Sabersoul's '03 SXT Progress...

Sabersoul · Post by **Sabersoul** » Fri Apr 17, 2009 10:42 pm

Well, figured I'd start up a progress log since things will finally start to get done to the car after the 6 years that I've owned her. I'm horrible at names, so she's unnamed as of now, but feel free to give suggestions.

I've got an '03 Graphite SXT that has been mostly a joy to drive. There have only been 2 times in her life where she's been undriveable, but as of right now, running great! Once after a break in and the other time when the torque converter shit on me. Here's some pics of what happened then (end of '07) and how she looks now.

Imagine coming out the morning after Christmas to this:

Notice something missing here?

They tried not to break the glass at first, but that didn't work...

Well a $1400 insurance claim (and one month) later (slow ass insurance company), she looked good, and I got a little upgrade. Since they stole my Alpine CDA-9856, the insurance company decided to give me the cost of a new factory radio on the claim instead of my Alpine and I was able to get a CDA-9886. Great radio, wonderful display and sound even with stock speakers. Bad part was I hit the right rear quarter panel on a pole pulling in to a narrow, covered parking space right as soon as I got the car back from the shop.

Here's now she looks now:

Work will be slow as funds are limited, but I'm hoping to at least get one small upgrade or two every two weeks or set aside money for larger ones.

Here's what I've got right now (which is NOT much):
Alpine CDA-9886 w/ iPod cable and 4GB Nano
Sirius radio
35% tint on side windows, 5% on back
ProParts triple pillar pod
AutoMeter UltraLite 1/4 sweep Oil Pressue gauge
Mopar Voltage gauge (AutoMeter UltraLite with a Mopar logo, last one left at MP, had to get it to show my love)

Next in line to get done:
Depo black housing projectors
Fix the damn quarter panel dmg (hopefully the molding will come off with this, depends on how the paint is underneath)
Projector fogs
AeroForce Interceptor gauge (silver face and trim ring w/ green lighting to match my other two)
Tokico blues and lowering springs (not sure which I'm going to get yet, open to suggestions)
Timing belt change (it's due soon and I have GOT to get it done before July)
There'll probably be some other things in here somewhere, too, but didn't wanna make the list too long yet, plus there's some things already listed in my sig.

ejclide · Post by **ejclide** » Sat Apr 18, 2009 1:26 am

sounds like you've got some good plans. I'd put getting that scrape at the top of the list above all else, if anything just so it looks good. But the rest sounds like sound ideas. The big thing for me with neons is the rediculous gap between the wheel and the wheel well. get that thing LOW!!! ATX to MTX for the win. if you find two sources for a swap, let me in on one!

Sabersoul · Post by **Sabersoul** » Sat Apr 18, 2009 1:50 am

For safety reasons I'm going to do the headlights first. My stock ones are in BAD shape with being discolored and cracked. I took it for an estimate today finally and it's going to cost over $1000 without using my insurance, so I have to file a claim after all.

But my $501 deductible is better than over a grand. The manual swap is going to be several months away. My fiancee, her mom and I are driving to Green Bay in July and no one but me can drive a stick.

Tam · Post by **Tam** » Sat Apr 18, 2009 12:08 pm

Wow it sucks that you got your car broken into after christmas. At least you got it fixed. Is your insurance going to cost more now?

Sabersoul · Post by **Sabersoul** » Sat Apr 18, 2009 3:49 pm

It might after I claim the damage. I don't know yet, though.

LilSparkPlug · Post by **LilSparkPlug** » Sat Apr 18, 2009 7:55 pm

Your insurance shouldn't go up because of a theft claim. That's damn near illegal. But if you hit something then it can be used against you to recoup what they paid out.

Nice plans so far....

ZeroChad · Post by **ZeroChad** » Sat Apr 18, 2009 8:50 pm

Dang, your car has quite a bit of history already! The upcoming project list looks fun. The timing belt change is tedious, but worth it in the end.

Sabersoul · Post by **Sabersoul** » Sat Apr 18, 2009 9:58 pm

It needs to get done, I wanna take it to a shop to do it, hopefully the shop here by my house will be cheaper than the dealer. The dealer quoted me $800-$1000.

As far as the insurance goes, the messed up part was I moved from where the car was broken in to (twice, first time they just popped the lock and didn't damage anything) to a safer place, but my rates went up from moving.

ejclide · Post by **ejclide** » Sun Apr 19, 2009 1:35 am

I don't think it'd be too hard to do the belt yourself. I haven't done one on a 2gn yet, but I did pull a head and replace the timing belt on a 1gn for a buddy. Crazy me, I only charged him 100 bucks plus costs. Shoulda charged more...... BUT, I had it done in two days not counting the time the head spent at the machine shop. See if you can't get a hayne's manual and see if you think you can do it. Rent a crank pulley puller, then you should be good.

