Grassroots Motorsports

Shifting Gears Jul 9, 2008

During a recent trip to a local Bosch repair facility here in town, we stumbled upon an engine-less 1996 Neon ACR. We purchased the car for $500 (the transmission alone is worth half that!) and we now have it in our possession.

This ACR is now our official GRM Neon project for several reasons:

1. It’s an ACR.
   
2. It’s already a stick shift.
   
3. It doesn’t have any rust.
   

And we’ve worked out a deal to sell the NYG Neon for $425 plus a bunch of engine parts, including a good short block, head and a Mopar ECU.

The new car is pretty dusty, but underneath that layer of crud, it appears to be quite clean. So far, we’ve put the new headlights from the previous car on this one and replaced the rims and tires. The new rolling stock is 15x7-inch XXR 02 wheels from Edge Racing and 195/50R15 Bridgestone RE01R tires. We’ll be using the stock rims to mount up our rallycross tires.

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Comments

Wowak wrote: Jul 10, 2008 1:46 a.m.

Just when I’d finally gotten over my gag-reflex reaction to NYG. *shakes head*

Tom Heath wrote: Jul 10, 2008 9:09 a.m.

Don’t give up your gag yet. The NYG car was neat, but this car has some real potential.

Per Schroeder wrote: Jul 10, 2008 9:09 a.m.

Don’t worry, this one won’t stay black.

Nashco wrote: Jul 10, 2008 11:29 a.m.

Awesome score, I’m jealous! Do my eyes deceive me, or is that an early black Neon in FL with no paint peeling??? Has it been resprayed?

Per Schroeder wrote: Jul 10, 2008 6:06 p.m.

Yep, it’s a respray. NYG is now gone to its new home…and we received engine parts in partial trade!

Lof8 wrote: Jul 16, 2008 1:25 p.m.

Where are you getting an engine from? I believe I saw you guys registered for the rallycross on aug 3rd in Tampa. If so, I’ll see ya there. I’ll be holding everyone up in my 150cc suspension go-kart. haha

Per Schroeder wrote: Jul 16, 2008 1:28 p.m.

The engine came from a guy that had a Neon DOHC…so it should just drop in.

jamesp wrote: Jul 16, 2008 10:56 p.m.

Have you decided on which class you’ll be running in at the RallyCross Nationals?

Per Schroeder wrote: Jul 17, 2008 8:20 a.m.

M2, most likely.

Per Schroeder wrote: Jul 17, 2008 8:21 a.m.

But there’s also a tarmac ‘real’ rally here in FL the same weekend. Hmmm.

chknhwk wrote: Jul 19, 2008 6:43 a.m.

I can’t get the fourth pic to load. =( What engine is going in there? Car looks nice and clean, good score. What do you think of those wheels? Quality? Weight?

Per Schroeder wrote: Jul 21, 2008 8:22 a.m.

The wheels are very nice, 14 lbs isn’t flyweight, but certainly not heavy either. They balanced well and the finish looks nice.