Goblin not from a Cobalt

EcotecNation

EcotecNation

Member
Hi Everyone, my name is Angie and I am new to the Goblin community. Many of you already know me though as I am not new to the Ecotec world. I own EcotecNation which is a large tight knit Ecotec community that hosts large Ecotec meets, holds fundraisers for members in emergent need, offers a large network of help and solid advice from reputable sources, and is way more than just a Facebook troll group.

So, why am I here? Because we are building a Goblin! When I say "we," I mean that EcotecNation is building one. There will be an open invite to anyone in our community that wants to come turn wrenches in our shop. The most important part? Our Goblin is being built from an Ion, not a Cobalt. We will not use any Cobalt parts. We will only use the parts from our Ion Redline which is a 2.0 Supercharged LSJ engine. Adam from DF is completely supporting this effort and we are super excited to share all of our information with him, and to have Over the Top Performance as the fabricator for any special parts that we need, OEM Parts Depot (formerly CED), on board for supplying any worn or old GM parts that need replacing, and ZZPerformance will tune it when we are done. To us, this project is important because it helps sustain our LSJ/ LNF community. Redline's are parted out and sold for super cheap so this will hopefully slow down the death of the Redline by simply breathing new life in to a car that was wrecked or is just tired. This also brings new builders to the table, new questions, ideas and situations, allowing the Goblin community even more growth.

Anyway, I just wanted to introduce us and our project! As our build begins, there will be a detailed video series. I am the photo/video department head for a large classics/muscle car dealership, so this project will be incredible well documented. And of course in true EcotecNation fashion, we started a Facebook group for builders/ owners, and people that are just curious about Goblins, in general. We haven't shared it yet but if anyone is interested, the address is https://www.facebook.com/groups/dfgoblinbuilders. It's not nearly as useful as this forum but it's always fun for sharing a quick photo or question on the fly.
 

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EcotecNation

EcotecNation

Member
Briann1177 said:
This is awesome. Just out of curiosity, why not use any Cobalt parts?
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Only because we want to ensure that it can be done solely from an Ion. My resources are quite expansive so weird or hard to lay hands on Cobalt parts are everywhere for me. But someone that has an Ion build going on may not be able to find a part as easily as I can OR there simply may not be what we need available. The goal is for it to be 100% Ion parts and if fitment requires special mounts, adapters, couplers, extensions, etc. DF will already have that resourced from OTTP in the form of an Ion adapter kit.
 
IDRVSLO

IDRVSLO

Goblin Guru
Haha, yours too, thanks! Any Pacific NW(Seattle) Cobalt/Ion/EcotecNation events going on this year? I would love to stop by with my Goblin as would a few others in the area. Also when will your kit arrive?
 
EcotecNation

EcotecNation

Member
We are looking to begin stripping the donor in January and are planning to pick up our kit in February. Since this is a busy restoration and repair shop, we don't want to take up too much space with our project and be in the way. But, I would love to do something out that way. We are based in Maryland, Pennsylvania and New York. The farthest out west we get is Illinois and Wisconsin for the CED Mega Meet. I'd love to keep on trucking and get out to the West coast! If I could tow my Redline Goblin with my LSJ-T built Redline, I'd be stacked! lol
 
ctuinstra

ctuinstra

Goblin Guru
I'll bet the ION is fairly easy to use. The engine is pretty much the same. The mounts may be different depending on the transmission, but the passenger side could use, dare I say it, a Cobalt mount. Obviously the dash and wiring will be different and will need to be sorted out without much help from the videos other than the basics.

This should be interesting for sure!
 
EcotecNation

EcotecNation

Member
ctuinstra said:
I'll bet the ION is fairly easy to use. The engine is pretty much the same. The mounts may be different depending on the transmission, but the passenger side could use, dare I say it, a Cobalt mount. Obviously the dash and wiring will be different and will need to be sorted out without much help from the videos other than the basics.

This should be interesting for sure!
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So far the differences that we know of are going to be mounting the cluster, possibly a bit of wiring because the body harness lengths are different, clutch pedals are different and actually operate a bit differently and there may need to be a slight adaptation in the braking system. That's just so far, without doing more than watch the videos. Also, the rolled steel control arms will be replaced with alloy arms that have solid bushings. Mounts between the cobalt and ion are the same because the engine and trans are the same as is the cradle.

I have zero doubt that this is going to be interesting once we get in to it!!
 
ctuinstra

ctuinstra

Goblin Guru
It sounds like it’s going to be a fairly easy project as far as deviating from the normal.

Tha alloy arms probably are the same as the SS/SC models. We have those in ours and also installed the solid bushings. Oddly, I didn’t even realize at first I had put them in there.
 
EcotecNation

EcotecNation

Member
Yeah, the arms are a standard upgrade for the redline, from the SS/TC. Actually, we run the struts too with Powell YYZ springs. In order for us to run the bushings we have to have the control arms as well. They’re the one cobalt part that we will run in our goblin.
 
EcotecNation

EcotecNation

Member
Since the EcotecNation Goblin from a Redline project is heavily sponsored, I wanted to take a minute to tell all of you about these guys and how they have impacted the Ecotec community and all of the amazing things that many of you are missing out on! Don’t worry! I’m not here to spam as this is useful info that can only improve our builds!

