1998 Dodge Neon Modified class rallycrosser

You don't "need" to plug the oil hole I do just to keep oil where its needed. Where did you find new old style mechanical tensioners? I preferred them to the hydraulic one and they are easier to set than the new style litens tensioner.

Have you done the 2.4 swap before? If not to save a few headaches for you make sure to bolt the adapter to the side mount before you put the engine in. The cam magnet phasing isn't quite as easy as it seems makes some marks on the magnet. Most headers will require you to "modify" the edge of the exhaust tunnel to clear. Get some header wrap and hose clamps for the shifter cables to keep them off the header. An adjustable bobble strut will allow you position the back of the engine down for more clearance. Once the engine is in check with a level sometimes you need to flip the trans mount in its housing to level the engine out.

In reply to BoneYard_Racing:

Thanks for the swap tips. IIRC, the cam magnet stuff can be ignored for my build, since its on the stock 2.4 cams, this car needs as much torque as possible down low, and I doubt it'll spend much time above 6000 RPM.

Didn't know about the exhaust, but figured there might be some tweaking to do since the engine is a bit taller. That'll work in my favor a bit, since the I'd like to tuck the exhaust up as high as possible.

As for the timing tensioner, its part of a Gates timing set, and I think I got it from Advance or Rock Auto, not sure which. I'll try to check my paperwork tonight when I get home.

The more torque you make down low, the more time you spend at high RPM. This is because the engine is actually doing something besides making noise

In reply to BoneYard_Racing:

I couldn't find the invoice, so I can't say for sure where I got it from, but the timing kit with the old style mechanical tensioner was Gates part number TCK256B

Knurled wrote: The more torque you make down low, the more time you spend at high RPM. This is because the engine is actually doing something besides making noise

Good point, the car will actually be able to accelerate, thus get a chance to reach those high RPMs faster.

Not a ton of progress in the last week, got the intake manifold reassembled, but far more importantly:

The car is in the garage! A bit of a tight squeeze, but should be enough room for the engine swap. Fortunately, the trans will be taken apart elsewhere for the diff install. I think this is a sign I need to clean out more stuff. Did manage to pull the spoiler off the trunk last night, and will need to do a little touch up painting, where it has rubbed through the paint on the trunk. Also, will see about getting some plugs to cover the mounting holes. Did find out part of the reason it rattled so much during rallycrosses. One of the metal studs had come loose from the spoiler. I'll still need to remove it from the trunk. The nut it was attached to wouldn't spin free, so its time to get some PB out and soak it for a little while.

Did a little weight reduction this weekend:

My wife helped and we got the hood off the car, and off to the side. Should make the engine removal a ton easier. Need to get on that this week. Been a little demotivated, I think last season has been over for too long, and next season is still too far away.

Here's what 15 years of the factory spoiler rubbing against the trunklid does:

Just did some quick touch up work and ended up with something looking more like this:

Not too pretty, but it is a rallycross car. Also picked up some 3/8" nylon plugs at the hardware store for the bolt holes, and will probably give them a dab of RTV in order to seal em up.

Stay tuned, should actually have some real progress again soon.

psh...rallycross car just put some duck tape over the holes. Preferably in a non-matching color like red :)

seriously though, after always saying (and hearing) "it's a rallycross car, it doesn't have to look good".........I still try to make mine look good, even if I get ragged about it sometimes :)

In reply to irish44j:

Now that you mention it, pretty much any of my prior rallyx cars would have gotten the duct tape treatment. Since this one started out pretty nice, and I've put more effort into it than any of the past ones, I'm trying to keep it looking somewhat presentable.

Funny you mention red, thats the color of the spare hood I bought to hack up for underhood clearance and ventilation

I bet that trunk springs open with authority now! At least it did on my 98 r/t rallyx car when I removed spoiler.

Keep up the good work.

In reply to crxmike:

Yeah, they sure do. They were on the last slot, and the trunk tended to close on itself whenever the car wasn't on perfectly level ground. Now, I might actually have to adjust them a bit.

