It is with great regret that I have to part with my beloved Proton that I have owned since 2008. Emigration is imminent, and I can't take it with me
The car underwent a full stripdown and rebuild immediately after I bought it and I ran it for 10 years as my daily driver. Last year I removed the body kit for repair as I had cracked the rear skirt, and discovered that unbeknown to me some areas of the rear bodywork had been rusting away, completely hidden by the body kit. Not having the skills , equipment or premises to weld these parts, and not being able to find anyone locally to take on the work, the car has sat on the neighbour's driveway since then.
Here are some key GOOD points about this car specifically which show that it has had thousands of pounds poured into it, and no expense spared over the time I have owned it:
Originally a 1.3GL, I obtained a BRAND NEW 1.5L engine from Proton and fitted this. DVLA have updated the V5 accordingly and it is registered as a 1.5
Originally blue, it was resprayed in Mitsubishi Lausanne beige copied from a well know Mitsubishi Galant on this forum. The paintwork is somewhat faded now and would probably polish up, but in preparation for a full respray in metallic black, I have a tin of metallic black paint to include. V5 shows it as being beige.
Car was converted to run on LPG using a Tartarini LPG system from Autogas 2000 and a special gas mixer bolted onto the the carburettor imported at great cost from Amos Gas in New Zealand. There is a large cylindrical LPG tank in the boot which still leaves plenty of boot space. Rather than have an unsightly flush-fitting LPG filler on the bodywork, I had my restoration guys weld part of a LH rear quarter upside down into the RH rear quarter resulting in the car having a factory looking filler flap on both sides. Petrol on the left and LPG on the right. The car was issued with an LPGA approval and as such, the DVLA have registered it as a Dual Fuel (petrol/gas) vehicle. The LPG made it really economical to run.
Wind deflectors imported from Germany at a cost of £85.
Alloy wheels from a Proton Puma with original centre caps are included and have been blasted and powder coated at various times when tyres have been replaced.
Increased bore size, stainless steel exhaust except the centre box. This custom exhaust system cost £400
Rear axles are know to rust on these models. The axle was replaced around 2 years ago for its last MoT and is in excellent condition.
Windscreen has been replaced, so none of the usual 'creeping milk' around the edges.
Non-sunroof shell was specifically selected to base this project on.
I bought an entire Proton Prism Aeroback car purely to get hold of the body kit. The rear skirt was then professionally lengthened in the sides at great cost in order to make it fit the saloon. 2 body kits are included. The Prism kit, and one from a Proton Puma Aeroback.
Tow bar and electrics fitted.
Serck number plates with a number 4 in the reg.
All the trim around the side windows has been replaced with shiny stainless steel trims from a Mitsubishi Colt for that executive look. The original black trim is all included.
Fitted Toyota head unit from a Rav4 with additional Bluetooth module and USB/SD card slots for MP3 Playback. Lexus 6-disc MiniDisc changer under passenger seat. Small Sansui amplifier in the boot.
Electric front windows, central locking, power steering and electric mirrors from a 1.5SE have been fitted.
Thatcham approved Cheetah alarm/immobiliser with custom made remote central locking module.
Driver's door was forever getting the frame bent over by vandals so I replaced it with a new door with reinforced frame with extra steel welded along it. All painted over and invisible, but much stronger.
Vandals kept bending my aerial so I removed it, had the hole welded up and smoothed over so you would never know it was there. They also pulled the lock barrel out of the passenger door so I also had that welded up and smoothed over for an invisible repair.
BAD POINTS (not all necessarily bad, but points that the new owner will need to take into account)
Front end panels have all been removed (bumper, wings, valance grille, lights)
These panels were showing signs of rust, so I removed them, but I have MINT CONDITION panels in grey primer ready to be painted and fitted, which will all be included with the sale. The front structure of the car does not need any welding. There are small areas of surface rust in a few places that just need rubbing back and painting over. Everything at the front will be very easy to put back together.
There is no rot in the doors. What you see on the door bottoms in the photos is just bond where the fibreglass panels were stuck on. It is not filler or anything nasty. In any case, spare doors are also included, mint in grey primer.
The rear end is not so good. There are holes in the lower parts of the rear quarters behind the back wheels. I have these sections cut off another car ready to be welded in, but don't have the means to do it myself. Alternatively these parts may be able to be cut off completely and left off, as they are not structural, serve no purpose other than aesthetic, and are completely hidden and unseen when the rear fibre-glass skirt is refitted.
