Neon questions...

So I have (will have as soon as the Deathscort sells this week) two DOHC Neons, the ACR coupe (Donalsons old car) popped the timing belt and a little shabby (it were a pizza car), the other car is a DOHC auto sedan and has 58K but a salvage title, effed up seats and a bad fuel pump. I also have a 2.4L Cloud car engine ready for swapping.

Should I:

A) Remove the 58K engine and install it in the ACR. Then put the 2.4L in the sedan with the auto and a new fuel pump.

B) Replace the fuel pump in the sedan and install the 2.4L in the ACR.

Also is there a problem putting auto Neon engines in manuals or vice versa?

I want to autocross/rallycross (hobby not points) the ACR and drive the sedan (One 5yo son and another boy on the way) so a driver sedan would be nice.

Advice?

I choose B.

I'll vote B, too. Let the ACR be the firebreather, and the sedan be sedate.

B for me as well...engines/transmissions can be swapped pretty easily.

Fixing up the ACR would be pretty easily as well. Carpet is available, and the entire interior is easy to R&R. It's made like a rubbermaid container.

I'm sticking with a 2.0 since I got the replacement engine for my ACR for free. It's getting a light clutch, cams, throttle body, ecu, etc.

Id vote A, why not leave the ACR a somewhat competitive GS or STS autocross car rather than a really slow SM car? Most neons have a modular clutch that bolts to the flex plate the same way a torque converter would., so they are easy to change.

Travis has a good point, but the racing will be "hobby, not points" so I would go with A

Well, I'll tell you - the 2.4-swapped sedan with ATX makes one hell of a fun DD. My wife drove one for about 4 years before it was killed in a flash flood. It's a great DD - the 2.4 makes tons of extra torque so that you don't miss the manual trans.

Plus I have a complete leather interior for a sedan that I'll practically give to you if you come get it. They're the most comfortable and supportive seats of any OE Neon. I'm in Delaware not far from I-95 - drop me a line if you're interested.

If you don't care about the rulebook, then by all means drop the 2.4 into the ACR and make a hairy little beast.

The 2.4 will bolt up to either transmission and just requires modifications to the engine mounts to lower the engine 0.75"-1" in the bay. Then you rig the fuel injection and timing because the cam magnets on the 2.4 are 90deg out from the way they are on the 2.0. It's an easy fix, though.

If you are keeping the sedan an automatic, IMO that would be a better home for the 2.4. I havent driven one, but from what I have heard DOHC automatic neons kinda suck compared to the other combinations (actually i think the SOHC auto is supposed to be faster). All it would really take to get the sedan to handle as well as an ACR would be a steering rack, struts, springs and rear swaybar.

leather? I know the R/T seats are way better than what my sport had

Yeah, the leather seats have a nice deep pocket and good side bolsters. In fact, I believe the R/T seats are the same cushion package as the leather seats, just wrapped in cloth.

I'm serious, I got rid of my last Neon more than 2 years ago, and I still have the complete leather interior in my basement. It's a little worn but very serviceable, and it includes all 4 seats, all 4 door panel inserts, the steering wheel, and the ATX shifter handle.

If anybody is travelling the middle of the I-95 corridor on the East Coast and wants to drop by and get them, I'll let them go for a song. They're grey.

[edit]

If you have 2 potential kids and you really want the sedan for a driver, I would definitely put the better 2.0 motor in the ACR and put the 2.4 into the sedan. It's really a nice DD.

I would love them, I wonder what shipping would be?

Where are you located? I have a pallete and half a roll of shipping wrap I could use to laminate them to it. The front buckets weigh whatever front buckets usually weigh. The rest of the stuff all together probably only weighs 25 pounds.

And see my edit above - if you want the sedan for a DD, that's where I'd put the 2.4.

I have been going back and forth over this all week.

I think swapping the 2.0L into the ACR first would be best, the car has less issues so I can just get to driving. THEN take the time and get the 2.4L swap auto swap nailed down properly.

The Escort will be leaving this weekend and I will be swapping engines soon.

Duke I am in Lansing, Mi.

Like several others have already said, put the 2.4 in the auto equipped car. The 2.4 is known as a torque-factory and that's what you want in a DD car with auto.

The 2.4/ATX combo makes a very nice DD, and you can keep the A/C and power steering and everything. It just takes a little creativity with the parts catalog/U-pick.

The only reason we got rid of ours was that high water got between my wife and my kids during some very bad weather, and it inhaled a pint or two through the Iceman intake. Other than that, we might still be driving it. When you get to that point, I can tell you how I set mine up.

See if you can find out what shipping would be from Newark, DE, or if anybody here on the boards is making a run from the DC/Philly area to your area. I can palette it up and even drop it off somewhere for shipping.

Was there a decrease/increase in MPG? (I ask because my 5.7L swapped Camaro got 5mpg better than when it was a 5.0L Camaro).

I will work on shipping. there are a few companies that are not bad pallet shipping used auto parts.

looking for a manual to change the battery cables out of 95 neon. Something more detailed than trace the cables to the engine and the starter and then do the reverse to install. Not helpful at all. I just don't want to take to much off or to little to get to the ground.

Holy Ancient thread Batman!

Michael...Try neons.org. Pretty good neon-specific forum. Aside from that, IIRC Chrysler Factory Service Manuals from that vintage are pretty good and not terribly expensive.

In reply to psteav:

thanks very much I appreciate your help.

Tim Baxter wrote: I'll vote B, too. Let the ACR be the firebreather, and the sedan be sedate.

Speaking as somebody who had a 2.4-swapped automatic Neon sedan, I'm going to go ahead and disagree.

The ACR is fun to drive with the 2.0, particularly at autocross. It's got more than enough pep and is very nicely balanced. The 5-speed lets you rev it and it puts the power down pretty well. On the other hand, going to the 2.4 with an open diff is really just going to make tire smoke on the autocross course and not do a lot for you.

On the OTHER other hand, the 2.4/auto combination in a Neon makes a truly great daily. Instant torque, good handling, plenty o' fun, and it leaves lights with enough authority to be a competent anti-traffic weapon.

[edit] D'oh! Teach me to look at dates, someone.

Michael, I'm not sure what more you'll need. The cables are all located on the front/left side of the engine. Once you take the enclosed box off the battery, it should be fairly straightforward.

There aint been much John Brown around here lately but bringing back 2 year old threads seems like a drastic move just to fill the void.