Ownership Verified: Neon Genesis Evangelion: My 1995 Chrysler Neon SE

Funny that the European neon has amber indicators. ~1990 was when car manufacturers started fitting white indicators with amber bulbs, except in the US where cars usually had an amber marker light. On the Neon the marker is separate, obviously.
 
LkY58KM.jpg


ZTsTUHY.jpg


The headlights were kind of dull as expected from 25-year-old plastic US lighting, so I wet sanded and buffed them to a nice finish today. They probably still suck, but at least they are not cataract-y.

HSqq8Ax.jpg


I also gave the car a thorough wash and cleaned the bubble wheel trims.

One issue we have here now is that the state might extend inspection validity until the end of August due to Coronavirus (for cars with MOT due between 16.3. and 15.6.), so that people wouldn't have to get their cars inspected. A couple extra months would be fine in most cases, especially to keep older people from having to go to the MOT stations. Anyway, this isn't in effect yet, so I don't want to get the car inspected now if there would be a couple free months to be had. But the car doesn't currently have a valid MOT so I can't drive it on the road. Shame...
 
Having watched an instructional video I now know the HVAC/radio surround on the first gen Neon is just pressed in, without any screws. There are small clips on the inside for holding it in place, but you don't even need any tools to pull off the entire surrounding. Luckily it's sturdy enough to be able to be removed intact even after 25 years.

voFAN3d.jpg


OPY1Azk.jpg


Not sure what the backside of a similar panel off a Corolla or a Civic would look like....

QkqTeWO.jpg


Maybe not like this?

IDyxBfk.jpg


PVqZNaR.jpg


Anyway! Removing the panel enables me to test fit the stereos I have for it.

dBURtLx.jpg


1. CD

cw3s67i.jpg


2. CD and cassette

8aTkIs2.jpg


3. Infinity CD

If you need some fun, some good stereo gum... Radio number (?)

Best of all, when fitted, the surrounding completely hides shipping damage on one of the stereos and reduces the inconvenience from COMPLETE FUCKING DISASTER to "eh" on another. I'm still miffed that the corners are chipped, but since I can hide the damage it's sort of fine.
 
My vote is the one with a kasettinauhuri.
 
What's the benefit of the Infinity CD over the standard CD, or CD + cassette for that matter? I don't know how you store your music collection, but my choice would be CD + cassette, because I like to have options.
 
What's the benefit of the Infinity CD over the standard CD, or CD + cassette for that matter? I don't know how you store your music collection, but my choice would be CD + cassette, because I like to have options.

More speaker outputs, more fine tuning of EQ settings and show in the photo, you have more frequency bands to mess with.
 
Out of all the stereos I went with the Infinity. This was because the single-CD one that looked to be in best shape barely worked; I hooked it up and I could only get AM static out of it, with the buttons seemingly not doing anything. Probably fried.

Then, the combo CD-cassette unit worked great with good sound, but the faceplate seems to be coming off and the buttons feel wonky to the touch, they're that worn. The mounts were also busted so I couldn't really fix it to the dash securely. The Infinity unit doesn't seem to have any issues other than the faceplate corner being broken and that it was picky about my more worn CDs, so I glued the cracked-off corner back and fitted the stereo neatly into place.

lpuXjil.jpg


However, the stupid thing is that the frequencies have to end in an odd decimal, meaning I can't listen to talk radio at 88.8 :lol:
 
Out of all the stereos I went with the Infinity. This was because the single-CD one that looked to be in best shape barely worked; I hooked it up and I could only get AM static out of it, with the buttons seemingly not doing anything. Probably fried.

Then, the combo CD-cassette unit worked great with good sound, but the faceplate seems to be coming off and the buttons feel wonky to the touch, they're that worn. The mounts were also busted so I couldn't really fix it to the dash securely. The Infinity unit doesn't seem to have any issues other than the faceplate corner being broken and that it was picky about my more worn CDs, so I glued the cracked-off corner back and fitted the stereo neatly into place.

lpuXjil.jpg


However, the stupid thing is that the frequencies have to end in an odd decimal, meaning I can't listen to talk radio at 88.8 :lol:

not even with "TUNE" ?
 
It jumps from 88.7 to 88.9 and doesn't produce any audio at those frequencies. Apparently US programming doesn't use evenly numbered decimals.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FM_br...tates#FM_radio_channel_assignments_in_the_U.S.

"Because each channel is 0.2 MHz wide, the center frequencies of adjacent channels differ by 0.2 MHz. Because the lowest channel is centered on 87.9 MHz, the tenths digit (in MHz) of the center frequency of any FM station in the United States is always an odd number."

The stations it finds sound good.
 
It jumps from 88.7 to 88.9 and doesn't produce any audio at those frequencies. Apparently US programming doesn't use evenly numbered decimals.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FM_br...tates#FM_radio_channel_assignments_in_the_U.S.

"Because each channel is 0.2 MHz wide, the center frequencies of adjacent channels differ by 0.2 MHz. Because the lowest channel is centered on 87.9 MHz, the tenths digit (in MHz) of the center frequency of any FM station in the United States is always an odd number."

