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Part 1 : The early years

In 2004, when I lived in Ireland, my ’94 JDM Corolla XL was impounded (bought for 600 € and used for a year, no repairs lol) :


Hence I was looking for cheap transportation and that’s when I found an ad for a ’97 2.0 SOHC Chrysler Neon LX.
It was advertised at 2,000 € with 73k miles, had working A/C, ABS, power windows/mirrors/door locks, remote entry, a CD player and leather wheel/shift knob.
The paint was very scruffy-looking and she needed a new oil and filter change. The previous owner wanted a quick sale so I bargained it down to 1,700 €.

The day I got it :


I drove it a couple of months in Ireland then shipped her over to France to avoid paying taxes :


It stayed there a couple of years where she was driven during the summer/winter holidays and whenever I came back for long weekends :






In the meantime I drove around Ireland in a beater ’94 Opel Astra.
In 2006 I was relocated to Tunis, Tunisia. I found a nicey loaded ’97 USDM Civic 1.6 VTEC EX coupe (EJ8).
Short story : I bought it for 2,200 €, shipped in to Tunisia, got her painted Electron Blue Pearl (Civic Si-only factory color), bolted a K&N CAI, Eibach springs and Monroe Sensatrac struts, added 195/50 Yokohama V-rated tires and alloy wheels as well as a exhaust.
Long story : http://www.clubcivic.com/board/search.p ... id=1684952

TBC

UTA

Part 2 : Tunisia
As soon as the Civic project was done I decided I didn’t want to drive a slammed freshly-painted EBP EJ8 in Tunisia for obvious reasons (road conditions, extreme temperatures, etc…) so I shipped the EJ8 back to France where she is now filling the “holiday car” role.
Local parts and labor are cheap here so I got the oil and filter changed again at 85k :






I noticed I had much more fun in Tunisia with the Neon than the Civic (more torque, stock appearance, no one knows what it is)
That’s when I stumbled on the online Neon community (the org, 1gn, NeonCanada).
I realized my Neon had a huge mod potential and decided to make it (a little bit) faster whilst spending the least amount of money.

Next : the project

UTA

Part 3 : The project starts
Being the cheap guy that I am, before doing any visual/performance enhancements, I decided to do what’s free : weight redux.
Out went a boatload of stuff :

Aftermarket alarm
Carpet and sound deadener in trunk
Underhood insulation and air intake snorkel
Steel plate w/foam below steering wheel
Sound deadener under console
Metal plate/bracket under console bin
Spare Tire
Spare tire cover
Plastic spare tire screwdown
Jack and hardware
Jack and Iron bag
4 Wheel covers
Ash tray and bracket
Ashtray and lighter
Dome light and wiring
Trunk light and wiring
Plastic grill
Underhood weatherstripping
All excess fuses and relays
All excess nuts, screws, bolts, washers, clips, etc…
Hood badge
4 Rocker panel covers
Passenger side kick panel
Drivers side kick panel
Battery cover





As I was bored, the hood was painted black at this time :






Next : the CAI is added, the rear suspension breaks

UTA

Sweet! where were you living in Ireland? I was born / lived live in Northern Ireland in Omagh County Town of Tyrone. before moving to the US.

Baile Atha Cliath aka Dublin

UTA

how much does your car weigh now??

If I believe the scale used by Air France at TUN for weighing cargo (don't ask how I got to use it), 1063 kg.

UTA

huh?
stock it weighs about 1085 right?

I would expect the Neon to be much lighter with all this stuff removed

I kept the A/C (for obvious reasons), P/S and have yet to unload all the tar sound deadener.

Mine weighed 1091 before the weight redux.

UTA

A quick pic of part of the stuff I removed (I threw away the rest) :



UTA

I was born in County Cork Ireland, lived there till I was 8.... go back every couple years, not many Neons at all

hey man u did all this weight redux stuff and u still havnt done the first thing I would do (to any 1gen)... pull the side moldings, and it makes it look way better!!

mean98neon wrote: hey man u did all this weight redux stuff and u still havnt done the first thing I would do (to any 1gen)... pull the side moldings, and it makes it look way better!!

Keyword is "yet". I have plans to strip the amethyst paint and replace it with something else, but that won't happen until spring. At this point the side moldings will go.

UTA

I wouldn't throw away anything. You never know when you may have a change of mind. I know it's happened to me.

The parts I kept are the parts I may want to put back one day. The parts I discarded are not seen from the outside or the inside, hence I highly doubt I will (me) miss them one day.

UTA

So a couple of things have changed over Christmas. I got a K&N and a muffler (amongst other things) and I got the rear suspension repaired.

The rear suspension damage :


Got hit for a new strut mount and bushing. I also ordered some KYB GR-2's which are currently not installed as I am still deciding whether or not to get springs.

I got a K&N cone filter and a muffler for Xmas.
Filter was installed as a WAI but am considering a 3.0 install if I can get my hands on one. Pics :











UTA