Where it all began

I took delivery of my car - Perodua Myvi 1.3 Auto year 2007. 3 years have passed with the usual "newbie" mods - Intake / Header / Exhaust, tinkered with voltage stablizers, lighten crankpulleys...basically plug and play mods.

The modification itch grew slowly but surely within me. I knew the path forward would be the turbocharged route. There were two options - Bolt on Turbo or K3-VET engine transplant from Daihatsu YRV. Both have its own set of pros and cons, initial price wise would also be comparable. I personally preferred the transplant route.

A few halfcut shops was visited throughout the search, but the selections provided were substandard. Either the mileage on the engine was too high, or leaks and engine condition is bad.

One fine day - June 26, 2010 to be exact, I stumbled upon a halfcut which ticked the right checkboxes.

M201G YRV - K3VET.

It was involved in a minor frontal accident. The radiator and front hood is bent. Front bumper is gone

Now, simple advice on selecting half cuts. Japanese people in general will dispose of their cars after a certain period of time, either to upgrade their car, or repair costs is too high, or it has been involved in an accident whereby the costs to repair the car is deemed too high.

Therefore, for them, if they know they are going to sell or dispose of their cars, it will usually / high probability be neglected (servicing not done way past their service date) or generally in substandard condition (engine problems, leaking, etc). Bodyparts will be in excellent condition in this regard.

However, if the car was involved in an accident during their daily use, the engine condition would be in OK condition, provided maintenance was done. This particular halfcut was around 70k kms old, and from the maintenance sticker it was due for service at 67k km. Not too good, but I have seen much worse - maintenance neglected past 10k kms.

Visual inspection looks OK, no leaks. A peek into the engine internals from the Engine Oil cap looks fine, no sludge on the surroundings / cams. Engine Oil levels were full, but black. ATF levels is full and red - which is good.

An agreement was made with the owner to startup the engine for further inspection. They then proceed to hook up the halfcut with a portable fuel tank+pump and let the engine start.

 

Test run of the halfcut

Sounds OK. Idles smooth. Revs smoothly. Gearbox engaged. Working fine generally. Negotiations was made, and the halfcut purchased for RM 5000 by yours truly.