The stations it finds sound good.

LOL, that's great.
 
It jumps from 88.7 to 88.9 and doesn't produce any audio at those frequencies. Apparently US programming doesn't use evenly numbered decimals.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FM_br...tates#FM_radio_channel_assignments_in_the_U.S.

"Because each channel is 0.2 MHz wide, the center frequencies of adjacent channels differ by 0.2 MHz. Because the lowest channel is centered on 87.9 MHz, the tenths digit (in MHz) of the center frequency of any FM station in the United States is always an odd number."

The stations it finds sound good.

Interesting, never knew why. I now see but never paid attention. I was used to analog dials on radios in house and just figured that since nobody set stations with 0.1 that it was best skip the in between sections. Though I've never been a radio enthusiast so to speak therefore, never cared.
 
Does any Finnish FGer have a Genesis or an Evo? Once this all blows over, Neon Genesis Evolution would be a great if flimsy premise for a photo shoot or an article.
 
Does any Finnish FGer have a Genesis or an Evo? Once this all blows over, Neon Genesis Evolution would be a great if flimsy premise for a photo shoot or an article.

I am the only one with something close here in .EU, I have the Equus which later became the Genesis G80
 
MOT attempt: Not successful! First of all, the driver side rocker panel needs welding as the end section has rusted too much. Since the passenger side has been done once, this is not a huge surprise. The other problems are dragging brakes (passenger side front and rear) and the passenger side rear shock mount is loose. Can be rectified with just a tightening attempt, or this can be a good opportunity to do the rear shocks - whatever works. Front ARB link is also past its prime.

Otherwise it's OK, the emissions were fine and the floor pan doesn't seem to have any rust at all. I can have the rocker panel welded at home and the other side tidied up a little, but the brake parts I might have to have done by the shop down the road. We'll see how the shock mount goes, too.
 
Last edited:
So, I don't think I posted any wheel shit in the Neon thread yet. I have a few plans to use up some tires I have, especially as I want to autocross the car at some point.

Originally, I bought a set of 15" BBS from Lastsoul for my MX-5. They came with some Federal 595 RSR, I think, on them, and as I will only use Daisies under the MX-5 from now on, I'd like to use up the 195/50R15 Federals when they are still relatively decent. The size is alright for the Neon, they could be a touch taller but they won't look too dinky under the car. The wheels themselves won't fit as they're 4x100 bolt pattern. I think they're off some Golf originally.

Anyway, the car came with 14-inch steelies as seen in the earlier pics. Those will get normal tires for normal use, but I'd need aluminium wheels in 15-inch size with the 5x100 bolt pattern and preferably ET35-40, with the center hole at 57.1 or larger, for spordy driving.

OnINz8z.jpg


Before buying the car I initially considered six-spoke, second-gen Prius wheels that are known to be lightweight at 6.4 kg. They don't look especially good, the ET is too large and the center hole is 54.1 in Toyota style. And no Finnish market Prius ever used those, so they were pointless to seek out.

NqsLdmZ.jpg


2B87RWS.jpg


xYjvWjL.jpg


I then researched the matter more and found Corrado VR6 BBS wheels for sale on Facebook. They're a direct fit, with the center hole a perfect match, and cross-spoke wheels are always tasteful. Still, they aren't in great condition due to being really cheap for BBS cross-spokes, and they do weigh a bit over 8kg apiece - not terrible but not great. I've been fixing them up with supplies I got from work, and a primer coat and plastidipping make them presentable. I did test-fit one of them and I think ET43 makes them a little close to some suspension bits - easy fix with thin 5mm spacers but still, they're starting to look less like a perfect fit for the car.

$_86.JPG


Enter plan B: Audi A3 pepperpots. These have a lot going for them! First of all, they share the center hole at 57.1, but their offset is a lot better at ET38. I've always liked pepperpot wheels, and the round-hole look will in my mind fit the Neon's design very well. But I've saved the best til last: these weigh just 5.7 kg apiece. That's a save of around two and a half kilos per corner, compared to the BBS, and they're even lighter than the Prius wheels.

aSQ8W0d.jpg


Amazingly, I found a nice set of these wheels for sale for just 50 euros, in Helsinki, which means my brother could pick them up in the Lexus. They had been advertised as 4x100 and the tires were crappy, which is why they hadn't sold for even a price this cheap. They look like they only need a clean and a wax to work, and I'll either just leave out the center caps or pry the Audi logos off them and slap on some Pentastar stickers.
 
I understand why most of us are probably wondering what the hell you're doing, but I know how long you've been talking about this car, and I'm really happy you got it. I'm also really interested to see how it drives. It's really difficult to guess, since there isn't quite anything like it. Is it closer to 90s Japanese or European cars, or something bit similar but different?
 
It drives kind of like a Japanese car but with more alert and eager steering, perhaps that's a European flavour.
 
It drives kind of like a Japanese car but with more alert and eager steering, perhaps that's a European flavour.

Yeah, I get that. It's kinda shame that there isn't any real modern equivalent.
 
Top