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There’s no space in my garage unfortunately, but I’d never say never.
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Oct 28, 2019 02:55
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How are you guys finding these things? I don't think I've ever seen one for sale anywhere near where I live, I'd be tempted to get one just for autoX if the price was right.
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Oct 28, 2019 14:59
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Lacking a paper trail and assuming the owner doesn't know what he's got, how does one spot an ACR?
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Oct 28, 2019 17:12
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Does it have manual everything, a tach, and 4 wheel disc brakes? You got yerself an ACR. The earliest ones couldn't be had with AC or a radio, but I think that was a 1 or 2 year thing. Most were white, I think a handful were blue (I seem to remember my old roommate's being a later 1st gen in blue, with a radio and AC). On the 2nd gen they offered a lot more variety. Also very stiff suspension, but after 20+ years, I'd expect the factory suspension to be trash.
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Oct 28, 2019 20:53
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STR pretty much nailed it! Whether Dodge or Plymouth-branded, ACR VINs are always a lowest-trim Neon to minimize weight, but featured the gauge cluster, rear discs, swaybars, steering rack (16:1 power vs 18:1 power or 22:1 manual), five-lug hubs, 14x6" wheels, and final drive ratio (3.94 vs 3.55) from the Sport models, as well as the radiator from A/C-equipped cars. Visually, they have the foglight bumper from higher-trim cars, but no foglights. Offhand, I think the only components unique to the ACR were the struts (Arvin in '94.5-'95, Koni from '96-'99) and the '95+ 10mm-thick front hubs, so there really wasn't anything particularly special about them, nor are there many parts that are difficult to source now. That's part of the appeal for me - these weren't handbuilt, seam-welded cars like the ITR, so they were comparatively cheap. Only option before '96 (when ordering was opened up to non-SCCA-members, I think) was a rear defroster since it is required to be offered in some states, but you could get A/C, the "National Championship Interior Package" (leather-wrapped As for finding them... almost all of the ones I've seen for sale are advertised as an ACR (though I haven't used facebook in a long time and understand that Marketplace has attracted most of the cheap car listings, so who knows). Sometime people think it's a "Sport" or "SRT-4" or something, but owners generally know exactly what it is, especially if you're lucky like me and find them from first or second owners that include window sticker and build sheet in the ad. The 2nd-gen cars are rare as hell, especially the SRT-4 ACR.
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Oct 31, 2019 00:10
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OneOverZero posted:The 2nd-gen cars are rare as hell, especially the SRT-4 ACR. 22 year old kids all blew up the engines or wrapped them around a telephone pole. I had a '98 first gen, and a '04 SRT-4. Thread brings back memories
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Oct 31, 2019 20:16
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Hell, your username brings back memories from when I lurked some SRT-4 forum about fifteen years ago. Quickly realized that a student working part-time had no business paying for insurance on one and stuck with my XJ instead. After getting home from paying my $3.16 tax on this sweet ride, I found it unable to shift into reverse, so into the garage for a better look.  Really need to clean all the crud outta here. It's like working on a drat ent.  Easy fix. Seems that 22 years is the MTBF for aftermarket shifter bushings. Both on the shifter side were similarly close to failure so this is an unassailable scientific study with n=4. Had a spare set (because of course I do, goddamnit what is wrong with me) so back in action.  Giving the people what they want:  Other items noted in the past week of driving it:
 Made some progress on the 2.4. Got the cam gear pressed onto the crank, so I made the first attempt at checking piston-to-valve clearance with hydraulic lifters. These engines are non-interference, but since the head and block have both been machined at least twice, I'm using a more aggressive cam profile, and have aftermarket pistons, worth checking. The gear on the crank has an alignment arrow for positioning cyl #1 at TDC, and the cams each have dowel pins to lock them in place at 0. I have a steel plate that runs across these dowels, making it easy to sweep through TDC with a magnetic dial indicator to confirm everything. Dead-on!  The downside? I have an indicated massive 5-6mm of clearance on each of the four valves on cylinder one, with an unknown contribution from the hydraulic lash adjusters. I can measure the collapsed vs pressurized height of one and use that to back-calculate valve lift using the 1.75 rocker ratio, or I can diassemble and lock up a quartet of old HLAs to get a true measurement. It's likely that the JE pistons have deeper valve reliefs (relative to wristpin height) so I'm going to confirm with them - if so, probably just going to slap everything together and not be too concerned. Also noticed that I have the wrong idler pulley for the hodgepodge of oiling/timing/parts thrown together here. Oops. Need to find the correct PN before I install the timing cover. 
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Nov 10, 2019 19:34
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That motor looks fantastic.
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Nov 10, 2019 20:08
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I have no idea why I like these cars so much...
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Nov 10, 2019 21:54
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They're a ton of fun to drive.
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Nov 10, 2019 22:39
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the last good dodge product
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Nov 10, 2019 23:35
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Phone posted:the last good dodge product Ehhh I'm no Dodge fanboy but you can't argue with the high horsepower absurdity they've been cranking out lately.
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Nov 11, 2019 01:34
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So I'm getting hyped for my 3rd autox with the Neon tomorrow (last event of the year), so I figured I'd update the Neon fans. Last I posted in the September chat thread (https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3897576&pagenumber=24&perpage=40#post498714532), I went to an autox after stickering up my car, and the Neon let me know it didn't like me choosing anime vinyls over preventative maintenance. It puked up all the coolant, and killed two batteries, thanks to a mangled alternator belt. My guess is the coolant got on the belt and caused it to slip and disintegrate.   I was worried it was a cracked block, but it turned out to be a rusted rad cap. I replaced the alternator belt, all the hoses, the overflow tank, thermostat, and radiator cap. Gave it a ton of flushes (over ten gallons) and it's running great. I later learned this was something the previous owner was planning on doing, because I found brand new hoses with all the stuff he gave me. Of course, that was after I had ordered and installed new hoses myself. Yeesh. I'm racing with my cousin tomorrow, and it's his first autox. Good thing he's into anime. I'll post more pics soon.
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Nov 24, 2019 01:13
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Did some work on my Neon this past weekend. Old terminals were cracking, and not really working well with my lithium battery, so I put some new leads on a couple of cables, and put in a couple new cables (one was corroded almost fully, so good thing I did this now). Old:  New:  I made a little positive terminal cover with the plastic cap that comes with the battery for shipping, but I don't trust it to hold, so I slapped a little tape on it too. Doing my first mirrorcross next Sunday, should be lots of fun.
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Mar 1, 2020 22:50
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