OEM PARTS DEPOT
Owned by a huge Cobalt enthusiast named Tom Rominski that has been a huge staple in our community. He carries OEM Cobalt and Ion parts that no one else has or can get. Brembo conversion kits, IC pumps, and GMPP Clutch kits, are just a few of those things. Tom even has OEM engine internals for rebuilds and crate Ecotec Motors. His prices are great and he’s super knowledgeable.

OVER THE TOP PERFORMANCE
Another company that has been around the Ecotec community for a long time. Owned by Josh Barrington, OTTP is a one man show that shouldn’t be overlooked. His product line is fantastic! His mounts, solid shifter bushings, shifter brackets, supercharger pulleys and hubs, billet fuel rails, and the allmighty solid control arm bushings are beautifully blingy, well made and just fantastic quality products. He also carries engine upgrade parts like balance shaft delete kits, stage 4 supercharger cams, and timing chain kits with the upgraded bolt that replaces the broken stock bolt. OTTP will be providing us with control arm bushings, maybe a timing kit, and will be fabricating any adapters that we may need to make the Goblin kit work for an Ion.

MR BELVIDERE’S ECOTECS
John Walters is an engine builder that has been around since he bought his Cobalt new and has made a huge mark on our community. From ring jobs to complete builds, John’s work is matched by no other. My personal experience with him is that he rebuilt my engine after it spun a bearing and did a little upgrading in the process. My new engine was amazing right off the bat and put down 400hp at only 4K RPM’s with a ported head, small turbo and E85. John is an honest businessman, a meticulous builder and is always there to give out advice when we are stuck on something. This guy is surely one of our most important resources. John will be out to help us swap cams, do our timing kit and help us with some general wrench turning shenanigans.

CATEGORY V PORTWORX
A small company based out of Troy Ohio that’s owned by “Redline OG,” Josh Billheimer. Josh is an expert at handling Ecotec engines and has spent countless hours behind his flow bench porting heads for all of us that have high HP Ecotec builds, some of us topping 600hp. Since Ecotec heads don’t have optimal airflow for boosted builds, Josh’s work is there to give us that extra push! Coupled with his supercharger porting services, you are guaranteed sweet gains from Josh’s work. Regarding our build, Josh will be out to help us with the new clutch, and will also be porting our supercharger and head.

WIDDOWMAKER MANIFOLDS
A small operation whose product is a big deal to many of us, Jason Widdowson is a Cobalt owner that runs the Unicorn H62 blower on his car. His real claim to fame is his single pass intake manifold. Jason has track tested time and time again with consistent results that show a smooth low temp in his intercooling system, resulting in more power. Jason has also tested and offers a high flow IC pump. Our Goblin will indeed be running one of his manifolds to compliment our Cat V p&p blower.

ZZP
No real introduction necessary, as you already know these guys! They’ve been around for a long time and they just keep doing cooler and cooler things! We will have our Goblin tunes by our favorite ZZP tuner, and EcotecNation group admin, Al McClure, when the time comes.

B3 DRIVETRAIN SOLUTIONS
Another amazing Ecotec resource that is certainly worthy of your attention. Jason Perroto is an Ecotec owner turned Ecotec Junkie that builds the best and strongest transmissions around. Thinking about that A/T Goblin but want to replace that auto with a manual that you can beat the hell out of? Jason will build you a bulletproof trans that stands the true test of hard work and abuse like no other. *disclaimer* I don’t know for a fact that that the A/T can be converted but there’s only one way to find out! :p:p:p B3 will be providing some transmission internal upgrades.

VELOCITY AEROWORKS
Another amazing vendor. Beautiful spark plug cover plates, fuel rail cover plates and fuse box cover plates that they will cut, polish, powder coat and paint for you. Your design! You need downforce? They have downforce! Splitters... spoilers... you name it, they will make it!

These guys have all been huge in the success of quite a few Ecotec big builds as well as so many of our quarter and half mile track stars, and I’m proud to have them along for this ride and to share this information with all of you!
 
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EcotecNation

EcotecNation

Member
I’ve considered it. I like John very much but I don’t know that a project like this is his bag. He’s been doing a lot of Camaro stuff lately.
 
EcotecNation

EcotecNation

Member
JeffsGoblin said:
Could you please provide web site links for these resources?
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Sure!

OEM Parts Depot- www.Oempartsdepot.com
OTTP- www.ottperformance.com
ZZP- www.zzperformance.com

Category V Portworx, B3 Drivetrain Solutions, and Velocity Aeroworks are all small businesses that mostly operate via Facebook business pages under their respective names.
https://m.facebook.com/categoryvportworx/
https://m.facebook.com/velocityaerowerks/
https://m.facebook.com/B3DesignF35/

Mr Belvidere’s Ecotecs(John Walters) and Widdowmaker Manifolds (Jason Widdowson) are both very small operations that have kept their businesses exclusive to the Ecotec community and operate by word of mouth, telephone and Facebook contact. They’re two of our best kept secrets! Lol
John’s phone number is 606-314-1039, Facebook profile - https://m.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000189842828&ref=content_filter
Jason’s phone 4405068464 and his
profile- https://m.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001405457778&ref=content_filter

All of them know each other and work together on projects. When my engine was built by Mr Belvedere, Widdowmaker and Category V went out to help with final assembly and install. It’s a pretty incredible builders community.
 
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