Cant find SS or Sport in my area

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PurpNurd

Member
Hey guys and Gals,

I have been looking for the past couple months for a SS or Sport to show up in my area. Does anyone have any other ideas on how I can go about achieving Comparable to the SS build? Thanks guys! Im in forest grove oregon. PNW was larger than i thought on first post lol
 
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PyroGuy923

PyroGuy923

Well-Known Member
Look on the aution. Copart and IAAI are 2 examples. I bought my SS from aution in Arizona and had it shipped to Ohio for $700.
 
Desert Sasqwatch

Desert Sasqwatch

Goblin Guru
PurpNurd said:
Hey guys and Gals,

I have been looking for the past couple months for a SS or Sport to show up in my area. Does anyone have any other ideas on how I can go about achieving Comparable to the SS build? Thanks guys!
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Looking in your local area will limit your selection in today's market. You should be prepared to look almost everywhere to find an SS, since they have become hard to locate (ones suitable as a Goblin donor) and be prepared to pay some $$$.
 
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PurpNurd

Member
Desert Sasqwatch said:
Looking in your local area will limit your selection in today's market. You should be prepared to look almost everywhere to find an SS, since they have become hard to locate (ones suitable as a Goblin donor) and be prepared to pay some $$$.
Click to expand...
are their any other option for auction than copart and iaai that you would recommend?
 
Ross

Ross

Goblin Guru
I don't know how much you want to tackle, but some people have taken the Cobalt subframe & transmission, and put a more modern ecotec engine on it. Atk LNF, LHU, etc, with a stand alone ECU.
 
Rttoys

Rttoys

Goblin Guru
Ok. Good. im sure you looked at the normal places :
craigslist
facebook marketplace
offerup
autotrader
 
Desert Sasqwatch

Desert Sasqwatch

Goblin Guru
I purchased thru Copart, but IAAI is about the same. Search on Facebook, Craigslist, and even police auctions to get the best chance of locating a viable donor.
Patience is also required as vehicles are constantly being listed and sold. I searched for 3+ months before finding my 08 SS in Texas and had it shipped to Phoenix. I recovered my entire donor cost with the sale of parts after I stripped my donor. This is something to keep in mind that can help offset the cost of purchasing.
 
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PurpNurd

Member
Rttoys said:
Ok. Good. im sure you looked at the normal places :
craigslist
facebook marketplace
offerup
autotrader
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Yeah ive checked them. there are hundreds of auto lt's and ls's.
r3drckt said:
Could always get a base model cobalt and do a turbo 94 supercharger swap onto it
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ive thought about that too. what kind of work would i need to do to get the engine ready?
Desert Sasqwatch said:
I purchased thru Copart, but IAAI is about the same. Search on Facebook, Craigslist, and even police auctions to get the best chance of locating a viable donor.
Patience is also required as vehicles are constantly being listed and sold. I searched for 3+ months before finding my 08 SS in Texas and had it shipped to Phoenix. I recovered my entire donor cost with the sale of parts after I stripped my donor. This is something to keep in mind that can help offset the cost of purchasing.
Click to expand...
I didnt even think of that. if you dont mind me asking how much did you end up dropping for you ss/tc?
 
Desert Sasqwatch

Desert Sasqwatch

Goblin Guru
PurpNurd said:
Yeah ive checked them. there are hundreds of auto lt's and ls's.

ive thought about that too. what kind of work would i need to do to get the engine ready?

I didnt even think of that. if you dont mind me asking how much did you end up dropping for you ss/tc?
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$2k included shipping - but keep in mind this was early 2019 before the beer flu pandemic turned the market on its head and prices skyrocketed.
 
R

r3drckt

Goblin Guru
Only work you’d need to do is piecing together the turbo/supercharger kit, or buying the complete kit from ZZP. You’ll eventually blow the rings on your pistons (hopefully before you blow the rod out the side of the engine haha… I KID!!!) but that’s expected on a high mileage car that wasn’t meant for boosted applications. It may be quick (within a few hundred miles) or it may never happen. It really depends on the tuning performed and the level of boost being ran.

Best thing if you’re willing to invest the money is to build the motor with boost in mind. Forged rods and pistons can be purchased for all of the engines. But doing so will cost some money. I’m rebuilding my LSJ even though it didn’t need it because I’m dropping a big turbo on it instead of leaving it SC. The engine build is roughly $8k give or take. But that’s also including thing you may not want to do like a ported head, stage 2 cams, stronger valve springs, neutral balance shafts. Forged pistons would run you ~$450-750 and forged rods would run -$450-550. New gaskets and seals and bearings all over Will run you another $400ish if you’re lucky.
 
Vwsaabvt

Vwsaabvt

Goblin Guru
I've seen this posted quite a bit, then usually later the poster states that they found one. You say you can find one, but how often have you been looking? The best advice I can give to you or anyone else looking for a specific car is to be patient, they pop up almost weekly and most of the time get sold just as quick. You need to check daily or multiple times a day, use Facebook marketplace, offerup, letgo, craigslist, etc. don't just search "cobalt ss" I've seen lots just posted as regular cobalts, you need to check the listings and look at the pictures.

If using facebook marketplace search from different locations, not just from your area with a wider radius. Their algorithm is weird and I have noticed what you see listed changes a lot from the different city or town location you search. Join the Cobalt groups and local car sale groups and check them often too.
 
P

PurpNurd

Member
socaljeff3798 said:
Where are you located?
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Vwsaabvt said:
I've seen this posted quite a bit, then usually later the poster states that they found one. You say you can find one, but how often have you been looking? The best advice I can give to you or anyone else looking for a specific car is to be patient, they pop up almost weekly and most of the time get sold just as quick. You need to check daily or multiple times a day, use Facebook marketplace, offerup, letgo, craigslist, etc. don't just search "cobalt ss" I've seen lots just posted as regular cobalts, you need to check the listings and look at the pictures.

If using facebook marketplace search from different locations, not just from your area with a wider radius. Their algorithm is weird and I have noticed what you see listed changes a lot from the different city or town location you search. Join the Cobalt groups and local car sale groups and check them often too.
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CaptFrank2001 said:
As in Pacific North West ......
That narrows it down.
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i am in forest grove oregon. also, i have been looking every day for the past month or so. I've searched iaai, copart, marketplace, craiglist. etc...
I have found numerous lt's and ls's, a totaled sport, and an ss for 7gs. vwsaabbvt, would you say like a buy sell group?
 
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