V2 Researching building a V2

[Craig Baker]

Hello all I’m Craig.
Here looking at doing a V2. Things I’m interested in are garage space required during the build, maybe building with purchased parts vs a donor tear down?
I’m retirement age looking for a new project. I have taken a stock Honda Shadow 750 from stock to a light weight full dresser, most of that was bolt off bolt on stuff and running electrical wires. I’m looking forward to learning enough here to pull the trigger on a new project.

 

[Ross]

Some goblin builders put up a car sized tent, and strip the donor car down there, then scrap the car body, to make room for the DF kit car.
Most builders use one or two bays in their garage, to keep out of the weather. Start reading some build threads, and you will get a feel for what we have done.

 

[Desert Sasqwatch]

Welcome, Craig, to the forum. Goblin builds occur in all kinds of places, temporary shelters (tents) to full up automotive garages. The key is to have the right tools (hand tools required, automotive shop tools are nice to haves) and the ambition to finish what you start (which is fully assumed since you're asking these questions). And you're in good company with many old guys building or have built a Goblin as a project to keep you out of the house.

Lonny and Adam do recommend getting a donor to have all of the parts needed for the build in one place, but some have chosen to buy the part separately and have been successful. Of note, the donor has many of the extra nuts, bolts and washers that will run into some extra $$ to purchase to complete the build. Having an account with Rockauto is a good thing too.

 

[Rttoys]

I would highly recommend doner tear down. You’ll have everything there. If you try to buy everything, it’ll nickel and dime you to death.

As far as space, it can be done in a 1 car garage, but it’ll take organization and a lot of shuffling. The more space the better. If you are determined and willing, anything can be done, and like Ross said, you can get creative on making your own work area to get it done.

 

[Craig Baker]

Gentlemen I thank you all for the warm welcome and shared knowledge.
Ross’s comment of a tent size shelter is good, I can see doing that in our driveway For a donor tear down. Goblin build in the garage.
I did check on auto shop tools like engine hoist, jack stands floor jacks which I don’t have . I think I have all the other basic’s but will no doubt need something.
Thanks again.
Time for more research.

Craig

 

[Blizzard25]

Gentlemen I thank you all for the warm welcome and shared knowledge.
Ross’s comment of a tent size shelter is good, I can see doing that in our driveway For a donor tear down. Goblin build in the garage.
I did check on auto shop tools like engine hoist, jack stands floor jacks which I don’t have . I think I have all the other basic’s but will no doubt need something.
Thanks again.
Time for more research.

Craig

Depending on where you live, we're getting to the slow season of a lot of performance shops. There are some who well rent bays by the week (or month if they're really slow) and share tools so they still get paid on their shop space. It's an option worth exploring if you don't think you'd ever use any of the stuff after the build or if you want the "higher quality" things like lifts and compressor tools available. I've got a garage now but I did this back when I had an apartment trying to build one of my first cars.

 

[Adam]

In case you haven't seen it, I put together this write up to summarize and link to many of the techniques used by Goblin builders to help with building in a smaller space: Building a Kit Car in a Small Garage (or No Garage). You'll see that some guys have made it happen in very tight garages.

 

[SmsDetroit]

I built mine in a 10X20 car port

in February in Michigan.

 

[Craig Baker]

Depending on where you live, we're getting to the slow season of a lot of performance shops. There are some who well rent bays by the week (or month if they're really slow) and share tools so they still get paid on their shop space. It's an option worth exploring if you don't think you'd ever use any of the stuff after the build or if you want the "higher quality" things like lifts and compressor tools available. I've got a garage now but I did this back when I had an apartment trying to build one of my first cars.

Thanks for the tip.

 

[Craig Baker]

In case you haven't seen it, I put together this write up to summarize and link to many of the techniques used by Goblin builders to help with building in a smaller space: Building a Kit Car in a Small Garage (or No Garage). You'll see that some guys have made it happen in very tight garages.

Adam, thank you Sir. Going there now.

 

[Craig Baker]

Thanks for the input gentlemen. Another question. I’m comparing Exocet’s to Goblins for ease of build and cost. The Exocet seems less costly up front but their builder’s commen that much of the build is a learn it on your own program. How much seat of the pants work goes into goblins? Do you have fabricate say, seat belt and seat mounts?
Just a ball park question.

 

[Ross]

On my V1 goblin, I used the stock Cobalt seat belts, which just bolted in. When I added the 5 point harness, I did add a harness bar based on my sitting height, and end up drilling out 1 hole a bit bigger. The DF frame came with a center strap mounting tab with bolt hole, under the seat. This is just for those builders who upgrade to a race harness. The Cobalt seats did require a couple of small tweaks to get in, but those were pretty easy. Not sure about the V2 goblin, as those haven't started shipping out yet.

 

[Rttoys]

The V2 prototype has 5 point harness installed. I’m not sure if that’s the way it’s going or you can utilize the stock belts like the V1 does. Like Ross said on the V1, putting harnesses on was easy though.