beaters what options do us mopar lovers have?

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I have had two Neons. One cost 700.00 and the other was 500.00. Both were great cars. Look for a early model, sohc motor and a Manuel trans. The car will grow on you. Aftermarket Honda mag wheels fit them well. With a very few modifications these cars can be very fast. ( remember Mopar did sell race car versions of this car). A long tube header and a TB off of a Auto trans neon then a set of shifter bushings. Thats all to make the car very fun. The auto cars are very slow and you must have a good timing belt and water pump.
In my opinion Kirk racing in Alabama make the best header for the car. The header is a race header and is only painted. You can have a great little car for $1,200 or a super little car for $2,000.

http://www.kirkracing.com/

P.S. Dont forget how roomy the cars are. Fat people can fit!!!!
 
i stil dunno about the neons i just couldnt bring myself to spending money on one i just dont like the looks of them and ya the dodge caravan is pretty fun lol but your right its only good til about 4500 but its pretty peppy off the line

Ya the neon is just too........little. I never feel safe in a tiny car. A bit closterphobic I am...

0-60 time in my Van is 8 seconds. Not bad really. And the newer engine 4.2? is probably about 7 seconds.Respectable! Thats better than some musclecars...

I really appreciate the comfy seats too. I havent sat in much better and am thinking of finding a used set for my Dart.

Cargo room is outstanding in the grand version. Haul the rear seat out ( my year is just prior to stow and go,darnnit!!) and you have room for a full sheet of plywood or drywall. I have also had 12 ft copper pipe in there and was still able to easily close the hatch.Plus more cargo capacity with a roof rack.

My Grand seats 7 people and will get 34 mpg doing it on the prairie with the ac off at 55 mph. It came with factory AC and all the other bells and whistles.

Ma mopar sold so many of these things that they are cheap to buy around the 200 000 mileage mark.Never fear though. Mine has 220 000 and runs like a watch. I have heard of many caravans hitting the 400 000 mark.

It's all the fancy **** that breaks,like power window motors ac compressors and evaporatores. But the drivetrains are SOLID.Mystery clunks in the front end are hard to chase down. Sway bar links and mounts need replacement fairly often. Just go with a polyurethane.

I THINK someone makes a fresh air kit. But as far as performance goodies theres not a ton.

I think you could easily find a grand caravan for under $2000.
 
Well my 98 Neon ACR (race version) gets over 30 mpg and upsets many a BMW around here. And we have a 95 Voyager mini van.
 
Turbo Caravans are a good choice also. I call mine the "Rat Mini"

256,000 miles and still going.

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Had to buy a beater as soon as my truck was stolen. Couldn't afford to replace it due to getting out of the army, and it being the most inopportune time to loose a vehicle. So jumped on craigslist and bought this for 350. An entire cooling system, headlights, tail lights, complete maintenance and windshield later its not half bad, except for the fact its half the motor size of my truck and gets the same effin gas millage, for 350 bucks i really cant complain, its rusty, ragged, rice, ugley and the tie rods and half shafts need replaced now. But goes point a to point b.

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I have had two Neons. One cost 700.00 and the other was 500.00. Both were great cars. Look for a early model, sohc motor and a Manuel trans. The car will grow on you. Aftermarket Honda mag wheels fit them well. With a very few modifications these cars can be very fast. ( remember Mopar did sell race car versions of this car). A long tube header and a TB off of a Auto trans neon then a set of shifter bushings. Thats all to make the car very fun. The auto cars are very slow and you must have a good timing belt and water pump.
In my opinion Kirk racing in Alabama make the best header for the car. The header is a race header and is only painted. You can have a great little car for $1,200 or a super little car for $2,000.

http://www.kirkracing.com/

P.S. Dont forget how roomy the cars are. Fat people can fit!!!!


