Eddie's latest neon project....not as interesting as the Impreza paint job

After selling off my toys before pcsing to Hawaii I needed a new project car. Of course I chose a neon. I wasn't happy how my 98 R/T turned out...not very street able and I don't know enough about mega squirt to troubleshoot the issues I had. So with this build I wanted stock look but SRT4 power. Before anyone asks....yes I stuck with the T350 trans... Why? Because its easier to keep the cable clutch than try to turn it into a hydraulic system with the 850. Here we go.

1996 Dodge Neon base model coupe
Exterior:
Mopar mud flaps
Mopar roof rack
SRT4 17" rims
Vitor monster air dam

Interior:
SRT-4 front and rear seats
AF/X passenger airbag delete
Srt steering wheel
Srt gauge cluster

Suspension/Transmission
Maddog STS 65% reduction with rod brakes
Booger Bushings
BC Coilovers
Solid motor mounts

Good Stuff:
Full SRT-4 wiring swap (engine, dash, and interior harnesses)
Mopar Stage 2 PCM
Mopar Stage 2 Injectors
Walbro 255 and custom Returnline system
AGP direct fit giant FMIC
Mishimoto Radiator with slim fans
Hotside and cold side pipes with Greddy Type RS
SDK Ported Exhaust manifold with upgraded elbow and external wastegate (Tial MV-S)
FM E1 turbo
Needswings 3" downpipe with electric cutout
PTP Coil on Plug setup
K&N FIPK intake
MPx small battery kit
Zeitronix wideband and boost gauge
Diablosport Trinity

Pictures to follow......

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...psc8f6141b.jpg
Stock compared to AGP
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...CF8EAA5A5E.jpg
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...ps7fbdeb0b.jpg
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...pse783703b.jpg
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...ps29636f1e.jpg

I'll have to get some interior pics tomorrow when I clean it up a little :)

I dig that little shit very much! Very clean swap! I bet that little pocket rocket is a blast!

I was at the Belvidere plant, employee invite party, back in nineteen hundred and ninety three, when the unveiled the new tooling and assembly lines for the first gen neon!
Did you keep the A/C?

sigh...still miss my ACR.

Very nice!

Just because I am curious... is it really hard to switch to the 850 trans? What's involved with the hydrolic conversion? CMC, pedal, and lines?

Nice, love those rims! That is a BIG innercooler, looks like a good piece to keep things cool. What do you think of the new Dart II, does the Neon community accept / like the new Dodge car?

The new dart, stock, is pretty slow. My Jeep GCL, walked one pretty good.

I did not keep the a/c....not sure why....I could probably put it back in pretty easily but I'm off to my next swap shortly.

T850 isn't "hard" but from what I've gathered you need to make provisions on the firewall to hold the clutch pedal rod and the trans is a slightly different shape so the frame needs convincing to fit. 1g's also use a bobble strut off the back of the trans - I don't have the fab tools to make that work and shops that are willing to do that stuff are tough to find. I still haven't found a shop willing to put my LSD into my t350 trans. Then we get the issue with axles...srt axles would work but then I'd need 2g/srt spindles...which then leads to me needing different bottoms for my Coilovers. It's a huge circle of issues lol. It's easier this way. Not to mention I'm only aiming for 350whp/400wtq and this trans should hold it fine. Oh I almost forgot...I'd need to obtain a T850 as well...the couple junkyards here don't have any neon stuff. SRT stuff gets snatched up by locals quick. One yard advertised a full srt4 and we went the next day and all they had was a pair of front seats....which I bought lol.

I love our Dart...it depends on the model you get of course. We got a Rallye with the 1.4 Turbo and 6 speed manual trans. It's not fast but it's definitely quick and fun to drive. We put the Injen CAI on it and it makes nice loud turbo sounds....stock exhaust sounds mean...winning. I wanted to hold out for the SRT version but that seems to have stalled. As for the neon community - it's accepted but its sort of like the 2gn neons....bastard child of Mopar compared to 1g's.

Car is now driving on the street :). Only "issues" I have encountered is the gas gauge reads backwards and the gas pedal has no play in it. I guess there are worse things to have happen. I hope to have some video this weekend.

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...psc2984a41.jpg
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...ps37a1ac91.jpg
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...ps9c03e031.jpg
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...ps260c4f27.jpg
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...ps4474805a.jpg

really cool project, and the stance is pretty slick. As much as I didn't care too much for the first gen Neons, this is pretty neat.

Thank you :)

Well...car has been running amazingly well. Car roasts the tires immediately in all gears but that's never enough. I just installed some 1000cc injectors and I have some new stuff to put on shortly. I have a custom built sidewinder manifold, 50 trim turbo, and a nice meth injection kit.

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...ps58100234.jpg
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...psb58e7592.jpg
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...ps955ad92d.jpg

I've also been busy converting my 2000 Neon into a 2005 SRT-4 ACR clone. Pretty sweet stuff....plug and play is nice for once.

Is that the autocraft there?

No...it's an AGP generic cover on a Garrett/Turbonetics 50 trim. I'm not sure why but all the AGP Turbo setups come with the generic cover and the elbow welded on.

You need to plastidip the headers...then it'll be more interesting than the impreza.

Love the work though...