Senior Project.. Update....May Have To Settle for GED

Post by **PA ACR** » Wed Oct 10, 2007 9:05 pm

Well, since I turn 60 years old next month, I figured I'd better get started on my "Senior Project" so I can graduate.

My budget at this time is $0.00 and it's starting to get cold outside, so it looks like I won't be graduating for quite some time.

I'm really busy with work (school) and meetings (negotiating team for our contract) and going to the Penn State vs Wisconsin football game on Saturday, so it will be a few days before I get more info and pics posted.

At this time, I have no plans as to what mods I want to make. My immediate goal is to clean, replace broken or missing parts, repair everything and get it running.

Stags · Post by **Stags** » Wed Oct 10, 2007 9:16 pm

Tell ya what, I'll save ya the trip. Badgers win :D

Post by **PA ACR** » Wed Oct 10, 2007 9:18 pm

Stags wrote:Tell ya what, I'll save ya the trip. Badgers win :D

Bahhh!

Post by **chipdogg** » Thu Oct 11, 2007 8:14 am

Stags wrote:Tell ya what, I'll save ya the trip. Badgers win :D

Especially since they got beat by Illinois by less points than Penn State did

Post by **PA ACR** » Thu Oct 11, 2007 9:23 pm

chipdogg wrote:
Stags wrote:Tell ya what, I'll save ya the trip. Badgers win :D
Especially since they got beat by Illinois by less points than Penn State did

You're both going to have to eat crow (badger

) after Saturday's game.

Post by **PA ACR** » Thu Oct 11, 2007 9:33 pm

I was at a Reading workshop a few weeks ago at Penn State. The presenter passed out several different colored papers for different subject areas. I got a pink one :o . I noticed a lady sitting beside me with this one so I traded for it.

Shortly afterwards, he gave everyone a marker to highlight them. Guess what color they were. :hmm:

I'm starting to feel the Tao.

DJScorpio67 · Post by **DJScorpio67** » Thu Oct 11, 2007 9:39 pm

ROCK ON!!!
Can't wait to see you again at N2K8!!!!!
Should have an interesting Daily Driver there. Hope to get mine cleaned up/general repairs too.
Besides my winter project work. :twisted:
Next weekend is coming QUICK!!!

Post by **PA ACR** » Fri Oct 12, 2007 9:14 pm

Can't have a car without a t-shirt. Took a few minutes to come up with this design :)

Now, if I only had the car.

DJScorpio67 · Post by **DJScorpio67** » Sat Oct 13, 2007 11:01 am

PA ACR wrote:Can't have a car without a t-shirt. Took a few minutes to come up with this design :)

Now, if I only had the car.

I could see you in DaJokerx2's car.

Rook · Post by **Rook** » Sat Oct 13, 2007 12:50 pm

Man, you are getting as old as Mike.

DJScorpio67 · Post by **DJScorpio67** » Sat Oct 13, 2007 5:32 pm

Penn State FTW!!!!! How Ya like Dem apples Chip and Stags?

Post by **chipdogg** » Sun Oct 14, 2007 8:55 am

I'm just glad I didn't get to see the game. I bet I know how they played defense. 8 in the box and 2 guys on Beckum. Basically no threat at wideout with Hubbard and Swan out.

And the whole country knew how bad the Badgers defense was when the Citadel scored so many points so easily.

Stags · Post by **Stags** » Sun Oct 14, 2007 5:46 pm

Chip said it. With out the "Fennimore Flash" and Hubbard we only have Beckum, and two guys on him leaves him pretty much worthless.

NYG95GA · Post by **NYG95GA** » Sun Oct 14, 2007 6:48 pm

The fact that our esteemed educators would hand out NYG highlighters to grade NYG colored papaer speaks volumes about our current educational system (or lack of same).
OTOH, I'm almost 53 and own 2 NYG Neons..
PA ACR, you and I need to talk...

Post by **PA ACR** » Sun Oct 14, 2007 7:08 pm

PA ACR wrote:
chipdogg wrote:
Stags wrote:Tell ya what, I'll save ya the trip. Badgers win :D
Especially since they got beat by Illinois by less points than Penn State did
You're both going to have to eat crow (badger ) after Saturday's game.

