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Well, not quite yet, but he will have it by the end of the weekend.
First, a little backstory: 15 years. 260,000 miles. Several headgaskets. So many fun drives. A few dozen track days. My first driving lessons. Lots of weekends spent bonding while taking stuff apart and putting stuff together. But now, my dad's 1996 Neon ACR... is dead.
He finally broke down an put an engine from a junked Stratus in it in February (which is something Duke suggested I should tell him something like two years ago). And all was well. He lamented the loss of revs, but loved the wealth of torque (which is pretty much what Duke said would happen). 7,000 miles later (early May or so)? A previously unknown problem with the rear suspension causes it to collapse (namely, the bolts sheared off and sent the struts through the bottom of the trunk, as I've come to understand it). So, alas, a car that I've known for 3/4s of my life, Gone (well, not gone so much as sitting under the garage until mom either forces him at gunpoint to get rid of it or he gets it put back together). Sad for me, devastating for my dad, being the car he loved the most since his beloved '86 VW Scirocco 16v, which he lost in an accident back in 1988.
So he's been looking since then for "the" car. One that clicked with him. One to fall in love with like he did with his Scirocco and his Neon. And this week, he found it. What did he choose? Well, it may not be what you would expect...
Seriously...
Last chance to look away...
Indeed. He is getting a Rated M for Manly 1990 Volkswagen Cabrio. Brad would approve. Azureman probably wouldn't.
But wait! Before you make a decision about the car (and I know that I have gone on record as saying that the Cabrio is the... um... most feminine car a man could buy), let's check out the speculations:
As for how it drives? Oh lordy! It sounds fantastic. It has gobs of torque in any gear. It handles like its on rails, but the suspension is pretty compliant as well. The clutch and gearshift are like butter. Altogether, a car so awesome that if I had seen it first I would have instantly thrown up the money and bought it. Alas, dad saw it first.
First, a little backstory: 15 years. 260,000 miles. Several headgaskets. So many fun drives. A few dozen track days. My first driving lessons. Lots of weekends spent bonding while taking stuff apart and putting stuff together. But now, my dad's 1996 Neon ACR... is dead.
He finally broke down an put an engine from a junked Stratus in it in February (which is something Duke suggested I should tell him something like two years ago). And all was well. He lamented the loss of revs, but loved the wealth of torque (which is pretty much what Duke said would happen). 7,000 miles later (early May or so)? A previously unknown problem with the rear suspension causes it to collapse (namely, the bolts sheared off and sent the struts through the bottom of the trunk, as I've come to understand it). So, alas, a car that I've known for 3/4s of my life, Gone (well, not gone so much as sitting under the garage until mom either forces him at gunpoint to get rid of it or he gets it put back together). Sad for me, devastating for my dad, being the car he loved the most since his beloved '86 VW Scirocco 16v, which he lost in an accident back in 1988.
So he's been looking since then for "the" car. One that clicked with him. One to fall in love with like he did with his Scirocco and his Neon. And this week, he found it. What did he choose? Well, it may not be what you would expect...
Seriously...
Last chance to look away...
Indeed. He is getting a Rated M for Manly 1990 Volkswagen Cabrio. Brad would approve. Azureman probably wouldn't.
But wait! Before you make a decision about the car (and I know that I have gone on record as saying that the Cabrio is the... um... most feminine car a man could buy), let's check out the speculations:
- Swapped Volkswagen 2.0L ABA 4-cylinder, pulled from a 1996 Volkswagen Jetta (transmission was as well). Stripped to nothing and rebuilt from the ground up. Techtonics cam, EEPROM, intake, exhaust and downpipe. A/C removed. Generally sounds like a beast. Basically, the SOP for VW crazies who know what they are doing and don't want install a VR engine, only in a car that weighs about 2200 lbs. The guy has receipts for everything (the receipt book is a good inch thick), and it looks like he basically went through the Techtonics catalogue and bought everything.
- 60mm/60mm suspension drop (I'm kinda iffy on this, but it seems professionally done). New strut and shock mounts. KYB shocks. Neuspeed springs. All new brakes and brake lines. Again, SOP.
- An entire second Cabrio, less engine and transmission, included for parts (more on that in a second).
- Owned and built by an ASE-certified mechanic, who basically replaced everything mechanical in the car with performance parts and generally seemed to know what he was doing.
As for how it drives? Oh lordy! It sounds fantastic. It has gobs of torque in any gear. It handles like its on rails, but the suspension is pretty compliant as well. The clutch and gearshift are like butter. Altogether, a car so awesome that if I had seen it first I would have instantly thrown up the money and bought it. Alas, dad saw it first.
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Your description of the car and how it handles along with the power in any gear reminds me of my SVTF here.
