Four years ago yesterday, my dad and I went to pick up this old junk of a car from Cheras. Little did I know that what was supposed to be an interim ended up becoming the catalyst to a love-hate relationship that still continues to this day.
Despite eventually spending a total of RM10,000 onto it, it hasn't changed much in terms of appearance. If anything, it looked worse than before. But that's just the effect of sun and rain beating down on the already-horrible paint over time, and I honestly couldn't care less.
I then begin doing stupid things to it, and learnt in the process that doing lab rat experiments on your one and only daily driver was a horrible thing to do. In the image above, I had MINES Hi-Lo Adjustable Coilovers fitted together with a straight pipe that replaces the back box, giving my Wira the infamous "perang" noise that is the norm with boy-racers. It sounded violent, obnoxious and the whole experience in the cabin - even in the SS15 traffic jam - is pure chaos. I was an 18-year old idiot, what else was I supposed to do?
Initially I enjoyed it, but it grew tiring almost immediately. The drone was horrifying, the ride wasn't too awful for an 18-year old idiot like me, but going over bumpy corners isn't exactly what you call "confident inspiring", and it didn't help that it often scrapes on my house driveway where there's a small ditch I need to pass through. Eventually, I reinstalled an original muffler back and sourced a set of secondhand absorbers and springs - exactly the starting point of everything that goes wrong.
Head gasket leak, engine head warp, torn driveshaft, gearbox oil seal leak, bad bushings and I went through literally four shock absorbers just to get it to this point. I then ditched the old 15s for a set of original 13-inch rims and the tires were absolutely gone so I had to source new tires. Then the car kept suffering overheating issues which is finally solved with installing a thermostat. All of this sounds like nothing much, but I would be lying if I said I didn't feel like setting the damn thing on fire.
Of course, I didn't. I've had a lot of memories with it. This old girl was my only best friend that I had, not just an A-to-B.
I've had an itchy backside for as long as I've had it, and it may have gotten close to mentally destroying me, but it also is a part of my identity. My friends have associated me with the Wira, and to be honest, I am still half-hearted between restoring this car into an ultimate touge machine or leaving it to be a rough beater as it is right now because I just don't see the worth of doing it up. I still have mixed feelings with it, amplified further by the fact I now have two better cars - my Camry XV20 and my W124 220E (stories about them will come another day)
However, if there's one thing for certain, driving this old girl makes me feel a certain way that no other cars can make me feel. It has become a part of me, and it'll be a damn shame to get rid of it and leave it to an unknown fate. I've spent way too much that getting rid of it will be a major loss, so might as well keep it around for a very long time. I still love this car, despite the troubles it has given me. Maybe I should slowly begin evolving it into my dream machine.
Now if you excuse me, I'm gonna go source a new driver's side wiper arm. It nearly ripped itself off just a few days ago, and that's dangerous. Until next time!
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