1st gen Neon race car questions

I'm thinking of buying a 96 Neon ACR which has been a dedicated race car it entire life. Little translation:

"96 Neon ACR, Short 3rd, 4th and 5th ratio, Quaife LSD, 2.0 with 40000km, crane cams, ported head, Koni shock with coil-overs, and a lot more."

Now I don't know much about Neon's but his engine setup looks weird to me. SOHC block, DOHC head, Crane Cams but stock valve springs, ported indy intake manifold, pacesetter manifold, stock ACR ECU with 21lbs injectors. I did some research on neon.org, but I can't seem to find any info on those mods. The rest of the car looks well setup, but it was setup by the previous owner. The engine is this owner's contribution to the car.

This would be my first race car purchase, and I am apprehensive about buying someone's super homemade setup. I've spend too much time fixing other people's mods.

So is this a crazy setup, or a what?

DOHC pistons are sometimes used to raise compression when using a SOHC head. IIRC. SOHC pistons would drop compression using a DOHC head (bad). What crane cams? You'd want more compression than stock with pretty much all of them. All the significant cams required upgraded valve springs. Pacesetter isn't all that hot a exhaust manifold

ACR's didn't have different gearing except for 5th. They had 3.94 final drive (like all DOHC cars) and a shorter 5th gear compared to most other DOHC cars.

http://faq.neons.org/faq/FAQ_OEM.html (1.4.3)

It seems like a bit of a weird engine setup, but the Quaife and Koni's are big pluses (Konis aren't available off-the-shelf for these cars anymore)

FUN cars, really, just make sure it all jives.

Sounds like it might be a craigslist engine build..."Whatcha got? Will it bolt on? I'll take it."

Yeah Koni stopped last year, but every now and then a set turns up. I had mine rebuilt by Truechoice last year and are better than new. Unfortunately, no one makes anything that could be considerd to be a performance damper for the Neon. I have a Quaife too. They are expensive, but make a huge difference. Coilovers can be had with Konis. I have run MP springs and Performance Driven springs. The MP springs were too short in my opinion. The Performance Driven springs are on my FSP car now and give a better feel on course.

Suspension and safety stuff all seem good (comes with extra konis, wheels, tires, etc.). I don't think the engine is a CL special because he has a stock engine that's suppose to be fully functional that comes with the car.

Former rally car by chance?

That engine setup is odd. As said, using SOHC pistons to lower compression on a dohc is a silly move, and using aftermarket cams with stock springs and rev limiter is ALSO a silly move. I have to wonder if it makes any more power than stock.

IF you were to buy it, you could probably change pistons and rev limiter and get it tuned and it would probably be a little screamer. A dohc neon motor with aftermarket cams is a high-rpm motor. A lot of guys are revving past 8500 (not with stock springs..).

Id buy the car for everything else about it (konis, quaife, other $$/rare stuff?) and fix the motor at your leisure. It'll probably be slightly faster than a stock dohc neon as it sits. And for context, slightly faster than a stock dohc neon could mean a 14.8 1/4 mile which is not exactly slow. Just depends on the full setup.

Nathan JansenvanDoorn wrote: http://faq.neons.org/faq/FAQ_OEM.html (1.4.3)

I'm inordinately proud that FAQ is still getting airplay.

In reply to Vigo:

Vigi makes a great point. Do not rev past 8000 rpm with stock springs. You WILL experience valve float and that is more than just an annoyance on an interference engine. If you are modifying the valve train, using PT Cruiser 2.4 liter rocker arms is a cheap upgrade.

My PCM has the reves limited at 7800 RPM. There are still a few businesses which support the Gen I Neon. In my experience, the Gen I Neon was the best handling strut-equipped FWD car until the introduction of the new mini.

Duke wrote:

Nathan JansenvanDoorn wrote: http://faq.neons.org/faq/FAQ_OEM.html (1.4.3)

I'm inordinately proud that FAQ is still getting airplay.

I lived on that website for 5 years or so, I seem to remember you there too. :)