Manny's 96turbo 1gn: now 99RT update 2\06\22

[Neon4Life]

Ehh, I'm not picky. Ill tie a rope and hang it on the wall from the hood latch. Haha. Kidding guys.
No harm done. Only sat there for like 3 seconds. If I had paid brand new prices for this hood then you best bet I would be treating it like a baby.




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[MyNeonSaysHi]

Plan on painting it on the car? Looks good.

[Neon4Life]

I doubt it. I just put it on again for pictures. I still need to order some new hood aerocatch latches.
I have time to paint it this coming weekend so can't wait for those results.

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[JeremyJ]

Installing hood pins sucks. I remember sweating bullets as I cut into my carbon hood on one of my old Neons. It's worth the work for the extra security, though. And AeroCatch makes some damn fine hood pins.

[occasional demons]

Epoxy loops to the sides, and use the XJ Cherokee dual latch set up.

[JeremyJ]

The setup that's prone to rusting stuck like mine did.

[occasional demons]

I never had an issue with the XJ hood latches, but then I kept them well oiled with motor oil. I learned my lesson on another car, that the hood catch rusted, and would not let you finish opening the hood after it popped. That was a SOB to get it to move, and then keep from re seizing, even after I got it to move.

But I wasn't really being serious about the suggestion. It would keep it neater in appearance though. I imagine adapting it would be a major PITA project all unto itself.

[theColonel]

Installing hood pins sucks. I remember sweating bullets as I cut into my carbon hood on one of my old Neons. It's worth the work for the extra security, though.
And AeroCatch makes some damn fine hood pins.

Regular hood pins are not all that hard to install.

https://imgur.com/qMFsENq

[occasional demons]

But that is hard to look at. Billet grills do not belong on neons, IMHO.

[theColonel]

But that is hard to look at. Billet grills do not belong on neons, IMHO.

The billet grill looks far better than this bumper.

http://www.kaminari.com/dodge-neon-fron ... r-frp-2000

[Neon4Life]

Man, here we are June 12 and I still haven't painted the hood. On the other hand. Had to replace my alternator which sucked because they are expensive. And just tonight car was acting terrible so I checked the codes and of course it's throwing a code for the camshaft sensor.

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[MyNeonSaysHi]

$133 is chump change man Isn't a new Alternator from Dodge like over $400 or something?

[Neon4Life]

So here's a December update: at the end of September we finally got a new to us 2014 v6 Dodge durango Sxt with tow package. This thing is and has been awesome to us. Bought it from a 1 owner adult owned person in Michigan. No its not rusty haha. 8 spd trans means we get great gas mileage on it.


And about the old neon. Well I barely drove it this year. Like 300miles maybe less. The new wheels I had bought well still are flawless. Some days I want to part it out. Some days I want to repaint it. Not sure what will happen with it after winter. But I put up a double wide gate leading into my yard so that I could park the neon out of the road and next to the garage. Away from the Salt at least. I'm happy that it's not sitting on the road anymore. It only took me a few years to put up a double gate lol.

The photo upload feature trough tapatalk app no longer let's me upload original quality pictures so you'll get this crap quality picture you see. Smh. They want you to subscribe to their vip service to get the full quality Pic.


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[JeremyJ]

Paint it. You know you want to.

[occasional demons]

Paint it. You know you want to.

Tam's blue Rustoleum paint roller paint job FTW!

Edit: Sexy Durango BTW. Congrats!

[MyNeonSaysHi]

Congrats on the kid hauler!
"Some days I want to part it out"
Nooooooooo.

I personally use IMGUR with my PC when on 2gn. I can't do car forums on my phone when it comes to posting things.

[Neon4Life]

Paint it. You know you want to.

Right. It wouldn't be anything fancy tho. Would be a at home paint job. I've sprayed small stuff before. Nothing on a big scale. But I don't even consider a 1gn neon that big. Lol.

Paint it. You know you want to.

Tam's blue Rustoleum paint roller paint job FTW!

Edit: Sexy Durango BTW. Congrats!

Congrats on the kid hauler!
"Some days I want to part it out"
Nooooooooo.

I personally use IMGUR with my PC when on 2gn. I can't do car forums on my phone when it comes to posting things.

Thanks. We surely needed it. I was starting to hate our 2010 corolla because of how small it felt with my family of 4 in it. We still have it but use the new durango all the time now when we go out together.

I used to use Flickr. Great easy site. But never get on the actual laptop anymore. But this app is trying to force people to buy into their crap. It never used to. But you know people get greedy.

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[blueneo03]

PAINT IT!!! whats the worst thing that could happen.

PS nice Durango, my wife has a 14 R/T. now is that the full factory tow package? the tow 6200lbs package?

[Neon4Life]

PAINT IT!!! whats the worst thing that could happen.

PS nice Durango, my wife has a 14 R/T. now is that the full factory tow package? the tow 6200lbs package?

"what's the worst that could happen" famous last words.

Awesome. Yes sir, it's an Sxt which normaly is basic but has the factory tow package and HD brakes, cooling etc. The guy I bought it off of was the original owner and he ordered it like that when he bought it from dodge. Vin check also confirmed it had been like that originally. Has the racetrack taillight too which I need to replace on the future because of the dreaded water in it issue.

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[blueneo03]

Ya really, lol great find, you really have to verify on the vin with each one except r/ts with the towing package on the v6 actually changing crucial things like that. We got lucky with the r/t, it came with all the tow package stuff already. Are you getting led burnout on them or just water?

