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I let my Comanche thread fall into the archives (and never did make it safe for autocross), so I had to find a new project car. Not really, but I found a fairly rare car with a legitimate racing pedigree, one that will rarely receive a second glance: a 1996 Plymouth Neon ACR "Competition Group". Introduced for the 1995 model year, the Neon was sold under Dodge, Plymouth, and Chrysler badges alongside the K-car Shadow/Sundance and Mitsubishi-based Colt it replaced. A clean-sheet design, the Neon was intended to be economical to manufacture and sell worldwide. Two engines were available for the American market, a 2.0L SOHC and DOHC. The design can loosely be traced back to the venerable Slant Six, but used a 20-bolt bedplate rather than main caps and featured a modern aluminum head design. It is rumored that the DOHC engine was slated for use in a BMW 320i for the E36 platform, though BMW US dealers insisted that the 318i continue with a BMW-sourced engine. With reduced bore and centers, the engine was used for 1.4-1.6L variants that appeared in export Neons and the 2001+ BMW-era Mini (including the 1.6L Roots-supercharged Cooper S). A 1.5L two-stroke three-cylinder - direct-injected and supercharged - had been penciled in for debut shortly after the Neon's launch, though after hundreds of thousands of miles of road testing with partner Mercury Marine, the program failed emissions regulations due to high NO_X production in lean burn. The engine was documented to produce nearly 130lb-ft at 2400RPM and cut roughly 80lbs from the SOHC 2.0L. Early '95-'97 Neons had some notable flaws, largely the result of overzealous cost-cutting. The single-layer head gasket failed prematurely, motor mounts wollowed in manual-trans vehicles, and certain low-VOC paint colors and clearcoats adhered poorly. Aging frameless windows often produced NVH issues as the seals weathered. Midway through the first model year, Chrysler began offering the Neon ACR, a base-model SOHC sedan equipped with aggressively-valved Arvin dampers, five-lug hubs, four-wheel disc brakes without ABS, 22/16mm front/rear swaybars, 16:1 steering rack, 3.94 final drive, adjustable camber (vehicles were shipped unaligned), improved cooling system, radio delete, and minimal insulation. An SCCA license was required to order a 1995 ACR and a rear defroster was the only option (though later years would introduce A/C and radio as additional boxes on the order form). For late 1995, the ACR sedan (SOHC-only) was joined by a DOHC-only coupe, and both versions received thicker hubs. 1996 purchase no longer required SCCA licensure and 1997 brought rebound-adjustable Koni yellow dampers as standard, though the re-alignment warranty rate was so high due to incorrect dealer prep for unknowing customers that the camber adjustability was removed during the 1998 model year. 1999 was the last year of the first-generation Neon. By the end of production, the ACR had won three consecutive SCCA Showroom Stock C national titles (1995-1997) and dominated Pro Solo and Solo II.    Related    So I found this 1996 Plymouth-badged ACR Coupe, one of 870 and miraculously untouched. It sat on a Florida dealer lot for nine months in 1995 until, if some magnets adhered to the inside of the trunklid are correct, it won an SCCA D-Stock national event in November. Now with 93,000 miles, the throwout bearing is howling, the engine & trans mounts are utterly shot, and the paint appears to have re-entered the atmosphere at Mach 15. The single option, factory AC (fully functional after twenty years), has fared much better. I'm trying to devise a way to pull the engine and trans without discharging the AC. The ride quality is brutal but with the OE struts, bushings, and such appearing to be in great shape, I can only assume that it's just a function of the package. Handles excellently, though... To do:
 
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Mar 7, 2015 03:50
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One of the local scca members has one of these. It's a wild ride to go with him on a ride along at autocross. I've never said it before, but this is a neon to be feared on the track. Good choice.
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Mar 7, 2015 03:57
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Never thought I'd see anyone write so many good words about a Neon. Learn something new every day. Also, those ads. 90's advertising. 
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Mar 7, 2015 04:01
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I remember being barely legal to drive and wanting one of these. Great project!
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Mar 7, 2015 05:47
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Yesss! I was hoping some goon would eventually get an ACR. I've yet to have the opportunity to even drive one.
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Mar 7, 2015 05:53
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Heyyyyyyyy. Very cool. Whenever I see plain, stripped-down neon wallowing in grass besides a single wide trailer, I wonder if it's a poor neglected ACR. Any update on the engine status of the Comanche?
