I have a question to pose. I have heard that the Neon
will acquire stress crack around the firewall after a period
of road racing. How much autocrossing would it take for this
to occur? For that matter, how much road racing would it take?
My '98 ACR saw about 8 autocross events last year and
about 12 laps at Blackhawk Farms Raceway. Last October, at
28,000 miles, it was wrecked on the street when another driver
pulled out in front of it. My Neon T-boned a 4 door Chevy
Lumina between the doors at about 55 MPH. Direct frontal impact
for my car. The insurance company decided to repair it. Now
when I jack the car up at the front motor mount the right door
doesn't shut correctly. The car makes all kinds of grinding,
popping and thumping noises. At a McKamey autocross school all
three instructors (Ron Bauer, Sam Strano and Brian Priebe)
noticed it and seemed quite concerned about the safety of this
car. It has been back to the body shop several times for more
repairs with limited success. This season it had been to 4
autocross events before I noticed the stress cracks (while trying
to track down those noises). There are two cracks, one on each
side extending about 1 1/2 inches from the firewall back the
tunnel. The insurance company thinks that this is the result of
my "racing". A local dealership told them that they had repaired
another ACR that had been raced but not wrecked.
I'm not looking for any tirades about insurance company
injustices. I would, however, appreciate knowledgeable response
concerning the cause and likelihood of these cracks. Also,
what is the best way to repair them?
Thanks,
Terry Teeter
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