jpr's City Goblin - 07/08 LT donor

[jpr]

Hey all!

Long time listener, second time caller. I first got clued into the Goblin when Adam posted P1 or P2 on reddit a few years ago. I'm more into airplanes than cars, but I definitely like tinkering with all things mechanical. Finally moved into a house with a heated shop over the summer and came across a classified here offering a free pre-stripped donor. Perfect timing. So, now I've got stage 1 ready to go - just needed to start from video 10!

The motivation behind this build is actually a minimal-effort test to see if I want to take on larger builds (e.g. an airplane) at some point. It looks like most folks seem to take 200-300 hours at the outside, while the kind of airplane I'd want to build tacks a zero on to both of those numbers. So, yeah, quick test. And, bonus motivation, I get a fun car I can take out for ice cream (my greatest vice), autocross or even drag race for gits and shiggles, or try out a Cars and Coffee or something - never been to one of those.

I will be taking the lean approach to this build - scrounging for deals, taking my time, and hoping to keep a log of all the hours I'm putting in. So far I'm at 4h22m into the project.

Hoping to be done in time to drive it summer 2019, but we'll see.

 

[JeffsGoblin]

Nice free donor! Have you ordered your kit yet? What colors are you thinking of for your frame and fiberglass?

 

[Karter2026]

Next question, Location? Welcome aboard!

 

[IDRVSLO]

Welcome aboard! I cant imagine building a plane and 3000 hours into it, mind boggling. You will enjoy the simplicity and ability to add your own touch.

 

[jpr]

Nice free donor! Have you ordered your kit yet? What colors are you thinking of for your frame and fiberglass?

I received my Stage I over a month ago! TBD on colors. I am less about aesthetics and more about wrenching and going places =)

Next question, Location? Welcome aboard!

Thanks! I'm about 30 miles south of Minneapolis. Oughtta throw that in my bio or something I suppose, eh?

Build update #1:

Ran into a small snafu last night - build video #11 starts off with mounting the engine fuse box housing to a sawhorse. That particular piece seems to have gotten lost in the move between the donor's final resting place in Ohio and here in Minnesota. Taking the opportunity to become acquainted with local pick-n-pull yards, I picked up a whole replacement box for nine bucks this morning. Should be back in back in business tonight!

 

[IDRVSLO]

Still gotta pick a color at some point.....thats part of the fun!

 

[k.rollin]

What kind of plane are you looking to build? Back in the day, I used to work at Glasair Aviation; their Sportsman line was supported by their Two Weeks to Taxi program, where A&Ps would help the customer build their plane while still satisfying the FAA's 51% rule for experimental, amateur built aircraft.

Also, welcome!

 

[jpr]

My ideal next plane would be a Glasair III - true 200-knot go-places type of machine. I drool over the Questair Venture (even saw one for sale at Oshkosh this year), but 1) there are <100 out there, and 2) my home drome is grass.

In reality, I'd probably build an RV-7 or -8. Still lots of go-fast but all aluminum, great builder support, and less completely unconventional.

 

[k.rollin]

Based on my experience while working for Glasair, I've got to say good luck trying to get a new, full Glasair 3 kit. A lot of those parts hadn't been built in a couple decades, and there's no telling how long AAC will take to get new kits to market now that they own the designs of the Glasair 1, 2, and 3.

 

[jpr]

Yeah, thus the reality check. Maybe if I get done with an RV-x and the III kits are back in production, and I decide that one just wasn't enough...

 

[jamesm]

That’s the exact reason I decided to build a car. I eventually want to build something like a Vans RV, but I wanted to see if I would stick with the process or not.

 

[Nilbog]

Chassis coated! Hope you like it!

 

[jpr]

So shiny! Thanks!

 

[Karter2026]

Nice! I see you have that white stuff all over the ground also.

 

[jpr]

Finally got some time to slog through a bit more of the wiring harness, it's going well mostly but ran into an issue. Right at the beginning of build guide part 14, there's an instruction to tape "key fob receiver" wires for 18 inches. I cannot identify this plug for the life of me - it looks in the video like there are three leads - red, green, and black. I'm not seeing any 3-lead plug with these particular wires. Anyone know whether it might have just not been an option, or which of these plugs it might be?

Not having to disassemble my own donor has, so far, been great - but it's led to a few instances of head-scratching!

 

[IDRVSLO]

Here is is......plugs into picture two.

 

[jpr]

Thanks, I definitely have neither the plug nor the module. That's just the receiver for the door unlocker fob though, right? Probably the kind of thing a Goblin can do without, unless I'm missing something...

 

[k.rollin]

I think it's just a receiver for the key fob and TPMS.

 

[Briann1177]

Yes, you can go without it. I'm using mine because it has TPMS, but if I remember right I think TPMS is only found on the newer models. I don't think yours will have that.

 

[Nilbog]

Also, if you can zoom in and see make out the words/images this was very helpful for me.... unfortunately i didnt run across it until after i was completed with the harness.