get my blood pumping and even making my knees weak if I have the chance to see one on the streets of Malaysia... But I guess chances are pretty slim... If you watched 'Fast Five', I'm very sure you know which car I'm talking about...

The KPGC-10 or better known as 'Hakosuka'!!! One of the nicest 'Skyline GTR' if you ask me... Sex on wheel...

If you let me choose between the 'Hakosuka' and all the other 'Nissan Skyline GTR', the 'Hakosuka' will definitely be my pick!!! I know it won't out run all the other 'GTR' but there is something with the design that got me tingling!!!

Boost meter install on my 'FrankenBenz'!!! Currently still running on stock boost so I'm only able to boost at 0.7 bar the most... If you are not power hungry, stock boost is more than enough... But my target is to boost at around 0.9 to 1.0 bar!!!

All the meters are working fine... If you are familiar with W124, I'm sure you will notice something different with my speedometer... My mechanic swap out the original 'Merz' speedometer and replace it with a 'Toyota' unit... I'm really impress because he manage to find one that looks almost identical in terms of design and lettering!!! The only downside is the meter max out at 180km/h only as oppose to the original one at 260km/h... I don't know about others who went down the same route as me by transplanting another engine, but i find it really hard for me to keep track on my service interval... When I bought the 'Toyota' engine, the mileage is around 155k++ but the speedometer that my mechanic found have around 189k++!!! So I guess that's the price that you need to pay... No BIG deal actually...

To be continue...

Nowadays it seems a bit hard to find a good movie so I didn't expect 'Hanna' to be good... Unlike 'Wu Xia' which I'm really disappointed at, 'Hanna' brightens up my day after watching it... Is been a long time since I've watch something like this... I really like the way the director films the movie... I don't know why but I just relate director 'Joe Wright' with 'Quentin Tarantino'... There are some similarities on the way they film... Anybody feels the same???

'Saoirse Ronan' (can somebody tells me how to pronounce her name???) is an excellent actress in my opinion... She plays 'Hanna' very well and that's her name in the movie by the way... I will not reveal what the story is about but there is some slight twist in the plot but don't expect something BIG... 'Cate Blanchett' is another actress that I loved... Really talented and she really brings out the character of 'Marissa' which is a CIA agent... Highly recommended if you ask me!!!

Change my 'Victor' steering wheel to this 'Nardi'... This is one of the most sought after steering wheel on the market right now made famous by drifters!!! I like this steering a lot and it is damn hard to get a good condition used unit nowadays... Besides that, the price is not really cheap for a good condition one...

I find this steering wheel more compatible with my current car... As I consider my 'FrankenBenz' as a classic, I think it is more appropriate to fix a classic looking steering wheel on a classic car!!!

By the way, my old 'Victor' steering wheel is for sale... Message me if you are interested!!!

To be continue...

I'm really excited when I know about this movie... The reason for this is because 'Donnie Yen' one of my all time favourite martial art actor and 'Takeshi Kaneshiro' which is the only guy that I find it handsome are starring in this movie together...

The last 'Donnie Yen' movie was a disappointment and sad to say this movie is a disappointment as well... The first half of the movie is really boring while the second part is not much to shout about as well... As for the story line, I didn't find it interesting either... I'm really confuse on why they chose this name for the movie... It just doesn't seems right... I still can't make out what this movie is trying to bring out... Is this a detective movie or a martial art/kung fu movie... But it looks like the director can't decide on this either so they decided to merge the two together...

The only thing that I like about this movie is the colour... Very nice colour if you ask me and not forgetting the cute little boy!!! That's all I guess... If you insist on watching this movie, maybe try going on Wednesday in order to make it justifiable... Definitely not worth the full amount that you are going to pay on other days!!!

Finally my FrankenBenz is ready to roll!!! My first test drive ended with a BIG grin on my face!!! The moment I put my foot down I went OMG!!!!!!!!!! The power delivery is really awesome... If you ask me, I think the power delivery is actually quite smooth and no sudden burst of speed like some other turbo machine... You can definitely feel being pin down to the seat...

So now my car is definitely more powerful but the suspension is getting softer... The reason is because the 'Toyota' engine is much more heavy and it causes my tyres to scrap on the fender and it is really annoying!!! Besides that, the engine is much more powerful and the car felt somewhat wallowy... Initially when I went looking for Richard of 'Titan', he said that the custom absorber is more than enough for my old 'Merz' engine but it is better to get his adjustable kit when my car is fitted with the 'Toyota' engine... At first I wanted to save some $$$ and opted for the absorber only but it seems like I got no choice but to get the adjustable kit as well!!!

Custom fabricated adjustable kit for 'W124 Merz'...

I'm still using the original 'Merz' spring... In order to get it stiffer and lower, they cut the spring again!!! But I truly trust them because the first time I cut my spring, I'm really amaze at how well my car rides... Normally, I don't encourage people to cut their spring in order to get the lowered look but if 'Richard' of 'Titan' said it is ok, then by all means go ahead... They know what they are doing...

4 pot ATE caliper and disc fitted to my car!!!

Another view of my puny intercooler...

'Nissan Cefiro A31'... At first glance they is nothing wrong with this car but take a look at the engine bay and you will notice something different...

'Toyota 2JZ non VVTI' with a bad-ass turbine!!! I asked the owner why he decided to plonk in the 'Toyota 2JZ' and he said because this engine is powerful!!! Before this he's using the 'Nissan RB25DET' and he said that this engine is for sissy!!! Totally lack of power and he told me from experience that an original 'Toyota 1JZ' with auto transmission can smoke a RB25DET manual easily!!! No joke!!! So guess I make the right choice...

Ohh la la... What a nice view if you ask me!!!

So what is the difference before and after installing the adjustable kit??? Night and day difference is my answer... The car ride much more stiffer hence eliminating the wallowy feeling... But it is definitely not crashy... Highly recommended if you ask me but the kit is not really cheap... I guess good things doesn't come cheap!!!

To be continue...