Paul's Track Goblin - 2006 SS/SC

[PaulPerger]

This first post will be used to post links to milestones during my build or particularly noteworthy posts as well as a Cost Breakdown. I plan to list every cost I incur for the Goblin itself as well as log all of my hours and list and track those as well.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Introduction Post
• About my Donor
• The Kit Arrives!!

TOTAL COST:

DONOR COST Winning Auction Bid Buyer Fee Internet Bid Fee Gate Fee Truck & Trailer Rental Hotel Fuel	4,750.00 950.00 89.00 59.00 350.00 90.00 100.00​
TOTAL DONOR COST	$6,388.00​

GOBLIN KIT Full Cage, Double Door Bars, Coilover kit, Parking Brake Kit, 5x114.3 Hubs, Stainless Steel Brake Line Hoses, Hood & Side Panels

$10,988.00​

Group Buy Shifter Kit Wing

$350.00 $91.47​

Stewart Transportation Shipping to South Florida

$1,000.00​

Credits for Pieces and Parts Sold Catalytic Converter Recaro Seats Rear Wing Front Lip Front Fascia Rear Bumper Cover Aero Skirts Wheel Well Plastics Sunroof	(50.00) (300.00) (125.00) (125.00) (150.00) (150.00) (50.00) (50.00) (150.00)​
LESS: TOTAL CREDITS FOR PARTS SOLD	$(1,150.00)​

GRAND TOTAL THUS FAR

$17,667.47

TIME INVESTED & Time Lapse Video Links June 17 - PREPARATION & SUSPENSION REMOVAL June 18 - REMOVE MORE STUFF June 20 - PREPARE TO REMOVE ENGINE June 21 - DROP THE ENGINE June 23 - Remove Dash & Wiring Harness (No Video) June 24 - Remove Fuel Tank (No Video) July 2 - Cut up the Cobalt (No Video)

18 Hours 4 Hours 2.25 Hrs 1.75 Hrs 2 Hrs 2 Hrs 2 Hrs 4 hrs

 

[PaulPerger]

Where do I start?

I grew up with an ASE Certified Master Mechanic for a father. I literally can’t remember a time when I was not around cars being worked on. My dad instilled in me a love for cars and planes (he was in the Air Force before he became a mechanic) and eagles. For many years I loved the thought of fun cars, but for me, a car was very utilitarian. In 2016 I bought a 2015 Fiat 500 Sport. My first two door car in nearly 30 years. I re-discovered the JOY of driving. In the summer of 2019 I was rear ended and my little red Italian “Sport Car” was destroyed. I replaced it with a Yellow Fiat 500 Abarth. It was bone stock, but not for long. I learned the joy of actually working on cars with the Fiats. The Abarth is very modified, and it was doing those modifications that has given me the confidence to tackle building a car from “scratch”.

I have always wanted to build a car from scratch, but only recently have felt like I could actually do it. I found the Goblin by pure accident. The first time I saw the Goblin was in early 2020. I wasn’t looking for a kit, I just happened to stumble upon it. I don’t even remember what I was looking for, but I found the Goblin web page and bookmarked it. I started reading up on it and decided it was a kit I was going to build.

I joined the forum in September of 2020 and bought my donor in November of 2020. I ordered my kit in December of 2020, and then when DF called to let me know my time had come, I couldn’t do it. My life had taken quite a few turns in that 3 months and the timing just sucked. (Read about that HERE). But the folks at DF held my frame #, were very gracious and now, almost a year later, my time has finally come.

Kit #317 is mine and it hit the Jig TODAY!!

Now it’s time to GET TO WORK breaking down the Cobalt!!

 

[devianteng]

Congrats! I know the excitement all too well...I got the call today that my kit should be picked up by the transport company late this week and should be in my driveway early next week.

Don't forget to stop by the builders thread and share your info!

*Official Builders Thread* -- Where are you located?

Purpose: To create a list of DF Goblin owners listed by state to help find others local to you. This is a recreation of the *Official Builders Thread* Where are you located? thread that @RichRich created and managed for many years. However, the thread seems to no longer be maintained and to...

dfkitcar.com

 

[Desert Sasqwatch]

Congratulations Paul. The folks at DF are THE BEST and will work with you every step of the way. I believe you have seen this with the accommodation of your life events turn.
You probably already know that the Goblin family on the forum is welcoming and are here to help in any way possible. Can't wait to see how your build progresses.

 

[PaulPerger]

More Jig Photos...

 

[PaulPerger]

She graduated from the table jig to the rotiserie... I showed my wife the photos last night and reminded her that I will be making a large payment very soon. "You and your silly cars..." was her only response. My daughters however CAN NOT WAIT to "help" Papa build the car!

 

[PaulPerger]

A little about my donor...

I purchased my 2006 SS/SC at auction with only 29K miles. It came with full repair and maintenance records and it had not been wrecked. So I paid a premium for my donor, probably 3 times more than most do or will. But, I am fine with that because I knew I was buying a car that had been well maintained, was rather low mileage and I'd be able to drive it for a while as a Daily Driver and really get to know the Cobalt platform.

