To quote Tim O’Neil - “The best that I ever did in rally was to get most of my expenses covered. Most of them.”

In late April I lost my job and thus all funding for project Neon was canceled. There were hopes that a decent unemployment turnaround and savings could carry me long enough to compete in July, but I have to be a realist. I’m scrounging money to make car payments. How the hell can I go rally? Let alone ignoring the fact that I don’t have health insurance.

Right now the sport of rally is in a lull. The freight train of manufacturer support has whooshed through town and we’re back to a basic grassroots effort. I hope to re-join that effort in a year or so.

But for now. I’m on hold.
What looks good to me is for about $2000 I can go rallying. I have a car. That’s the hardest part. I finally feel that project Neon is somewhat finished. Except for the rally part. I thought that I wouldn’t get the car done in time for me, and now it looks like the car is waiting for me to catch up.

Updates will be few and far for a while. Feel free to see what I’m up to over at planetkris.com if you like.

I’m heading of to California to start what you could call a new chapter. Ze’Neon will be in Jersey in storage. Maybe we’ll pick her up on an already planned return trip this December? “Cross country in a rally car.” Who knows?

Once again I’d like to thank all the people who have helped make this dream of mine possible and help to keep it alive. I especially want to thank the Wittish family for putting up with a Neon in the driveway while I’m gone. - Kris

Quick - before I go to ebay with’em.
They are were 215/50/14 Yokahama Slicks.
They have 168 (1/4″ X 20) 1″ long bolts with 2 washers and nylon lock nuts on each tire.
They have been sealed on the inside with bead sealer.
We also used a bottle of slime (slime.com) for insurance.
No tubes - mounted on 14″ 5X100 Steel rims.
Never lost air - very dependable.
They look and drive *fantastic

I used these on my rally car to win 1st in “modified class” at the 2004 BMW Ice Race season. We found the slicks to have 2 advantages. 1. Stiffer sidewall, and little rollover. 2. Steel belts throughout the whole face of the tire for a stronger / longer life. I raced these 4 times for a total of 32 hours on the car.

I’m looking to sell the whole package:
Tires on rims: $450

I have no idea what other cars Neon rims will fit on. So, do a search.
Comment or contact us.
Buyer pays shipping - but I don’t “really” want to ship these. I’m in NH.

Thanks! - Kris

Click the plate to go to the gallery.

This picture is the best way for me to describe what this project looked like for the longest time. I thought I’d share.

Rally computer, intercom, and skidplates. Those are the last big things. Don’t get me wrong, there is a “little shit” list that goes out past the Sun, but there is no more “rollcage”, “suspension”, or “head gasket” on the top. The car has touched the ground again and we’ll begin suspension testing this weekend. First reports look good. She sits a lot higher in the front now. I’m trying to source a stock rear swaybar to curb the impending expected understeer from the front being stiff and the back being stock. (Thanks for the info Nate!)

Speaking of rally computers: I decided to resurrect the ol’ Topeak Panoram bicycle computer that I bought a while back. I couldn’t seem to find the mount, cable, or magnet from it. I went on Topeak’s website and sent a nice email to them regarding it’s destruction. I then searched for a replacement part number. I found one site that wanted $28 for it! (The whole computer + mount new was $50 shipped.) Further searching revealed 3 matches. $28, $24.99, or $9.99. Hmm. *Click - order. At this price I was considering ordering 2, one for the WRX, or as a backup.

This morning my email bings. It’s Neal from Topeak. “Give me your address! We can send something out.” Sweet. Two for (one third) the price of one. This will get some sort of mileage device in the Neon. Compete with it?? I dunno. I would love for a Brantz International Pro to show up via FedEx, but until that happens…

So this weekend we have some brake bleeding to do, install some new headlights, maybe get the rally rims and tires on her for testing. I don’t know if the weather will cooperate, but I’d like to do a photo shoot - get some snazzy pics for sponsorship bids.

Finally I was going to quote some Led Zeppelin lyrics, but it seems that the “correct” lyrics to “Trampled Under Foot” are as much on an enigma as my rally Neon project.
“Greasy, slicked down body, groovy leather trim“
- or -
“Grease me straight down, good electric“

“Feather-light suspension, Konis couldn’t hold“
- or maybe -
“Feather-light suspension, Coils couldn’t hold“

Too bad Mr. Plant didn’t actually write lyrics for the song down anywhere. It’s about a car… I think.