[ThatHideousStrength]

I have a 2002 Dodge Neon SE. I've had it since 2002 and it's paid off. Once I graduate and get a job, probably in the next 2 years I'm going to get a Honda Civic or some other car. What I would like to do is drop a SRT-4 engine into my Neon along with a trans. It drops right in. I have a bunch of car buddies, one owns a fast as hell SRT-4 and has taken the engine apart so he knows what's up with it. I'm just wondering what surprising costs will come up. Last I checked I could get a engine and trans for under 2k but obviously there are surprise costs. I also know I would need SRT-4 brakes and a SRT-4 fuel pump.

I don't want to get rid of this car because it isn't worth much and it's my first car so it has some value to me haha.

I just want to have a project car I guess. I know this isn't the typical one but it's what I have.

[hans5849]

Don't do it, the Neon is not built to have power even the SRT-4.

[JustinL]

It depends on how nice you want it to be. If you are going to go through the engine and double check/upgrade, splice your own wiring harness or go all new, etc. I doubt anyone on here will have an idea as it varies greatly. You can swap a chevy 350 into an old jeep for next to nothing, or you can swap a hemi into a new jeep for thousands, just depends on what you are looking to do. Research parts needed to do the swap, that will be your best answer.

[b00gerflick3r]

Buy a better car? WhyYTF do you want a neon anyway. Start fresh in 2 years, probably with something better than a civic anyway. aim higher dude.

[ThatHideousStrength]

I don't want to. I want to get a Civic Si but I would like to keep my car since it's paid off and has no value as a back up/highway car.

[Chainblade]

i agree, you should keep it. all you guys that say "oh just get a new car"...it's not as easy as it might seem. he has it paid off so no huge monthly payment and high insurance costs. that's HUGE. and the amount that he would get for it, wouldn't give enough for a decent car. So unless you have tons of money laying around, it is worth sitting on your car for a while longer. How many miles are on it by the way? my opinion is that if you are going to get a new car in 2 years, it isn't worth the time and money to put the SRT-4 engine in your neon. If you were going to keep your Neon indefinitely, than that's another story.

[nidex]

Waste. of. money.

[Coleman]

Originally Posted by nidex

Waste. of. money.

This.

Use the couple grand it would have cost to buy a motorcycle.

[jake]

Didn't you post about this before?

[Miller]

Originally Posted by nidex

Waste. of. money.

are you a retard... its a neon. and after you try to hack in an engine it will be a fucked up neon....


buy a new car

[tweakmonkey]

The SRT4 motor makes insane power. I think a lot of people are not aware of the potential of that power plant to go fast. Still, once you've factored in the labor, misc. parts (which add up really fast when doing a motor swap), and brakes you mentioned, you're going to have a lot invested into the car.

That said, if you want a project, I'd suggest buying a car that's already got the motor you want. It will be less money in the long run and if you go to sell it later you can recover some of the costs of making it faster, and the car itself would maintain its resale value (which a frankensteined Neon simply would not).

What's a used SRT-4 go for? How about a medium-higher mileage one that's kind of beat up?

You could buy a turbo DSM (Eclipse/Talon/Laser) for really cheap these days.. under $2000 for an AWD model that would spank the Neon with minimal investments. Anything fast and cheap is not going to be very reliable though, so it'd still be a project.

[sims]

If you really feel attached to the car and want a project, don’t let us stop you, but if you want a fast neon you’ll probably spend less money simply buying an srt-4 with better drivability and whole lot less hassles.

If you want a project car I’d recommend getting tools. Even if your friends have tools, if this is your first project car you might not want to be at the mercy of your friends who won’t want to lug there tools to you when your immobile. You don’t need everything if you have a lot of car guys friends, but don’t expect to get by without budgeting at least $800 - $1000 on tools/gear if you don’t have any at all.

A motor’s one thing, and don’t expect to spend 2K on a pallet and have everything you need, because little shit will be missing, broken and not to mention the shit you will break :P Nothing else on your neon is up to par, I don’t know what condition your car is in but best case scenario your suspension and brakes are good condition… and still totally suck ass. If you want your car to stop or handle any better then the bottom of the line grocery getter that it is expect to minimum $1500 on upgrading them. (good pads, rotors, lines and some basic springs and shocks like KYB AGX’s, some brushings and I’d personally try and get some SRT-4 calipers to, I imagine they are larger brakes)

Don’t forget you’ll need the intercooler and pluming that probably won’t come with the engine plus I’d imagine an SRT-4 bumper unless the IC fits the normal neon one. Same thing for the rad and anything that’s not bolted to the engine. Keeping AC could mean some custom work.

You’ll also have to upgrade the whole drive train, not just the transmission, the axles and diff need to be done to and I would recommend finding one of the newer SRT-4’s that has an LSD so your not peg legged. I have no idea what that will run used, but I see the higher HP bolt on SRT4’s at the track snappin’ axles so you may want to go with after market stuff off the bat and do it right, which again is pretty pricy, I have no idea how strong the stock stuff really is so, be prepared to do a lot of research.

I’m sure I’m missing a bunch of crucial stuff so if you’re serious about this, research like crazy so you know what your actually getting into.

If you really want a sports car though I recommend you look elsewere, a fast neon is like an ugly fat girl who happens to be good in bed.

[ThatHideousStrength]

Thanks tweak and sims. No one else in this post knows how to read! Or maybe I'm not clear.

I'm getting a Honda Civic Si and I want to use my Neon as a project car! I won't touch the Neon until I get a new car.

The neon has 60,000 miles on it so far. My ideal project car would be some car from the 70's and it'd be a weekend driver.

[sims]

forgot to mention wheels and tires. Unless your going to actaully track the car the wheels you go with don't really matter, get whatever you like, if you want to save money find something used. Tires are very important, every aspect of your car is at the mercy of your tires. Your stock allseasons arn't going to cut it.