20/3/24
Alright. First order of business is retrieving the Mitsubishi Airtrek from the workshop. The trip is from where we are into the city, so the trip won’t be quick.
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| That’s the first Singaporean vehicle spotted on the trip. |
What do we have here?
Its been a few years since I have set my eyes on a Mitsubishi FTO in person. To those concerned, this is an automatic unit, the more common variant of the FTO, compared to the more desired manual.
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| I have not seen a peeker sticker in a while |
Hearsay the current owner (who has owned it for about a year) is doing restore work on this FTO like our Airtrek too, getting all parts replaced.
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| Photos from my relative from October last year |
This workshop has this little gem too.
It is a JZX81 Toyota Mark II, though I did not see which engine it has. I reckon these aren’t very common.
The workshop also has a E30. It isn’t the desirable variant, say a coupe, nor is it, what was it, a 325i? The one with the hot engine before the M3. Anyways, this is a 318i 4 door, and it is a manual. Maybe someday could we invest in a E30, or 5 series of the same model years?
Plainly, this car is still not fully rectified. The hard reality of owning older cars, classic cars, and cars overall is that, the process takes time. Its something that the newer generation, me included, tend to not realize or acknowledge. It really takes weeks, months, even years for some cars, to receive parts, receive the work and labor to restore them. There are definitely casing examples in all over the world of cars gathering dust and looking worse for wear because they have sat waiting for an overhaul or more parts. Such is the reality of older cars, especially cars that have largely disappeared or were sold in small quantities. I haven’t brought in my Lotus Elan into the shops for a proper diagnosis and list for parts needed to replace, and I truly am not looking forward to that.
As for the Mitsubishi, there are notably many things still wrong with it. Namely the speedometer still doesn’t work and the aftermarket head unit is the only instrument showing speed. The sockets for the signals is largely spoiled so almost all the time does the indicators not work, and in the photo you can see, the intercooler needs replacing too. Oh yes, it needs a timing belt change too, before it grenades the engine. Lots of work needs doing, sadly. The sunroof is also not done, and the car has yet to do a full service due to lack of time.
Must I add, the ride is loathful. Oh does it need new suspension, suspension arms, maybe the whole thing, honestly! It shakes the whole car over any uneven surfaces, it is absolutely painful.
Returned back and snapped a few shots of the highway, nothing fancy this time, just regular traffic and all, worth practicing a little bit of tracking with this.
Just a little side note, I’m not sure whether I have ever expressed this, but in my younger days going to Penang, I always remember seeing a yellow Honda Integra parked on the side of the road. For years I’d always see it, it would always be there, parked roughly in the same spot, for years on end. Recently, come the pandemic and the years thereafter, the car seemingly vanished. I’d think that it was removed, sold off, all of that. Look what I found…
I’m not sure how different it was then and now, say a big wing and nothing else? I’m not sure, the photo below is a photo from, wow, 6 years ago, how time flies.
Its still a little worse for wear, but assuming its been with the same owner for all this while, I suspect he wouldn’t be open to selling…
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| First thai-registered car of the trip |
That done, last agenda for the day is dinner; of which the location made for a nice little place for photos. I don’t take photos of food (Most of the time), so I cannot deliver on the dinner part, just more photos of the Mitsubishi Airtrek.
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| Camcorder photography still looks decent despite the outdated hardware |
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| All photos here taken via Fujifilm Instax Mini Evo |
That’s going to be it for tonight. I’ll see what’s going to happen tomorrow. For now, this concludes my second day in little Penang, its been fun. Ciao!
~Linus
Read More: Penang 2024