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Mar 7, 2015 06:34
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One of my old roommates had an ACR Neon at one point (when they were new) - got to drive it a handful of times. It wasn't quick off the line by a long shot, but it handled like a drat go kart (and rode like one). Yours seems to have fared better than most Neons of that era; I very rarely see even a 2nd generation Neon on the road, much less a first generation.
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Mar 7, 2015 07:13
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I look forward to this. My second car, I bought when I was 17 in the year 2000 was a 95 SOHC coupe with a five speed. Car was a huge bag of garbage but it was fun and relatively quick. In our Alberta farmer's field rally we see the odd Neon show up but they always underperform due to them being a bit weak on the reliability side.
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Mar 7, 2015 08:31
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Seat Safety Switch posted:Yesss! I was hoping some goon would eventually get an ACR. I've yet to have the opportunity to even drive one. toaster_pastry used to own a flock of neons many moons ago. Not sure what he's up to now.
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Mar 7, 2015 17:26
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I have a huge soft spot for the first gen Neons, especially the ACRs. Hooray for this thread!
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Mar 7, 2015 17:34
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AfricanBootyShine posted:toaster_pastry used to own a flock of neons many moons ago. Not sure what he's up to now. angryrobots posted:Heyyyyyyyy. Very cool. Whenever I see plain, stripped-down neon wallowing in grass besides a single wide trailer, I wonder if it's a poor neglected ACR.  I haven't driven it in a few weeks, even - salt and ice are not a good match for it. I decided that the mess of pulling it apart incrementally to find the source (if any) of the valve noise and low hot oil pressure was probably not worth it, given the ease and inexpense involved with just rebuilding it altogether, should that be necessary. I very rarely drive it long enough (~30min) continuously for the pressure to drop into the ~25ish range on-highway anyway - eight miles to work and it's not heatsoaked. Summer may change my mind, and there is more daylight...And if craigslist around here is any indication, the trailer park ACRs are either all gone by now or dedicated long-term meth labs. I used today's unseasonal weather to take a closer look at the Neon's undercarriage:    So the sunny side is still the only problem area. The remaining paint is deteriorating quickly now that it's in a humid environment with massive temp shifts. Lifted regions are cracking and letting water underneath the main coat. Apparently this was due to improper humidity control with the new low-VOC paint, though the hood and doors are apparently unaffected (must have been painted separately). Anything above the character line looks like this, particularly in the rear:    (a coworked stealthily slapped the magnet on there, based on  this infamous thing)This is the only non-surface corrosion that I can tell, just under the driver's mirror. Should be an easy task for a wire wheel and some POR-15.  Why the PO didn't have this resprayed when Chrysler offered is a mystery, but it's going to be a pain to prep. I want an easy way out that involves an afternoon of prep. If I were to power wash the loose bits off, does anyone have experience with Plastidip over irregular coats like these? Prevention of further corrosion is really all I'm after, so decent adherence and some degree of flexibility seems ideal. OneOverZero fucked around with this message at 01:56 on Mar 8, 2015 |
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Mar 8, 2015 01:52
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Seat Safety Switch posted:Yesss! I was hoping some goon would eventually get an ACR. I've yet to have the opportunity to even drive one. Somebody here owns one that has like 15k track-only miles on it.
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Mar 8, 2015 06:09
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Almost a decade ago when I was a bit tight on money from buying my first house I daily drove a black 98 R/T and man that car was fun for what it was. I think I bought it for $3k, drove it for a little over a year and then sold it for slightly more (I had cleaned it up a lot so it showed well). Ever since then I've had a soft spot for these old cars... I'm excited to watch the thread!
