GreeNeons03 Project Log: 7/9/2010 Update! Page 3!

Mat00ES · Post by **Mat00ES** » Tue Feb 10, 2009 12:49 am

Awesome, get a sound clip when you get it one. I've been wondering what these sound like.

GreeNeons03 · Post by **GreeNeons03** » Tue Feb 10, 2009 1:07 am

Ok I will, I'll do before and after. And just for shits and giggles, I'll do in between too, with the muffler off.

LilSparkPlug · Post by **LilSparkPlug** » Tue Feb 10, 2009 7:53 am

The springs that are closer coiled, go in the front and the ones with the coils further apart, go in the rear if I remember correctly.

For your valve cover and injector cover, pick up some bulldog adhesion promoter that will help you big time in getting the paint to stick to the plastic. Scuff them up with a gray scuff pad or some 600 grit sandpaper wet. Hit them with the bulldog, then some primer approved for plastics, then your color, then your clear

horner21 · Post by **horner21** » Tue Feb 10, 2009 12:08 pm

looking good keep it up

GreeNeons03 · Post by **GreeNeons03** » Wed Feb 11, 2009 11:24 pm

Well I'm currently in the process of installing my R/T exhaust. I thought I could get away without an adapter, but no such luck. I had fun trying to find an auto parts store open at 9:30 at night. I found one, got my parts and got home to continue with the install. I got everything on and the clamp I got won't fit and one of the tips hangs lower than the other. The clamp problem I'll take car of tomorrow. right now I've been cutting the adapter back to see if I can get the one tip to even out with the other. But the batteries are dead in my saw after cutting it back a little twice. I'm just waiting for them to charge a little so I can finish the third cut. If all else fails, I kind of like the sound without the rear section, so I might just drive like that until I can finish it. Pics and video to come when everything is done.

2005.Neon.SXT · Post by **2005.Neon.SXT** » Wed Feb 11, 2009 11:27 pm

GreeNeons03 wrote:Well I'm currently in the process of installing my R/T exhaust. I thought I could get away without an adapter, but no such luck. I had fun trying to find an auto parts store open at 9:30 at night. I found one, got my parts and got home to continue with the install. I got everything on and the clamp I got won't fit and one of the tips hangs lower than the other. The clamp problem I'll take car of tomorrow. right now I've been cutting the adapter back to see if I can get the one tip to even out with the other. But the batteries are dead in my saw after cutting it back a little twice. I'm just waiting for them to charge a little so I can finish the third cut. If all else fails, I kind of like the sound without the rear section, so I might just drive like that until I can finish it. Pics and video to come when everything is done.

check my picture, mine does the same thing. The left one hangs a bit, but I'm hoping that I can push the muffler up onto the exhaust piping further. I don't have a tool that can cut the metal so I'll probably just deal with it as it is.

And I enjoyed my car without a muffler too, fun as hell when I downshifted and shit, but it got annoying after a couple days. Wasn't until the higher RPMs when the exhaust would mellow out, but in the lower RPMs it's loud as all fuckin hell.

GreeNeons03 · Post by **GreeNeons03** » Wed Feb 11, 2009 11:47 pm

Yep, I got the same problem. The drivers side is hanging lower than the passenger side. Hopefully cutting the adapter back a bit will help it out. I might throw my wheel back on and go for a quick drive without the exhaust while the battery charges just for the hell of it.

:EDIT: Just saw that it's midnight, I got work and class tomorrow. I'm going to call it a night. I guess I'll be driving without a muffler for a day. lol

bdmski · Post by **bdmski** » Thu Feb 12, 2009 9:54 pm

That's weird that you need an adapter. Mine bolted right up without any problems. One of my hangers was sagging lower than the other on mine too. It stretches out over time because of the heat. What I did is use a regular ring clamp like the ones used on cold air intakes but a tad smaller and tightened it as tight as it would go. Looked perfect and isn't noticeable, and the exhaust was perfectly level. Try it out.

