croat

For Dodges rebutle, they do have reliable cars.

For the one waiting for the Lancer, the Neon is taking over the Lancer platform.....the Lancer was originaly introduced ti the US to take over the Neon, but the Neon did well and the Lancer did not.

The SRT-4 will be offering a production version of my 2.4L DOHC Turbo engine stuffed ontop of a fairly relaible 5 speed. I am sure it can handle the HP, but LSD would be an improvment.

Mike Free

Shouldn't have any trouble with the manual trans, though an auto will be iffy if it's still an A604 based design.

Chrysler's in house 4 cylinders have always had *beefy* internals (except for a year in 1985, if I remember right, they lightened the connecting rods of the base T1 to help the motor rev faster, and ended up with a rod that could handle maybe 20HP over stock).

The current 2.0/2.4 is still based off the old 2.2/2.5 SOHC motors... transmission pattern is the same, block material is the same, bore spacing is the same, you can even fit a newer DOHC head onto a 2.2 block if you don't mind redirecting a water line or two. The stock cast crank for a 2.2/2.5 is good for a few hundred horsepower, and there is a forged version out there somewhere.

The only real issue chrysler's ever had is getting the head gaskets to stay put, and that's more a materials problem than anything else. Hell, the preferred piston for all the big turbo guys is the *stock cast aluminum* pot.

You can abuse the hell out of those engines too... I drove a 2.2 TBI (103HP) around for a while that has lived a harsh life (paid $1400 for a 1991 car, if that says anything). Sucked a small screw into the #1 cylinder from somewhere, hammered the electrode flat on the spark plug, and passed it through the exhaust... no damage. I found some dings in the crown of the piston later, that's it. Compression was still fine.

When the headgasket went at 85,000 miles, I ended up driving it home 45 miles, stopping every exit to let the pressure out of the radiator. When I finally tore it down to change the gasket, nothing was warped or burnt... the new gasket went right on and sealed just fine.

It's got 103,000 miles on it now, and the only problem with it is the rings have lost their tension, so I've got blowby and cylinder pressure's about 110PSI in all 4. Still runs like a top.

Oh, and did I mention I lit the top of the motor on fire (accidental stupidity) and burnt up the emissions/EGR wiring harness? I just removed it. Still runs great.

That car, ugly as it is, has made a raving fan out of me... beat the hell out of it and it just laughs and asks for more. I even took it rallycrossing a few months ago smile.gif

stickshift

I'd take one of those old Omni/Horizon models with the turbo motor... those things were tough. It'd be cheap to get parts for too.

Mike Free

hehehe.. this is the beauty of the old dodges. That tough Omni/Horizon is the same engine and nearly the same platform (they had two, L and K, and parts were still interchangeable) with every FWD dodge vehicle from 1980 to 1995 (excluding the neon, cloud, and LH cars), AND the first and second gen minivans. There simply isn't a model out there with this kind of interchangeability. You can easily take the K-frame from a first gen 1985 caravan and stuff it under a 1994 Daytona Pacifica because it's 90% the same. Vice versa applies, too... this is how you get 12 second quarter minivans.

Shadohh

Like they slap the Viper enigine in the dodge caravan.
you all seen that ****? crazy! 6spd and all.

Mike Free

noooo, the 12 second minivan I speak of is a 2.5 liter turbo FWD....