1997 neon acr coupe 2012 challenge/DD build

Great job on that interior. That's a ton of work!

oh my god yes.

and oh so disgusting. looking forward to putting the front seats and rest of dash in tomorrow and getting back to mechanicals. i like mechanicals....

This is a fantastic thread.
Keep on keepin' on.

its been a long freaking weekend.

cliffs notes version: restored/replaced ENTIRE interior converted to AC new hoses and hose clamps new right front caliper no buggies built CAI.

long version: following up where i left off, i finished up the interior. put the seats, side panels, annd console in, as well as a leather factory knob. found it in ull a part. (ill add up my reciepts and do a busget update soon). also cut my dash for my gauge pod, and wired it up. used the 12v pre-out from my stereo, as well as the lead to the factory stereo for the dash lights. still have to install my oil pressure sending unit on the block, though. sencond gen seats bolted right in, no problem. seat belt bickeles even work, and there is plenty pf room to get my daughter in the car seat in the back withput the tilt feature. they are a lot more comfortable and supportive, but sit about an inch higher than the first gens. if i had a tilt wheel, it would be perfect. but i dont. youll see in the pictures that i used a set of 4 pin connectors from radio shack to make my gauges easily and quicly removable. a little bit of a pain to install, but a pleasure to use. i also restored my factory cluster where it had fadsed. the redline was no longer red.

also, i got the underhood AC buttoned up. youll see pics of where the factory had taped the electrical leads up for the non AC car. also, since the is and ACR, i aready had the AC radiator. just hhad to install the condensor. everything fit great. i was even able to retain the factory single fan setup, as that is a halmark of the ACR, even when factory equipped with AC. i bought a drier off of EBAY, and it was made wrong. woung yo modifying my hose retainer and shimming some things, but u made it work. just slightly aggrevating. also took the opportunity to change out EVERY o-ring and seal in the AC system with a kit from autozone, and put in fresh compressor oil.

next, since i had the cooling system drained, i changed out all the coolant hoses. the old hoses were the factory hoses, and getting bretty crusty. i also changed all the spring clamps to worm gear clamps. i consider this mandatory for any car that will see track time. i have seen quite a few accidents caused by the factry spring clamps allowing a hose to pop off at high RPM.

lastly, i built my CAI. used the 3.0 intake tube, which i cut an inch off of at the throttle body end. that way it would clear my hood, and my cooling duct could remain attached. i then mated it to the factory over engine snorkel which was cut down, and attached that to a cut up injen intake and filter that was being thrown away after a CRX got piled into a tree. its a little cumpersome, but for a grand total of 6 bucks, it tucks the filter up behind the foglight hole and works. only had to trip the reinforcement bbar casting off the battery box to make it all work, which is a bonus. it does make more power. to finish it out, and retain my valve cover breather, i bent up a piece of 3/8 steel tubing left over from the 54 ford. connected it to the valve cover with a 2 inch piece f rubber, and slipped it into the nipple on the factory intake tube. works great.

finshed the nnioght by putting on my junkyard caliper to relace the sticky one, swapping to the white wheels, and charging the AC. i know youre supposed to have the system vacuumed, but im cheap. i had 4 open cans of 134 on the shelf, and used them all to fill the system. cools pretty good. next summer ill probably get the system vacuumed and recharged professionally.

way too much work for my vacation.....

so, bit of an update. the previous total was 1701.35.

i did not add in the hoses, hose clamps, and other little nick nacks from the last update. that was 78.29 i wound up buying a radiator cap and thermostat. 22.17 also bought a radiator: mishimoto knock off from ebay: 117 shipped.

new total: 1918.81

when we last left off, i had just gotten the car back together. hadnt driven it much. i quicly learned that the CAI i had built was costing me 3-5 MPG no matter how i drove it. it did feel a littl;e faster, but not enough to justify the MPG loss. so i wen tback with my stock snorkel and airbox. fuel economy right back to normal.

i also developed an overheating problem due to a clogged radiator. in the rpocess of determining the radiator, i replace the radiator cap, and the thermostat before decinding on a bad rad. for the replacement, i ordered the "bolt on" ebay mishimoto knockoff dual core, all aluminum radiator. it was not a true bolt in. what i found during install was that it is both taller and wider than factory, so i had to modify all my AC condensor brackets. i also had to retap all the mounting holes. the threads were all buggered in the welduing process. i also had to clearance all my fans, and the retainer brackets on the radiator to make them fit properly.

it was agrevating and time consuming, but worth it in the end. at the same time, i also switched from the ACR single fan to the auto trans dual fan setup. figured i may as well go all out on cooling capacity.

since then, it has beeen about 6000 miles with no cooling troubles. i havem ghowever, had other teething problems. i have a hot smoke at idle and decel problem that i believe is valve stem seals, a exhaust manifold tht is split and missing all but 3 studs/bolts, and an alternator bracket that fell out somewhere between here and abingdon VA. so currently, its back getting put back together.

that being said, i love this little car. gets 35mpg religiously, and is an absolute hoot to drive through thge mpuntains or on the back roads. i had planned on taking it autocrossing this weekend before it let go with the alternator, so instead im taking the duster.

i also ordered a set of eibach pro-kit springs for a little altitude adjustemnt.

ill update a little more frequently now that im working on/driving it more.

michael

gah... reading this makes me miss my ACR... I think I say that every time I post in this thread... but it was a great little car...

This is great! I'm not a Dodge guy at all, but I love fun little pocket rockets that are cheap and efficient. Great pics and great thread!

shes alive!!!!

spent the moning outside in the gravel, on my back, getting rained on. got the alternator and such put in (traded my spart AT radiator for the parts), charged the battery a minute, and drove it around. i love that little car.....

also got my eibachs in. looking forward tofinsing the time to get them installed. add 120 to the budget.