Got a bit more done today, and am hoping to get it to a point where the engine can come out by the end of the weekend. One thing of note: The skidplate has definitely been getting a workout:

No pictures yet, but the beam it attaches to is bent and twisted. I knew it was a little weak than it should be, but didn't realize how much. Once its hammered back into shape, I'll come up with a way to reinforce it. Could probably use some more structure in the middle to increase its rigidity.

whered you get the skidplate? i want one for mine, even though it doesnt go offroad. its just freaking low, and ive drug road debris with my oil pan now.

jeez.....my skid probably only made hard contact with anything maybe twice all season.....

I got lucky on getting the skid plate, a friend of mine had a first gen Neon as his recce car. When he got rid of it, he gave me the plate. Its basically a big sheet of aluminum thats been cut and bent to fit. It originally bolted to the rear subframe bolts, but I shortened it up, as the holes were worn too large for the bolts to hold them. Plus, I wanted to have some airflow from under the exhaust to keep the car cooler while sitting in grid. I welded up a crossbeam brace between the front control arm mounts, and the rear of the plate bolts there. The front bolts to some existing screw holes in the lower radiator support beam.

Because of the way it's mounted, it sits about 1.5 to 2" below the subframe, which partially explains the hits. It only clears the oil pan by .25" right now. I'm sure it was more than that at the start of the season. I wanted it lower than it first was, because on the top side of it, there's a very distinct impression of the oil pan pressed into the plate. Made me worry if it wasn't lower, it'd risk damaging the engine. The other reason it's so beat up, is my home course is probably one of the roughest courses there is in SCCA Rallycross, especially when it is dry. I've de-beaded a rally tire there.

irish44j wrote: jeez.....my skid probably only made hard contact with anything maybe twice all season.....

Drive harder!
I need to replace some of the bolts holding my skiddplate to my car since the front half of the bolt head is now shaved down from hitting stuff.

irish44j wrote: seriously though, after always saying (and hearing) "it's a rallycross car, it doesn't have to look good".........I still try to make mine look good, even if I get ragged about it sometimes :)

Same here. It's a rallycross car, but it's in good shape. And it's a hobby also, so I can spend the time (& $$) to do fun/pretty things as well. Besides, those stickers add 5hp I hear.

Forgot to mention, you could always go PlastiDip! Spray the whole trunk lid, maybe black. Or mask off a wide stripe.

eastsidemav wrote: The other reason it's so beat up, is my home course is probably one of the roughest courses there is in SCCA Rallycross, especially when it is dry. I've de-beaded a rally tire there.

Truth.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAlSr-WqV2k (adult language warning)

moxnix wrote:

irish44j wrote: jeez.....my skid probably only made hard contact with anything maybe twice all season.....

Drive harder! I need to replace some of the bolts holding my skiddplate to my car since the front half of the bolt head is now shaved down from hitting stuff.

lol....Shawn i think it has more to do with me having several inches more ground clearance than you, lol.

Hell, I think my e30 has as much ground clearance as my 4Runner does

got any outside views?

Gotta get more pics posted, including maybe some action shots from last season.

There has been progress, and a friend and I pulled the engine/trans last weekend, and I'll probably get the limited slip in this coming weekend. Then it'll be Valentine's weekend, then 100 Acre Wood weekend, so the car probably won't be back together until early March, meaning I'll miss the first Indy event. I highly recommend them. Its usually a smaller technical course, so big power isn't as important, and the surface isn't too rough.

"...so big power isn't as important..."

I'm listening...

Jerry wrote: "...so big power isn't as important..." I'm listening...

I lost interest.

EvanB wrote:

Jerry wrote: "...so big power isn't as important..." I'm listening...

I lost interest.

Jerry, here's a link to their schedule: http://www.indyscca.org/RallyCross/Schedules/2013/2013RallyCrossSchedule.html

If you go, let me know if you want a co-driver to tear up your car

Okay, cleaned up the trans a bit today, in preparation for taking it apart. Started like this:

And got it as far as this:

However, in cleaning, I discovered this:

So, at some point, it appears that the case was damaged, and fixed with JB Weld. This is pretty much the first evidence I've seen of a "Bubba" repair in the whole time I've owned the car. Will probably start tearing the trans down before another friend comes over on Sunday to help with the install, just in case there's anything internal that will look like it needs to be addressed before the limited slip goes in.

One last pic:

One engine gets to go in the car, the other will get stashed in the corner in case my or another friend's car needs it after some abuse.