SkyRay's Extended Track Goblin #314 - 09 SS/TC

SkyRay

Active Member
Howdy! I'm sure like many others I've thought it would be fun to build a kit car, but was disappointed when adding up the budget and time to get there. I happened across the DF Goblin on a "top kit car" page and, since I live about an hour from the DF factory and saw the price was lower and the cars were really fun, I thought I would give this a shot. I've always maintained my own vehicles up to a point, but have never torn into the engine. Watching the videos gave me the sense I could accomplish this build. I've got an 8 year old son who will join me in this journey. I've also got two college age daughters who will help as well, when they are home and available. My bride is hopeful that a hobby will get me off the computer and away from work a little more. As I've perused the forum, I'm not sure I'll be off the computer as much as she thinks, just instead of working I'll be researching what others have already figured out.

I was lucky and found a local rear-ended 09 SS/TC donor available for auction and won the auction. The next day I ordered my kit. I'm still on the fence about track or street... I'm 6'5" so getting into the street would be a lot easier. However, as I've looked at other's builds I like the rear view mirror mount and ability to mount a sun shade or cargo tray on the track version. So for the moment I'm leaning toward Track configuration, but am interested in others thoughts about someone my size getting into an extended track chassis.

I plan to use the car for getting out and enjoying the road. I've had motorcycles in the past and enjoyed riding through the Arkansas twisties, but with my frame the motorcycle became uncomfortable. So, I'm thinking I can take this when the fellas are taking their motorcycles. I'll get the tow kit so I call pull it to the twisties in AC, and then let loose in the Goblin when I've arrived.

The immediate task is to get the donor stripped down so I can get the harness reworked before my kit is available. My college senior was home for a few days before her internship started, and she went ahead and pulled a lot of the interior and trunk out. I'm hoping to get the AC evacuated this week so I can get more of the teardown complete over Memorial Day weekend.

Thanks in advance for everyone's advice as I move out!
 

JBINTX

Goblin Guru
Welcome!
Another Texan and a turbo too!
Making this project a family affair is a great decision you will not regret.
Go find a few other 09 turbo builds and read through them.
I am 6’5” as well. I got 4“ extended track frame and love it.
:)
 

SkyRay

Active Member
It has been a while since I posted. I bought the donor and it was delivered in mid-April. I'm sure my neighbors have loved seeing a semi-wrecked car sitting on my driveway... At least I was able to put the damaged end toward the "man cave" garage door so it wasn't as obvious that it was wrecked.
20210422.JPEG

Since my kit isn't expected to be available until mid-July, I wasn't in too big a hurry to get started on the tear down. However, since I intend to have DF do the wire harness, I didn't want to wait too long either.

On 13 May college daughter was home before heading to Houston for her summer internship and wanted to be a part of the action. I let her strip a lot of the interior, but I wanted to be able to drive the car so I could get it to a shop for a Freon evac and check the codes.
20210513 Interior.JPEG20210513 Interior out.JPEG

By the way, the shop didn't charge for Freon evac and said the only current code was C0550-00, with C0899-00 in history. They indicated these are brake codes, and that there were no other codes. I didn't notice either of the above codes on the forum... Anyone have any advice? I also noticed while driving it that it handled funny and had crazy torque steer.

On 22 May my 8 year old and I decided to take off the front bumper cover and headlights. Since the video didn't address this step, I wanted to get a head start. It wasn't too bad. At this point I turned the car so I could push it backward into the double garage for serious disassembly to come.
20210522 Front Bumper.JPEG

I decided that I'd like to get everything completed by the end of Memorial Day weekend. Since there were a number of other family events over the weekend, it wasn't a given I could make it. But the whole family was home so I would have some help. On Thursday, 28 May, I got a head start by removing the fenders.
20210528 Fenders.JPEG

On Saturday, 29 May, I got an early start and the 8 year old helped me pull the doors and hood off. At that point we pushed the car back into the garage. We got the front of the Cobalt on stands and pulled the wheels off. After that we headed out for the 8-year-old's Birthday party.
Before: 20210529 am before.JPEG After: 20210529 am after.JPEG Wheels off: 20210529 pm 01.JPEG
After the party we continued work removing the fluids and front suspension. I observed that the poor handling and torque steer was likely due to the completely trashed bushings on the control arms. I'll have to search the forum to see if the bushing can be replaced or if new control arms will be required.
20210529.JPEG Control Arms: 20210529 Control Arms.JPEG

