Engine HELP - New Las Vegas 09 SS Build

[grantcropper]

Hello to everyone, I am very excited to become part of the DF Goblin community. I just bought my kit, vin #161, and it should be here in 5 or 6 weeks. I have also found my donor car, a 2009 cobalt ss turbo, manual trans, but I learned after purchasing the car that a few things were disassembled under the hood. So here's the good and bad of it all:

The GOOD:
- The car is in great condition. I found this car at the auction with a clean title, with a "runs and drives" status.
- I was able to contact the previous owner to find out what was up with the car and he was willing to tell me everything it needed and what he had done to it.
- he put in a new block
- new, larger BorgWarner S257SXE turbo
- forged pistons low compression for boost 30 thousandths over on the pistons (the cylinders were drilled and the pistons are oversized) <-- his words
- Stock exhaust valves
- New stock crankshaft
- new manifold exhaust
- OBD 2 Tuner with 6 purchased tunes (bought off original owner)
- extra wastegate springs (I bought off original owner)
- 2 Stage clutch
- new lower control arms
- new swaybars in the front and back
- new coilovers
- upgraded suspension
- new upgraded brakes


The BAD:
- All that stuff I mentioned above, most are terms that were new to me till now. I like an adventure so I was excited to learn about engines and cars doing this kit but now I feel like I'm in the wild west trying to fix a car that is different than a stock service manual I expected I could buy and follow. So I thought I'd reach out for some help. Luckily, I think it's close to a complete car and just need a few tips from the experts.

- The new turbo has a different setup from the stock, oil and vacuum lines.

Below are the problems I need help with:
#1 won't stay plugged in.
#2 used to plug into the old turbo can I plug the hole?
#3 are the vacuum lines and sensor that attached to the wastegate and possibly thr old turbo and not sure of the configuration.

Would a website like alldatadiy.com still be a good resource to figure out where all this stuff goes?

Thanks so much for the help, I feel like I'm so close!

 

[BaltimoreHokie]

Wow, A lot to take in with that post. First congrats on the purchase and the club. Fun little builds.

#1 goes to your turbo. Basically where the circle is here:

A picture of my old bay that may help...

 

[Ross]

AllDataDIY.com is a waste of money, IMO. AllData.com commercial membership is good, but I have no idea how expensive that is. The DIY site didn't give me the interactive electrical diagram, what they did give me is useless for electrical. The mechanical info was too sparse, and this forum was way better. There is a hidden download somewhere on this site with almost all the Cobalts in it.

 

[grantcropper]

Thanks for the help! Yes, I think I may have gotten carried away. I think I just hoped someone could help me with where to plug those hoses into with reference to #3, where I could find the missing turbo plumbing, and if I really could just remove #2 and plug the hole. Now that I think about it, I could probably call ZZperformance and order the full kit but since I'm putting it into the goblin, I didnt want to spend a ton on tubing that I would get rid of and hoped I could just buy some rubber hoses to get it Dyno'd.

Also, a good dyno referral in las vegas would be super.

 

[grantcropper]

AllDataDIY.com is a waste of money, IMO. AllData.com commercial membership is good, but I have no idea how expensive that is. The DIY site didn't give me the interactive electrical diagram, what they did give me is useless for electrical. The mechanical info was too sparse, and this forum was way better. There is a hidden download somewhere on this site with almost all the Cobalts in it.

I'm already starting to love it here. Thanks for the responses, this is going to be fun.

 

[grantcropper]

Here is a picture of the donor, by the way. Bought it for $700!

 

[BaltimoreHokie]

Thanks for the help! Yes, I think I may have gotten carried away. I think I just hoped someone could help me with where to plug those hoses into with reference to #3, where I could find the missing turbo plumbing, and if I really could just remove #2 and plug the hole. Now that I think about it, I could probably call ZZperformance and order the full kit but since I'm putting it into the goblin, I didnt want to spend a ton on tubing that I would get rid of and hoped I could just buy some rubber hoses to get it Dyno'd.

Also, a good dyno referral in las vegas would be super.

Well, dont order any air intake set ups. You wont be using those parts. If i still had my car i'd try and track down the hoses for you but I sold it after fixing it. I am sure someone here will help once it has a bit more time on the forum.


Wow that donor for 700 that is nuts. Great deal. You've got plenty of parts and the sedans are pretty rare.

 

[grantcropper]

Since I'm sure everyone will be interested, I will add more pictures of the car and our journey. Is there a better place to do that, I don't want to post in the wrong forum. Maybe I should add a new thread of "the journey" and link it in here?