honda wheels only fit 95 base model cars.....everything else is 5x100....SBP rallies clear the calipers!:cheers:

the kirk header is probly one of the WORST long tubes out there. cheap yeah, better than a shorty header yeah, but the tube are only 1.5" dia. it kinda chokes any version of the 2.0L/2.4L with any kind of real mods ot higher RPM. I built my own from a cut up pair of SBC headers and some 1.75" straight tubing.....in the midst of building a merge collector for it. as far as buying one off the shelf.....TTI is the way to go.

heres a pic of mine next to the magnum shorty header and 3" SRT-4 downpipe I was using
 

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ya gotta love those dodge caravans the first one we had was that really old boxy style dam thing ran forever and then we had two of the model after it the slightly more round style we never paid more then 1000 for any of them and we woulda still had the last one if we didnt get rear ended and icbc said it was a write off.since then weve gone through 2 of the newer style ones the model just before the brand new ones that are out now which im not really a big fan of i think they tried to go a little to modern boxy lol
 
just got home from picking up our winter beater: $300 70 Dart Custom. drove it about 120 miles and it made no problem; everything works; gauges and all. pulled to the right pretty dramatically and pings like a sob going up hills. Will use this to go back and forth to work, 7 mile drive; my daughter will also use it going to school 2 miles away. next step, passing inspection- there is the usual rot. I'll try to get pictures later. When I have to look more presentable I have a low mileage 98 Camry.
 
I drive about 500 miles per week commuting, so I can offer some input:

Beater cars need to either be cheap to repair or very reliable. I've had the best luck out of GM TBI V8s, Hondas and Toyotas.

I try to buy everything with a manual transmission unless the automatic is well known for reliablity(I've changed 3 GM automatic transmissions so far).

Driving a carbureted car everyday is a non-issue as long as it's not a terrible carb to begin with. People drove carbs for years, day in and day out.

I had 2 cars with carbs that never ran right no matter how much i worked on them. One in fact was a 1984 Dodge Aries.

On the other hand my 1978 Bonneville w/ 70k started right up each morning no matter what, warmed up on the automatic choke, and ran without a single hiccup all day. Learn to repair and adjust automatic chokes and life will be much easier.

My current DD is a 2001 Hyundai Elantra that I bought for $1300 last spring. 170,000 and it uses no oil and runs great with cold air and hot heat. On the other hand it is ugly as sin and I don't like being seen in it.

If you want the very BEST daily driver, buy a good running 86-up 5.0L Mustang. RWD, V8..they are a blast..I had 7 of them. They can be tricky in the rain though.
 
honda wheels only fit 95 base model cars.....everything else is 5x100....SBP rallies clear the calipers!:cheers:

the kirk header is probly one of the WORST long tubes out there. cheap yeah, better than a shorty header yeah, but the tube are only 1.5" dia. it kinda chokes any version of the 2.0L/2.4L with any kind of real mods ot higher RPM. I built my own from a cut up pair of SBC headers and some 1.75" straight tubing.....in the midst of building a merge collector for it. as far as buying one off the shelf.....TTI is the way to go.

heres a pic of mine next to the magnum shorty header and 3" SRT-4 downpipe I was using

LOL both of mine were 95 cars. I like your header ideals. The Kirk headers we had were great. After say that I have not seen TTI headers in a Neon. This is bad, I want another one.
Look at the Neon as Mopars A body of the late 90's up
 
just got home from picking up our winter beater: $300 70 dart custom. Drove it about 120 miles and it made no problem; everything works; gauges and all. Pulled to the right pretty dramatically and pings like a sob going up hills. Will use this to go back and forth to work, 7 mile drive; my daughter will also use it going to school 2 miles away. Next step, passing inspection- there is the usual rot. I'll try to get pictures later. When i have to look more presentable i have a low mileage 98 camry.

congrats
 
A slant six Dart with modern engine controls - electronic ignition (a must) and throttle body injection (Megasquirt or latest Holley Projection) should be capable of 30 mpg hwy. If MPI (requires customized intake manifold), even better. A slant + 904 trans is almost free, but modern controls would be >$500.

