Sleeper/beater project

[dangerdavex2]

I got this car for $825 and Im not completely sure exactly where Im going with it yet, but the first order of business is to get the car running good enough so that it will stand being modded.
Problems that need repaired:
Intermittent rough idle accompanied by motor dying.
Noisy power-steering pump.
Fuel gauge not working all the time.
Passenger window crank and door panel.
Upper motor mount... badly
Figure out where the hell my air filter went?

After all that is completed I am going with one of three options.
Either I will get a 2.4 out of the bone yard, resurrect it, then use the SRT turbo setup on that.
Or I will put the SRT turbo setup on the current motor, and run that until it blows up from detonation, then put a 2.4.
I dont really foresee myself wanting more than 225ish horsepower out of this car, I really want a well balanced car.

The exterior will remain mostly stock, to pull off the sleeper look. I foresee either some stock first gen R/T wheels painted black, or some stock second gen wheels. Or if I want to be flashy get some Rota Slipstreams
I also wanted to do something different with the exhaust. I am going to do a side exit right before the drivers side rear wheel, with some kind of glasspack/resonator welded into the midpipe. No chrome tailpipes, just two small outlets flush with the side of the car
The interior is getting the SRT4 treatment, with a set of SRT seats up front, and a rear seat delete. If possible, I will use the Modern Performance SRT style shifter. The rest of the interior will be stock as possible. I really would like a factory CD player to accentuate the "stockness". I will need some gauges once a turbo goes in, so I am thinking a single gauge pod on the A-pillar, with the other necessary gauges placed somewhere discreetly in the dash.






Stay tuned guys. Money is tight, but I want this thing to get done.

[kc2005ptgt]

me like, I cant wait to see the end result --- always a DOHC 1gn coupe

[racer12306]

Figure out where the hell my air filter went?

Another thing you could do is do an N/A 2.4. and if you wanted to have a little extra for a drag strip, a 50 - 75hp nitrous setup. That would be a fun 1gn.

perin has a 2 gauge pod that mounts on the steering column. i dont know if its a 2gn only piece, or if it will work for 1gns. but its a nice looking piece and would be less noticable to others, unless the were right there looking in the window. it is a little pricey though.

or i believe on here or neons.org there is a how to about making a gauge pod for the steering column out of pvc pipe. modern might also have a steering column gauge pod.

[bad04srt]

so you got a cheap 1gn and your not putting a 2.4 in it why?

[Anonymous User]

so you got a cheap 1gn and your not putting a 2.4 in it why?

After all that is completed I am going with one of three options.
Either I will get a 2.4 out of the bone yard, resurrect it, then use the SRT turbo setup on that.
Or I will put the SRT turbo setup on the current motor, and run that until it blows up from detonation, then put a 2.4.
I dont really foresee myself wanting more than 225ish horsepower out of this car, I really want a well balanced car.

[dangerdavex2]

So I took her for a 7 mile flogging today. Its slow, imagine that?
It wasnt as bad as I thought it would be though, especially for missing an air filter and running on 3 cylinders (cylinder #3 has a torn plug wire).
The body didn't roll *excessively*, but I broke the tires loose around a couple turns that the Mazda eats up whole.

I did however fix a couple of important things:
1. Repaired the passenger side door panel, but it still needs 4 clips to really be "fixed".
2. Took off the catalytic converter heatshield and bent the heatshield on the fuel tank to stop irritating exhaust rattling.

The next step is to remove the power steering an the P/S belt.
Then after my potentially expensive anniversary at the end of the month, Ill be saving for some SRT4 seats and for the exhaust work I want done.

[dangerdavex2]

I went to drive her around the block tonight... she had other ideas.
I took a turn around the neighborhood and the steering got real tight, and when I pressed on the gas, shuttered really hard. Then the motor cut out, like it was out of gas. After about 5 minutes of cranking it over, it started up, but would die as soon as it was under load. It almost acted like it was fuel starved, the fuel gauge (which previously read 3/4 tank) kept bobbing between "E" and 1/4.
So now I am going to either have to replace the fuel filter, or maybe see if there is a clogged injector or something else FUBAR'd in the fuel system Could any of this be traced back to the fact that there is no air filter