Sabersoul · Post by **Sabersoul** » Sun Apr 19, 2009 9:48 pm

I have my Chilton manual, it just doesn't look like something I wanna try to do. I'll probably have to do it myself since the Gates kit is WAY cheaper than the Mopar. But, I could use the time to install a UDP.....

ejclide · Post by **ejclide** » Sun Apr 19, 2009 10:23 pm

pay for my gas or a ticket and I'll come down to texas and put it in for you!

UDP will be cake. Like I said, just rent the puller from Advance or something, then you're golden. I don't know if other people have experienced the same issue, but I ended up throwing a kind of spacer into the puller because even after screwing it the whole way in it wouldn't pop the pulley off. Good luck with it though.

Sabersoul · Post by **Sabersoul** » Mon Apr 20, 2009 9:00 pm

Up on the list this week:

Wait for insurance adjuster to come look at my car
Hit junkyard for various screws and A-pillar clips (broke the top one on the driver's side putting in my gauges)

The body shop I plan on using will remove the molding for me for no charge so long as the paint looks good since they'll have to remove the molding on the RR door anyway. They also said that they'd cut me a deal on knocking out the dent on right front fender. Hopefully the insurance company will make a good enough estimate to cover the damage and not total out the car.

Sabersoul · Post by **Sabersoul** » Wed Apr 22, 2009 5:19 pm

Still waiting for a call from the insurance adjuster, but decided to call another shop to get a quote on the timing belt, $386 parts and labor. Much better than the local dealer wanted ($800 to $1000). The shop is an hr away, but my dad and I have used them before with good results. I may try to buy an MPx UDP, a 120 amp alternator and an ODP before I take it down there and see if they'll throw those on for me, too.

LilSparkPlug · Post by **LilSparkPlug** » Wed Apr 22, 2009 7:09 pm

Holy shit $386 is a serious steal!!! Do it if they're reputable.

Sabersoul · Post by **Sabersoul** » Wed Apr 22, 2009 9:05 pm

They are. They do great work. He's a genuinely nice guy. He replaced the motor mounts for me about 18 months ago for only a little over $200 and does honor his work. They didn't plug something in from the AC compressor (in TX that's a no no, it's HOT), fixed it right away and admitted their mistake. They have done a lot of work for my parents and my sister as well for very reasonable prices.

JeffM · Post by **JeffM** » Wed Apr 22, 2009 9:44 pm

Sabersoul wrote:They are. They do great work. He's a genuinely nice guy. He replaced the motor mounts for me about 18 months ago for only a little over $200 and does honor his work. They didn't plug something in from the AC compressor (in TX that's a no no, it's HOT), fixed it right away and admitted their mistake. They have done a lot of work for my parents and my sister as well for very reasonable prices.

Hell yeah, we have a guy here like that. It's awesome when you actually have a mechanic you can trust.

Sabersoul · Post by **Sabersoul** » Sun Apr 26, 2009 9:04 pm

Took a trip to a different pull a part yard on the north side of town today. Found a 2000 Neon in pristine condition (was totaled from flood damage, but the body was PERFECT) that had barely been picked through. Snagged the trunk carpet another A Pillar cover since I broke the top clip on the driver's pillar doing my gauges. I was so happy to find the trunk carpet that I forgot to get the splash shield for the belts (mine's almost in two pieces) and the inner liner on that side for NeonOn19's, though.

Insurance adjuster will be out tomorrow to look at the RR side of the car. Here's hoping they don't decide to total the car......

On the other side of things, I plan on buying a PT alternator, ODP, and MPx UDP to have the shop install when I take it down to get the timing belt done.

Sabersoul · Post by **Sabersoul** » Mon Apr 27, 2009 8:18 pm

Wow. I didn't think I dinged it up that bad....

Got an email from the insurance appraiser, total estimate is $1599.94. He's mailing it to me in the morning and hopefully faxing it to my office.

NeonOn19s · Post by **NeonOn19s** » Mon Apr 27, 2009 9:21 pm

Congrats on the adjustment..

Sabersoul · Post by **Sabersoul** » Tue Apr 28, 2009 9:11 am

Text of Estimate:

No. Op Desc Qty Price Labor Paint
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 Rear Bumper
2 Repair Bumper Cover 2.0 2.8
3 Clear Coat 1.1
4 Replace RT Retainer 1 49.05
5 Remove/Inst Bumper Cover 1.0
6 Rear Lamp
7 Remove/Inst Rt lamp ass'y 0.3
8 Quarter Panel
9 Repair Rt Quarter Panel 10.0 2.0
10 Clear Coat 0.8
11 Remove/Inst Fuel Door 0.3
12 Refinish Fuel Door 0.3
13 Clear Coat 0.1
14 Rear Door
15 Repair Rt Outer Panel 3.0 2.1
16 Overlap Maj. Adj. Panel -0.4
17 Clear Coat 0.3
18 Remove/Inst Body Side Molding 0.3
19 Remove/Inst Belt w/strip 0.3
20 Remove/Inst Door handle 0.3
21 Remove/Inst Trim panel 0.4
22 Wheels
23 Replace Recond. Wheel 1 143.75 0.3
24 Balance wheel 1 15.00
25 Flex 1 5.00
26 Other Charges
27 E.P.C. 1 3.00
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subtotals=====> 215.80 18.2 9.1

