6/06 - The intake is a stock 2 piece DOHC one that you would find on any DOHC Neon but the exhaust however is not stock. The exhaust manifold has been replaced with a Chikara header, the shot OEM cat has been replaced with a Modern Performance OEM replacement which removes the crappy restriction, and the exhaust has been replaced with a 2 1/2" Jeg's performance exhaust. It is kinda buzzy but I am slowly getting use to it and it doesn't bother me as much as it use to but I am sure the other motorists don't appreciate it much. Eventually I will be installing an Iceman intake after the transmission swap next month since I don't feel like cutting off a perfectly good intake just to make it work with an ATX transmission and I am really close to loosing it anyway and getting a MTX.
8/06 - I now have an iceman installed again and I must say the car definitely has a new attitude about it when you get on the throttle. Of course not having a slush box makes a big difference and the combined sound from the exhaust and intake is almost deafening.
The folks over at Gateway Neon & Modern Mopar presented me with a gift as a token of their appreciation for all of the work I have done with the club. Wouldn't you know they got me a car part....I was like oh crap this thing is going to get me into some real trouble. So the 55mm TB didn't make it home before I just had to install the darn thing. I had to swing by my parents house to make some adjustments to the freeze plug in the end of the head for the coolant galley, which was leaking ever so slightly, with a pry bar being pounded on by a hammer. So I got that thing to the point where I felt it was fixed and thought what the hell I will just go ahead and install the throttle body and pull the fuel pump fuse to reset the ECU. 30 min later it was installed and I was on my way. First impressions of it was noticeable as soon as I got out of the driveway because I didn't have to give the car so much throttle to keep the car from stalling. I figured I would just mind my business and get home........I rolled up on this convoy that pulled out of a side street packed with assorted sport compacts and the back of the pack had 2 SRT-4's and a VR6 at the tail end (couldn't make out the cars in the rest of the convoy because of the distance away they were but I knew it was there). I figured I would be a good boy and leave them alone and mind my own business. We got onto the hwy going south towards the direction of my house and sped up to get around the guys to get to the fast lane so I could stay away from them. So in my moment of minding my own business I got goaded into a speed contest with that VR6. Here is the quick recap: At about 60mph he flew past me, slowed down, I down shifted, he rolled back up to me and we laid into it but I think I might have jumped him because I apparently got away in a big hurry. Was it a race? Dunno. Was he trying? Dunno. Did I cheat? Wasn't paying attention when I down shifted to 3rd but I did see the rpms jump when I laid into and oh did I lay into that thing with no mercy. All I can say is 120mph did came up in a damn big hurry. Did I win? Dunno because I can't classify it as a race unless we would have started from a dead stop. But for not being a race he sure as hell was trying to catch me for some reason.