I've taken on a car project...

[Mephistopheles Janx]

and if it turns out that people find it interesting I'll keep updating as things happen and if not I'll let the thread die.

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The car I own right now is my favorite car that I have ever owned. It is a 2009 Pontiac Solstice GXP which means it is a dead platform on a dead brand that was only made for 4 years. I have decided that I am going to do everything possible to make this the last car I ever buy yet still use it as my daily driver and my race car. To that end... I bought a membership at Copart to find a donor car that I could harvest key components from.

Copart is a site that lets people buy salvaged vehicles in an auction. I can look all over the US, see what is available, and if the state allows individuals to do so... I can bid on cars that are busted up. After a few months of bidding and losing I came across an auction in Arizona that sparked interest. It didn't have mileage listed because they didn't have keys so I did a carfax and found that 3 months before the wreck it was reported as 27k miles.

I bid $400 and won the damn thing. There were $432 in fees but then I needed to get it to Missouri. After much struggle I secured transportation for $921. All in all... I am into this car for $1,853.90 if you include the membership to Copart. The car should be delivered tomorrow.

My intention is to keep:

* Engine
* Transmission
* Limited Slip Differential
* Wheels / Tires (Nice Yokohama tires with about 12k miles on them)
* Several Interior Panels
* Harvest Modifications To The Engine, Intake, and Exhaust (more on that in a bit)
* Every last gasket and seal related to the convertible top (no longer produced)
* Undamaged Body Panels which happen to be the same color as my car
* Both Cupholders (which are ludicrously expensive on eBay and no longer made)

Sell:

* Convertible Top (expect to recover around $700)
* Seats (expect to recover around $500)
* ECU (expect to recover around $200)
* Tail Lights (expect to recover around $300)
* Steering Wheel Control Switches (expect to recover $50)
* After Market Radio (expect to recover $50-100)
* Catalytic Converter (expect to recover $100-200)
* Fold Down Visors (expect to recover $75-100)
* Passenger Side Airbag (expect to recover $100)
* Interior and Trunk Carpeting (expect to recover $100-$150)
* Speedo Cluster (expect to recover $75-100)
* Whatever else I need to sell to ensure I break even so long as it doesn't appear on the keep list such as body panels, door cards, and trim

Each of the above items has sold on eBay within the past month and the expected recovery amount includes fees and shipping. From there I would sell bits and bobs as I saw fit but everything on the keep list is untouchable.

So about those engine mods...



There are 4 things that are instantly visible to me other than the outright damage. Those 3 pipes that are the same color as the car are, by themselves, $1k in modifications. The two pipes on the outside are charge pipes for the intercooler with an external BOV. The one in the center is a dual cone CAI.

Outside of that... if you look down below you will see a slightly beat up intercooler that I am hoping has survived because that is a $700 upgrade from an aftermarket manufacturer. The same one that made the pipes. The question is... did it all survive (or at least repairable)?

I asked Copart to take a few photos from inside the engine bay from different angles and it gave me good news and bad news. First... the bad.

The dual shot air intake definitely took damage. It split at one of the seams as you can see in the photo... but the good thing about it is that this is steel thus re-welding that sucker, rewelding the brace, and slapping a sticker on it before installing it in my car is not out of the question. Oh... and new cones.



The good news (and it is pretty dang good) is that, at first glance, it looks like the other two tubes survived (again... will know more when the car is delivered) AND... not only does this have an oil catch can system installed. It also has color matched powder coated valve covers.

But wait... there is more! There is a blanket on the turbo (which is nice) but the fact that this has the aftermarket intercooler, pipes, catch can, and it is all from the same place tells me this may very well be part of the kit that includes the upgraded turbo that, when matched with that intercooler, can safely push up to 32PSI of pressure in that car. The turbo, depending on which one it was upgraded to, could be a $700-$2700 come up.



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In the end:

* Will have spent time but zero money
* I keep all the most vital parts to keep my car, courtesy of this donor, running for as long as I'm around and they only have around 30K miles on them
* Bonus Go-Fast Parts

What is left of the car will be put on a car dolly and basically act as storage for the remaining components and tires. I'll build a shelf I can place the car under and have storage space above it. Then I will be able to simply slide the car out any time I want/need to do anything with it.

[Graystoke]

Wait...did you finish your motorcycle project?
https://www.chiefsplanet.com/BB/showthread.php?t=350644

[Mephistopheles Janx]

Originally Posted by TinyEvel

Doesn't the Solstice share a platform with the Saturn Sky? swap away!

(Though, probably 1/3 as many Skys sold than Solstices)

It does share the platform and you are, roughly, correct on the numbers sold. There was also the Opel GT and the Daewoo G2X which were sold in Europe only.

