Brand new here: Questions about finding a doner and is this project right for me?

[dgfalk]

Hi all, first post ever here. So for the last 4 years I bought a house and have completely remodeled it, and now I need a new project. I love cars and have always wanted something cool to work on/build, and now I have the time and money to make it happen. I'm fairly knowledgeable with cars, and am really good with electronics/wiring.

My first question is what do you all do/use your Goblin for? I think I'm more 75% interested in just building it and 25% actually driving it. I figure it'd just be a cool toy to drive around town, take it through the winding roads in Montana, and maybe even do a little SCAA autoross. If I don't like it I figure I can at least get most my money back if I were to sell it?

2nd Question is donor car: I live in central Montana and have been browsing the classifieds for the last couple weeks, and there are some slim pickings. I want to build this as cheap as I can, so a stock NA engine is just fine. My only requirement is a manual trans (I see no point in having a car like this with an auto).

So far I have found an '07 Cobalt LT with 120K $1950 that says "Good vehicle.. there are some issues which are; oil is leaking out of the motor the sending unit is the issue... also the oxygen sensor needs replaced or fixed or the exhaust needs replaced.. the car does start and run...but, will come with a new low mileage replacement motor as well.. and yes the vehicle has a title."

And a '06 Cobalt LS for $3,400: "Coolants good, brake fluids good, new pads, I’m the second owner, comes with all season tires and a set of winters. I change the oil and filter when it needs it. I get like 24mpg, Cars very reliable, I daily drive it and it gets me wherever I wanna go. Car has a P-102 code, just needs a new maf sensor, costs 13$. Still drives perfect without it"

Are these cars something to look into? Like I said I want to build something cheap, hopefully keep the total build under $15K. I won't buy anything from DF until I get a good doner so anything to look for would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Ark :D]

100% street use here.

The first donor is pretty enticing. Guess it depends if you really want to get into the engine, or not.

Either way, welcome.

 

[dgfalk]

100% street use here.

The first donor is pretty enticing. Guess it depends if you really want to get into the engine, or not.

Either way, welcome.

Ya I really like that first listing too. Only thing is that's it's a 5 hour round trip way, and at the moment I can't find anyone with a truck/trailer willing to make the drive.

I am willing to do any kind of engine work though, I think it'd make this project even more fun. I have no timeline on it and if it takes me 1, 2, or even 3 years to complete I'm ok with that.

 

[Ark :D]

The thing with base 2.2 Cobalts is, there's a ton of them out there. If you're patient, you'll find the right one.

I definitely like that first donor though. Rent a pickup and trailer if that's what it takes? Your call. You could probably talk the seller down, saying "I don't know man, I'd need to pay for a new exhaust..." (hint, you don't need it for the Goblin). You could even sell the cat for quite a bit.

 

[dgfalk]

I have looked at renting a uHaul but it's $360 just for the rental plus gas. A little spendy, but I'll ask if the thing will make the 2+ hour drive home and see if I can find a way to get the spare engine home.

 

[Robinjo]

I have looked at renting a uHaul but it's $360 just for the rental plus gas. A little spendy, but I'll ask if the thing will make the 2+ hour drive home and see if I can find a way to get the spare engine home.

Really in the grand scheme of the project is $400 really that big a deal to get what you want?
The build is fun, can be challenging at times. If you’re familiar with ca
I 90-95% street drive mine and it’s awesome. It’s unlike anything you’ve driven before.

Go for it!

 

[Ark :D]

@Robinjo is right. If you get into this project, youre in it for probably $15k minimum. Some people have spent $6k on their donor.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with being conscious of your budget, but $400 to get your donor home is nothing in the grand scheme.

 

[Ark :D]

Also, the second donor is probably ok too. Less work that the first donor. The price is too high in my opinion, but if the seller wants it gone, they'll negotiate. 9 times out of 10 though, when a seller says "it just needs...", it usually needs more than that.

How's the mileage on donor #2? Be aware, I am fairly sure that 05-06 base 2.2 Cobalt ECM's cannot be tuned so you wouldn't ever be upgrading to forced induction with donor #2.

 

[Sluggonaut]

I spent $3400 for my donor but my net cost was $700 after selling the parts I didn't use. I was amazed at how much demand is still there for Cobalt body panels and miscellaneous parts. It doesn't happen overnight and requires patience as does any transaction on FB marketplace, but most of that money was recouped within a month or two with the last parts selling over the next couple of months after that.

 

[Robinjo]

I spent $3400 for my donor but my net cost was $700 after selling the parts I didn't use. I was amazed at how much demand is still there for Cobalt body panels and miscellaneous parts. It doesn't happen overnight and requires patience as does any transaction on FB marketplace, but most of that money was recouped within a month or two with the last parts selling over the next couple of months after that.

I ended up getting about $1.0-1.5k back so my net spend for the donor was $1.0-0.5k. I will agree, you have to have patience with The Facebook Marketplace. It can be extremely frustrating..... no-show after no-show.

