Not much progress really, aside from rewiring my headlights with 10 gauge and relays to get rid of the voltage drop. I was getting a 10% voltage drop, equaling a 34% drop in light output. I'm going to do the brake lights next, they were at 15% voltage drop, or about 51% light output loss.
I haven't done much as we've moved, and I'm not riding my bike to work. Gotta work on getting myself back down to a decent weight. I do plan to work on it more this fall, but nothing will ever be finished on it now, as my wife has given me permission (actually gave me the idea) for a very large audio project car. The neon transmission will stay, along with the engine, but it will be going in a tube frame car. Center drive, as I only use the car when I need to go out of town by myself, plus that's the only way to truly get the best possible sound from the car. Mid engine, rear wheel drive, and aerobody. I started working on some FEA stuff, so I can design a frame. Ideally, this thing won't be any heavier than the neon was, and significantly more aerodynamic. Radiator will be in the back, with the wake of the car pulling the air through it, via a proper walter-korff style duct. Aftermarket electric power steering, electric ac.
The other thing I'm really looking forward to is fixing the engine. There is so much low hanging fruit with the neon engine, that improving efficiency should be easy and effective. Starting with the mismatched oil passages, that cause a 6hp loss at 5600rpm
. Tons of casting flash in the oil pumps, tons of casting flash in the water jackets, etc. Overweight engine parts, etc.