When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Awesome job! Glad things are coming together. I'm amazed at how much you have done on this car.
Thanks. A lot is done and more is still left to be done. Since this project started, my comfort level doing mechanics work has increased so I do all that I can to save myself $$$.
Thanks Paul, as you know it's been a long time coming to get to this point.
I remember Chris. I even remember you bringing your Cobalt to that get together. How much HP is Chris comfortable with where he won't kill himself driving it? Different HP levels for different people. In Chris' defence you got to incrementally where it was all one when he bought your car.
yeah man, been following this one since pretty much day 1
haha I drove that thing up there on kill, stock motor, no air filter an all lol.... his was at @380whp when he sold it. he just wants about 400whp on this car (wastegate is 22.8psi and @475whp though lol) that's about as detuned as it can go.
full kill @34ish psi and on spray it made just over 730whp... and on a stock 190k mile open diff trans..... who knew that would hold up as well as it did.
clutches were the killer though which is why the car is now gone.
Thanks for hanging in through this rollercoaster ride Paul. Most people from back then are long past Cobalt's at this point.
400, 475 sounds close enough to me. What clutch were you using or did you try all of them? Going through them can get expensive.
it's been an interesting ride for sure lol... made it almost 13 years with the cobalt, but need to go faster with out breaking something every time ......
I gave him the other wastegate springs, so he can do as he pleases with it...
as for clutches, I went through about 5 in the last 2 years at that power level..... tried going twin disk with ky clutch's but they completely F;d that up and that was pretty much my breaking point with the car. got sick of it just sitting in my driveway going back and forth trying to get a clutch that would A fit and B hold anywhere near the power I was making..... I had 3 clutches only last about 2-3 passes last one exploded (mostly my fault for still trying to run it) but damnit I paid to race in an event and I was going to hahaha.....
this was the exedy taking a dump.. .not even full boost (28psi) and no spray would let go at 6200rpm, still almost held 600whp
Going through that many clutches Paul, would really be frustrating so I can see why you want to move on to a more stable platform. Hopefully Chris will have better luck with the de-tuned version.
On a separate note Paul, do you remember this
I am also going to leave this other memory here too. For many of the members who haven't been around since almost the beginning you may not have seen this picture. Back then it looked cool/fun but it was not quite accurate for a Cobalt SS. I liked that the Cobalt is red and considering what I've done with my car it is now a fitting caricature. There are 3 more in the series as well as this red one.
Going through that many clutches Paul, would really be frustrating so I can see why you want to move on to a more stable platform. Hopefully Chris will have better luck with the de-tuned version.
On a separate note Paul, do you remember this
I am also going to leave this other memory here too. For many of the members who haven't been around since almost the beginning you may not have seen this picture. Back then it looked cool/fun but it was not quite accurate for a Cobalt SS. I liked that the Cobalt is red and considering what I've done with my car it is now a fitting caricature. There are 3 more in the series as well as this red one.
funny I just saw that pic going through my phone this morning lol. ah 2009.....
damn haven't seen that other one in a long long time.... definitely fitting now
below 500whp car should be fine on the clutch I put in last (dfx)
I know they went through the whole car and cleaned up a bunch.... looking forward to seeing it out on the road again....
now if I can get some time to work on the TA that would be lovely.... that projects been going almost as long as this one lol.
Your Trans Am is definitely a long project too. Probably doesn't help that you tend to have your fingers in so many projects.
I was talking with the engine builder yesterday and he made the call to scrap the plans to use the SCAT crank that I have. He's going to use the SCAT in a different motor that's making less HP. He has chosen instead to go with a Callies Compstar XL which has just been released very recently. The LS7 version allows for a longer snout which works better with my Vortech/drysump setup. The Callies crankshaft is also internally counter balanced and is designed for high boost and high rpms. The crankshaft will also be paired with Callies Compstar connecting rods. Here is a link if anyone wants to read up on the crankshaft. Callies Compstar Crankshaft
One of the best things about my talk with Jim from Richmond engines was the commitment to having this project at the race track this summer. He said while it would be later in the summer we will be at the track. The fabricator is a good friend of Jim's so they will co-ordinate both of their parts of the project. Next I will have to find someone locally who does wiring so I can get that finished up. I am not interested in towing my car from shop to shop so I will need someone willing to do the job in my garage on a weekend as that's about all the time it's going to take to button up the wiring/soldering.
Just for fun here are the other 3 Cobalt caricatures for anyone who has one of those colors who may want them.
I was just online and I was able to buy both OEM front fenders and a OEM base front bumper facia for $265.00 delivered to my door. These are donor parts that will be cut up to change the openings for the front tires. Because my wheel base was lengthened from 103" to 104.5" this body modification needs to be done to allow the tires to turn properly at the front as well as remove the extra 1.5" gap from behind the tires. The fabricator has a body shop that can do the non-steel welding at the front of the wheels while he will adjust the back part of the fenders. Getting this done was one of the big things on my list and I should have this done in time to put the whole car into a primer coat by the end of May.
. . . so I had to re-clock the S/C. I cant say I was too thrilled, with taking apart the S/C but, after a call to Vortech and talking to a technician I was ready to do what he told me to do. It turns out that it is really easy to clock this S/C. This picture gives you a close up of the impeller of this S/C and I think it looks like a work of art.
Do you remember the name of the technician that you talked to at Vortech?
Those Cobalt caricatures are freakin cool - did you guys make those or have them done somewhere?
Do you remember the name of the technician that you talked to at Vortech?
