Tony's City Goblin - 2010 SS/TC

[Tony]

There we go, much better. I did my best to space out the crimps so as not to trade a wad of folded wires for a wad of fat crimps. The brake switch wires on the left (knotted) still need to be extended and the grounds need cleaned up, but I was hungry, my back hurt from sitting on the floor, and it was beer o'clock.

Back to repairing my dunderhead move... I did, of course, cut the wires as close to the connectors as I could, but luckily I was still able to de-pin both and solder a new wire in between. Normally, I'm of the "non-insulated crimp connector and adhesive heat shrink" camp, but these needed to be soldered to keep the diameter down, since the joint was going to be inside the connector.

 

[Tony]

Hope everyone had a great holiday weekend, I know I did. Sat around the pool getting fat with my parents, but not working much on the Goblin. Had a few minutes to dedicate last night, so I got the grounds cleaned up on the dash harness. Still need to put in the brake switch connector, but I'd like to have a brake switch for that. It got broken during the teardown, then I ordered a new one from rockauto, only to receive a clutch switch instead. Annoyingly, they're clocked slightly differently, so they don't interchange. Anyway, apart from that, I should be set to lay in the body harness and line up the wires to be extended.

 

[Tony]

Got the frame spun around to make it easier to slap in the powertrain for fit/function checks (deadlift skills coming in handy haha). Also rolled the powertrain out back for some cleaning. Siphon gun + mineral spirits worked pretty well for cleaning off gunk and grime, but there's still quite a bit of oxidation. Wirebrushing does a pretty good job at cleaning that off, but it's a slow process. I have a brass cup brush on my drill, but that's as effective at killing the battery as it is cleaning. I need to suck it up and bust out the angle grinder brush (and appropriate safety gear).

Went to mount the fuel tank... but I think my straps are too long. Is the turbo fuel tank smaller than base model or am I missing something?

 

[Tony]

When your roommate leaves town for the weekend, and the neighbor is borrowing the engine hoist, you find out exactly what the minimum necessary manpower/equipment is to put in the powertrain. If you're wondering, it's a wheel dolly at the front, a furniture dolly under the engine, and one person. Look away now, OSHA.

Anyone have any insight on my fuel tank strap dilemma?

 

[Adam]

Went to mount the fuel tank... but I think my straps are too long. Is the turbo fuel tank smaller than base model or am I missing something?

We modify the fuel tank clamps to be the right length. Does yours look like it has been cut and spot welded back together on the side in front of the tank? I'm shipping you a replacement clamp and several other pieces today.

 

[Tony]

Spent the day fabbing some seat rails. Cut four pieces of 1 inch angle like this, with notched ends to maximize the weld length.

They fit over the cross bars nicely, so they only raise the mounting surface by the thickness of the steel (1/8").

I tacked in the rails, then marked and drilled the holes such that the seat was all the way back and in the most upright position that I anticipate using. That way, I can slide it forward a couple notches and lean it back some for a more relaxed position. I also angled it slightly toward the center to point more at the pedals.

Seat height is great. Only a couple inches off the deck.

 

[Tony]

Some scary backwards progress... I finished welding the seat rails all around, and after stomping out what I thought was all the sparks, I went inside to eat dinner and let the fumes clear. When I came back out later, there were flames... never a good sign. Luckily I had an extinguisher handy.

I got pretty lucky that there wasn't too much damage. I caught it before it spread to anything important, but I did lose a few connectors on the dash harness. Thankfully, the carnage didn't make it up the wires too far, so I'll be able to snip some connectors from a pick-a-part and replace them. Moral of the story - don't be a dunce like me and weld over top of a moving blanket.

 

[PG5]

Oh my Gosh! I'm glad you're alright and it wasn't worse.

I've set a few things on fire in the garage over the years and it's never fun. A fire extinguisher is a must!

 

[Tony]

Been a while since the last update, as I was on vacation last week. but now I'm ready to get back at it.

Fabbed a quick and dirty license plate bracket to prepare for powder coat later this week. Just two holes, but seems plenty strong.

