UPDATE: Much needed, if I may add.
Alright so over the summer, I had some slight rod knocking. Decided to stop driving it, and parked it until I was able to have time to replace the rod bearings. Well a few weeks later, I replace the rod bearings, the cylinder #1 rod bearing was scratched to hell. Got everything together, drove it around a little and called it a day. I drove on this set of rod bearings for a few 100 miles, scheduled my annual state inspection. Pass the state inspection and decided to take the Neon out for a small joy ride. Here is where the fun happened...
I'm about 2 minutes away from Dunkin' Donuts and all of a sudden I hear this loud BANG, mind you it was raining and I was turning around and happened to lose a little traction on the tires. First instinct I figure I blew a tire. I pull over quickly, and realize I have white smoke coming from under the hood. Pop the hood, and see a nice 4" hole out the front of my block greeting me. Anti-freeze everywhere and oil running wild and a nice gash in my aluminum radiator. I had a video I took right after the initial realization, but can't seem to locate it right now on my computer to upload.
So anyway, fast forward a little. I end up replacing the block, swapped over the Magnum head and replaced the radiator. While I was at it, I replaced the bobble-strut with the Mopar Performance one, which made for a nicer daily drive. The about a month later after getting my new apartment setup in Atlanta, GA I towed the Neon down.
Which is where it is currently. Now the downside is, I've actually only driven this a handful of times since being down here. The upside is, I plan to change that since the upcoming months will be warmer and I'll have more free time. I also plan to take some new photos of everything since I haven't gotten a chance to do so recently, so that's something to look forward to.
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Current Modifications:
2001 Magnum 2.0L R/T head with SOHC Bottom-End w/ARP Rod Bolts
AMM Custom "Box-Style" Intake Manifold w/60mm T-Body
Modern Performance 60mm Throttle Body
Custom 3" Cold-Air Intake Tube w/K&N Filter
TTI Mid-Length Header (Ceramic Coated)
PT (Mopar Performance) clutch
Bullet-Style "Ceramic Core" Catalytic Converter
Custom Cat-Back Exhaust w/SRT4 Rear-Section
AF/X "Street" Under-Drive Pulley
Unorthodox Racing Adjustable Cam Gear
Mopar Performance SOHC PCM
Mopar performance Bobble-Strut
Prothane "Street" Motor Mount Inserts
Braille Auto Development 11.5 Lightweight Battery
Moshimoto Aluminum Race Radiator
Mopar Performance 7.5mm Wires
Mopar Performance Ignition Coil
Mopar Front "ACR" 22mm Sway Bar
Mopar Rear "ACR" 16mm Sway Bar
Front & Rear Strut Bars
Hawk Performance Brake-Pads
PowerSlot Slotted Rotors
BBS "ACR" 16" Rims w/Faulken Azenis 215/45/16 Tires
Megan Racing Lowering Springs
KYB Performance Struts
Depo Projector-Style Headlights w/6000k Xenon HID Conversion
Depo Diamond-Clear Turn-Signals
SRT4 "Viper-Inspired" Racing Seats
Powdercoated Silver Power-Steering Bracket
Powdercoated Red Valve-Cover
Powdercoated Radiator Brackets
Powdercoated Passenger-Side Motor Mount
A/C Removed
Oil Catch-Can
EGR Block-Off