I'm sorry I don't recall his name. I called Vortech and asked to talk to a technician and while I don't recall his name he was very knowledgeable on the V7 YSi-B.
Originally Posted by 96S1
Those Cobalt caricatures are freakin cool - did you guys make those or have them done somewhere?
Those caricatures were actually released by GM about the same year the Cobalts SS' were.
There was also a commercial on TV way back then that shows a Cobalt SS bump a Corvette from behind to say big brother I'm here. Check this out people as it was likely not seen by most people here. The Cobalt SS is even the right color.
So my spare fenders and the front bumper surround have come in. I have an appointment to drop them off on Monday so that everything can be reworked to move the wheel openings ahead by 1.5" to compensate for the stretched wheel base.
I am hoping they will be ready, after my Hawaiian vacation, at the middle of May. Once these are done I will be doing a full coat of primer and getting the car ready to send to the fabricator.
Considering the price I paid for these parts the quality is sufficient to do what I need as once they are cut up the remaining sections head to the recyclers. And yes I know that isn't a SS front bumper surround but I only need the section that lines up to the fenders.
Before heading away for vacation, I took the following parts into the body shop that is going to be moving my front fender openings forward, by 1.5".
These parts were originally modified when the rwd conversion was done. Interesting enough, the body man who will be doing the work, said he hates seeing bondo on plastic. That was my first thought when I saw the parts but John Powell told me that was they way its done. There was no sense arguing the point but I knew that to be false. It's the way unexperienced people fix what they don't know how to properly do the job.
Bondo meets plastic Bondo meets plastic
The side skirts need to look like each other as I will have an exhaust pipe on both sides, so the body shop will make that alteration.
The back vent type pieces also need to be adjusted because the place for the left side no longer has a exhaust pipe and that too will be altered so thee inserts look pretty much the same on both sides. At the same time the bondo will be removed and the parts finished properly. It would be nice to have these modifications done before I get back, but I'm not holding my breath. Once the work is done, I am going to spray the whole car in epoxy primer.
Nice to see the body panels getting some attention.
I think bondo is the old school way of dealing with plastics, the folks at 3M and other places have developed better methods of modifying plastic body parts
Nice to see the body panels getting some attention.
I think bondo is the old school way of dealing with plastics, the folks at 3M and other places have developed better methods of modifying plastic body parts
I agree that it's an old school way to do it. Sadly back when this was done those new ways already existed. It sucks having to, once again, pay to have things re-done after I paid good money to do it the first time. Sadly that is the story of this project.
Originally Posted by 63 Nova SS
Nice! Enjoy Hawaii!
Thanks and we will. The following picture is from our unit where we get to spend 2 weeks.
Unit right on the beach. Can't beat this view every morning and every evening.
It's been a long time since I've been on here, I was kind of expecting times and dyno numbers by now, glad to see you are still working on it though. Good luck!
It's been a long time since I've been on here, I was kind of expecting times and dyno numbers by now, glad to see you are still working on it though. Good luck!
Thanks for checking in, I too was hoping to be finished by now. It's surprises me how much time has passed (and how the project itself has changed) since I first started this project.
I was at the body shop that is working on the front body parts to make everything work with the 1.5" extension of the wheelbase. Once they have done the initial work I will pick up the pieces and mount them on the car. Then the fabricator will come to my house to do a final inspection before doing the welding. The parts will then go back to the body shop for the final welding/placement. I was pleased to see the different vehicles being worked on at the body shop because these vehicles were all different models/years and in line with the "custom" in the name of the shop. Even more surprising was the fact that they only charge $65./hr. That is unheard of in this day and age. This work is scheduled to be done so that I can have the whole car in primer before the end of June when it heads to the fabricators.
Talking with Jim at Richmond racing engines has come to the point where we need to decide on the fueling for the car. I know many people really like the E85 option but I only have 2 sources for that where I live, making it a PITA. On top of that I have limited space for a fuel cell and considering the rapid consumption of E85 I am concerned with using this option. I would appreciate comments from people using E85 concerning the benefits of using it to outweigh the hassle of procuring it. I had originally bought a methanol injection system for the project but Jim suggests forgoing that setup in favor of using one system from the get go. I guess I have another set of parts to sell.
We did a test fit today to make sure the drysump pan had the clearance for the crank/connecting rods rotating as well as the valve cover having the clearance for the rocker arms. Later this week we will be choosing which pistons we will use and the compression ratio to go along with the amount of boost that I will be running. There is a local guy that is running virtually the same engine/supercharger setup as I am in a 280Z drift car so Jim will pick his brain to glean where we need do go as far as the fuel/compression ratio.
i would go with a flex fuel setup, providing your computer supports it. itll be the best of both worlds, being able to make a whole lot more power using e85 when racing, and allows you to run pump gas when your driving it on the street. providing your engine management supports it (what system did you go with again?) you run a flex fuel sensor and once tuned it will switch back and forth seamlessly. it will require the tuner to tune the fuel tables on both fuels, so it takes more time to set up. you also need to plan on injectors and fuel pump to support the extra fuel needed on e85.
where is the 2nd place around here that e85 is available? i only know of northside petroleum on braid st.
I am using the Holley Dominator EFI and it does support flex-fuel which makes that option worth checking in to. I have been concerned about the limited sources to buy E85 as well as the increased volume needed vs gasoline as my fuel cell capacity will be approximately 12 gallons. When I talk with Jim this week I will point him to the flex-fuel option as well finding the other location to buy E85. Thanks.
03-30-2019, 09:47 PM
