Totally Noob question as I do research.

[cptcrusty1]

Hi y'all;

I'm in Richmond, TX and I'm going to be wrapping up a totally awesome '74 baja build that has turned out great. I'm thinking about making some room in the hangar (garage) and selling my baja, as well as my belove Honda Goldwing. This would provide me (I think) with more than enough funds to fully build a goblin. There are some things that I need to research still tho.

One thing I've determined, here in the Houston area, is that the Cobalts available in the forced air flavor are either overpriced or very old and tired. A lot of work would have to go into to the engine and subframe to make it viable.

Questions:
1. is it viable/economical/feasible to buy the engine config (Super Charged or Turbo) I want, plus the proper transaxle, and seperately source the vehicle components rather than buy a donor? I only have my garage so a donor might not be feasible anyway. I would be fine with a rebuilt engine, or something with 60k-ish miles. But I question the validity and honesty of those sources.

2. There was Briefly a Goblin AT which really appealed to me (I have a baja bug, so it makes sense). Is that still a viable thing to do even though a kit is not available anymore?

3. Is the Naturally asperated version worth the look? Is it worth it/possible to add on a Super Charger later?

Yes. Total Noob to the goblin. I've been turning wrenches for a long time, but this is something new.

 

[KSLunsfo]

Hey there!

My opinions:

1. I would at least buy a car with known drivetrain issues that you could get cheap. Then buy an engine and trans if that's your desire. There are a LOT of items from the cobalt that gets reused. I think it would be a big long headache to source everything separately. Though there may have been a few people to pursue it that way but I'm not sure.

2. I do think they got rid of the AT line. I recall a completed one being for sale not that long ago I think... perhaps you might find one built?

3. I hear they're still pretty quick NA. I personally wanted a boosted version because that made more sense in going through the process for myself. If you want to start NA and turbo/SC later, do a little research on the best models to start from. I understand some of the ECUs cannot be tuned.

 

[Desert Sasqwatch]

The 2005-2006 NA ECUs are not tunable with HP Tuners. If you plan to do this avoid those. Later NAs and all SS models - NA, SC, TC - are all tunable.

As @KSLunsfo stated, get a donor - it will save a lot of headache from trying to source parts from too many places. And you can recoup the donor cost by selling the parts you won't use. I made money off my donor.

Be certain to get a donor for the model you plan to use, there are differences between them, especially the TC versus the other models. Even if you plan to source a new engine and transmission this is highly recommended.

 

[Rttoys]

Autocross is next Sunday the 8th. There will be about 4 of us there and you can catch a ride with us if you want first hand experience with them.

Houston Police Academy
17000 Aldine Westfield

 

[cptcrusty1]

Hey there!

My opinions:

1. I would at least buy a car with known drivetrain issues that you could get cheap. Then buy an engine and trans if that's your desire. There are a LOT of items from the cobalt that gets reused. I think it would be a big long headache to source everything separately. Though there may have been a few people to pursue it that way but I'm not sure.

I looked at IAA and found lots and lots of cobalt SS's for less than $2k,, some $1500 estimated value. They all have close to 200k miles so that's a very tired engine and SC. I'd definitely want to source a reman power pack.

 

[escapepilot]

If you find the model you want at the right price, I wouldn't let mileage stand in the way. It's possible the engine isn't original and has been swapped but that is difficult to determine until you can verify the numbers on the block and trans. If the engine turns out to need attention, then you can address it.