GreeNeons03 · Post by **GreeNeons03** » Thu Feb 12, 2009 10:06 pm

You mean one of these?

bdmski · Post by **bdmski** » Thu Feb 12, 2009 10:28 pm

Those are the ones

Mat00ES · Post by **Mat00ES** » Thu Feb 12, 2009 10:35 pm

the without a rear section is just loud, I had that with a cherrybomb slapped on it, drove it for a good 3 months. Then I got my srt catback, got my stock midpipe out and found out you can't replace a midpipe without a decent lift. So, I drove my car to the next town with out anything from the cat back, drove passed a few cops and none of them looked twice.

GreeNeons03 · Post by **GreeNeons03** » Thu Feb 12, 2009 11:01 pm

It is done. I got it on and it sounds awesome. Pics and video to come after a short test drive.

GreeNeons03 · Post by **GreeNeons03** » Fri Feb 13, 2009 11:58 am

Here's the pics from the last two nights, they took forever to upload so I just let it go and went to bed. Now for the pics:

Day 4 & 5: R/T rear section install. let me tell you, through this whole thing, WD-40 was my friend, I'll explain with the pictures where I used it.

Stock Rear Section:

This bolt gave me hell to loosen. I hit it with an impact wretch and everything. Finnaly I thought to shoot it with some WD-40 and let it sit a bit, then I was able to loosen it up. WD-40 FTW!

Getting the rear section off the hangers was hell too. I moved it around to loosen the rubber things and then after trying to push them off for about 30 minutes I thought to spray into them with some WD-40 to lube things up, it worked and I was able to get it to slide off easily (

). Here's the car with no rear section:

Here I got the R/T rear section on, but the pipes don't fit:

So I got an adapter and a exhaust pipe clamp. The clamp pictured is the wrong size, I exchanged it for a 2.25 inch:

I had to cut off a good chunk on the adapter so that the tips would stick evenly out the back of the car:

Everything bolted up:

Now give me a second, :puts on flame protection suit as a precaution:, ok. I know plastic and heat are not the best of friends, but what I've done here is just a temporary fix. I used a zip tie to hold up one side of my exhaust so that the tips are even, I plan on replacing it today with a metal zip tie or one of those hose clamps mentioned earlier:

And here's some pics of the finished product:

I don't really like how the tips touch the bumper. So to fix that, I might just have to get an R/T bumper!

And now for a video! Go and grab your popcorn!

GreeNeons03 · Post by **GreeNeons03** » Fri Feb 13, 2009 5:13 pm

Just finished changing out the zip tie with a hose clamp:

bdmski · Post by **bdmski** » Fri Feb 13, 2009 9:22 pm

Got another fix for you my friend. I had an 03 just like you have. Don't go out and buy a bumper you don't need. As you can see from my garage pics, I have a perfect R/T bumper and didn't spend a penny. Get a nice bright flash light and a wet rag. Stick your head under your muffler and clean the inside of your bumper where the cutouts would normaly be at. If you look closely you'll notice a faint line outlining where R/T cutouts are normally made. Every 03+ bumper has them, but only the R/Ts actually cut them out. All you need is an exacto knife a little bit of patience and you'll have a R/T bumper. Go ahead and take a peek if you don't believe me.

Brian

GreeNeons03 · Post by **GreeNeons03** » Fri Feb 13, 2009 9:42 pm

I'll have to check that out when I get a chance. Thanks!

Mat00ES · Post by **Mat00ES** » Fri Feb 13, 2009 10:18 pm

Hmmmm......I wouldn't mind getting one of those to tame down my exhaust. too bad after the accident, they welded my exhaust fully.

GreeNeons03 · Post by **GreeNeons03** » Fri Feb 13, 2009 10:28 pm

Get one of these if you don't already have one:

Prblem solved.

Mat00ES · Post by **Mat00ES** » Fri Feb 13, 2009 10:29 pm

I have a corded one, but I'd wanna make sure its a good seal, no leaks. I'll probably keep this exhaust till I get a good deal on something softer.

GreeNeons03 · Post by **GreeNeons03** » Fri Feb 13, 2009 10:33 pm

That clamp I got is really good. In fact I think I might have crimped the pipe a little bit.