There is also a hole in the NS sill where it meets the rear arch where I have pulled a previous patch repair off, and the OS sill has some rust in the same place. Again the sills are completely hidden by the side skirts when refitted, so any welding repairs would not have to be perfect as they will not be on show.
INCLUDED IN THE SALE is an entire garage worth of spare parts for Protons that I have accumulated over the past 13 years. These are from 3 closed down proton dealerships which I cleared out, as well as stuff I have imported from various countries and parts I have saved off the many protons I have owned and scrapped over the years.
There is far too much to list or picture, but to give you an idea of what to expect I will list some parts that come to mind:
Body panels (some mint in grey primer, some parts cut from other cars such as front panels, rear panel, rear quarters, doors, valance, bumpers, boot lid, bonnet, wings, grilles.)
Drive shafts
Wheel hubs
Steering racks
Radiators
wheels
Struts and springs
Body kits
boot Spoiler
Glass
lights
gaskets
manifolds, carbs, distributors, starters, alternators
centre consoles, dashboards, handbrake levers, gear shifters, cables, aerials, scuttle panels, trim parts, switches, brake drums, discs, window regulators, fuel tanks, exhaust pipes, and much much more.
There is way more than £500 in parts alone, so the car itself is an extra bonus.
I will end this post with a collection of photos showing the car in various stages of its life in my ownership and some of its current sorry state. I will include some photos of the garage full of parts, but there is just far too much to show and much of the smaller stuff is in boxes. Whoever takes this on will probably acquire the biggest collection of early Proton parts in the UK and will need a big van or several trips to get it all away.
Alternatively if you want to keep the garage, I can pass the lease over to you and you will continue to pay rent to the landlord instead of me. The garage is in BD3 postcode. In any case the car will need to be taken away though, as the driveway it currently stands on is changing hands. It will start and drive with a battery or jumped off, but can't be driven on the road due to missing panels and no MoT.
Although I am moving abroad I will be reachable by facebook and whatsapp and will continue to provide help and support to Proton owners in the UK, which will include any advice the person needs on putting the car back together and explaining what all the parts are and which models they fit.
The car underwent a full stripdown and rebuild immediately after I bought it and I ran it for 10 years as my daily driver. Last year I removed the body kit for repair as I had cracked the rear skirt, and discovered that unbeknown to me some areas of the rear bodywork had been rusting away, completely hidden by the body kit. Not having the skills , equipment or premises to weld these parts, and not being able to find anyone locally to take on the work, the car has sat on the neighbour's driveway since then.
Here are some key GOOD points about this car specifically which show that it has had thousands of pounds poured into it, and no expense spared over the time I have owned it:
Originally a 1.3GL, I obtained a BRAND NEW 1.5L engine from Proton and fitted this. DVLA have updated the V5 accordingly and it is registered as a 1.5
Originally blue, it was resprayed in Mitsubishi Lausanne beige copied from a well know Mitsubishi Galant on this forum. The paintwork is somewhat faded now and would probably polish up, but in preparation for a full respray in metallic black, I have a tin of metallic black paint to include. V5 shows it as being beige.
Car was converted to run on LPG using a Tartarini LPG system from Autogas 2000 and a special gas mixer bolted onto the the carburettor imported at great cost from Amos Gas in New Zealand. There is a large cylindrical LPG tank in the boot which still leaves plenty of boot space. Rather than have an unsightly flush-fitting LPG filler on the bodywork, I had my restoration guys weld part of a LH rear quarter upside down into the RH rear quarter resulting in the car having a factory looking filler flap on both sides. Petrol on the left and LPG on the right. The car was issued with an LPGA approval and as such, the DVLA have registered it as a Dual Fuel (petrol/gas) vehicle. The LPG made it really economical to run.
Wind deflectors imported from Germany at a cost of £85.
Alloy wheels from a Proton Puma with original centre caps are included and have been blasted and powder coated at various times when tyres have been replaced.
Increased bore size, stainless steel exhaust except the centre box. This custom exhaust system cost £400
Rear axles are know to rust on these models. The axle was replaced around 2 years ago for its last MoT and is in excellent condition.
Windscreen has been replaced, so none of the usual 'creeping milk' around the edges.
