Fadly Hisham Roplay has been waiting for this afternoon for what seems like the longest month. His 1992 Proton Saga, which came with a heart warming story, was selected as the first car for R3 to work on under the ‘My Proton Makeover’ program. He got back the keys to WCP 3145 this afternoon, reuniting again with what he calls his “second wife”.
It wasn’t just him, but yours truly and some of the other Proton owning media members were also eager to see the reworked car. We crowded in R3’s sweltering workshop inside Proton’s Shah Alam facility as R3 head Tengku Djan and Proton Motorsports boss Datuk Abdul Razak Dawood greeted Fadly and family.
The 33-year old Fadly, who works as a technician with an electronics company, was very nervous and emotional through it all, even shedding some tears of joy when the car was revealed and when his story was played on the screen. The moment arrived, and he was shell shocked, a scene not unlike those in the TV show Overhaulin’.
Gone are the Fiore mods on his old Saga, which Tengku Djan said was in worse condition than what they had thought – a family of cockroaches in the boot were among the surprises in store for the R3 boys when they stripped the car!
The top drifter admitted that the task wasn’t easy, since they had only three weeks (instead of a month) thanks to the Raya break. The sourcing of new parts for the old Saga also wasn’t that straightforward.
But the end result looks great, and I envy lucky Fadly. After being stripped to the bone, some welding work was done to WCP 3145 before a base coat and the nice brown/grey paint (or is it gunmetal?) you see here were added. R3 wanted to maintain the “classic look” of the old Saga and spice it up with contemporary touches – the latter came from the 16-inch R3 wheels and the four round tail lamps.
The red R3 logos on the rims and front grille are joined by a red pinstripe around the body, which Fadly likes a lot. There’s also a rear spoiler and subtle carbon fiber style stickers on the B and C pillars. And if you’re wondering, the “VIP” logos on the fenders and boot stand for “Very Important Proton”.
As for the engine, Fadly’s 1.5L Megavalve was given a full overhaul job. With the clock turned back to 0 km, it now breathes better with a customised filter system and custom exhaust system starting from the extractor to the muffler – it sounds quite loud! The Saga also sits on new suspension tuned by R3, hence the lowered stance.
As for the interior, the old Saga’s 80s building blocks style dashboard makes way for the minimalist style Saga LMST dash. The interior is in black, accented in red, which appears on the air con rings and stitching on the leather seats. A MOMO steering and a new Blaupunkt ICE system are the other additions.
Click here to see the work in progress pics, as well as how Fadly’s Saga looked like before being “overhauled”. Full gallery of the handover ceremony and the reworked car is after the jump – over 50 pics await you!
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Kevin Lee
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AI-generated Summary ✨
Comments expressed a mix of admiration and disappointment regarding the Proton Saga makeover. Many praised R3 for their effort in restoring and upgrading the car using original parts, highlighting the sentimental value and the impressive job given it's a vintage model. Others appreciated the vintage-meets-modern aesthetic, especially the R3 rims. However, critics pointed out safety concerns, such as the absence of airbags and disc brakes, and criticized the car's interior quality and exterior styling choices. Several commenters questioned the value and cost of the modifications, and some lamented that the job seemed more like a restoration rather than a true makeover or performance upgrade. Overall, sentiments ranged from pride and happiness for the owner to skepticism about safety and the durability of the modifications.