Mat00ES · Post by **Mat00ES** » Fri Feb 13, 2009 10:44 pm

Im gonna have to crawl under the car and look. Im hoping they didn't weld up the rear section.

bdmski · Post by **bdmski** » Sat Feb 14, 2009 12:03 am

GreeNeons03 wrote:That clamp I got is really good. In fact I think I might have crimped the pipe a little bit.

When I did it I put it over the black rubber, instead of the metal. But each to his own. Glad everything is coming out for you.

GreeNeons03 · Post by **GreeNeons03** » Sat Feb 14, 2009 12:08 am

I was talking about the exhaust pipe clamp:

As for that clamp though, I did think about that after the fact. I may go in and change it later. I was thinking about looking for those lines to cut out the bumper tomorrow, if I can find my X-acto knife. If I find them, I might just take the whole bumper off to make it easier to cut. Thanks again!

2005.Neon.SXT · Post by **2005.Neon.SXT** » Sat Feb 14, 2009 1:48 am

Never thought about using that Intake metal clamp thing. I'm gonna have to try that, plus I gotta refit the muffler anyway since I think the left side sticks out further than the right one. I never shaved down my adapter so yea..

And I also never knew about the rear bumper thing. But I just hacked away enough so it wouldn't show with the lip kit on.

Anything else that I probably don't know?

Keep up the good work on the car man.

GreeNeons03 · Post by **GreeNeons03** » Sat Feb 14, 2009 2:01 am

Thanks!

GreeNeons03 · Post by **GreeNeons03** » Sat Feb 21, 2009 5:21 pm

Well today at the junk yard, I came across THREE (3!) second gen Neons! I'm usually lucky to come across one!

Anyway, unfortunately none of them where MTX. Even if they were, the two that I checked the year on that looked like they hadn't lost a fight with another car, were 2000's. Still if the junkyard would sell whole cars, I would have probably tried to get one. However, I did not leave empty handed.

Only one of the three had a trunk lid with a carpet in great condition, just a small unnoticeable tear near the latch. So I quickly snagged that:

And installed it on my car when I got home:

I also found another injector cover, which I may use if I give up on fixing the other. I may just sell the other on here to who ever wants it. We'll see:

Since I found three second gens today, I assume they must be dropping like flies in my area

. I'm going to have to check again next week to see if there are any more. I want my MTX swap!

2005.Neon.SXT · Post by **2005.Neon.SXT** » Sat Feb 21, 2009 5:28 pm

I never knew there was a slit in the carpet for that emergency release latch. Or maybe you just made it yourself? I gotta check my trunk lid carpet out...

Good finds!

GreeNeons03 · Post by **GreeNeons03** » Sat Feb 21, 2009 5:33 pm

I made it myself. I didn't want it hidden in the back making an impression on the front, so I measured out there the cable ended and the handle started and cut a small slit and slid it through. Then I just closed up the back with some duct tape so that the hole was big enough for the cable. You can't even tell it was cut! And the cable is completely hidden.

Paul56 · Post by **Paul56** » Sat Feb 21, 2009 5:40 pm

GreeNeons03 wrote:I made it myself. I didn't want it hidden in the back making an impression on the front, so I measured out there the cable ended and the handle started and cut a small slit and slid it through. Then I just closed up the back with some duct tape so that the hole was big enough for the cable. You can't even tell it was cut! And the cable is completely hidden.

I did the exact same thing when installing mine 2 years ago. Makes no sense to have the pull handle hidden behind the carpet.

GreeNeons03 · Post by **GreeNeons03** » Thu Feb 26, 2009 8:45 pm

I got some stuff in the mail today!

More Oil!

Silly rabbit! It's stuff for my rear disk swap!

List of what to do:

- Get E-brake cables, the ones on it are cut
- Find front Neon calipers at J/Y to work with for the sake of progress and so I don't mess up mine on the car.
- Paint calipers (front and back, either red, blue, or Snakeskin green, not sure which yet. I might get them power coated.)
- Rebuild Calipers (front and back)
- Get slotted and drilled rotors (front and back)(LINK)
- Get some good pads (front and back) (Any suggestions on what I should get?)
- Stainless Steel brake lines on all four corners

And I think that's it. This will be an ongoing project for a while since I cant afford everything at once, I'll be happy when I can finally get it all on the car

Any suggestions and pointers would be appreciated!