Of later engines, the 2.0 (or 2.4L) is best. If pre-1999(?), insure it was upgraded to the MLS head gasket since the early gasket design leaked oil (my 96 started at 39K mi). The 2.4L has almost as much HP as the 3.3 V-6, just let it spin to where the 4 valves/cyl flow. In a small car, should give >35 mpg hwy.

At the other end, the 3.8L V-6 is basically the LA small-block less 2 cylinders (2 valves/cyl & pushrods). My 4500 lb minivan has one and rates ~24 mpg hwy, which shows what modern engine controls allow. That is why I suspect a slant six (3.7L) in a Dart could give good mpg, and the few who modernized theirs claim such. There is a newer Mopar V-6 I don't know much about.

New engines can be problematic. The crank sensors can fail and strand you, rubber timing belts and pulleys break or skip, more places to leak oil (especially OHD cam). Aluminum heads are unforgiving of over-heat. And parts prices can be outrageous, especially for new engines.

The latest engine that caught my eye is a 4 cylinder option for the new Ford Explorer. It has more torque than the V-6, over a very broad range, and only slightly less HP. This is mainly due to extreme complication - direct fuel injection, turbocharger, variable individual cam timing, etc. They haven't yet stated mpg, just say "20% better than old Explorer". Neat technology, but a long list of parts that can fail. Only so much you can do if moving a big beast.
 
And I did inherit my bothers 80 Sport Colt-fun to drive but I do not like looking up to every ones cars.


Slap a little teen in there and you wont have to. Instead they will all be watching your taillights!
 
A slant six Dart with modern engine controls - electronic ignition (a must) and throttle body injection (Megasquirt or latest
New engines can be problematic. The crank sensors can fail and strand you, rubber timing belts and pulleys break or skip, more places to leak oil (especially OHD cam). Aluminum heads are unforgiving of over-heat. And parts prices can be outrageous, especially for new engines.


They sure can! Fortunatley my 3.8 has inherited the 318's anvil like qualities.

Was not aware it is almost a "teen"! I feel much better about hauling the mail in it now!



I havent cracked it open yet for any repairs but there is a TON of room under that hood too! Reapirs will be a snap fo sho.
 
About the only thing I can afford is upgrading the intake to cai. Too bad I put a new air filter in it recently or I'd do it now.
 
Paid a $1000.00 for it Nov. 2009 with 81,000 miles on it. Have driven it to work everyday since then and use it like a truck should be used. Not great on gas but love to drive it. Slant 6 automatic.
 

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theres one of those here thats about that shape with the factory wagon wheel/trim ring combo for $500.....318 powered too
 
Here's a picture of the $300 beater; Runs great; looks like a $300 beater- duct-tape actually improved a couple areas.
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for $2K, a few vehicles come to mind...
-any A-B-C-body musclecar-era 4-door
-the aforementioned Neons/Stratus/Caravans
-a Gen I Dakota 4X2
-a Gen I (pre-94) Ram 4X2 1/2 ton
-any 90s-era 3800 V6 mid-size GM (surprised no one mentioned them yet-very cheap to buy and easy to maintain)
 
get an early neon, its what Ive got!
mine is a little over the top but its VERY fun as a daily driver/beater

mine....
runs 15.0's on crappy, missmatched, street tires
gets and average of 33-34mpg
out does most 'performance' cars in the twisties....three wheeling, for the win!
Im into the whole damn car about $2000....including 2-extra engines, 2-extra transmissions, extra axles, all the ACR upgrades, 5-sets of wheels/tires

cheap, fun, reliable, and available

see my sig for details on my car

run 13's for less than $1500...
http://mnneons.net/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=51

I bought a 2000 chrysler neon...no comparison to the older neons that are prone to head gasket failure, and its very quite to drive in compared to older first generation ones. works very well so I decided to store it for the winter, so I bought another 2002 neon and it works really well bought are automatic
 
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