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Our plan for our Neon is simple: to create a car that handles, accellerates, and brakes like a Viper, for thousands less. After purchasing the Neon in early summer, 1996, the Neon was in local SCCA Solo2 events for the remainder of the season. It wasn't long before the Neon received a few cosmetic enhancements, and some minor performance upgrades. The car was run the following year in the extreme D-Modified class, so that it could be modified and made more fun to drive. At that time, there was no "street touring" or "street mod" class. The car received a bored throttle body, some 30lb./hr. fuel injectors, and numerous other modifcations. It was then that Deyeme Racing started making and selling our own products for the Neon. A complete fuel pressure regulator kit was designed to keep the injectors from running too rich under closed-loop operations, but still allow tweaking the mixture to run E85 (high-octane 85% ethanol fuel). Everywhere Deyeme Racing went was into uncharted territory. The first formula was designed for making filled drivetrain mounts, because the only other solutions were either plastic inserts or solid metal mounts- neither of which were very practical for a car that still saw street use. Work was started in other areas, eliminating weaknesses and ehnancing strengths. In 1999, the car was being modified so often it was never the same car twice on the track. Any new mods were prototyped on the Deyeme Racing Neon first. If testing went well, the part would be added to the growing product line. 2000 was a year of failure and disappointment, and we even stopped selling parts for a short time, ready to throw in the shop rag. Late in '99, the engine was removed. It still ran great, but with over 100,000 miles in race and street action, it was time for a rebuild. The rebuild was supposed to take just a few months. Instead, the engine sat at B&B Engines in Fenton MO, collecting dust from October to March. Finally in mid-summer 2000 it was finished. The engine felt as if it had less power than before, but much of that had been attributed to the conservative fuel and ignition curve set for testing. The car was driven to work (about 40 miles), where it appeard to run "ok". After work, it only lasted about 1 mile, before throwing the timing belt. After towing the car home, pulling the engine and returning it to B&B- uh, Peak Performance (they underwent a name and management change) we found out that one cylinder was running lean for some reason, and the timing belt had not been tensioned properly. Add to that the supposed 12:1 compression turned out to be closer to 14:1 because they took too much material from the head and block during the rebuild. It became obvious at this point a spare engine would be really handy, so one was purchased at a local junkyard. While the original engine was getting yet another rebuild, the junkyard engine was installed. It performed very well, and we were finally back on track. In 2001, even with an internally stock engine, we started closing in on the competition in their respective classes, even pulling out a few victories. In July of 2001, Deyeme Racing became more than a hobby, and a business license was applied for. The license was granted, and Deyeme Racing became "official". The Neon was dubbed Project 1: Venom! In August, the engine was retrieved from Peak Performance, and reinstalled. The engine actually ran good for two events, before spinning a rod bearing. We found out during the following rebuild the oil pickup tube was too close to the bottom of the oil pan, causing a vacuum effect, starving the engine of oil. We took advantage of having the engine apart yet again, and installed a set of Crower reground camshafts and modified lash caps. Finally, the engine issues were over, and Deyeme Racing had a show and race winning car! The Neon was taken off the street and converted to race-only use for a number of years, and has earned us food on the table and trophies on the wall. In 2011, after a few years of no track use, we've decided that the Neon will be converted back to street-legal status, where it will live out the remainder of its days as an occasional driver, eventually be passed down to one of our children. |
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