I guess you two know that I have a ton of pics to post up. It's going to take a little time though,,,too busy right now. This one pretty much sums it up. :)

Joe Paterno is right in front of #44. We have great seats/season tickets! :)

chipdogg wrote:I'm just glad I didn't get to see the game. I bet I know how they played defense. 8 in the box and 2 guys on Beckum. Basically no threat at wideout with Hubbard and Swan out.

They actually played a pretty soft zone on the receivers most of the game.

Hey, I didn't know JeffB#2 was coming to the game. Can anyone find him?

They always stick the losing fans in the far corner of the stadium. :P A little over 109,000 people attended the game.

Post by **PA ACR** » Sun Oct 14, 2007 7:14 pm

NYG95GA wrote:The fact that our esteemed educators would hand out NYG highlighters to grade NYG colored paper speaks volumes about our current educational system (or lack of same).
...

Hey watch it there. Oh, by the way, I corrected the typing mistake in your post. After 33 years of teaching 2nd and 3rd grade, I just can't help it.

NYG95GA wrote:OTOH, I'm almost 53 and own 2 NYG Neons..
PA ACR, you and I need to talk...

Indeed we do.

Post by **PA ACR** » Sun Oct 14, 2007 7:42 pm

Meanwhile, back to the NYG.

I plan to post up how I managed to get it and what I hope to do with it. It's a long story. I want to run the vin number at a dealer sometime this week and see if I can learn a little bit of its history. I posted some pics up a while back and everyone made fun of it. I can't blame you. Thank goodness the kid that had it only added some kind of chromed windshield wipers, put on some film window tint, a windshield banner, and painted the mirrors, cowl, and and rear view mirror silver. :no: Also sprayed the wheels and tires silver.

Here is the thread where I posted the pics.

http://forums.neons.org/viewtopic.php?p ... t=#2173430

I'm adding a few more I took over the weekend and hope to soon post more with a lot of info about it. I tore into the car for about an hour today and quickly found a lot of surprises.

It's a 95 NYG Sports Coupe. Duhhhhh! It has a DOHC hood but a SOHC engine. ATX. 145,000 miles. Ouuccch! It appears to have all the original parts and is in excellent condition for a PA car that is almost 13 years old with that kind of mileage.

Well that's it for tonight, I still have lesson plans to write for school this week. I took a lot of pics today and will post my plans for the car later in the week.

Stags · Post by **Stags** » Sun Oct 14, 2007 9:47 pm

The picture of the fans reminds me, Chip did you see the paper where they talked about the Badger fans? There was a Michigan state fan in a sea of Badger fans and they were chanting peanut at him

Post by **PA ACR** » Mon Oct 15, 2007 9:54 am

Whoops, hit the wrong button. :oops:

Post by **PA ACR** » Mon Oct 15, 2007 10:05 am

DJScorpio67 wrote:
PA ACR wrote:Can't have a car without a t-shirt. Took a few minutes to come up with this design :)

Now, if I only had the car.
I could see you in DaJokerx2's car.

Me too, but in reality :no: I don't have the money, knowledge, or help for that to happen. I would love to swap a stage 3 SRT-4 engine into it.

Post by **PA ACR** » Mon Oct 15, 2007 7:54 pm

I traded this car

even up for this nyg.

It was a 98 plymouth neon which I bought new. It had a head gasket replaced under warranty. Nothing else was replaced and it had 117,000 miles on it.....even uses phram oil filters.

It was side swiped over the winter. I replaced the mirror, but there was damage on both doors and a dent on the passenger side from another wreck. My daughter had been using it for college and work, but bought a new car so it was basically sitting around and not driven. The engine still ran great, but I was afraid the timing belt would let go at any time and my only option would be to junk it.

Post by **PA ACR** » Mon Oct 15, 2007 8:18 pm

Here is the lowdown on the car.