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Mar 8, 2015 18:05
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Good news: poly bushing installation has been a breeze (rear suspension reassembled, front awaiting new ball joints & wheel bearings), new hoses/rotors/pads/calipers are ready, no corrosion issues whatsoever, and engine is prepared to come out. 205/50 ZII Star Specs are ready to go on the 2nd-gen wheels. Bad news: coolant has pooled above the valves on cylinders #2 & 3 after sitting for six weeks or so. I'm guessing the head is toast - but hey, at least the valves seat nicely. I have a semi-solid "bobble strut" (rear engine damper/mount), though I'm debating whether this is a good idea to use in conjunction with poly motor mount inserts. MTX Neons are notorious for their motor mount issues, but I fear that this may just be overkill. When the front suspension is back together (with bolts in place of the CV stubs), I should be able to roll the ACR, sans driveline, back into the driveway while I wrap up the engine freshening - whatever the hell that means now. Really hadn't prepared myself for more than gaskets, belts, etc, but I probably should have... too bad the EDZ 2.4L swap would re-class the ACR, as they're pretty cheap right now. Here's a dusty '96 ACR coupe promo model that my dad scored for me when I was 8 or 9. It's been on my desk at work for six years and I only remembered it last week. Just a little more vibrant than mine, and molded-in color can't peel off. 
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Apr 21, 2015 01:47
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OneOverZero posted:Here's a dusty '96 ACR coupe promo model that my dad scored for me when I was 8 or 9. It's been on my desk at work for six years and I only remembered it last week. Just a little more vibrant than mine, and molded-in color can't peel off. Do this, but with plastidip. https://www.dipyourcar.com/Plasti-Dip-Blaze/
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Apr 21, 2015 03:52
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I remember the guys that took at Hertz rent a neon to the strip and stuffed enough giggle-gas down the engine to make it fart the aircleaner apart. Then I believe someone in my family had one and I wanted to try that.
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Apr 21, 2015 05:54
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Is that one of the rare ones that had a factory LSD?
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Apr 21, 2015 21:05
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OneOverZero posted:I'm trying to devise a way to pull the engine and trans without discharging the AC. Depending on where the ac compressor is, and how the hoses are routed, it's very possible. Here's my Volvo where I left the entire AC system untouched.  The AC compressor is hiding in the pic but it's basically lower left of the pic, and it's mounted on the bottom in front of the motor when installed. The first hose is right there in the picture and the second one goes along the bottom of the condenser to the driver's side. The hardest part was not damaging the condenser while I did all the other work. Looks like a fun project!
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Apr 21, 2015 21:27
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LloydDobler posted:Depending on where the ac compressor is, and how the hoses are routed, it's very possible. Here's my Volvo where I left the entire AC system untouched.  Valvetrain looks fairly good (certainly no sludging) apart from the scoring visible in the wear pattern of one lobe.  Just a bit of coolant in #3:  Also, my girlfriend pointed out that Chrysler didn't break new ground with the split-five design for the LX platform... the 15x6 snowflake is an inch larger than the OE ACR wheel, too.  Ziploc posted:Is that one of the rare ones that had a factory LSD? InterceptorV8 posted:I remember the guys that took at Hertz rent a neon to the strip and stuffed enough giggle-gas down the engine to make it fart the aircleaner apart. Then I believe someone in my family had one and I wanted to try that.
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Apr 22, 2015 00:44
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The ACR was the go to car in Solo II back when I was into autocross in the early 2000's. Buddy of mine had one and threw the whole mopar catalog at it and it was a beast for a na car. Then one year all the ACR guys bought corvettes, I don't think I have seen one in person for 10 years now.
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Apr 22, 2015 00:54
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In 1994, I was in 8th grade. I got to go to a "bring your kid to work day" with my dad, who worked at Bendix, who were developing the ABS system for Neons (and the then-unknown cloud cars). We went out to the old Studebaker proving grounds and got to ride along in a bunch of preproduction Neons, which was cool as hell. Exposed wires and missing interior panels everywhere in a car that was much-hyped but still largely unknown to the public, it was a kid's dream. Years later, a '95 Neon was my sister-in-law's first car (SOHC, 3-speed auto lol) and handed down to my wife as her second car, and we took that on a couple of 2,000 mile road trips. It was a dreadfully-built car but it has a certain place in my heart regardless.
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Apr 22, 2015 17:08
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I will never tire of this article. Just picturing a Neon cooking the tires through first and into second makes me giggle.
