LEA Goblin

[Emberbronte]

OK guys, I've been lurking a long time and doing a ton of planning and reading, and I finally took the first step towards my kit car, chose DFgoblin and an ECOTEC LEA engine, I wanted the direct injection and E85, and went with the NA 2.4 as I plan on adding a larger turbo later, going for high power. I have the engine and a few extras it came with I will be rebuilding it up to the spec I want and getting it ready before I buy the kit and get the rest of the parts I need over time. will be pulling some from pull-a-part and other buying new as I want special parts, not just OEM ones. any help or suggestions along the way is always appreciated, especially with there not being many performance parts designed for the LEA. right now it's just tear down and clean up to make sure all is in good order then building out the lower end, forged pistons and rods and balance shaft delete.

anyone know how to pull the DI injectors? mine seem to be in there tight. or im missing something.

P.S. I also posted on Imgur if anyone recognizes the pictures.

 

[JSATX]

Hell yeah, love to see builds branching out. What was the donor vehicle? How are you going to wire everything without one?

 

[Emberbronte]

the engine came from a rear-ended GMC Terraine, it came with a wiring harness, but I found too many chewed wires in it, ill look at fixing it or sourcing another harness. a lot of these match the LE5 mixed with LNF head.

 

[Desert Sasqwatch]

Blake, welcome to the forum. See you are in Louisiana(?), there are a few other builders down your way and you should look them up. Have you seen or ridden in a Goblin? If not, they will be a good resource and may be close enough to meet up with you. Once you have ridden in a Goblin there is no turning back, you will want to get one built even more!

I can completely understand the path you are taking, getting many parts gathered around and prepped up before committing to buying a donor and kit, as I did the same thing. Keep in mind that the Goblin family is always here to help and there are not too many questions and issues that have not been asked, make sure you search the forum thoroughly. You made a good choice to build a Goblin and will find it will be a great challenge.

 

[Emberbronte]

thanks DS, yes I live in LA, and no, i haven't ridden in one, but i have always loved open frames and wanted a uncommon kit car. i will see if i can find if any of the others are in the area.

 

[Desert Sasqwatch]

I researched the Goblin for about 6 months before committing to the process. I purchased an engine, transmission, clutch/flywheel, wheels & tires, plus many other items before I bought my donor (08 SS/TC). I purchase my donor from Copart mainly for the suspension, brakes, and electronics. The car was a rearender (pretty bad), but had a good engine and trans that I sold off with many other parts and actually made money on my donor. I also waited to get my kit ordered, mainly due to wanting a special frame mod to be completed by DF, to accommodate the F40 trans I am using. I received my kit about 3 weeks ago and have been working slowly on it for now - I have work to complete on my daily driver Jeep first.

 

[Emberbronte]

yeah, ive spent over a year figuring out just what i want to do, aiming for 400+whp, small goal is to top 350hp, and yes ive been reading through your F40 will it fit blog, as this came with an automatic and i want a manual (what the point of power if i can't control it) I will also be getting an F40 eventually to put on. and some performance more adjustable suspension, and because of all that go power a bigger need to stop, some beefier brakes, so im thinking i don't need a full doner.

and yeah i know how projects go, if you look in the pics, i had just finished the craftsman riding tractor, need to rebuild the seadoo engine, need to finish the Suzuki dirtbike, and that grizzly 4wheeler probably needs a top-end redo

 

[Emberbronte]

still tearing down, getting ready for the hot tank.

 

[Desert Sasqwatch]

Any idea how many miles on the engine? Doesn't look too bad on the inside, just looks like a lot of varnish and carbon build up. Should clean up well, but the truth will told when you get the chance to start measuring parts - total wear and tear.

 

[Emberbronte]

estimate between 80k and 120k, but looks like they where using cheap oil on a long schedueal this stuff is dark