Parts 197.80
Body Labor 18.2 Hrs @ 40.00/hour 728.00
Paint Labor 9.1 Hrs @ 40.00/hour 364.00
Paint Supplies 9.1 hrs @ 28.00/hour 254.80
Sublet/Misc 15.00
Other Charges 3.00
-------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal 1562.60
8.25% Sales Tax on 452.60 (parts and paint) 37.34
-------------------------------------------------------
Total Cost of repair 1599.94

I don't want them to replace the wheel as called for in the estimate, as I want to put 17's on the car when I get the money. Here's hoping that the paint isn't too far from matching under the molding so they can take it off and buff it out underneath.

LilSparkPlug · Post by **LilSparkPlug** » Tue Apr 28, 2009 9:58 am

Hopefully that works out for you. Edit those pictures and block out your VIN per forum rules/request. Safer for you that way.

The estimate isn't as high as I thought it would be.

Sabersoul · Post by **Sabersoul** » Wed Apr 29, 2009 3:21 pm

She goes in Monday. The body shop was VERY happy with the estimate that they have so much to work with and shouldn't have to call the appraiser for any extra money. Next up on the list after that is done is finding a PT Alternator, buying the MPx UDP and an ODP for the alt. They won't be going on until the car goes in the shop for the timing belt and water pump (nothing wrong with the water pump, just figured they may as well replace it while they're in there) so I can just have the shop put them on instead of reinstalling the stock pieces.

Sabersoul · Post by **Sabersoul** » Mon May 04, 2009 12:27 pm

She's in the body shop now. Hopefully will be ready Friday afternoon. They gave me a Caliber as a rental. Rides well, needs @ least the 2.4l from the RT and a stick. The damn CVT sucks trying to get into the parking garage at work.

NeonOn19s · Post by **NeonOn19s** » Mon May 04, 2009 12:55 pm

I"m glad that you were able to get it all worked out.

Can't wait to see the finished product

Sabersoul · Post by **Sabersoul** » Mon May 04, 2009 1:06 pm

I can't either. Supposedly this is one of the top shops in the area to go to. They will hopefully remove the side molding as well, so long as the paint hasn't faded too much that it's going to stick out.

Sabersoul · Post by **Sabersoul** » Mon May 18, 2009 10:44 pm

Well, she's back from the shop. Did a really good job, except that the idiots from the insurance company didn't put in anything about refinishing the door handle. Paint looks great, but they didn't take the side moldings off. To top it all off, they put the damn molding on crooked when they did the work so I'm gonna call and try to get them to pull them all off.

I'll take pictures this weekend after I clean her up again. Progress is going to be even slower since we're going on vacation on July 1st and I really want it paid off. Next up on the list is going to be the timing belt and new headlights for it, then an Aeroforce gauge.

After that, I'm not sure what will happen as after I drove the Caliber I had for a rental, I really loved the way it drove. Don't worry, though, I promised my fiancee that it would be at least 6 months after I paid the car off before I made my final decision. And if I do decide to get a Caliber, I'm leaning toward keeping the Neon so she can drive it once she gets a license (she's 24 and has never had a license, can you believe that???).

NeonOn19s · Post by **NeonOn19s** » Tue May 19, 2009 10:15 am

wow 24 and never had a license?!? that is crazy... My dad taught me how to do burnouts at 14 and I was driving by 15. I just can't imagine not having a DL.

LilSparkPlug · Post by **LilSparkPlug** » Tue May 19, 2009 12:10 pm

Wow that is strange not having a license and being 24. I don't know what I'd do with myself. And yeah have them remove all of the moldings, crooked moldings FTL.

Boyscoutgonebad · Post by **Boyscoutgonebad** » Tue May 19, 2009 12:48 pm

My sister didn't get her license until her husband made her because he was tired of driving her around she was right around 24. I on the other hand had my license and had it suspended before i turned 18.

definitively get the shop to take the moldings off that way if they mess up they can fix it.

Sabersoul · Post by **Sabersoul** » Tue Jun 23, 2009 11:13 am

Damn time flies.... Nothing new on my car and no new pictures. My fiancee and I are leaving to go to WI next week to visit her family and attend the Oneida pow wow (she's a member of the tribe and hasn't been in a few years). I'll try to clean her up this weekend and get some pics. It's just been too damned hot out lately.