Plate mounted (borrowed from T/A). Can't tell if it looks crooked in this picture, or if it's just because the powertrain is sitting really crooked (it's not bolted up), but it's fairly straight.

Chose the location for easy mounting of this little white LED strip. Should be plenty bright.

I touched base with a local powder coat shop (that is Prismacolor Illusion-approved) and got a quote, will hopefully be able to get in Thursday or Friday this week. I'm really excited to get that done and start real assembly. It's tough to stay motivated to put things together when you know they have to come right back apart.

 

[Waterdriver]

Do you mind me asking what your quote was to powdercoat?
I got a quote here WA and it was $1200-$1500 using the Illusion line powder.

 

[Tony]

I was quoted $650 for coating and sandblasting, but he thought my frame was already painted and he'd be stripping that off, so I'm hoping $600.

 

[SliderR1]

what a small world... I graduated from Rose in 2002...

 

[Tony]

what a small world... I graduated from Rose in 2002...

Small world indeed, I was 2012. Wonder if that makes Rose the most popular alma mater among Goblin builders? haha

With all the rear lights mocked into place, I was able to route/combine the wires. I'll put a 6-pin metripack connector to keep it separable from the fuse box, but at this point that's all it needs. Even got all the right wire colors.

The LED CHMSL that I got is actually a motorcycle tail unit, and has turn signals built in, but the way the Cobalt/Goblin integrates brake/turn using the BCM meant I couldn't hook those up. They weren't very bright anyway - couldn't really see them if the brake light was on.

 

[Tony]

Dropped the frame (and other parts) off for coating yesterday. I wanted to include the valve cover, but I ran into an issue getting it off. Does anyone have any insight into how I'm supposed to get a disconnect tool onto this line?? It's behind a riveted baffle on the inside, so I don't think I can just pop the fitting out.

Somewhat related question - anyone know if there's anything under that baffle that would make it unsuitable for powder coat baking? At this point, I may just paint the thing. I was originally wanting it to match the illusion purple, but now I'm thinking it may look better if I match the gold from the wheels.

 

[JSATX]

Dropped the frame (and other parts) off for coating yesterday. I wanted to include the valve cover, but I ran into an issue getting it off. Does anyone have any insight into how I'm supposed to get a disconnect tool onto this line?? It's behind a riveted baffle on the inside, so I don't think I can just pop the fitting out.

Somewhat related question - anyone know if there's anything under that baffle that would make it unsuitable for powder coat baking? At this point, I may just paint the thing. I was originally wanting it to match the illusion purple, but now I'm thinking it may look better if I match the gold from the wheels.

All the little differences are so interesting. Mine just has a ~3/8 nipple there and a rubber line.

Where does that braided line in the picture connect to? I thought it went to the PCV solenoid on the drivers side of the engine but it looks like yours goes straight down

 

[Tony]

All the little differences are so interesting. Mine just has a ~3/8 nipple there and a rubber line.

Where does that braided line in the picture connect to? I thought it went to the PCV solenoid on the drivers side of the engine but it looks like yours goes straight down

Don't have a good picture of it to tell you exactly, but it connects to the turbo. Obviously on the compressor side (based on the capped inlet and the turbine under the heat shield on the left).

 

[Tony]

All the little differences are so interesting. Mine just has a ~3/8 nipple there and a rubber line.

Where does that braided line in the picture connect to? I thought it went to the PCV solenoid on the drivers side of the engine but it looks like yours goes straight down

To satisfy your curiousity (and mine) I snapped a couple pics at lunch

 

[PHerder]

Oil return from the turbo?

 

[Tony]

Oil return from the turbo?

Nope, that's on the bottom of the turbo, down into the pan. I'm thinking it's the fresh air intake for the PCV system, based on where it is plumbed into the compressor inlet.

 

[Tony]

Nope, that's on the bottom of the turbo, down into the pan. I'm thinking it's the fresh air intake for the PCV system, based on where it is plumbed into the compressor inlet.

I stand corrected, that would be the other braided line. This one is actually the PCV outlet... as in, oily air gets spit directly into the turbo haha.