On Sunday, 30 May, we had a real early start when college daughter #1 ran a half marathon. It was her first, so we took her down and cheered her on. She did outstanding! We got home and had the dilemma of nap, church, or disassembly. Since it was a 3:30AM start tog et to the race, I decided to sleep on it. The wife went to church without me. After a nap, we got to work with the objective of pulling the engine and the dash. Without a engine hoist we used the two floor jack approach to drop the chassis until the engine was on the dolly, then disconnect the engine and lift the frame off the engine. College daughter has a cool video of the action... I'll have to figure out how to get it on here. After the engine was out, we also got the dash out. Not easy, but not impossible either.
Now Adam powered: 20210531 Adam Power.JPEG Where's Adam? 20210531 Waldo.JPEG

With the rain this morning I've gotten a late start, but hopefully I can get the rest of the teardown completed today. Thanks for reading!
 

Brett

Well-Known Member
Hold on to those lower control arms. They are currently on backorder from everyone.
 

Brett

Well-Known Member
And you can press the MOOG upgrade bushings into them. Keep them!

Welcome to the forum!
Correct. The real issue is the ball joints. I have been unable to locate the proper TC ball joints. They are 20.5 mm studs. Apparently nobody makes them. Spend several hours with Moog and they don't carry them.
 

Brett

Well-Known Member
Got these off Rock Auto to pair with my Moog's.

*EDIT: Doesn't look like they sell them anymore but RockAuto is my go-to for any replacement part. So much cheaper than your box stores if you can wait a few days for the parts.

Since you have a TC, check and make sure it's 20.5 mm. I've ordered a bunch that were marked for TC's and they were all the incorrect size. Bad things can happen. Ask me how I know.
 

PyroGuy923

Well-Known Member
Since you have a TC, check and make sure it's 20.5 mm. I've ordered a bunch that were marked for TC's and they were all the incorrect size. Bad things can happen. Ask me how I know.
They've been installed for a few months now but fit fine in the spindles.
 

PyroGuy923

Well-Known Member
If they slipped right in they may be wrong. You will notice under power a slight looseness in the rear end.
Had to use a jack to push them in. No slop in them at all. Haven't noticed any issues driving it around the neighborhood thus far.
 

SkyRay

Active Member
Howdy! Thanks to each of you for the feedback. Today was also productive. I was able to get the wiring harness off and then moved on to the rear (I've got to get the chassis out of the garage so I can get the wife's van back in... it is hail season). I was unable to get the rear springs out and therefore could not get the bearing hub off. Is this still needed with the TC Goblin kit? I've love for some experienced builders to look through what I have left and let me know if you see anything I need to get...

Engine Compartment:
IMG_2158.JPEG IMG_2159.JPEG

Cabin:
IMG_2160.JPEG IMG_2161.JPEG

Undercarriage (where the fuel tank was):
IMG_2163.JPEG IMG_2167.JPEG

Fuel tank:
IMG_2165.JPEG

Rear end (driver side and passenger side):
IMG_2166.JPEG IMG_2164.JPEG

Hopefully I'll get the dash knocked out tomorrow night. Also, I had a Cobalt fan come by and purchase the SS seats. He kept saying "I've never seen a car stripped down this much." He was also impressed with the Ingen intake and Catless downpipe. Are either of them usable in the Goblin?

A couple other questions...
I've put the fuel pump in a plastic bag to try to keep it clean until I'm able to install it in the Goblin in 6 or so weeks. Is there a better way to store it? Is there anything else that I should store with more care while I wait on the kit?

Thanks!
 

Brett

Well-Known Member
The rear hubs are needed as they are reused in the front. You could "rent" a spring compressor from an auto parts store to get the springs out. However, the hubs are not that expensive so it might just be worth buying a new set.