Non-sunroof shell was specifically selected to base this project on.
I bought an entire Proton Prism Aeroback car purely to get hold of the body kit. The rear skirt was then professionally lengthened in the sides at great cost in order to make it fit the saloon. 2 body kits are included. The Prism kit, and one from a Proton Puma Aeroback.
Tow bar and electrics fitted.
Serck number plates with a number 4 in the reg.
All the trim around the side windows has been replaced with shiny stainless steel trims from a Mitsubishi Colt for that executive look. The original black trim is all included.
Fitted Toyota head unit from a Rav4 with additional Bluetooth module and USB/SD card slots for MP3 Playback. Lexus 6-disc MiniDisc changer under passenger seat. Small Sansui amplifier in the boot.
Electric front windows, central locking, power steering and electric mirrors from a 1.5SE have been fitted.
Thatcham approved Cheetah alarm/immobiliser with custom made remote central locking module.
Driver's door was forever getting the frame bent over by vandals so I replaced it with a new door with reinforced frame with extra steel welded along it. All painted over and invisible, but much stronger.
Vandals kept bending my aerial so I removed it, had the hole welded up and smoothed over so you would never know it was there. They also pulled the lock barrel out of the passenger door so I also had that welded up and smoothed over for an invisible repair.
BAD POINTS (not all necessarily bad, but points that the new owner will need to take into account)
Front end panels have all been removed (bumper, wings, valance grille, lights)
These panels were showing signs of rust, so I removed them, but I have MINT CONDITION panels in grey primer ready to be painted and fitted, which will all be included with the sale. The front structure of the car does not need any welding. There are small areas of surface rust in a few places that just need rubbing back and painting over. Everything at the front will be very easy to put back together.
There is no rot in the doors. What you see on the door bottoms in the photos is just bond where the fibreglass panels were stuck on. It is not filler or anything nasty. In any case, spare doors are also included, mint in grey primer.
The rear end is not so good. There are holes in the lower parts of the rear quarters behind the back wheels. I have these sections cut off another car ready to be welded in, but don't have the means to do it myself. Alternatively these parts may be able to be cut off completely and left off, as they are not structural, serve no purpose other than aesthetic, and are completely hidden and unseen when the rear fibre-glass skirt is refitted.
There is also a hole in the NS sill where it meets the rear arch where I have pulled a previous patch repair off, and the OS sill has some rust in the same place. Again the sills are completely hidden by the side skirts when refitted, so any welding repairs would not have to be perfect as they will not be on show.
INCLUDED IN THE SALE is an entire garage worth of spare parts for Protons that I have accumulated over the past 13 years. These are from 3 closed down proton dealerships which I cleared out, as well as stuff I have imported from various countries and parts I have saved off the many protons I have owned and scrapped over the years.
There is far too much to list or picture, but to give you an idea of what to expect I will list some parts that come to mind:
Body panels (some mint in grey primer, some parts cut from other cars such as front panels, rear panel, rear quarters, doors, valance, bumpers, boot lid, bonnet, wings, grilles.)
Drive shafts
Wheel hubs
Steering racks
Radiators
wheels
Struts and springs
Body kits
boot Spoiler
Glass
lights
gaskets
manifolds, carbs, distributors, starters, alternators
centre consoles, dashboards, handbrake levers, gear shifters, cables, aerials, scuttle panels, trim parts, switches, brake drums, discs, window regulators, fuel tanks, exhaust pipes, and much much more.
There is way more than £500 in parts alone, so the car itself is an extra bonus.
I will end this post with a collection of photos showing the car in various stages of its life in my ownership and some of its current sorry state. I will include some photos of the garage full of parts, but there is just far too much to show and much of the smaller stuff is in boxes. Whoever takes this on will probably acquire the biggest collection of early Proton parts in the UK and will need a big van or several trips to get it all away.
Alternatively if you want to keep the garage, I can pass the lease over to you and you will continue to pay rent to the landlord instead of me. The garage is in BD3 postcode. In any case the car will need to be taken away though, as the driveway it currently stands on is changing hands. It will start and drive with a battery or jumped off, but can't be driven on the road due to missing panels and no MoT.
Although I am moving abroad I will be reachable by facebook and whatsapp and will continue to provide help and support to Proton owners in the UK, which will include any advice the person needs on putting the car back together and explaining what all the parts are and which models they fit.