My all in cost to buy it and get it home (it was 8 hours from my home)... $6,388.00

Not included in that price is the Ozone maker that I bought to rid the car of the cigarette stench. I paid $89 for an Ozone Maker I found on Amazon. I set it up in the car, closed up the car and ran it for three hours (the longest the timer would allow me run it) and then I let it sit for two days to allow all that ozone to deplete before I opened it up. When I did I learned that ozone doesn't just dissipate! the smell of ozone was STRONG! So I left the doors open for a few hours and then rolled the windows down and let it sit for a few more hours, but by that evening the car smelled immensely better than before. I couldn't smell cigarette or stale stench smell of a car that sat for 6 years at all.

I drove it daily until about two months ago when a landscaping truck in front of me dropped a rather large piece of timber that I could not avoid. It hit the exhaust and busted a hole in the pipe right past the header connection. Needless to say that made it STUPID LOUD!! So, I stopped driving it knowing the tear down was only a few months away.

I plan to document this build via a VLOG format since I have several friends and family who want to see my progress, so I will add links here to any videos I put up on YouTube detailing my experience. My first video was the day I went to pick up the donor and if you read or followed my "Pre-Build Thread" you've already seen it, but for those who didn't or might be interested, here it is...

 

[PaulPerger]

It is OFFICIAL!!! I received and paid my invoice!! Now I am just waiting for a call from Stewart Transport!!

I've got two projects here at the house that need to be finished before I can start tearing apart my Cobalt, and I am racing the first weekend of April, but more is coming very soon!!

 

[PaulPerger]

Just got the call from Stewart!!! My baby arrives NEXT WEEK!!!

 

[PaulPerger]

And today, she is on her way...

 

[Rttoys]

The fun is about to begin.

 

[PaulPerger]

We have a GOBLIN IN THE HOUSE!!!!!

The driver called me this morning and told me he would arrive between 11 and 11:30. So I headed home at 10:55. Of course, as I am approaching a draw bridge, the light turns red and the gates start coming down. I say to myself, "it's OK. Drivers are always later than they expect to be..." Just then my wife calls and says, "There's a Factory Five Racing semi in front of our house. I told the driver he could just take it back because you aren't here to receive it!" (She will never understand my infatuation with cars like I will never understand her infatuation with JLo... She is a HUGE JLo fan.)

Unfortunately, it's going to sit for a few weeks before I attack it. I am finishing the shed in my back yard this weekend where a lot of the stuff from the garage will go to make room for working, and then I am out of town for three weekends in a row, Denver CO the 16-17, and then Cozumel Mexico the 22 - 30th, and then I will be at the Hard Rock in Miami for three days for the Miami Formula One race. So, it will be another good month before I have a real work day on the Goblin. I'll start working in the evenings. I think I can complete the breakdown of the Cobalt SS in the evenings between now and May 13th, the first day I'll be able to spend a whole day working on the car.

The obligatory Truck at the house photos:

And some Just Arrived Kit in the Garage Photos... Ignore the stuff in the background... Most of it will be gone next week.

You can see my donor in the background of this one.

Kenna Approves... She wanted me to empty it immediately so she could "get in"... She is going to love being in the garage with me...

 

[Ark :D]

Cherish this time while you can ... according to my daughter (she is 12), the Goblin is "too loud and very meh".

 

[Desert Sasqwatch]

We have a GOBLIN IN THE HOUSE!!!!!

The driver called me this morning and told me he would arrive between 11 and 11:30. So I headed home at 10:55. Of course, as I am approaching a draw bridge, the light turns red and the gates start coming down. I say to myself, "it's OK. Drivers are always later than they expect to be..." Just then my wife calls and says, "There's a Factory Five Racing semi in front of our house. I told the driver he could just take it back because you aren't here to receive it!" (She will never understand my infatuation with cars like I will never understand her infatuation with JLo... She is a HUGE JLo fan.)

Unfortunately, it's going to sit for a few weeks before I attack it. I am finishing the shed in my back yard this weekend where a lot of the stuff from the garage will go to make room for working, and then I am out of town for three weekends in a row, Denver CO the 16-17, and then Cozumel Mexico the 22 - 30th, and then I will be at the Hard Rock in Miami for three days for the Miami Formula One race. So, it will be another good month before I have a real work day on the Goblin. I'll start working in the evenings. I think I can complete the breakdown of the Cobalt SS in the evenings between now and May 13th, the first day I'll be able to spend a whole day working on the car.

The obligatory Truck at the house photos:
View attachment 32132

View attachment 32133

View attachment 32134

And some Just Arrived Kit in the Garage Photos... Ignore the stuff in the background... Most of it will be gone next week.
View attachment 32135

You can see my donor in the background of this one.

