Neon struts adapted to l-bodies (possibly others)

[altered7151]

Ok, so I have the front end of my SC apart and happen to have a set of first gen neon struts laying around, so I decided to see if they'll fit. Sure enough they're pretty much a bolt on, and look like they will lower the front end about 1-1/2 inches. Plus there are more aftermarket items like performance struts and coilovers available for the neon stuff then l-bodies.

Neon and L-body struts side by side. Neon strut on top.


Difference between the two lengths.


Top of Neon strut hat.


Top of L-body hat.


As you can see the top of the neon strut has three studs, but they as just press in studs. Once you pop one out the other two studs just barely are too narrow to fit in the stock holes, but that is fixed with about 15 seconds with a die grinder.









And now everything bolts right up on the top.


And the bottom bolts right up to the L-body knuckle.

[altered7151]

Ok now here are the problems that still need to be solved. Actually they might not really be problems, but have potential. I'm not sure if you can see it clearly in this picture, but the top hat of the neon strut is not completely parallel to the strut like the l-body is, this may cause the strut to attach at an angle and screw with the camber.


Also, the holes on the bottom of the neon strut are not oval to allow for camber adjustment, but its just pressed sheetmetal so it would be very easy to grind out to the right shape.


I currently have the k-frame and all suspension removed from my car, so I cant completely bolt everything up to make sure it fits. But all the pieces bolt together, so theoretically it should work, might just need a little adjustment to make everything kosher.

[DodgeZ]

I found 2gen R/T struts in the J-yard. Anyone know what the difference is from first and second gen neon struts?

[90Acclaim]

.... very interesting. This could change many ideas as to front-end suspension on our cars.

Keep us updated

[altered7151]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DodgeZ I found 2gen R/T struts in the J-yard. Anyone know what the difference is from first and second gen neon struts?

Can you send me some pics and measurements of those, I can compare them to what I have here, hopefully they're the same.

[87shelbyt2]

Altered- The angle of the upper mount shouldn't be a problem. It's just the rubber isolator in the mount flexing due to the angle of the spring coils. Once you put it in, it'll straighten out. Also- looks like the lower spring perch sits about 1/2"? lower than the O.E. strut. Might limit even further what size tires/ rims can be used.

[altered7151]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 87shelbyt2 Altered- The angle of the upper mount shouldn't be a problem. It's just the rubber isolator in the mount flexing due to the angle of the spring coils. Once you put it in, it'll straighten out. Also- looks like the lower spring perch sits about 1/2"? lower than the O.E. strut. Might limit even further what size tires/ rims can be used.

Yeah I noticed that also, but I figured alot of people would use the neon struts so they could put coilover kits on that dont require any kind of modification or fabrication to get them to work right. But once I get everything together I'll see how well a stock tire clears as well as 24.5" slicks

[altered7151]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 87shelbyt2 Altered- The angle of the upper mount shouldn't be a problem. It's just the rubber isolator in the mount flexing due to the angle of the spring coils. Once you put it in, it'll straighten out.

Yep you're right, so the top is a bolt up deal once you remove the 3rd stud. As far as the bottom camber alignment, I believe these would solve the problem very well: Alignment Kit.
Edit:Crap that link doesn't work right, just click on "chassis and suspension" then it like the 4th item down, actually there are like 3 different brands.

Also another bonus, a first gen strut tower bar is now a complete bolt on without having to redrill holes or anything.

[87shelbyt2]

Quote:

Originally Posted by altered7151 Also another bonus, a first gen strut tower bar is now a complete bolt on without having to redrill holes or anything.

How close is the bar w/o using the neon struts? Towers are the same distance? Good info if so, I'm still strut bar-less.
I know which camber kit you're talking about. Has the eccentric on the bolt shaft instead of the bolt head right? Yup, I just checked the link... those seem to be better quality than what we use at work, but why spend money when the die grinder is free?

[altered7151]

The bar for the neon should be very close to the stock l-body, but still need some grinding. And yeah I agree, with a little grinding the stock ecentric bolts should work no problem.

[saxhouse]

So, judging by the pictures there will be at least an inch drop just by using the stock neon struts and springs. Anybody know the spring rates? Standard coilover lowering springs for the neon would probably be a bit much, but it might make the strut market more interesting.

[altered7151]

I know the neon is a little more portly then the l-bodies, so I would imagine the spring rate, as well as the dampening coefficient for the struts, would be higher. I think the solution to that would be to buy a cheap coilover setup off ebay, toss the cheapy springs and get the right springrate spring.

[3Bar_Mopar]

Anyone know if that might work on a Daytona?

I noticed that the struts looks similar when changing brakes on the Neon.

[speedyshelby16]

daytona are alot bigger car so no they won't work. Can you use the tercel coilover on the neon struts? What about using the l body upper strut mount bearing plate on a neon strut?

[altered7151]

I originally got the neon struts to put on my now defunct daytona project. The base will bolt up to the knuckle, but you will have to make the center hole in the strut tower larger in order to get the center of the hat to fit, and I believe you'll have to redrill holes for the hat studs.

Why would you want to use a tercel coilover on the neon strut, just buy a neon coilover kit. That of course is unless you already have a tercel kit, in which case it probably isn't all that different. If you do already have a kit, let me know the dimensions and I can compare them to the neon strut. Actually it would probably work better then on the stock l-body strut since its shorter and you wont have to make any kind of adapter to get the spring the right height. I haven't checked to see if the l-body hat will fit on the neon strut, I have been told it will, but haven't verified that for myself. I'll try to test that this week/weekend, along with how close the strut sits to the wheel, and of course post some pictures.