 

[k.rollin]

A SS/TC Sedan?! Those were only made in 2009, and there was only a few hundred made. If it were me, I'd be tempted to get it back to operational and let it become a classic after another couple decades. The future classic idea is why I've been looking for a VW R32, and that car you've got much more scarce.

It's not me though, so enjoy the build!

 

[BaltimoreHokie]

A SS/TC Sedan?! Those were only made in 2009, and there was only a few hundred made. If it were me, I'd be tempted to get it back to operational and let it become a classic after another couple decades. The future classic idea is why I've been looking for a VW R32, and that car you've got much more scarce.

It's not me though, so enjoy the build!

That or flip it and pay for some of the goblin purchase.

 

[Torchandregdoc]

Grantcropper, I'm new to the site also, and from Vegas as well. I've been looking for a donor, which auction did you use?

I believe since you have a donor and you've placed your order, it's time for you to start a build blog here on the forum.

I look forward to following your build, and hopefully meeting up after there are a couple of Goblins here in the valley.

 

[k.rollin]

That or flip it and pay for some of the goblin purchase.

The thing is, they're not worth a lot right now. With production numbers of less than 500 though, it could be worth something when sport compacts become collector cars.

 

[grantcropper]

A SS/TC Sedan?! Those were only made in 2009, and there was only a few hundred made. If it were me, I'd be tempted to get it back to operational and let it become a classic after another couple decades. The future classic idea is why I've been looking for a VW R32, and that car you've got much more scarce.

It's not me though, so enjoy the build!

The thought has crossed my mind actually, just not sure what the value would be, now, if I were to get it fixed and sold. As for keeping for the future as an investment, it's tempting but my wife would laugh at me. So I will put it out there, am I making a mistake by tearing down such a rare car especially in the condition its in?

 

[Torchandregdoc]

That car will sell for more than 4 g here in Vegas. I think. I've seen a couple of wrecked ss's at auction here that have gone for $500.. After your repairs, you'd probably be able to pay for half of the base Goblin with the sale of your current Cobalt and purchase of another. On the other hand. A cobalt in the hand is worth 2 in the bush. It would be fun to get started building.

Your build log will go in

>kit discussions >build logs

 

[grantcropper]

The thing is, they're not worth a lot right now. With production numbers of less than 500 though, it could be worth something when sport compacts become collector cars.

I think your right. Rare or not, I was always feeling bad tearing down a perfectly good, nice condition car. I just don't think I'll be holding onto a car for classic status. I think if I could get 10k or something close, I'd sell it and wait again for another good donor. I'm just not sure it'd be worth that much.

 

[grantcropper]

That car will sell for more than 4 g here in Vegas. I think. I've seen a couple of wrecked ss's at auction here that have gone for $500.. After your repairs, you'd probably be able to pay for half of the base Goblin with the sale of your current Cobalt and purchase of another. On the other hand. A cobalt in the hand is worth 2 in the bush. It would be fun to get started building.

Your build log will go in

>kit discussions >build logs

Thanks for the input! I'm building this with a friend so I'll get his two cents and see if we want to delay the excitement for what would be a great profit. I have learned though, that turbocharged, manual transmission, donors, here and even in the neighboring states are very hard to come by. So there's that. Make 4-5 grand and wait a long time for a good donor, or enjoy putting a really upgraded engine on an already fast platform. We will probably go with the latter!

 

[k.rollin]

If you don't have the space to store it, just build with it! Any future value is purely speculative.

 

[grantcropper]

Grantcropper, I'm new to the site also, and from Vegas as well. I've been looking for a donor, which auction did you use?

I believe since you have a donor and you've placed your order, it's time for you to start a build blog here on the forum.

I look forward to following your build, and hopefully meeting up after there are a couple of Goblins here in the valley.

Manheim auction. I have a friend that has access and I'm sure he would help you, probably for a fee of $500 which is high in our world of trying to find a cheap donor. He generally charges to buy cars for people because he's a dealer but I have another friend that I could ask and see if could help also! I believe there are other local auctions, one is off boulder highway but I think they are all going to require some type of license. Let me know and I will try to help as much as possible.

 

[JSATX]

Holy ****. I paid $700 just for HPtuners! That’s gotta be the best deal I’ve ever seen on this forum.

That wastegate/manifold/turbo setup probably cost over $2k.

 

[grantcropper]

Man, we had no idea either! The funny thing is, I talked to my buddy about all the comments relating to the price and our donor and I laughed with him that at the time, like a couple of dummies, we actually almost passed up on it. We figured we'd put a $1,500 limit. When we won the bid at the auction for $700, it didn't meet the minimum bid and lucky us, the credit union behind the sale ended taking our deal without any negotiations. So, after the auction fee's and luckily no shipping costs, our total cost was $945.