Also, looking at your pic's again, if you disconnect the shocks on the rear, the solid axel should drop down low enough to pull the springs out. Put a jack under the axel and let it down slowly.
 
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SkyRay

Active Member
Thanks, Brett. I released the shock from the top on both sides, but it didn't seem to let it down any further than when the shock was connected. Also, I'm a little confused by which brake lines I need to keep. The videos talk about keeping some, but it seems like in other places on the web page it indicates that now all the brake lines are included. If anyone has thoughts on this it is appreciated.
 

JBINTX

Goblin Guru
You want that green o-ring on top of the fuel tank for the fuel pump.
In the engine bay, if that is the fuel line, keep it.
You can sell all the intake pipes. Keep the MAF sensor of course.
I just set the fuel pump with the other parts. Just keep it clean. ;)
 

Ross

Goblin Guru
Thanks, Brett. I released the shock from the top on both sides, but it didn't seem to let it down any further than when the shock was connected. Also, I'm a little confused by which brake lines I need to keep. The videos talk about keeping some, but it seems like in other places on the web page it indicates that now all the brake lines are included. If anyone has thoughts on this it is appreciated.
Our old kits reused the rubber brake lines. The new kits come with braided stainless steel lines.
 

Brett

Well-Known Member
Thanks, Brett. I released the shock from the top on both sides, but it didn't seem to let it down any further than when the shock was connected. Also, I'm a little confused by which brake lines I need to keep. The videos talk about keeping some, but it seems like in other places on the web page it indicates that now all the brake lines are included. If anyone has thoughts on this it is appreciated.
My donor was wrecked on the rear suspension. Once I released the shock, I jumped on the axel and the springs fell out. Your mileage may vary and be careful. ;)
 

Joebob

Goblin Guru
I would get the EVAP canister and all associated hose connections to it. I would also drill out the rivets and take the bulkhead connector that was under the rear seat for the fuel pump and EVAP wires. They some change colors through that connector so it helps to have the plugs and the connector to check yourself. For the rear end, I found that I had to remove the rear shocks, and stand on the axle to get the clearance to remove the spring. They can hard to pop off the lower mounts and I banged up a finger twisting and pulling. For one side I tied my floor jack the the axle to help "pull it down" and used a pry bar to pop it off the lower mount.

You didn't mention if you found any cool or disgusting things left by the previous owners.

Joe
 

SkyRay

Active Member
Good day. Thanks for all the advice. Tonight I followed it and jumped on the axle which freed the spring. I still had to fiddle with it for it to come out, but I got it out easy enough. Then got the bearing hubs out. I pulled the EVAP canister, hoses, fuel line, and fuel pump o-ring. Now to find someone to haul off the carcass! I got a start at disassembling the dash, but will have to try to finish it tomorrow.

The car had been cleaned out really well. I found a couple dollars in change through the car, but that was about it. More to come soon!
 

SkyRay

Active Member
It has been a busy week. Started last weekend when I finished disassembly of the dash. I was glad to get all the wire harnesses retrieved so I could drop them off Friday on my way down to Houston. Had a nice visit with the DF crew while we were there... Brenda and Kimberly kept my wife (Lindsey) and co-builder (8 year old Adam) occupied while Lonny took me through the building answering questions I had come up with. After dropping off the wire harness, we continued on to Houston. I had reached out to Jason (JBINTX) and he was gracious in allowing us to come over and see his Extended Track Goblin. I was able to confirm that, while it will be a little awkward it for a while, it is definitely doable for me to get in and out of the car, even with my frame. I figure once I've done it a few times it won't be a big deal at all. After letting us look it over and climb into it, Jason took Adam and I for rides in the car. It was a fun ride, but was quite the odd experience driving down the road looking up at the Kia and Honda sedans. I'm really used to SUVs! Big thanks to the DF crew and Jason for their hospitality!

20210604_144719.jpg

Tonight I finally finished the teardown. I was able to get some good cutters and finally could get the bearing out of the steering assembly. Now to get rid of the chassis. I saw some posts about chopping up the chassis, so I'm going to give that a shot. It should allow me to haul it off myself (after borrowing a truck and trailer).
 
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