V1 Jim McDonald // Extended Track // '09 HHR SS/TC Automatic

[Torchandregdoc]

I see a pneumatic riveter... I wish I had used one for my build.

I had never used one, but this was friends and it was aweeeesssomme. I will definitely have one.

 

[WYGoblin]

I didn't have a pneumatic rivet gun but had a Milwaukee electric rivet gun and not doing them by hand was very nice

 

[Torchandregdoc]

80 degrees?!? You must have tried to paint that a while ago, cause it's been hotter than blue blazes here for a couple weeks now. Good to see you are doing final build things and no longer dry fitting. The green floor is a great color and will definitely stand out once you are finished.

Ha, yeah, that was last Friday at 6am. Started painting at 7 and by the time we finished it was 80 degrees. I'm not sure what we were doing wrong. That Steel-it was just weird to shoot. It's super thick, they say "no reducer" and still orange peals terrible. And the overspray. yikes.

 

[Desert Sasqwatch]

Kinda like spraying metal flake I'm guessing. I could never get it right, but one of buddies from high school could shoot it all day long, using the same spray setup, and it would come out perfect. There is as much art as science being able to spray paint better than just good.

 

[Torchandregdoc]

Had a clearance issue with the fuel level float. While cleaning the tank, and inspecting with the phone, I noticed that the baffle is only attached to one side. I was able to reach in and give it a slight bend and now it misses the float. I'm not sure how well it will work as a baffle with the huge gaps, but we only changed that by about 1/16" on the far left. As a side note, it's nice and clean in there

 

[Torchandregdoc]

After semi- ruining the cobalt filler tube I bought for $15, I remembered I have one from the HHR.



In the build video, it says to remove the baffle, does anyone know how to do this if it has these big dimples . I've searched the forum but can't find an answer

 

[Ross]

I thought it was removed with a hammer and a punch. Just press fit in there, no welds.

 

[Rttoys]

Yep. Like the video, a hammer and punch.

 

[Torchandregdoc]

Got the new power steering box bracket built with the HHR clocking.






After we got it mounted, I realized we maybe should have clocked it more clockwise to give some more leg room. No time now. We've got a race in 5 weeks.

 

[Torchandregdoc]

Ok. I'll start pounding. Just didn't want to ruin another one by being myself.

 

[Torchandregdoc]

Thanks for the courage.

 

[Desert Sasqwatch]

That is courage to use a BFH on another part like the one you already made into scrap.

 

[Torchandregdoc]

I haven't posted in a while, so figured I'd post a few pics.

 

[Torchandregdoc]

More progress on the coolant through the frame project. I have more details here. Coolant line alternative .

 

[Torchandregdoc]

Test filled the tank yesterday. We used the HHR fuel pump because the plug was different than that of the Cobalt and we weren't sure that the Cobalt pump and HHR computers would speak the same language. The HHR pump is to short to reach the bottom of the tank. I plan on modifying that at some point, but our deadline is growing short so we are running with what we have for now.

1.5 Gal until pick up.
2.5 Gal for first movement on fuel level.
3 Gal - 1/8 tank indicated.

Ken wanted to use that 1.5 Gal in the Ronchero ( the kid will get fuel from anywhere he can to keep from opening that wallet). When he started pumping fuel out, it came out black black. We had put a camera in the tank and it was clean prior to pump install. Could there have been aluminum oxide on the inside? Smoke from welding? It looked shiny clean.
Tim, yes, we cleaned the inside of the filler hose. The stuff in the filler hose is from being cut with a saw. We cleaned ours and then had to cut it with the band saw and it was dirty again.
I digress. Could my fuel line be dissolving? I used standard fuel line because it's what I had. The pump puts out less than 67 psi, so figured it would be fine. Am I wrong?

 

[Torchandregdoc]

Would there be a benefit to installing this at the coolant outlet from the motor as a high point fill? How hard is it to get the air out of the system. I see the video says to remove the overflow and hold it up higher than the motor. How many times does this have to be done?

 

[Desert Sasqwatch]

Yes, if you can get it above the rest of the system it would help 'burp' the system and be a convenient fill point.

 

[WYGoblin]

I don't know if anyone else has done this but I used my air lift tool to put a vacuum on the cooling system and sucked the coolant into the engine. I have run the car multiple times and no air bubbles have came out. The level never dropped and temps were all good.

 

[Karter2026]

I don't know if anyone else has done this but I used my air lift tool to put a vacuum on the cooling system and sucked the coolant into the engine. I have run the car multiple times and no air bubbles have came out. The level never dropped and temps were all good.

I did the same Never added a drop after the initial fill. Now when I drained it for the SC install I vacuumed it down and filled it I had to add about 8oz after that. I think it was because I did not have it completely empty. Great way to check for leaks also If it wont hold a vacuum it will leak coolant.

 

[Torchandregdoc]

I assume you are pulling your vacuum via the reservoir, where do you pull the coolant in from? I've probably assumed wrong.