1997 Dodge Neon ACR Barn Find

Not trying to be a downer here but exhaust manifold leaks on a turbo car with an aluminum head aren't necessarily benign. If you get into boost and you're blowing 20-30psi of 1400-1600 degree air across the head flange at the exhaust manifold you can basically blowtorch a little channel into the head and then you have a bigger problem. In a similar way i blew a channel out of a turbo dodge cylinder head between two cylinders from driving it 5 miles with a blown headgasket. I would just buckle down and fix the manifold now. The machine shop i use charges $20 for this and i had at least one manifold cut by .060 (that's a lot, for the record). A few years back i actually bought a harbor freight belt sander for the specific purpose of cleaning up exhaust manifold flanges. Since these little 4cyl manifolds only have like a 14" long flange you can pretty much lay it on top of a 36" belt sander and let it work. It was super tedious but it did work and seal up. In general i would rather pay $20 for one-time things but I have a lot of turbo dodges so the belt sander made sense at the time. 

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Thanks for sharing your experience, the guy working on my car said something very similar so I think he's tuned in to the potential of a larger problem.  The seller informed me the car has turned only a handful of miles since it was built so perhaps I'll be lucky and machining the manifold flange will take care of the leaks.  If not, we'll make another plan and carry on.  

Exhaust modification to re-locate the oxygen sensor

Under the dash pad a radio antenna was found.  Theory is it was placed there while the car was being worked on and then forgotten and covered up.  

Progress.

I want the progress to be faster! Such a cool car.

You and me both.  Machine shop will re-open after labor day and I expect they'll have the manifold for a few days.  Then the car can be moved to the body shop for a couple of final cosmetic repairs.  I'm thinking mid to late September I'll be driving it but only for a month or so.  Then it gets stored for the winter.  Over the winter I get some larger wheels so I can fit tires suitable for track days.  

 Progress has been slow due to other commitments but there has been some forward motion.  The most important task was to have the warped manifold mating surface machined flat.  That's done now and re-installation is slated for the next few days.  

In parallel the paint work was finished and a broken turn signal switch was replaced.  With the car back together it will get some fresh gas and a few shakedown days then barring any major problems I'll start driving it until winter sets in.

I picked up the car Friday and put about 100 miles on it over the weekend.  It's a real rush, even limited to 14psi.  The mechanic who got it back on the road said when he was driving down the road at about 45mph the boost reference line came off when he had the throttle down and it want from 14 to 28psi, lighting up the front tires.  

I also went through more of the receipts and see the car also has a phantom grip lsd installed.  I'm in it for $2700 excluding taxes and insurance and hoping to get a lot of miles out of it.  It goes in the garage for the winter soon, but that will give me time to pick up some stuff for track days at Gingerman next season.  Top of the list will be tires and wheels.  

Even has the stock radio in it and all the speakers work.

Apparently a cassette player was an option.  No A/C but the heater works.  The rockers switches are still a mystery and I haven't touched the timing adjustment knob.  The receipt from Howell Automotive in Virginia reads $10,500.  Probably close to what the car cost new.

I didn't think these were factory turbo right? This is an aftermarket kit?

In reply to jdogg :

Correct.  The later Neon came in an SRT-4 flavor which was turbocharged from the factory.  This 1st generation car is making boost with an aftermarket kit.

The kit is from Hahn Racing, still in production I believe.

Interesting surface finish on that manifold! Should work fine with a graphite composite gasket but might not have worked out if it were one of those cars that use sheetmetal exhaust gaskets. Either way it's done and it works! 

This is an awesome car. 

Vigo said:

This is an awesome car. 

agreed!  

2002colossalfailure said:

The receipt from Howell Automotive in Virginia reads $10,500.  Probably close to what the car cost new.

Interesting. Howell hasn't been popular since about the time their website was last updated. They used to be a big deal. This build is so old school. I really dig it. 

I'm informed Howell had a mixed reputation.  There were rumors of shady dealings, including selling ECU's (AFX) which claimed to have been modified but were in fact stock.  I don't know any of this first hand, so it may not be true.  I was able to re-arrange a few items in my small rented garage and fit it in to keep it out of the elements. Been driving back home a lunch time just to pick it up and drive it a few miles during the day.  I've put about about 140 miles on it now with no issues as yet.  

There's someone on Neons.org who claims to own this car now. They say they plan to rally the car and plaster it with stickers. I think it's a troll, but I figured I'd check here. How's the car doing and what are the plans for it? 

After I got it back in mid-September I put about 140 miles on it before the weather turned so I've put it away.  It's running great except it really doesn't like to run under 2500 rpm so there's no lazy launches.  It was built street/strip car so I'm not too surprised.  Next year I'm thinking about an electronic boost controller and megasquirt to improve the tune.  Cosmetics are spot on so not changes there.  The plan is a few track nights next season so I'll also put some gen2 rotors and calipers on it along with a set of 15 or 16" wheels and tires.  I really love the look of the stock wheels but there's no good 14" rubber for them anymore. 

Also, I think the guy who posted about turning it into a circle track car or something like that was just busting balls.  It's probably the mechanic who brought the car back to life for me. 

Good to hear, man. I think 16's look perfect on the first gens. 

This car might be up for sale soon, I'm looking to re-locate and won't be taking it with me.  I'm going to ask $4500 but for someone on the board the price will be lower.  

In reply to 2002colossalfailure :

Let me know what you would sell it for. I may be interested. 

If I land the job I'm applying for, I'll get with you.  

Can I call second in line?

I'm getting close to knowing what might happen.  If I sell I will ask $4000 for the car.

In reply to 2002colossalfailure :

Let me know what you decide.