JS City Goblin - 2010 LS

JSATX

Goblin Guru
Howdy!

Another Future Texas Goblin here. I found out about the Goblin several months ago after looking for four-wheeled alternatives to my motorcycling habit. Basically I wanted the closest thing I could get to my sportbikes, but with a little more rubber contact area!

After going back and forth between an LS and SS, and searching through 1000's of photos looking for a manual shifter I finally found what I was looking for. I really wanted a 2009 or 2010, and it had to have under 120k. I found one in Arkansas, and while I definitely paid more than I wanted to, it met all the criteria well.

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It was surprisingly clean, and after charging the battery it ran great. Brakes, clutch, transmission and electrical system all worked correctly, and no warning lights were present. Once I got it lifted up I was glad to find no leaks, there was some sub frame damage but it was from running over something and didnt appear bent.

The disassembly went well. I only had one weekend available to work on the disassembly, as the car is at my parents house a few hours away from mine. I started Friday night, and finished early Sunday, it was a bit rushed, but it definitely can be done. A common assortment of tools was used, with ample crowbar and BFH action as I wasn't going to try and resell anything. ( that's probably one reason to get an SS, there is much more demand for the seats and various other parts whereas base equipment is just not worth the hassle to sell as far as I could tell)

Honestly I'd say the most important tool was a couple of little tools :)
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Because working under that dash is miserable. Luckily they were able to remove nearly all of the under dash components while I removed the engine.

I did not remove the dash in one piece as suggested in the donor parts guide, mostly because it felt like you had to pull the whole thing apart to access the main bolts.
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Pretty soon I had the front end completly apart. I was planning on doing a bit of work to the engine so went ahead and removed the engine harness before I pulled it. While the car was jacked up I slid a flat dolly underneath the subframe....

Then used some forks and lifted the whole frame up over the engine.
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I followed Adam's instructions not to cut any wire, and probably went way overboard. I traced every single wire to its termination. I probably could have unplugged the doors at the hinges, and various other connections, but went ahead and left all large and small connectors connected. This required complete interior tear down. Every last piece of carpet, the door panels and the headliner and airbag covers had to come off. But eventually it was done, and.... HOLY **** THATS A LOT OF WIRE.
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JSATX

Goblin Guru
Thats all for now. I brought all the wire home with me to redo, and left everything else there as I will probably take the frame to my parents larger shop when my first stage is finished.
 
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DanPerryy

Well-Known Member
The wires look daunting, but it is not that hard, a bit time consuming. I think my harness has about 30 hours in it now (I need to add them up) and it is ready for installation (fit) into the frame.
 

Adam

Administrator
Staff member
That looks like a great donor. Did it come with that Spiderman wallet?
 

JSATX

Goblin Guru
Haha unfortunately not.

I'm trying to decide on wheels. I found a set that I like but all four are 15x8. It seems like a lot of the Miata guys run 15x8s all around with 205s. I'm thinking 225/50 in the rear and 205/45 in the front if I can find them. Pretty much have the choices narrowed down to either the Konig Dial ins or the Helix. Just can't decide! I'd rather have gloss black, but I also like the look of fewer spokes. Hmmmm
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Johvans

Well-Known Member
Haha unfortunately not.

I'm trying to decide on wheels. I found a set that I like but all four are 15x8. It seems like a lot of the Miata guys run 15x8s all around with 205s. I'm thinking 225/50 in the rear and 205/45 in the front if I can find them. Pretty much have the choices narrowed down to either the Konig Dial ins or the Helix. Just can't decide! I'd rather have gloss black, but I also like the look of fewer spokes. HmmmmView attachment 427View attachment 428
What color frame and body work are you planning on? Where in Texas are you located?
 

JSATX

Goblin Guru
I'm in Austin. The paint scheme isn't fully planned out, I am just trying to mimic a motorcycle I once had. The frame will be candy apple red, with a white body and red nosecone/ racing stripe.
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DanPerryy

Well-Known Member
What a bike!!! I rode dirt bikes all my life. In the 60's BSA made a 441 Victor. It was not that great of dirt bike, but it had this awesome "thumper" single cylinder engine.
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Later I bought my first street bike, inspired by the looks of the BSA - it was a 1976 Yamaha SR500.

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JSATX

Goblin Guru
Neat! I used to have a '78 XS750. But most recently an SV1000S and a CRF450R.

The only bike I still have is a project I've been working on with a friend. Turbocharged ZX9 boosted to the moon. Methanol injection, programmable ECU, forged internals, the works.

I figure on driving the goblin with base stock motor for about a year and then doing pretty much the same thing on it with rods/pistons and probably a GT28 type turbo, though that might be a tad small for what I want.
 

DanPerryy

Well-Known Member
I have the GM Ecotec powersport book - $17. They have amazing mods to the engine. Parts list of aftermarket stuff. Rebuild instructions. The have a 325 HP normally aspirated build!!! I am planning on taking pictures and posting (like the service manual pages) of the book.
 

JSATX

Goblin Guru
I have the GM Ecotec powersport book - $17. They have amazing mods to the engine. Parts list of aftermarket stuff. Rebuild instructions. The have a 325 HP normally aspirated build!!! I am planning on taking pictures and posting (like the service manual pages) of the book.
Is this what you're talking about? It's already in PDF. If it's something else please let me know I've been trying to read everything I can get my hands on in regards to these engines.

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BxzZSAoBkpbdLUVudXNnN0hrQ2M/edit
 

DanPerryy

Well-Known Member
Well, I wasted $17. Is this link posted on the Goblin website? We should created a thread with the link.
 

Adam

Administrator
Staff member
I made a new section for technical resources. You should see it on the front page of the forum now. I've moved over a few of the threads that were engine related.
 

JSATX

Goblin Guru
Went and picked up the frame Friday! Spent most of Friday night and Saturday morning cleaning the steel up some. Lots of mineral spirits and elbow grease to remove the surface oxidation around the welds and such.

I had pretty elaborate paint plans. But after cleaning and going to a couple stores I decided to just shoot it with Rustoleum enamel. The primer sprayed well out of my HVLP with no thinner or anything, was really happy with how it laid down. The paint however, was very difficult to keep from spattering. I finally thinned it down quite a lot but overall I'm wondering if I should have just rattle canned it. Because with the tube frame, it's actually quite difficult to tell a good spray pattern from a bad one since every surface is curved.
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I really only decided to paint for two reasons. One, it was one small way to save some money on the build, and two if I want to install additional brackets I can just sand back an area and hit it with a quick coat when done. For those wanting less work, definitely get it powder coated. I've seen 7 or 8 that they've had coated and it's pretty awesome.
 
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JSATX

Goblin Guru
I was lucky it happened to be a cool calm day. We have a large spray booth but it takes several hours to set up. So I took two tow straps and tied the front of the frame to a tree and the back to the tractor forks. It looked seriously redneck but I was able to rase and lower it with the forks so it worked out well. Def a few bugs in the paint but they will hopefully buff right out.
 

JSATX

Goblin Guru
And for future reference for anyone else, I was unable to get the steering wheel off by beating the back of it ala first stage assembly instructions. So I hooked a slide hammer and bearing puller to the steering wheel bracket immediately below the shaft. It took several hard hits before it let loose.
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