PG5's Track Goblin - 2008 G5

[PG5]

Well after a 5 week search and 4 lost Copart auctions I finally got my donor! It’s a 2008 Pontiac G5 with 69k miles and I’m planning on building a Track Goblin with it. I took a bit of a risk on this G5 since it wasn’t listed as Running. But I figured I would bid on it anyway since it was at a Copart yard that was only about 35 miles away. Well I got this sucker for a winning bid of $200.

I think the tow truck driver was a bit confused as to why I was so excited about a 9yr old wrecked Pontiac.

Well like a kid on Christmas I had to tear into this thing. The engine was pinned down by the front bumper brace and upper radiator support (I think that's what it's called anyway) . After clearing out some of the debris It appears that almost everything is okay. The sub-frame isn't bent, just the radiator support in the front. No visible cracks in the intake manifold. Alternator and throttle body are fine. I tried to see if it would crank, but the battery was completely dead. After hooking up a spare battery, I realized the yard must have left the Hazards on which drained the battery completely.

Anyway, the silly thing won't crank. Nothing but a click. The only OBD Trouble Code I'm getting is a Throttle position high/low. Upon further investigation I found a part of the harness has been cut. So I guess I'll be repairing that and then trying again.

I'm wondering if I can still use the donors battery? It was run down to just 1 Volt. I'm guessing there might be no coming back from that.

 

[DanPerryy]

The trunk and rear end look real nice. Getting it to start is key before pulling it apart. For $200 you can't go wrong.

 

[Adam]

You can't just show us part of that off-road buggy on the passenger side of the donor without explaining more and showing more photos.

I'd say your next step is to cut the core support out of the way so you can get a good look at the throttle body, intake and everything else on the front.

 

[PG5]

Oh right! That's my nephews Go-kart which is actually what inspired me to build a Goblin! The basic plans were provided by Spidercarts and we cut and welded the frame together. That project was wrapping up which was causing project withdrawal for me. I actually don't have any good pictures of the Go-kart, but I got one of the G5 that you can see more of the Kart.

 

[PHerder]

PG5 your picture (?) must be private as all I see is a circle with a "-" in the middle.

 

[PG5]

Woops! I thought I had that whole album set as public. Does it show up now?

 

[PHerder]

Woops! I thought I had that whole album set as public. Does it show up now?

Yes! Problem solved!

 

[JSATX]

Welcome! It'll be very interesting to see the differences (if any) between that and the cobalt...as far as I know you're the first with a G5.

 

[PG5]

Well I worked on the G5 a little over the weekend. Turns out the starter was hit in the accident, and the signal cable was ripped out. So with a bit of engineering I got everything hooked up and got it started! I couldn't run it for too long since there is no radiator. I'll probably do a compression check and then start the tear down.

My project has been delayed a bit. My parent are so excited about this project that they decided I needed to be more comfortable in the garage. They showed up with a van full of construction material to finish my garage. So I need to clear that stuff out of the way before I can get started on the Goblin again.

 

[PG5]

Well I finally got through with my little garage renovation project. It's really nice working in a garage with A/C and insulated walls, I didn't even break a sweat this weekend!
I got through parts 1 & 2 and started on part 3 of the build guide.

The build guide was really easy to follow. The only problem I ran into was my door connector was a little different. I had close the door and remove the bolts so I could access the plug. It had a white latch that I had to lift to remove it.

I got the seats out of the car and the interior cleaned up

The rotors were really rusted too. I guess I should be able to clean them up

 

[PG5]

Well I got to work on my project a little this weekend. Managed to get most of the interior stripped and pulled the powertrain.

I was pulling the engine when I discovered I'd forgotten to disconnect the hydraulic clutch line. For the life of me I couldn't figure how to disconnect the line so I cut it.... So? Bad Idea?

Oh I forgot to mention my Donor came with a few bonuses:

Do you think I could reuse these in the Goblin?

 

[PG5]

Well my nephew has been taking up all my time on the weekends so I haven't had much time to work on my project. Altho we did finish his:

We built the whole thing from scratch using some plans we purchased from Spidercarts. The cart had to be lengthened mid way through the project cause the boy started growing like a weed.

 

[JSATX]

Well my nephew has been taking up all my time on the weekends so I haven't had much time to work on my project. Altho we did finish his:

We built the whole thing from scratch using some plans we purchased from Spidercarts. The cart had to be lengthened mid way through the project cause the boy started growing like a weed.

That's neat! Ive been looking for a similar project for my little brother. Any idea of the cost all said and done?

 

[PG5]

Thanks, We had a lot of fun! We'll be building the Goblin together next

I believe it was about $1,800. I highly recommend Spidercarts.com. They have several detailed plans available, with suggested parts list and estimated cost.

 

[PG5]

I'm working on my donor and wondering if I should keep the parking brake and cable if I'm thinking about adding a parking brake in the future?

 

[TheNuker]

I'm working on my donor and wondering if I should keep the parking brake and cable if I'm thinking about adding a parking brake in the future?

In another thread Lonny said to keep it in case their able to use it in the final design.

Nuker

 

[PG5]

Thanks! I thought I read that somewhere but wasn't sure.

 

[kalishek]

Roll bar needed. Boys will be boys.

 

[PG5]

Well, I finally got the donor totally scrapped but I ran into a problem. I called a couple of places to haul off the donor and they told me they aren't interested in my shell! What the heck!?

I guess my Nephew and I will be cutting this sucker up.

 

[PHerder]

Call a metal recycling business as opposed to salvage yards. You might have better luck but you may not get anything for the metal as the cost of hauling it off would offset the price of the metal.