V1 CodyP's Extended Track Goblin - 06' SS/SC #296

[Brett]

Oh crap, I'm either famous or infamous. Not sure I want either.

Either way, I am glad someone learned something.

 

[Rttoys]

Oh crap, I'm either famous or infamous. Not sure I want either.

Either way, I am glad someone learned something.

You are a verb.

 

[JBINTX]

Cody, not sure what kind of Goblin rides you have gotten yet, if any. Plan a trip on up here to our neck of the woods and you can see three of them. May affect your build choices.

 

[Rttoys]

Hell, we could meet somewhere in the middle, like Wharton or something, for a show and tell.

 

[JBINTX]

Hell, we could meet somewhere in the middle, like Wharton or something, for a show and tell.

Heh, heh..... We got the show..... And like to tell........

 

[r3drckt]

Heed the biggest warning about big changes to the drivetrain before install. Don’t do a full engine tear down and rebuild before you test your wire harness and ensure the work is done correctly. Disconnecting the engine harness for the refreshes could mean something doesn’t get plugged back in or into the right spot and adds another level of troubleshooting If you can’t start the engine.

 

[CodyP]

Yesterday I finished cleaning my shop/garage. It's hard to plan to build a car where you moonlight as a woodworker. I didn't think all of the sawdust would play too well with the mechanical parts of the goblin. I needed to move some fixtures that were in the way and I got that done too.

After I was done I pulled the car into the garage just to see how it would fit and if that was an option for disassembly. It fits, but it's tight. Looks like I'll be tearing the car apart in the driveway. After pulling the car back out of the garage, and against my better judgment knowing **** well that the car isn't really "safe" to drive because of the unibody rust, I decided to drive the car around the neighborhood just to get a feel for the engine and check to make sure all of the gears were performing up to par. Brought my daughter out and took her with me. She's 14 and thinks that I bought the car to fix it up for her as her first car. No amount of me telling her otherwise has convinced her any different. So we went around the block and despite the rust issues the car drove and handles incredibly. This car has some pep in its step! I had no idea. She was terrified the whole time. Haha! Can't wait to experience it at half the weight.

I figured there was no reason to wait to start the demo and I've been itching to get into it all week. Right now I'm working 12 hour shifts at 13 on with 1 day off every two weeks so it's tough to find time. But, today I finally logged a couple of hours into the disassembly of my donor! I made it up to the end of the second video and paused at removing the doors. I think I'll wait for that until I have a solid day off with nothing planned. I don't want to risk the chance of rain or a stray cat ruining my keepers or my part out parts. I also haven't pressure washed the engine bay. Figured I'd get as much done as I could and wash it down when I've got some daylight left. Maybe tomorrow if it doesn't rain. Can I just presoak the engine bay with some simple green before pressure washing, or is there something better out there?

Here's some pictures of where I'm at and a couple of shots of the suspension, brakes, control arms, and the deterioration on the undercarriage. Note that the subframe no longer has anything to attach to but doesn't look terrible itself. Another week or so and hopefully I'll have it pretty much stripped down and ready to be hauled off. The daughter is going to be so disappointed.

 

[Rttoys]

She’s gonna figure out it’s not for her and be pissed. Then, she will be happy because you are building her the coolest toy in town.........just to be pissed again that it’s not hers either.

 

[Joebob]

I don't know exactly how it is with the coupe but with the sedan, there is plenty of room and access to strip the whole car without taking the doors off. The seats, dash, trim and carpet all fit through the doorway and you don't have to try to find a storage space for the doors. That way you can keep the elements at bay at least until you pop the firewall off.

 

[CodyP]

I don't know exactly how it is with the coupe but with the sedan, there is plenty of room and access to strip the whole car without taking the doors off. The seats, dash, trim and carpet all fit through the doorway and you don't have to try to find a storage space for the doors. That way you can keep the elements at bay at least until you pop the firewall off.

I may try to do it that way if I can. I hadn't looked too much into it but it would make more sense for me. I could always bolt them back on if it was going to take more than a day. Haha. Thank you.

