First order of business was a full coolant flush, new oil, filter and sump plug, a thorough clean inside and out and the removal of the miles of intake resonance tubing. The body is completely rust free and it drives great. Even without a pod filter it really honks on acceleration, so I see why they had such intense intake chambers.
I had read that the Coupes tend to have their caliper pins lock up so I also disassembled, cleaned and lubed the rear brake pins.
I have purchased a set of Lantra headers (same engine) and have been investigating the 1.8 intake cam swap for a few more degrees of duration. A valve cover gasket, timing belt & tensioner and a water pump are on their way. Kinda tempted to buy the Honda spec Whale dong intake and put it on an elbow
The first iteration of the Hyundai Coupe/Tiburon/Tuscani/Turbulence (the exact name being dependent on the market in which it was sold) is indeed the best-looking of them all, although the late 1999 facelift, with its dual circular headlights per side (and separate indicator lenses), always felt odd to me - it’s as if they tried to ape the contemporary Celica, but with worse proportions.
As if to make up for that, the exterior design of the second-generation car was an improvement, with an overall shape closer to a 456 or 550, and it even had a V6 option - but it wasn’t very powerful, with only 172 bhp on tap, whereas the rare UK-only F2 Evolution trim of the original had 154 bhp from a 2.0L I4 - a 10% increase over the standard 2.0L engine, which only made 140 bhp.
At any rate, as the first genuinely desirable car from any South Korean manufacturer, the original Hyundai Coupe deserves more attention from enthusiasts.
