Thoughts on my build plan?

[alan12]

Hello all, I am a complete beginner as far as mechanical knowledge goes, but I’ve been wanting to build myself a goblin as a learning project for a little while now. So I’m currently not looking to spend too much money upfront but will upgrade in the future. Im hoping make my build street legal used mostly for fun but also occasional autox. I have a few questions for you all, but if there is already an existing thread pertaining to any of these please feel free to link.

Im likely going to be getting an NA auto 2.2 donor cause of how many I have already found, but willing to learn manual if I find a good deal. I want to put a SC on it sometime in the future, do you guys think my best bet is installing it first thing in the donor, while the engine is pulled, or would installing it in the goblin make no

The options im going to be initially equipping are:

• Full cage
• 5x114.3 bearing hubs
• Parking brake kit

And later on I am considering adding:

• Windscreen standard
• Fiberglass hood
• Footwell cover
• Aluminum side panels
• Side mirror
• License mount
• Taillights
• Fx1 pro seats
• Coilover adapter

Any thoughts on these options, is there anything I want to add later on that would be incredibly easier to do while assembling the car? Also does the heat exchanger duct increase anything performance-wise? Thank you all in advance!

 

[Gtstorey]

Remember that shipping will eat you alive on the larger items is you order those separately. The shipping is basically free if ordered with the frame since its about the space in the truck, not weight. If you plan on driving where it might get rained on much, consider at least the hood now. There have been problems with water, especially in cars without hoods.

Go ahead and get the coilover adapters upfront since you don't know if the struts on the donor will be in decent shape. New struts are fairly cheap, but are you going to want to spend that money and then buy coilovers a little later?

License mount is something easy enough to fab up or buy something on ebay.

I would consider buying cheap seats off ebay to start with if cost is a concern instead of using the stock seats and then order high dollar aftermarket later.

How are you going to make it street legal without tail lights since most states will "require" it even if it they don't inspect for it?

 

[k.rollin]

Mirrors (sportbike takeoffs) and taillights (trailer lights if you want to go with kit style, or other options as seen on the forum) are readily available elsewhere. License plate mounts are easy to make or find (I printed mine). Seats are safety equipment to me, and worth the upfront cost. I would stick with 4x100 PCD hubs but that's just because I wanted low weight (lots of 15" wheel options because Miatas and Hondas).

 

[alan12]

Remember that shipping will eat you alive on the larger items is you order those separately. The shipping is basically free if ordered with the frame since its about the space in the truck, not weight. If you plan on driving where it might get rained on much, consider at least the hood now. There have been problems with water, especially in cars without hoods.

Go ahead and get the coilover adapters upfront since you don't know if the struts on the donor will be in decent shape. New struts are fairly cheap, but are you going to want to spend that money and then buy coilovers a little later?

License mount is something easy enough to fab up or buy something on ebay.

I would consider buying cheap seats off ebay to start with if cost is a concern instead of using the stock seats and then order high dollar aftermarket later.

How are you going to make it street legal without tail lights since most states will "require" it even if it they don't inspect for it?

thank you for the response, but yea it doesn't rain much here in Vegas haha, but since i do want the hood i suppose i should order that initially just to save on shipping. Also i do plan on getting coilovers, maybe i'll just get them initially along with the adapters also. And as for making it road worthy, I plan on just building it cheaply now and i figure by the time i have finished the kit I will have the money to order the other stuff.

 

[Dsteinhorst]

I had a very similar initial plan as you did. I ended up spending a bit more to get coilovers, lights, and hood with windshield. You need the hood and windshield. I don't care what anyone says.

Keep 4x100 hubs.
Do the supercharger install later. I did mine after 2 years and it was super easy.

I recommend a manual transmission donor, but it is personal preference.

 

[Ross]

I started with a very inexpensive build, and then upgraded afterwards. My objective was to get it driving and road legal first, then come back and make it nice. Here is my basic, legal car for a starting point:

To keep it cheap, it has no body, Cobalt tires, wheels, hubs, Cobalt seats, Cobalt shocks and springs on the rear. Ebay motorcycle lights, mirrors, licence plate holder/light, trailer tail lights. Then added the nice stuff later. Luckily, I drive to Dallas every year or so, so shipping isn't an issue for me. I should have ordered the full cage frame from day 1... my wife likes it much better.

 

[ColoradoCryptoTrader]

my input - if you are a beginner then buy a donor that is 100% stock non modified and in great condition mechanically. I felt like the goblin build was pretty straight forward and the build videos are great, my biggest nightmare has been sorting out failing donor car parts and a messed up engine harness.

 

[snirtman]

From what I've heard, you'll also want to avoid the 05-06 models if you plan to add boost later, because the early base model ECMs can't be re-tuned.