 

[CodyP]

Didn't get anything done Monday because my pressure washer crapped out on me and wouldn't start. I haven't run it in probably over a year so it was definitely my negligence. I fiddled with it a bit, got tired, and decided to run some errands.

Today(Tuesday), I decided to stop by Harbor Freight and pick up a few tools I'll use for the build. Don't need anything fancy for my intentions on this one. I spent a little over 500 dollars on a random assortment of items. Yes, if you were wondering, I now own about 47% stake in Harbor Freight from this single purchase. Jk, I feel like they're not as affordable as they used to be? Or maybe I'm just buying the wrong things. Unfortunately they no longer give away the 20% off coupons which was usually my reason for going. Got home, got unloaded, and worked on the pressure washer for a bit. I figured I better fix it myself. Any Goblin builder worth his salt should at least be able to fix his own small engine pressure washer. Fixed it, washed/degreased the engine bay, and assembled some new tools. Hopefully I'll be able to get back into the car tomorrow.

 

[Rttoys]

Everything from the interior can come out without out the doors being off. No tech would want to pull the doors to get something out. Between scratching the door and getting it lined up properly, is a headache we just don’t need.

 

[CodyP]

Got the subframe out and apart. From what I can tell the subframe will be salvageable. Aside from some surface rust, which is mostly where it was attached to the rotted subframe, it's structurally sound. Some sand blasting will do it good. Some of the steel and rubber pieces will probably need to be replaced though. Namely some bolts, tie rods, bushings.

I've got a few questions. Some of which I can research but I figured I'd ask here first if someone has gone through it.

1) The bushings on the control arms are rough, are these replaceable or is it more feasible to get new ones, maybe the tubular ones?

2) The rubber bushings on the steering rack are rotting, is there a rebuild kit for this or should I try to find a new one? The shaft that attached to the steering knuckle is pretty rough too. Maybe some tlc can clean it up unless I can find a new one.

3) Someone mentioned not using the donor sway bar. Is this for performance or are people using something different? If it's needed I'll have to replace those rubber parts too.

I've attached the pictures I took of the subframe, control arms, and steering rack. Let me know what yall think!

 

[Brett]

Subframe looks fine, just needs a little cleanup.

For the rack, I am not sure if there are rebuild kits for it. It looks rough enough to me that I would consider getting a rebuilt one from one of the auto parts stores or a new one.

On the lower control arms, you can get replacement bushings for it and a new ball joint but you might be into the price range of a fresh set of control arms from ZZP. Yours don't "look" too bad and they are easy to replace on a built car. I would be tempted to wire wheel them and run them unless the ball joint has a bunch of play.

 

[jennam]

On the lower control arms, you can get replacement bushings for it and a new ball joint but you might be into the price range of a fresh set of control arms from ZZP

This. It was cheaper for me to buy complete replacement control arms than it was to buy replacement bushings and ball joints not to mention how much time it saved compared to rehabbing some less than stellar arms.

 

[CodyP]

At 4:38 of build video 4 it says remove transmission cable housing. Is this different for manual transmissions? How do I remove the linkage ends from the transmission without breaking them?

 

[ctuinstra]

Don't waste your time on the donor sway bars. Keep them incase you just want to use them, but most don't, especially the heavier SS/SC version.

The subframe looks good. I cut off the radiator mount ears just because they won't be used and it's extra. Not that you have to.

 

[Ark :D]

Don't waste your time on the donor sway bars. Keep them incase you just want to use them, but most don't, especially the heavier SS/SC version.

The subframe looks good. I cut off the radiator mount ears just because they won't be used and it's extra. Not that you have to.

DF uses these to fix the parking brake tubes.

 

[Ross]

I avoided using the rubber control arm bushings, to prevent throttle induced tow-out in the rear, and make the car more stable.

Control Arm Bushing MOOG K201285 $68

 

[CodyP]

Milestone, maybe? The heart of the beast has been removed! Got the engine dropped and pulled out tonight. Hopefully the rest of stripping the car goes as smoothly if not more so. It'll require some cleaning, but things are looking pretty good. It's funny how much bigger the engine feels once it's removed from the car. Definitely had a fun time dragging it up into the garage.