V1 okneib86's city goblin 07 LS donor

[okneib86]

Hello, my name is Kevin.
This is a project for my two kids and I over the summer. This is my first kit car build. I work at a dealership so I have access to all the technical information I could need. I had been waiting for a cobalt to come in on trade cheap for months. Finally an 07 LS with low mileage came in. It was rough inside and out. A heavy fella who was a heavy smoker. But it was a perfect donor. Over a few weekends I was able to completely disassemble the cobalt. I listed the hood, doors, trunk etc. on craigslist. In a matter of weeks I had sold them all. I listed the shell and it was gone the next weekend. All the removed parts are organized on a few shelves in my two car garage. With room still for my wife to park her van in the garage. While I wait for the frame to arrive I have been cleaning and painting parts.

 

[TomsGarage]

Awesome I still have to take the engine out of my donor. Which method did you use to remove that?

 

[okneib86]

To remove the engine I removed the front bumper fenders etc. Set up jacks under the front subframe and attempted to remove the subframe bolts. Both rear subframe bolts spun. On the pass. side I cut a large hole in the floor board with a grinder to gain access to the cage nut and cut it off. On the drivers side I used the grinder to cut the head of the subframe bolt off. Neither worked very well. I think if it happens to any one else you are better off cutting a hole in the floor board and getting to the nut. Because when lowering the subframe it kept getting tied up on subframe bolt that I cut the head off of. Because the subframe does not come down perfectly straight it kept getting bound up. I borrowed a set of pinch weld dollies from work and put them at the front of the pinch weld.

Once I had the subframe lowered I simply pushed the car away from the subframe engine assembly. The only line I missed was the plastic line from the slave cylinder to the manual transmission. That was a $60.00 mistake. After I pushed the car outside. I used a chain hoist hung from the garage ceiling to lift the engine and separate it from the subframe and removed the transmission. I put the engine on an engine stand. I was able to move the manual transmission to a work bench. It was heavy but not overwhelming.

 

[okneib86]

I picked up a chain hoist at an auction a few years ago. I used two 2x12s across the ceiling joists. I did not keep the engine suspended for long. Only long enough to attach it to the engine stand. But it was very secure.

 

[okneib86]

I had a lot of trouble getting the steering shaft off of the steering gear. Even after spreading the pinch bolt joint I could not get them to separate. You can see in the first picture where I had to cut it off with a die grinder at the rack.

 

[okneib86]

Because I work for a dealer I was able to check my cobalt for any open recalls or extended coverages. There happened to be an extended coverage on the fuel pump and tank for leaks. I was able to get a brand new fuel tank, new fuel pump, all new plastic lines, new fuel filler neck covered under the extended coverage.
I cut the fuel filler neck to size using my band saw. It made a very clean cut. I put a coat of black paint on the filler neck. I sanded and painted the fuel cap red.

 

[okneib86]

We have a small sand blast cabinet at work. We use glass bead. Its safe on most parts. This has been great for cleaning parts to paint. It makes old dirty hardware look new.

The valve cover was pretty hard to clean. It has a lot of hard to get to spots. I did end up blasting it, but it took a long time to get all the blasting material out of the baffle on the underside.

If I could do it again, I would have just keep working at it with my die grinder and the yellow bristle roloc discs. I used rattle can high temp primer, paint and clear. I am not a painter, but it still turned out pretty good. I think its all in the prep. Painting was the easy part.

I also blasted the exhaust manifold and painted it with high temp grill paint. It was on clearance at meijer for $2.00.


The valve cover is easy to remove and replace. While I did use a torque wrench, it can be replaced without one. Its more about keeping everything even. The torque spec is 89 lb. in.
Same with the exhaust manifold. The spec is 10 lb ft. There is a torque sequence on the exhaust manifold.

 

[DanPerryy]

What are the child labor laws in your state? I could use their help. Your engine looks great.

 

[okneib86]

Lol, the kids love helping. My two year old daughter will spend hours in the garage with me. My 4 year old son loses interest after 20 mins.
Today I worked on cleaning the subframe. I used my grinder with a wire wheel. It worked really well to clean out all the hard to get spots. Like the welds.

After I degreased and pressure washed the frame.

Than primed and painted the subframe. It was a lot easier to clean and paint than I though.
Also, I cut off the lower radiator supports from the subframe. I am pretty sure they are not needed.

 

[DanPerryy]

It looks great. BTW - I bought a jar of foam ear plugs to put in the threaded inserts for painting. They work great!

 

[Adam]

The first stage of your kit is on the way:

By the way, you don't need to worry about replacing the clutch hydraulic line. Your kit has a steel line that goes from the pedal to the slave cylinder. The only thing you will need from the old line are the rubber O rings.

Also, you don't need the radiator mounts anymore but we did use one of the holes to hold the ambient temperature sensor. However, you can put the sensor pretty much anywhere. You'll probably have a pretty accurate feel for the ambient temperature without needing a sensor.

 

[cMatt]

Your makin some excellent progress, I need to get my engine lookin that nice!

 

[okneib86]

Adam,
Thanks for taking a few pictures! I am very excited to get the frame.

 

[okneib86]

The frame made it today right on schedule. Six guys easily slid and carried it off of the truck. We could have done it with four. The frame, lines, tank etc were all securely packaged. The truck was in and out in less than 10 mins. The delivery process was very easy.

 

[okneib86]

We have a body shop at work, so I ended up having the frame painted. It was a three hour drive to the nearest powder coating place that could fit the frame. The paint is the same paint they use to paint the roller coasters at cedar point in Sandusky Ohio.

The paint was not overly expensive. For a gallon of paint and hardener etc. I paid right around $150.00 - a gallon was way to much but it ended up being cheaper to buy the gallon.

The frame easily fit into the back of an old pick up with a 6.5 foot bed.


My brother and I easily unloaded it and set it up on jack stands for now.

 

[okneib86]

I had a hard time getting the rivets in the lower bulkhead sheet metal. I ended up putting a 1/4 inch socket over the stem of the rivet and they tapped right in.

The pedal assembly easily installed.


The brake lines were a no-brainer, they really only can go in their designated location.

 

[Adam]

Looking good. I'm glad the pedals and brake lines went in easily. We've decided we are going to drill the rivet holes just a little bit bigger in the future. When you get powder coat or paint on the frame, these holes get pretty tight. Keep us all updated.

 

[northvibe]

any updates?!