THE GOOD:

it’s a 95 NYG
it’s paid for
other than the dents, the inside and outside metal is in great shape
all the original parts are still on the car
all electrical parts seem to work
no cracks in any window glass
seats in good condition
carpeting and floormats dirty but should clean up nicely
extra set of bubble, SRT-4, and trunk package wheels I can use

THE BAD

dents/dings
paint is faded and clear coat is cracking in some places
some interior parts were painted or replaced
mirrors and cowl painted silver
ATX but would rather have a MTX
fuel gauge doesn’t work
original nyg hood and sides painted black
wheels have bad paint job/over sprayed parts
broken passenger side tail light

THE UGLY

145,000 miles
not inspected
big fart can muffler and rear bumper cover hacked to make it fit
the SOHC runs but has a bad knock in block or head
bad, bad oil leak
no money to fix things

Post by **PA ACR** » Mon Oct 15, 2007 8:31 pm

APN wrote:Man, you are getting as old as Mike.

Which Mike are you referring to? :hmm:

Ohhhhhhhh, you mean that old guy from TEXAS.

Post by **PA ACR** » Mon Oct 15, 2007 8:46 pm

Ouch!

Ouch Ouch!

Suspension not too bad for a PA car.

Clean door jams.

Thank goodness the previous owners didn't do too much wiring.

Hey JeffB#2, I'll try to scrape this cool decal off in one piece if you would like it for your car. I'll even ship it for free.

Removed all the decals and tint film from the windows today. Tore out the carpet in the trunk (dirty but in excellent condition). The paint is a little dirty, but it is in almost showroom condition

Heeeyyyyy! Just a minute. Is that a PT cruiser I see in the garage? I wonder what my wife would say if the engine is missing some day.
:whistle:

suave23 · Post by **suave23** » Mon Oct 15, 2007 9:56 pm

Looks like a fun project Tom. You still have the ACR.......right?

NYG95GA · Post by **NYG95GA** » Mon Oct 15, 2007 11:06 pm

The only thing 'wrong' with this car is that it spent a short period owned by a person who thought it was just a regular bull...t car.
Now it is in the hands of someone who cares, and all is good with the world.
Far as I can tell, most of the adulterations are cosmetic.. except for the suspension; that's pure salt abuse. (Lots of PB Blaster.. LOTS.)
Also call into mind the fact that people are going to be looking at the car with spectral suprise; not the kind of thing a young buck can carry, but a breeeze for old farts like us.
Having said all that, we should likely try to find the guy who put a SOHC ATX in an NYG Sports Coupe in the first place, and beat the living stink out of him..
It won't help the car, but I'd feel much better.

Post by **PA ACR** » Tue Oct 16, 2007 5:06 am

suave23 wrote:Looks like a fun project Tom. You still have the ACR.......right?

Yea, that thing goes in the casket with me when I die.

Are you back in Ohio now?

suave23 · Post by **suave23** » Tue Oct 16, 2007 9:57 am

Yes sir, graduated a few weeks ago and now I'm back home.

Post by **PA ACR** » Tue Oct 16, 2007 9:19 pm

Spent about 2 hours this evening on the interior.

Removed passenger seat, back seat, and deck. I still can't believe there is almost no rust and the paint is in terrific condition.

Both the bottom and back of the back seat have a small slit in them. :(

Took off the interior door panel. All the fasteners were smashed and it was screwed on with sheet metal screws. :o The door speaker was missing, too. Let the silver mirror on in case it rains tonight. I would like to swap the speaker and black side-mirror from my old neon tomorrow.

The steering wheel had a cover on it. I was afraid to take it off and find a messed up wheel. Couldn't believe it was almost perfect. :)

Can anyone tell me what color the interior door panels are supposed to be? The driver's door has a small light gray panel where the electric door lock and handle are located. The passenger side has gray panels across the top and dark charcoal along the bottom. The dash also has a dark charcoal top, light gray where the vents are, and dark charcoal on the bottom.

john doe · Post by **john doe** » Wed Oct 17, 2007 5:49 pm

Your interior looks exactly like my stock 95 interior except for the dark dash parts. The doors look normal.

DJScorpio67 · Post by **DJScorpio67** » Wed Oct 17, 2007 5:52 pm

Yep that's a 95 Door panel. And my dash is also two different colors. Supposed to be that way.