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Apr 22, 2015 17:32
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Oh hey there, I have a Neon but it is one of the newer boring ones:
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Apr 23, 2015 12:46
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Pulled the driveline, replaced the clutch, extracted the broken studs in the head, etc. But I forgot to loosen the balancer bolt prior to pulling the engine/arms/brakes, and the water pump & timing belt appear to be fairly recent, so I'll hold off on the complete regasketing until another season.  Or built a NA 2.4L if it pops unexpectedly, who knows.In the meantime, the OE cast exhaust manifold has a decent crack down the middle - not unexpected. The alternatives are a Dorman or similarly-shady alternative, which certainly won't be an improvement over OEM. I ordered a TTI shorttube instead:  I AM AWAITED All of the rear suspension is back in place with fresh calipers, pads, & rotors. Front end is still off since I don't yet have CVs - dropped them off about a month ago to be re-booted, and still waiting. It might still be ready for the Track Night in America event at Atlanta Motorsports Park on August 4. It was my favorite course for ChumpCar, so hopefully this relaxed event will be a good shakedown for the Neon.
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Jul 3, 2015 02:54
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OneOverZero posted:
How is AMP? I live like 10 minutes from Road Atlanta so I've never made the trek up there but I am considering hitting up that TNiA event in the e46 touring.
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Jul 18, 2015 16:47
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SuperDucky posted:Cool thread. I always love it when people are really into relatively obscure cars. It's outside for the first time since early March!  Got the freshened driveline and laundry list of bits in... Prothane bushings all around (closest replacement to OE poly), rod-brake shifter, Mopar ECU (more on that in a moment), Mopar EGR delete, etc. I'll throw the Star Specs on it when everything's aligned. Definitely have some harness repair to due, though the wiring under the sheathing is perfect. I just plugged the PO's funky vacuum lines in place until it gets cleaned up a bit. Have a bit of touch-up painting to do too.  That said, I got impatient and fired it up to pull it into the garage. After months of sitting and with a freshly-installed ECU, it obviously ran terribly for the 10sec it took, but it immediately threw a CEL. No knock sensor, but that wouldn't have surprised me, really. I did not have the EGR valve or solenoid plugged in, nor the downstream O2 sensor, as the Mopar ECU disables fault codes for EGR and the cat (in addition to having more aggressive fuel maps, etc). I haven't pulled the code(s), but I'm assuming that the ECU needs the disregarded sensors online to prevent open monitors. Will have to try it again with all sensors plugged in and an exhaust. Timing belt wasn't touched, so I'm just hoping that there's nothing trickier than a missing feedback loop...
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Aug 4, 2015 01:26
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No, I ended up not being able to make it. Glad to see you working on the car still.
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Aug 19, 2015 19:23
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I've already wasted a pair of ZII Star Specs in a day.  The Neon has been my daily driver for about a month after my Challenger was written off. Half the weight and less than third the torque, but it's fun (if loving harsh) for a ~16mi daily commute. So new poly bushings throughout the suspension, new poly driveline mounts, rebuilt CVs, and fresh alignment (F: -3deg camber, 0.25deg total toe; R: 0/0), amongst other things. Should be good to go for an autocross event. Turns out that when you're actually pushing this car hard on a prepped surface, all hell breaks loose. 20-year-old struts turn into oscillating slide hammers. Paired with standard Neon springs and swaybars, they aren't enough to keep bumpstops intact and four wheels on the ground. It's a hell of a fun car, but the body roll is such that power delivery is next to impossible unless you're in a straight line. Accelerating or braking, you will lift the inside rear until the opposite bumpstop hits and the rear end hops laterally. Not sure if this hopping is more a function of shot dampers or even a bad wheel bearing. As a result of the body roll, I ended up cupping the outside of the front tires pretty harshly, so I'll need to throw some money at this thing to save money on tires. That said, it did well for what is essentially a base-model 1996 Neon with old non-rebound-adjustable struts - just not as well as I was hoping. Needs some work. A 2012 Mazdaspeed3 beat me by a little under a second on a ~43sec course. My co-driver and I were only familiar with RWD cars, so we weren't exactly helping by staying in the throttle when the front end washed out. It did lead to some entertaining opposite-lock slides at throttle lift, though. I've got a lot to learn about driving it.
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Oct 18, 2015 18:04
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Ride along as I learn how to thrash a FWD car! This was a little over two seconds worse than the best run of the morning - I hosed the approach into the Chicago box and it went downhill from there. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_UaFx7SXkU 
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Oct 20, 2015 04:10
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It's incredible how fast a car goes from "ok on the street" to "holy poo poo this is falling apart" with just one autocross. I used to wonder how normal people got along without constantly putting new bushings into used cars.
