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I learned to drive stick on a '95 Neon RT... not a bad little car for what it was
1998 Neon R/T was my first new car. Fun to drive, but a total POS. My buddy worked at a Chrysler stamping plant so I got ridiculous deals on Chrysler products.
First manual was a '94 Plymouth Sundance Duster with the 3.0 V6 from the minivans. Had the dealer drive me home then took him back in Mom's car.
Wow. Since we're strolling down memory lane here... I learned to drive stick on my dad's festiva. Then perfected my technique in customer cars. Only crashed one in the process It was an escort gt into a brand new j30.
Those early 90's eclipse/talon/lasers with turbo were my favorite! Still the fastest car I ever drove (in the mall parking lot) was a mitubishi 3000gt V4.
It was always great when a customer came in their "Vette" and it turned out to be a chevette.
But seriously... maybe some military officer with connections got transferred from Japan to Florida, and he brought his car.
Sure is an oddity, though, seeing an otherwise common car with RHD.
I know a few years ago there was at least 1 or 2 companies that specialized in importing things like that and Skylines. So I would agree, either an officer that was stationed overseas and brought it back or they really wanted to be unique and paid to have one imported
The Pinto was the car I had to drive 90% of the time I was allowed to take the car. Which made it all the more special when they let me drive the wagon...
...which in hindsight, wasn't really a treat either.
I was thinking this thread has gotten seriously derailed, then I thought... meh. So what. It will get back on track soon enough.
I had a Volare (former) Police car. Had the 360ci v8. I also had a Pinto 4spd manual, but could never get it running. So I bought an 84 Honda Accord LX Sedan 5 spd
IIRC the GTZ had a HO version of the Quad 4, which produced slightly more power 180, than the version in the Z24 150, and was available only with a 5MT. I always thought those cars looked sweet
In 2002 I drove ~150 miles to snag a Alero 5MT. Car sales were down in a post 9/11 world, I had a family member giving away GM points and there was a ton of incentive money on the hood. Unfortunately it sold minutes before I got there. Ended up with a Dodge Neon R/T instead
Yup, you are correct. It had the High Output Quad 4 with 180 HP and a 5 speed manual. The Manual tranny was the reason I purchased it. I was coming from a 1987 Firebird Formula with the 5.7L HO V8, but with a 4spd Auto. The car had T-tops which I loved when I was in high-school, but the Auto tranny killed the car for me so I only kept it for a couple of years.
That really sucks that you missed out on the Alero with 5 speed manual by just minutes, but it sounds like you did alright with the Neon R/T. I always loved that car. It's hard to go wrong with a high power turbo 4! You could get major gains in HP with just a small amount of money, plus that car just sounded sweet for a "4 banger".
Since we're on the subject of first cars... My first car was a bright orange 1973 Opel GT. It had a "four on the floor" manual tranny with the optional 1.9L engine with a whopping 83 HP!!! I also had a 1972 Opel GT part car that went along with it...Since you'd be an idiot to own one without a second car for parts. But I had to take my driving test in my Dad's company car which was a brand spanking new and very rare 1986 Acura Legend with the 5 Speed Manual. My Dad was working for Pioneer at the time and sold to Acura, so he got one of the first cars shipping to the US. I couldn't believe he let me take my driving test in it, but the Opel GT wasn't running at the time so I didn't have any other choice. LOL
So I finally had some time over the weekend to fix the annoying creaking sound coming from the center console. It was driving me nuts so I went to home depot and picked up a bottle of WD-40 Silicon Lubricant and a roll of Vinyl foam tape.
The image below shows where I added the vinyl foam tape in red. Basically everywhere plastic made contact with plastic.
Now it's time to tackle another creak that I hear under the armrest...
That really sucks that you missed out on the Alero with 5 speed manual by just minutes, but it sounds like you did alright with the Neon R/T. I always loved that car. It's hard to go wrong with a high power turbo 4! You could get major gains in HP with just a small amount of money, plus that car just sounded sweet for a "4 banger".
You're thinking the SRT-4, sadly the R/T was a 150 horse 2.0
At least both first and second gen Neon R/T I had were able to edge out my buddies 240SX. It's a good thing we didn't actually have fast cars
06-21-2017, 08:50 AM
It was an escort gt into a brand new j30.
But I had to take my driving test in my Dad's company car which was a brand spanking new and very rare 1986 Acura Legend with the 5 Speed Manual. My Dad was working for Pioneer at the time and sold to Acura, so he got one of the first cars shipping to the US. I couldn't believe he let me take my driving test in it, but the Opel GT wasn't running at the time so I didn't have any other choice. LOL