[Neon4Life]

whats up guys still on here.
was hard at work on the neon lately. trying to get it road ready. started by ripping out some interior pieces to spray black.



and i did. now at least i have more black pieces than light gray ones. still not 100% done blacking out the interior but at least its a start in the right direction.



i really need to paint that airbag cover piece. lol.



the carpet is something ive been wanting to get new and in black as well. but that will probably wait until next year. have many more projects in for the neon this year.

finally got the summer wheels on.



and a closeup of the wheels because i love how the tire tread design looks.



did an oil change as well.
i did some fixens in the engine bay as well that i didnt document but made stuff look more cleaner.

currently have this Maddog short shifter on the way for it. shortest throw he offer for a 1gn. its been way long over due for a short shifter. i honestly dont know why i waited this long to get a short shifter.

combined with this gently used Mpx shifter ball. going to look and feel real nice.






So i was working hard on getting the car ready because i needed to drive it to my buddy Tims house this weekend so he could install a brand new Megasquirt system onto it. yes thats correct no more basic AEM FIC. which i did drive the car to him which was 1.5 hours away yesterday. car did great no issues at all. i had forgotten how it felt to drive a manual let alone a turbo 1gn again. man by the end of the trip i remembered why i loved driving it so much. nice firm steering feel and planted to the ground. so along with the MS install he will also be tuning it. maybe taking it in for an alignment because i never did get an alignment and the wheels rub the fenders. im also having chuck ship the short shifter to tims so he can install it for me while he has it. not to mention Tim found me a almost brand new looking set of srt4 rear seat, so no more old ugly confetti rear seat. car is going to feel brand new to me once i get it back in id say 6 weeks or so. im also going to be daily driving it again this year just because i neglected it last year. i barely put any miles on it last season.

hopefully the economy gets back to normal by july so the Carlisle trip doesnt get canceled because i really would like to drive my neon to PA again.





In some non-Neon news we bought a camper. something weve wanted for the last year or so. got a great deal on it from an older couple who took real good care of it. excited to be owners of a camper and hope to go camping in it soon. yes the durango is going to pull it.

well thats it for now. be back in about a month when i get my neon back.

[MyNeonSaysHi]

Nice! Lots of updates. Lookin good! Love that interior shot

[Neon4Life]

Well just my luck. Still don't have my neon back.

MS was wired up and just my luck with everything electrical that the MS unit itself had issues. So it had to be sent out to be tested and fixed. So as I sit it's being sent back to me and hopefully have a test start done this weekend. Then rune time.

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[Neon4Life]

Well work on the hood is coming to a close. It's not 1000% perfect. But I made it as best of my abilities. Also using Duplicolor paint Match spray can. Going to shoot some clear coat on it via my old spray gun. If this turns out good I may just do my roof and trunk. So at least the car doesn't look so crappy anymore. Haha.







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[thomas_w]

My experience with Duplicolor has been pretty bad. Gasoline spills take the paint right off and so does bird poop. It just ate through the entire coating down to the base coat

[occasional demons]

I think he is just using the Duplicolor as a base, and using real clear coat to cover it. Most rattle can paint won't hold up to any solvents.

The Rust-o-leum Appliance Epoxy I used does hold up to gasoline spills, but it is a constant battle to keep oxidation away. Pretty much any paint without hardener is going to have durability/appearance issues.

A few good coats of clear, wet sanding, buffing, and it should look pretty nice.

[Neon4Life]

My experience with Duplicolor has been pretty bad. Gasoline spills take the paint right off and so does bird poop. It just ate through the entire coating down to the base coat

did you use any actual clear coat on top of it when you used it..?

my front lip, side skirts and rear lip are all painted using the same style can. with canned clear coat as well. The previous picture you see is without clear coat.

I think he is just using the Duplicolor as a base, and using real clear coat to cover it. Most rattle can paint won't hold up to any solvents.

The Rust-o-leum Appliance Epoxy I used does hold up to gasoline spills, but it is a constant battle to keep oxidation away. Pretty much any paint without hardener is going to have durability/appearance issues.

A few good coats of clear, wet sanding, buffing, and it should look pretty nice.

correct. i bought the Duplicoilor paint match clear coat in the quart can to spray from a spray gun not can. i screwed up the first coat so technically i was only able to get one semi good coat from the quart. they think it out too much.

i have used actual good automotive clear coat where you mix the hardener yourself and it works alot better. but i was trying to be cheap so i went the cheap route.

heres a picture with clear coat on it. needs to be wetsanded like crazy and then im going to buy another can and spray it again. just because i dont think this coat will not protect it from natural elements too good.

[occasional demons]

TSC sells small cans of hardener for ~$16. It probably isn't as good as the professional stuff, but it would be better than nothing at all.

It only needs to be petroleum based paint, which I'm sure you are using.


https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/produ ... 20hardener

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/produ ... 20hardener

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/produ ... t%20harden

[Neon4Life]

TSC sells small cans of hardener for ~$16. It probably isn't as good as the professional stuff, but it would be better than nothing at all.

It only needs to be petroleum based paint, which I'm sure you are using.


https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/produ ... 20hardener

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/produ ... 20hardener

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/produ ... t%20harden

I like that idea. Im willing to try that. We have a TSC in town. I'll try to do it within the next week and report back with how it laid down.

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[occasional demons]

It's cheap, and will probably hold up better than rattle can paint.

If I had a compressor, and some sort of air drier, I would probably get a spray gun to do that sort of thing, but all that adds up. Eventually I will get a compressor that will be able to handle various things...