Post by **PA ACR** » Wed Oct 17, 2007 8:30 pm

john doe wrote:Your interior looks exactly like my stock 95 interior except for the dark dash parts. The doors look normal.

DJScorpio67 wrote:Yep that's a 95 Door panel. And my dash is also two different colors. Supposed to be that way.

Thanks guys. It looks like I'll have to get a door panel from the JY for the passenger side. The radio/HVAC trim piece looks like it has some kind of black crinkle paint finish. I looked in a 95 brochure and it almost looks stock. Is it, or do you think someone painted it? It looks like someone might have painted some of the vents gloss black, too.

DJScorpio67 · Post by **DJScorpio67** » Wed Oct 17, 2007 8:41 pm

The black stuff is painted.
Here's my stock one.

Post by **PA ACR** » Wed Oct 17, 2007 9:07 pm

Got more time to work on the car this evening. I'm trying to get as much done as possible before it starts to get cold/snow. It has been nearly 70* all week.

I needed to swap the SRT-4 wheels back onto my ACR so I thought I might check out some different combo's on the NYG.

Trunk package wheels vs stock rims/white wall tires with silver painted mirror

Trunk package wheels vs SRT-4 wheels. I'm considering a mirror delete panel :)

SRT-4 wheel vs SRT-4 wheel. I do have two sets of SRT-4 wheels, but would have to buy tires for the NYG :)

SRT-4 wheels vs trunk package wheels

I have 2 sets of bubble wheels in excellent shape from my ACR, too. :hmm:

Anyone know if I can get rid of that horrible black paint on the sides of the car without damaging the original paint? My wife saw somewhere that WD-40 would do the trick, but it didn't work.

I was also able to remove the interior door panel on the driver's side so I can get that mirror off quickly, too. I hope to get the driver's side seat, console, and carpet out tomorrow. I would like to get all the carpets and floor mats cleaned with a power washer and speakers in the doors before I start putting the interior back together again.

DJScorpio67 · Post by **DJScorpio67** » Wed Oct 17, 2007 9:16 pm

And the winner is!!!!!
SRT-4 wheels vs trunk package wheels

suave23 · Post by **suave23** » Thu Oct 18, 2007 9:36 am

I don't know Tom, those Trunk Package wheels sure do look awfully spiffy on the ACR....must be nice to have that many sets of wheels in the garage to choose from, lol.

As for taking the paint off, I don't know of any real easy tricks. The only thing I can suggest would be a last resort, and that's wetsanding and hoping you can get the black off without going through the clear, then buffing the paint where you sanded.

PAhighline · Post by **PAhighline** » Thu Oct 18, 2007 1:45 pm

lookin' good tom 8)
if those stripes on the nyg are a cheap rattle can job,
almost anything can/will take them off(3M tar, adhesive
remover is good stuff)

JAMES F. · Post by **JAMES F.** » Thu Oct 18, 2007 5:56 pm

if you are careful and keep any extra off i have seen people use gasoline .. the clear coat is pretty durable and if it is just rattle can paint gas and a clen rag will take it off... just do a little at a time and wash what is done off with water...

think of how many times you have spilt gas on the side of the car when fueling and it ahs never taken the paint off there... but it will eat threw rattle can paint

James

Post by **PA ACR** » Thu Oct 18, 2007 7:51 pm

Thanks, I'll give every suggestion a shot. It almost looks like they used a brush, but there's overspray, so they had to use a rattlecan.

I got the whole interior stripped this evening. The carpet is in great shape, but it is filthy. I also discovered the NYG almost went up in flames. Here is what I found.

Someone hotwired something in the trunk area without a fuse. :8O: There is a burn line the whole way from the kick panel, carpeting from the front of the door to the back, around the back seat, and up the back seat into the trunk.

I might have found an NYG in a salvage yard. I called and they said they had one. I'm going on Saturday morning to see if there is anything I can use.

03sxtblack · Post by **03sxtblack** » Fri Oct 19, 2007 10:15 am

glad to see my SRT-4 wheels are still living :-D Only part of the car still around :-(

Senior Project.. Update....May Have To Settle for GED

Senior Project.. Update....May Have To Settle for GED

Who is online