IDRVSLO / TRACK / 08 SS TC **REGISTERED** #105

IDRVSLO

Goblin Guru
Well it hasnt officially started but I purchased my donor today. I wasnt in the mood to hunt anything down at auctions and I searched awhile for a SC car that wasnt just beat. Ended up buying an 08 TC for $2,300. The owner had the car inspected by GM and it has 50% during leak down in the 3rd and 4th cylinders. It is down in CA so I am having it shipped up to WA state. Overall the car is extremely clean and will provide an easy tear down. My plan will either be to build the engine, nothing crazy but slightly better than factory build or to buy a new engine and just drop it in.

There will be plenty of good parts to sell off which will work out great. The car has 76k on it currently.

I will be going with a track frame and look to have this completed over the winter time. Super stoked! I went back and forth between this and an Exocet but ultimately the cleanliness of the build, community, engine power and design won me over.
 

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ctuinstra

Goblin Guru
Congratulations on the purchase! Welcome to the build process. Glad to hear you finally found your donor car and with 76K, many of the parts should be still good to go.

While you have the engine out, it's a good time to take care of the 3 and 4 along with anything else that might need attention. Then you know you have a good strong, solid build. Being an 08, is this a turbo car? New piston/rings and clean up the cylinder and it should be good. Unless the owner didn't change the oil or run it low like Tiffany's car.

Good luck on the build. Let us know if you need any help.
 

IDRVSLO

Goblin Guru
Thx! Might just opt for a new long block to be safe. Zzp sells them on eBay for 2k shipped. New OEM.

I will lean on threads here for sure. Not sure when I will be ordering the frame....soon hopefully!
 

ctuinstra

Goblin Guru
They have caught up on the orders since we ordered. Our lead time was almost six months, that was during a huge restructuring they were going through because of the high volume of orders. I believe they are down to probably 6-8 weeks I'm guessing. But it's something to keep in mind, the stripping process doesn't take long at all, two weekends. The cleaning a prep takes as long as how picky you are. So in other words, don't wait too long on the frame. Order stage one and two at the same time if you can swing it. Stage one will be done in a week and then you will end up waiting on Stage 2.
 

IDRVSLO

Goblin Guru
Yeah, my timeline is pretty loose. Not in a huge rush but once the car arrives I am sure I will start to get anxious. I will be planning things out over the next few weeks. Then start parting out/tearing down the donor. Good advice on lead time. I'm working backwards from an April 1st completion date.
 

IDRVSLO

Goblin Guru
The donor will be here by the 21st. Going to concentrate quite a bit of time on prepping the parts and determining the best route to go with the engine. I am leaning towards just buying a new one.
 

IDRVSLO

Goblin Guru
No update.....wont have one for some time. Just picking through all of the build threads and learning. Gathering inspiration to make this my own is fun. Just need to pick out a color theme! Im anxious for the donor to show up so I can strip it down and start to recoup funds. My chassis will be completed pretty quickly and I need to clear out space for it.
 

Dre

Well-Known Member
You got a good vehicle with low miles... and your chassis will be completed quickly. You could possibly order a color swatch from Prizmatic powders to help decide what the colors look like in person.
 

Brian74

Goblin Guru
No update.....wont have one for some time. Just picking through all of the build threads and learning. Gathering inspiration to make this my own is fun. Just need to pick out a color theme! Im anxious for the donor to show up so I can strip it down and start to recoup funds. My chassis will be completed pretty quickly and I need to clear out space for it.
Prismatic powders will send you as many powdercoat swatches as you want for cheap. You can order them from their website.
 

Briann1177

Goblin Guru
That's a real nice donor you got there. It will almost break your heart tearing it apart. It did for me. But I was over it by the time I got the hood off. :)
 

IDRVSLO

Goblin Guru
Yeah I am excited about tearing it down. Knowing what will come of this donor is all that matters. I will be spending some good time working to recoup some funds and then ordering the LDK longblock. No engine cleaning for me!
 

ctuinstra

Goblin Guru
Nice donor! A few ZZP parts, too bad some of them can't be used. These cars were always tweaked by someone. I wonder if it also had a tune on it by ZZP. Looks like it has a sticker on the ECM. You might consider flashing it back to stock with the new longblock, you never know what kind of tune it has on it.
 
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