View attachment 32136

View attachment 32137

View attachment 32138

Kenna Approves... She wanted me to empty it immediately so she could "get in"... She is going to love being in the garage with me...

View attachment 32139

Finally got #317 home, it's been a while since I recall seeing your post about wanting to order that specific SN. And Kenna is far too cute, bet she has Dad wrapped around her little finger!

 

[PaulPerger]

Finally got #317 home, it's been a while since I recall seeing your post about wanting to order that specific SN. And Kenna is far too cute, bet she has Dad wrapped around her little finger!

NO WAY!!!
.
.
.
.
Who am I kidding... Yeah... Guilty as charged.

 

[PaulPerger]

Today... The teardown began.

I still have a lot of things to do in the garage to prepare for the full tear down that I couldn't do today, so I decided to start working on the teardown of the SS. I posted a few parts on Facebook Marketplace in the Cobalt Parts & Sales page and sold the Catalytic converter (which I didn't even list) within an hour. So I added a Credits section to the Cost breakdown in the first post.

I expect the seats will go for top dollar. I, of course, had the immediate "I'll give you $50 for both front and back seats" BS. I just delete those replies. I also have two offers of $400, but neither of those folks have responded to my response yet.

I plan on doing some video recording of the process and putting it on YouTube, but I didn't record anything today. I'll record everything once I'm in the garage, but today I worked on the interior of the car in the driveway, so some photos will have to suffice.

I am trying to get in the habit now of labeling every single wire connector.

Stripped the trunk... Labeled a bunch of wire connectors...

Zelda wanted to sit in the seat one more time before I pulled it out...

Removed the rear seats, rear plastics, passenger seat and loosened the driver's seat in case someone calls and wants to come pick them up...

 

[PaulPerger]

So, I am thinking WAY ahead here, but now is the time to start considering how I want to finish my Goblin. I saw this video a while back and I absolutely LOVE the way it looks. My only question is how it will look on a much smaller car.

I plan to use Plasti-dip for two reasons. First, after buying the equipment, it will only cost about $200 to completely change the look of the car if I want to. Which means I can switch it up annually if I want to. The fact that all of the body parts that I would paint can be removed makes it a super easy vehicle to paint.

Without further ado... This is how I am currently planning to finish my Goblin.

You can watch the video here. To just jump to the video of the finished product, jump to 4:29 in the video... These screenshot photos DO NOT do this paint job justice...

 

[Ark :D]

$100 is a little on the low side. Realistically speaking (as someone that used DYC's products on his Goblin, twice), it's more like $200-$250, more if you do something fancy like the above pics.

Reasoning;

1) You almost always are going to need a gallon of base coat (unless you don't use their Performance series, but that eliminates a lot of the available colors) ... $90
2) Then the PDS gallon ... $90
3) Any fancy pearls like the images you're showing ... these range from somewhat cheap to quite expensive, depending on the amount you need per gallon. Additionally, any pearls you add need to be mixed into either matte or glossy topcoat, which is $90ish, if memory serves.
4) Maintenance stuff and consumables ... you need filters to strain any impurities when you fill your sprayer (cheap), naptha thinner to clean your gun (also pretty cheap), and I strongly recommend their Dip Coat spray for cleaning/protecting after the job is done ($30).

Not to be a Negative Nancy, just keeping it real!

 

[PaulPerger]

$100 is a little on the low side. Realistically speaking (as someone that used DYC's products on his Goblin, twice), it's more like $200-$250, more if you do something fancy like the above pics.

Reasoning;

1) You almost always are going to need a gallon of base coat (unless you don't use their Performance series, but that eliminates a lot of the available colors) ... $90
2) Then the PDS gallon ... $90
3) Any fancy pearls like the images you're showing ... these range from somewhat cheap to quite expensive, depending on the amount you need per gallon. Additionally, any pearls you add need to be mixed into either matte or glossy topcoat, which is $90ish, if memory serves.
4) Maintenance stuff and consumables ... you need filters to strain any impurities when you fill your sprayer (cheap), naptha thinner to clean your gun (also pretty cheap), and I strongly recommend their Dip Coat spray for cleaning/protecting after the job is done ($30).

Not to be a Negative Nancy, just keeping it real!

I meant to type $200. I fixed it. Not being a negative Nancy at all. Good catch! And yes, the pearl bomb job will be a bit more, but the Goblin is so small I plan to just buy pearls in their sample size packets for about $5 each.

And BTW, your car is one of those that influenced me to go for the DYC system...

 

[Ark :D]

I meant to type $200. I fixed it. Not being a negative Nancy at all. Good catch! And yes, the pearl bomb job will be a bit more, but the Goblin is so small I plan to just buy pearls in their sample size packets for about $5 each.

And BTW, your car is one of those that influenced me to go for the DYC system...

Awesome, I'm glad you liked my results! O-Prime initially convinced me (unknowingly I think) because of his pear-colored hood. I was worried that the Wicked Wine would be too plain, but it turned out great and people like it a lot better than my original white/red stripes scheme.