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Oct 20, 2015 09:54
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I have a disease. Sent an email about this one-owner car. Bonus: almost the same color as my Challenger. On the other hand, my current ACR has come down with a terrible case of poo poo shifting. It feels as though all the synchros are on their way out, all suddenly and at the same time. I pulled the trans fill plug to check the level, and a great deal of fluid poured out - not good, since the fill plug is the highest access port in the system and I topped it off on level ground a few hundred miles earlier. My theory is that it ingested water during the couple weeks of nonstop rain, when the car was last driven. I figure that the fluid level in the sump is low when the trans is in operation (due to being distributed/flung elsewhere), allowing any water to ingest through a vent or even a poorly-sealing fill plug. Pop out the fill plug when static and boom, low-specific-gravity fluid pours out. Pessimistic theory, but Synchromesh doesn't just... multiply. So I'm going to drain the T350 tomorrow and see what comes out. Hopefully it's all Synchromesh, no water, and no synchros. Here are some photos I received of me goonin' in the car in October.  
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Dec 8, 2015 04:19
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Man I think I might make a Neon coupe my next FWD beater. It can't possibly be less safe than an NA Miata in a crash.
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Dec 8, 2015 04:21
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Reminds me of my first trip to the track in my awd talon 14 years ago. I had an exhaust, intake, boost controller and gauge. Went up against one of these, got him on the launch and he was at my rear bumper the whole drat 1/4. He had a custom exhaust and an intake. I had NO idea these existed until that night. Definitely a hidden gem.
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Dec 8, 2015 05:14
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Well poo poo. It was cleaner than it appeared in the ad.    The window sticker lists import from Toluca, Mexico - I thought all ACRs came from Belvedere, IL, at least through the 1997 MY. Dunno. At any rate, this car could have 1,500 miles on the odometer instead of 150,000 and I wouldn't second-guess it.  I got the OneOverZero fucked around with this message at 05:23 on Dec 14, 2015 |
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Dec 14, 2015 05:20
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WTF that thing is beyond mint. Are you posting from 1998? I'll send you some money for Apple stock.
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Dec 14, 2015 06:05
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Yeah, holy crap that is clean. My gf's 2005 neon looked worse than this with the dash falling apart. Why is there a tow hitch on this and old rear end jeep truck in the background? Did some older guy get this for his wife to have a car in town and she never learned stick?
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Dec 15, 2015 05:04
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Christobevii3 posted:Yeah, holy crap that is clean. My gf's 2005 neon looked worse than this with the dash falling apart. Why is there a tow hitch on this and old rear end jeep truck in the background? Did some older guy get this for his wife to have a car in town and she never learned stick? I drove the '96 ACR for quite a while Sunday. Several folks from work did a long drive in the mountains - STU-prepped C5 hardtop, FD RX7 R1, S2000, and STX-prepped E30s. And a Neon. It's like the Tail of the Dragon in TN except much better, safer, and you won't see a single vehicle for hours. Sportbike folks call it the Diamondback Loop, but in December you won't encounter any GIXXER KREWZ crossing the double yellow whilst attempting to drag their board shorts.  Anyway, my new alternator belt turned into black ribbons coming down from Little Switzerland. I should've checked tension after it has a few hours to break in, but there's nothing left to autopsy. A man stopped to corner me (captive audience) and ensure my salvation with a pamphlet called "I AM A PRETTY GOOD PERSON", but didn't offer to help with the stranded-by-the-roadside thing. The Neon rode a flatbed home as god intended. OneOverZero fucked around with this message at 03:41 on Dec 23, 2015 |
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Dec 23, 2015 03:39
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I found a source for the unobtanium, OEM rebound-adjustable Koni yellows for the '97-'99 model years! Never used, sitting in a warehouse since the '90s! And they were shipped to me from Mexico via a very, very large potato gun, wrapped in a flat used piece of Member's Mark cardboard tied with.. the gently caress is this, bailing string? As in, they were strung together one-by-one like Christmas lights, within in the remainder of something that was once a box.   No apparent leaks or bent shafts so far, but I need to get some adjustment knobs.
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Mar 1, 2016 03:47
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Holy poo poo that packing job  That's impressively hosed up.
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Mar 2, 2016 00:13
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I see you're buying for futureproofing. Nice!
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Mar 2, 2016 00:28
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