I didn't scrap the chassis, I just gave it away. That could have been another $200-400 depending on metal prices. I also just threw away my interior stuff as no one in my region wanted them. I would recommend joining The Facebook Cobalt groups, then you can list items there as well. I found out about that group after I gave/threw away stuff.

 

[Desert Sasqwatch]

Donor = $750 bid on Copart
Delivery = $1250 from El Paso to Phoenix
Parts sold = $2250
Net = $250 positive side

As @Sluggonaut and others have stated, you can make that $3000 donor into a $1000 donor by reselling the Cobalt parts. You just need the patience - and storage space - to see it through.

 

[Sluggonaut]

I didn't scrap the chassis, I just gave it away. That could have been another $200-400 depending on metal prices. I also just threw away my interior stuff as no one in my region wanted them. I would recommend joining The Facebook Cobalt groups, then you can list items there as well. I found out about that group after I gave/threw away stuff.

Giving it away is as good as scrapping it. I think the average is around $80 for a Cobalt shell, so depending on how easy/hard it is for you to get it to the yard, it may be better to have it picked up by someone for free.

 

[Mahkoi]

Giving it away is as good as scrapping it. I think the average is around $80 for a Cobalt shell, so depending on how easy/hard it is for you to get it to the yard, it may be better to have it picked up by someone for free.

Haha, I got $34 for my shell last week and $80 for the cat. So, prices may vary. Not sure if prices are down or I got charged a "frustration fee" because they weren't thrilled about taking a cut up car. Either way it's out of the yard. So I'm happy.

 

[duthehustle93]

Sell-ability of parts also depends on your region. I have a buddy in CA who was barely able to sell anything off his donor. People don't care about Cobalts here apparently. You'll need to look into your local requirements for donor parts for registration (out here they just make sure the donor parts aren't stolen) but if you don't need a title for the donor vehicle, keep an eye out for one with bad paperwork. We always look for cars with bad paperwork when we need parts cars or want to build a new race car. Easily half-price with back fees, missing title, lien sale, etc. Just make sure it's not stolen.

With that said... there's so many options on building cars, what the car is catered to, and what you want out of the experience. Most kit cars, including the Goblin, is catered towards being new-people friendly and this community seems great. However, there's going to be a huge implicit bias when you ask a Goblin forum if I should build a Goblin. My general opinion is that I don't think a $15-20k exo kit car is the best introduction to cars. There's lots of easier and cheaper ways to dip your feet in to give you a more clear path of what your goals are. The weight distribution, suspension design, power-weight ratio and complete lack of a crumple zone, anti-intrusion areas, and factory safety standards make Goblins very fun but probably not the best/safest car to learn how to drive on if you are looking to drive fast through a mountain road or on a circuit.

Now, to completely invalidate everything I just said, I don't own a Goblin nor have I built one. However, I'm in process of purchasing an incomplete LNF project. I've restored a couple cars for show purposes, build several race cars for time attack and endurance w2w, and have doing car stuff for around 11 years now and racing for 9 years. I was keeping an eye out for a new project and wanting something that was a handful, weird, and completely new. I've learned that I don't get excited about restoring/show cars, but I do like adrenaline and weird things. After racing miatas, Hondas, and BMWs (mainly miatas)... I've been keeping an out for something that isn't any of those things and the Goblin is just that.. this LNF goblin will be 90% track use/10% road use. I guess all this is to say... I would recommend starting with something cheaper and easier before you decide to get into an exo kit car. I don't think a Goblin is a good example to figure out what you like, since it's different from anything else. I would recommend spectating some local races, car shows, etc, and talking to people to see what gets you excited.. you'll know it when you see it (and maybe it's still a Goblin).

 

[Desert Sasqwatch]

Sell-ability of parts also depends on your region. I have a buddy in CA who was barely able to sell anything off his donor. People don't care about Cobalts here apparently. You'll need to look into your local requirements for donor parts for registration (out here they just make sure the donor parts aren't stolen) but if you don't need a title for the donor vehicle, keep an eye out for one with bad paperwork. We always look for cars with bad paperwork when we need parts cars or want to build a new race car. Easily half-price with back fees, missing title, lien sale, etc. Just make sure it's not stolen.

With that said... there's so many options on building cars, what the car is catered to, and what you want out of the experience. I'm getting the impression that your not 100% sure what you want, and you haven't built any (or that many) cars. Most kit cars, including the Goblin, is catered towards being new-people friendly and this community seems great. However, there's going to be a huge implicit bias when you ask a Goblin forum if I should build a Goblin. My general opinion is that I don't think a $15-20k exo kit car is the best introduction to cars. There's lots of easier and cheaper ways to dip your feet in to give you a more clear path of what your goals are. The weight distribution, suspension design, power-weight ratio and complete lack of a crumple zone, anti-intrusion areas, and factory safety standards make Goblins very fun but probably not the best/safest car to learn how to drive on if you are looking to drive fast through a mountain road or on a circuit.