Gotta love that this is now daily driven. Awesome job, and awesome write up.

thanks!!!

i tend to daily the whole fleet at some point or another. ive even driovenm the duster to work in the snow since the resto.....

Nicely done....the car looks great!

Great thread, thanks for sharing!

Love the thread. I've got 01 gray ACR,also starting on 95 black ACR Build. Fun cars to drive. Paint looks really good. Hope to read more soon. Happy Turkey day all

thanks. hope to finish the 442 soon and get my eibachs, msd coil, tb, etc on.

Do you really think those springs are better than the stock ones? I mean there isnt anything wrong with trying them, but eibach lowering springs have been awful in any car i have driven with them.

Nice job on this one.

I too liked the gas mileage from the '99 dual cam Neon I had for 6 months.

The car liked to rev and it was a hoot to drive.

Do not put those springs on that car! You will destroy the Konis and the bump stops will ruin the handling. You need Mopar High Rates/X-High Rates or Performance Driven High Rate/X High Rate/XX High Rate clones. Both of these are discontinued and can be hard to come by. The next best would be Hotchkis SRT-4 springs the rates are good but the car will sit about stock. A distant forth would be Megan Racing SRT-4 springs. Ebay coilover kits when teamed with decent springs are pretty good.

Also leave off the MSD coil really any of their ignition parts. A good stock coil out preforms the MSD every time. If you want to upgrade ignition you can get coils from a 2.7.

Challenge money handing improvements: 01-04 RT 01-02 acr or 05 SRT acr 19mm rear sway bar you seem pretty handy so you can figure out the endlinks if you dont want to I make them. Prothane bushing kit and a good alignment this plus sticky tires makes for an amazing autocross car.

You'll burn out the coil drivers on the stock PCM when running 2.7s coils, or any COP setup really. The drivers cannot handle it.

If you already have the MSD coil, run it. While it is certainly not an upgrade, if you already have it there is no sense in switching again.

yeah, already got the coil. picked it up for cheap. not expecting to see any gains, but then again, for 5 bucks its ooks nice.

and the eibachs are the pro-kit. 1.25 inch drop, well before bottoming the strut. reason is, i wanted a slight drop, as well as progressive rate. ive never owned a set of eibachs before, and hopefully these wont make that a rule.

well see how they go. if im bottoming out at all on my commute, theyre coming back off and im hacing a coil from my spare ACR springs. (and yes, i knw my car will flip over, i will die, and kittens everywhere will begin to be nursed by dgs for cutting a coil. ive driven many, many miles on trimmed coils. when done properly, they are safe. so dont flame me. ive even open tracked cut coils. )

Cut coils are fine if you do it right, it just depends on the spring and how much you cut. In my experience (although not on a neon) eibach progressive springs are terrible, but since you have them I guess it doesnt hurt to try them.

so the previous total was 2038.81

for this update: fresh koni's from a 99 ACR sedan with 92K, found at pull-a-part as a cash for clunkers car: 125 new tie rod ends, strut mount, used motor mounts, dohc atx pcm, 2 intake manifolds, one started ported: 30 k&n air filter and lid: 1.50 from pull-a-part

so, i left off with a growing pile of performance upgrades. an MSD coil, and an ATX throttle body, as well as eibachs.

i need to remove the MSD coil from the budget. 11.37 dropped and broken on my garage floor. damned arthritis....

im also debating removing the ATX throttle body from the budget. while removing the incorrect sensors from the throttle body, i snapped one of the TPS screws off. this was after heating it reeatedly, and using an electric impact gun. after i stripped the head of the bolt, i cut the wront TPS apart to expose the screw. then, soaked the threads with PB blaster mild force with a pair of vice grips, and whammo.

i "think" i can get away with one tps screw, but im not sure. so im still debating using or scrapping.

i also scored a spare set of koni's from a 92k mile acr 4 door at pull a-part for 125. non slotted, so i have to get that done. i yhad no luck selling them for a profit, so i decided to use them.

pulled the ACR springs off, and swapped on my eibachs over the weekend.

last time at pull-a-aprt, i also scored a k&n drop in and airbox lid for 1.50. decided to try a trick that we use on vettes and dakotas, of cutting a bigger opening. test drive revealed no more annoying noise from the snorkeless setup (almost as quiet under part throttle as with the snorkle), and just as much throttle response and power (measured via the butt dyno) as the 3.0 CAI i had built. well see what the fuel economy does with this setup. sounds good though.....

lastly, i made a good craigslist score. picked up 2 DOHC intakes, one already started to be ported, 2 new tie rod ends, 1 new strut mount, 3 used motor mounts, 1 used tie rod end, and 1 DOHC ATX PCM for 30 bucks and 3 cans of free intake cleaner. i mainly got them for the tie rod ends..... figure ill finish porting the one, and keep the other for a spare. wondering what a ported intake will do to fuel economy and throttle respons/power

new budget total: 2183.94

you're selling?

http://charlotte.craigslist.org/cto/3418454345.html

strongly considering it. havnt even had a nibble though. if i get my price, ill find something else to play with.

The reason I like this car is that my buddy ordered an ACR new from Dodge and waited for it to be made - that same blue - 2-door. He still has it and has only driven in 3 seasons Chicago (no rust). We spent a lot of time discussing how cool the factory Koni shocks are.

This is the only picture I have where he and his brother went to the tail/dragon a few years ago.

that is now the second lapis blue acr that i know of. still 38 unaccounted for. im the only one accounted for over on the neons.org.