The Opel GT injectors are highly sought after by American Kappa (the platform) owners as they fire about 12% more fuel into the system.

[Mephistopheles Janx]

Originally Posted by Graystoke

Wait...did you finish your motorcycle project?
https://www.chiefsplanet.com/BB/showthread.php?t=350644

Phenomenal memory.

Not yet. Decided to rebuild the motor instead and doing some shopping on it.

[Graystoke]

Originally Posted by Mephistopheles Janx

Phenomenal memory.

Not yet. Decided to rebuild the motor instead and doing some shopping on it.

Good idea. That Suzuki 350 platform is tried and true with a good engine. You should be able to bring it back and roost in no time.

[ToxSocks]

Originally Posted by tooge

Should be a fun project. Im currently doing a 1966 Bronco

It's crazy how much money there is in Broncos these days.

[TinyEvel]

Do you follow JRGo? A car project guy buys / features some interesting cars and dude really seems to know his stuff.

He did a bunch of videos with a cheap Saturn Sky, turbo increase, engine swap, keyless entry fix etc.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmQwJpCPukA

[TinyEvel]

I'm an air-cooled VW guy. Currently only a 72 all original Westfalia Camper. But at one time

I had three in the driveway swapping all sorts of stuff around.
Back when I had more time, more money and more energy.

[notorious]

No mention of fuzzy dice.

Come on, Mephs, I thought you knew cars.

[loochy]

I don't know about making your daily driver into a race car.


1) It will be uncomfortable and inefficient.


2) So how are you going to get places while you have the car down for mods and work? Are you going to swap out wheels/tires and brake pads for every track session?

[ChiefGator]

Originally Posted by TinyEvel

I'm an air-cooled VW guy. Currently only a 72 all original Westfalia Camper. But at one time

I had three in the driveway swapping all sorts of stuff around.
Back when I had more time, more money and more energy.

Love it.. grew up in a 1978 Westfalia camper.... but I think the '78 had a quite a bit larger engine, even though it was still way too weak. I think we changed the engine out three times growing up. ( My dad still has the thing and I think it has almost 500k miles on it now).

[ChiefGator]

My car rebuild project is my first truck.. 2006 Silverado 1500. Going to do a full engine and transmission rebuild on it, but just kinda patching issues until the kids are a TINY bit older that they could actually remember it.

I really want to get a Honda Acty and convert it to electric too. ( Getting solar panels on my farm, so the electricity would be "free" )

[DJJasonp]

Wasnt the Saturn Sky the same frame/body? Can you get parts from Sky's? (though they're probably rare as hell too)

[Mephistopheles Janx]

Originally Posted by loochy

I don't know about making your daily driver into a race car.


1) It will be uncomfortable and inefficient.

It does have stiffer suspension than a Toyota Camry but the BC Racing Coilovers that I put on the car has adjustable suspension. It is currently set to 5/30 in the front and 6/30 in the rear. (the higher the number the stiffer the suspension)

Stock leather seats on the interior... it really isn't uncomfortable at all. I'm not really sure what you mean by inefficient. The car is tuned and I run 91 pure which is wildly accessible and still get 26-28MPG.

2) So how are you going to get places while you have the car down for mods and work? Are you going to swap out wheels/tires and brake pads for every track session?

I live on a farm and do farm shit... thus I have a 2013 Dodge Ram 1500 Big Horn 4x4 to get around if the car is down for any reason.

I'd run the same Hawk brand brake pads whether I'm on the track or not. As for swapping out wheels... I'm still working out what I want to do with that. I'm probably just run good summer/performance tires during the racing season and then swap to winter tires once the season is over.

[Mephistopheles Janx]

Originally Posted by DJJasonp

Wasnt the Saturn Sky the same frame/body? Can you get parts from Sky's? (though they're probably rare as hell too)

Yup... same platform. Few, if any, of the body panels are interchangeable but everything else is up for grabs. But, as you said, they are the more rare version of the car.

Right now there are 12 Solstice GXPs listed on Copart and Zero Sky... base model or Redline.

[ToxSocks]

Originally Posted by loochy

I don't know about making your daily driver into a race car.


1) It will be uncomfortable and inefficient.


2) So how are you going to get places while you have the car down for mods and work? Are you going to swap out wheels/tires and brake pads for every track session?

Yeah having your daily driver be your project car is tough.

You wanna pick up a beater or something you can drive around town in. And the more love and money you throw at it, the more you're gonna wanna garage the car and save it for date nights and weekends etc.

Also, project cars that are DD's usually end up rushed. Something that can take a few days to do right, all of a sudden you're trying to get it done in an afternoon so you can get to work in the morning. That never ends well.