Now, to completely invalidate everything I just said, I don't own a Goblin nor have I built one. However, I'm in process of purchasing an incomplete LNF project. I've restored a couple cars for show purposes, build several race cars for time attack and endurance w2w, and have doing car stuff for around 11 years now and racing for 9 years. I was keeping an eye out for a new project and wanting something that was a handful, weird, and completely new. I've learned that I don't get excited about restoring/show cars, but I do like adrenaline and weird things. After 9 years of racing miatas, Hondas, and BMWs (mainly miatas)... I've been keeping an out for something that isn't any of those things and the Goblin is just that.. this LNF goblin will be 90% track use/10% road use. I guess all this is to say... I would recommend starting with something cheaper and easier before you decide to get into an exo kit car. I don't think a Goblin is a good example to figure out what you like, since it's different from anything else. I would recommend spectating some local races, car shows, etc, and talking to people to see what gets you excited.. you'll know it when you see it (and maybe it's still a Goblin).

I believe that your being new to the forum and not actually building a Goblin is somewhat telling to the bias in your opinionated response. I believe there are 400+ other actual Goblin builders who have purchased kits who would generally disagree that a Goblin is not a good project to get your feet into car building - or that the $15-20K is not worth the expense. Sorry if this seems to be a negative response and im not trying to start an argument, but you will not find any other kit that is as complete, relatively easy to build with a good set of tools, and doesn't require searching boneyards for parts - if you have decent donor - AND has a community of experienced builders to help with any and all problems you may encounter. But this is just my opinion.

 

[duthehustle93]

I believe that your being new to the forum and not actually building a Goblin is somewhat telling to the bias in your opinionated response. I believe there are 400+ other actual Goblin builders who have purchased kits who would generally disagree that a Goblin is not a good project to get your feet into car building - or that the $15-20K is not worth the expense. If this seems to bw a negative response and im not trying to start an argument, but you will not find any other kit that is as complete, relatively easy to build with a good set of tools, and doesn't require searching boneyards for parts - if you have decent donor - AND has a community of experienced builders to help with any and all problems you may encounter. But this is just my opinion.

There is totally bias implied, so your totally correct. This community has been great, and I obviously want one and am in progress of getting one.. but this forum is going to have a bias towards getting one, so I think giving perspective on there being other options is fair. The only point I'm trying to make is there are other options out there, not that they are better or worse, but IMO it sounds like the OP should spend some time thinking about the list of options before committing. A couple years and thousands of dollars is a big commitment.

edit: I feel like my response came off as anti-goblin, I'm not anti-Goblin... the ones I've driven were a blast and convinced me to start one, but I hope we can both agree they're not for everyone. I didn't see anywhere where the OP said that he saw one or drove one and fell in love with the idea of owning one. My intent is not to introduce myself into the community as an a-hole, I just wanted to add an alternative view since the OP is asking if I should get a Goblin, to a Goblin community.

 

[Joebob]

Depending on where you live, the shipping might be $1000 to your door and should easily get for less than $1000 at auction.

https://www.copart.com/lot/60710623/salvage-2006-chevrolet-cobalt-ss-id-boise

2.4L NA 170 hp manual and the 06-07 have forged connecting rods letting them handle higher power if you add a boosting method later

Joe

 

[dgfalk]

Thank you everyone for all the helpful information

You'll need to look into your local requirements for donor parts for registration (out here they just make sure the donor parts aren't stolen) but if you don't need a title for the donor vehicle, keep an eye out for one with bad paperwork. We always look for cars with bad paperwork when we need parts cars or want to build a new race car. Easily half-price with back fees, missing title, lien sale, etc. Just make sure it's not stolen.

I live in Montana and from my quick research is seems like I'm lucky that this is one of the easiest states to register this car in. Is that true?

I would recommend starting with something cheaper and easier before you decide to get into an exo kit car. I don't think a Goblin is a good example to figure out what you like, since it's different from anything else.

Right now I am currently working on my 1972 Plymouth. I was gifted this car many years and it's been in storage for the last 25+ years. The plan is to get it all cleaned up and sell it to fund this project.

you will not find any other kit that is as complete, relatively easy to build with a good set of tools, and doesn't require searching boneyards for parts - if you have decent donor - AND has a community of experienced builders to help with any and all problems you may encounter. But this is just my opinion.

That's what sold me on the Goblin so far. The price seems to be the cheapest thing out there, and it looks pretty easy to build. Now I no it's not gonna be an "easy" build, but from all the videos I've watched and everything I've read, theres no doubt that I can't build this. It also helps that I already own/have access to pretty much all the tools that I'll need.

The car also looks unique, and I've never seen anything like it around where I live. Everyone here just has classic muscle cars.

 

[Gtstorey]

Montana is the state that people incorporate in to register vehicles in when they can't do it in there own state.

 

[duthehustle93]

Oh nice! Hopefully the Plymouth sells well.

Yep, Montana is one of the best. Lots of people here from CA setting up companies in Montana because registration and smog is expensive, complicated, and difficult-impossible.