I bought a project 96 Saturn SC2 car.
 

My son turns 15 in June so I bought a project car. It has a bad head gasket and some other issues.
The tires are not very old and the wheels look good. I bought it for $325.

http://ecorenovator.org/forum/attach...1&d=1487944686

At some point they had the interior redone.
http://ecorenovator.org/forum/attach...1&d=1487944686

The trunk had some water in trunk so I took the carpet out to dry out.
http://ecorenovator.org/forum/attach...1&d=1487944686

We live in the south or this car would be rusted away.

Cool, working on cars can be a lot of fun and a good learning experience. Are you planning on trying to replace the head gasket or just do a full engine swap?

I have been thinking about rebuilding the motor. I have rebuilt a few motors. My sons have never been able to help me before. I really think it would be a good learning experience. I would love one of them take an interest it saves so much money over the years being able do your own repairs.

The 96 Saturn did not have holes drilled behind the oil wiper rings. They have a oil use issue.
Some have to fill up the oil and check the gas. There is a Saturn out there with 600K miles and lots with 200-300 miles crazy.

I will drill the pistons or just get new pistons in a rebuild kit.

Sounds like a fun project. :) I always like tinkering and fixing up cars. I have an 04 Civic in the garage right now that needed a new input shaft bearing, and timing belt along with a few other things.

The motor only has 124 HP but gets 35-37 mpg so it should be a good first car.

Enough power to get on the interstate but not to much to get into trouble. :)

Saturn's have plastic body panels on all the sides so it has no door dings at all.

I just checked and the battery is an interstate battery and it was bought new 2/16 not to bad.

I have a car lift in my garage but my DIY supercharged Miata was too low for the lift. My Tahoe is too heavy for the lift so hopefully this car will work on it. My brother gave it to me years ago he has a much bigger lift now.

Yes, I can attest that putting some sweat equity into one's first car can lessen the temptation to do anything screwy that may require reinvesting loads of sweat equity. I've owned two cars in my lifetime that came into my ownership in that price range... The last received an '85 GTI engine transplant and still didn't have the 124hp the Saturn has. However, I was running a rolling chassis with a base curb weight of ~1800lbs.

I would suggest an engine swap - and then later rebuild the "old" engine. Lots to do with a swap as lots of parts come off "old" engine as replacement engine likely doesn't have alternator, starter, belts top fuel injection parts, AC, etc, etc. Lots of room/time for education.

Realistically, an engine "rebuild" almost always get into other things. Like: we have the head off, lets do a valve job . . . . Maybe we should replace injectors . . . The list can easily go on and on.

Swapping an engine means calling around to see what is available and what will fit in. Perhaps you can get an engine that does not have the inherent problems the existing one has.

I realize that a used engine (not rebuilt) may cost you close to what you paid for this car, but it gets things going faster and still allows for the "learning experience".

Other things may also need attention such as brakes. Glad tires and battery are OK. Is the AC working?

Good luck with this and regardless it will be fun!


Steve

A junk yard motor is a lot of times the best way to go.

I called around yesterday and I looked on car-parts.com this car is so old that the replacements motors all have more miles than this one. The junk yards here want a core charge when selling a motor.

Saturn had such an oil burning issue any motor I bought would need rebuilt.
Good news it once rebuilt they are know for lasting another 200k miles.

We are in no rush to get the car restored he gets a learning permit at 15 and can only drive alone at 16.

We will be thrifty buying parts but even with that I will have more in it that I paid for it. Since it was not running I could not test the AC but he said the compressor worked but needed recharged for whatever that is worth.
It had new front brakes a couple months ago.
New water pump, thermostat new belts new valve cover and gasket.
I will go over the tie rods and brakes very well and get all these system working top notch. Those parts are cheap for this car.

I did a project car as my first car it was a 72 Nova with a 6 cylinder powerglide auto.
I put a 350 in it that I rebuilt 4 bolt mains 10-1 compression. I changed the front brakes to disk and put new springs in it. I added quick Camaro power steering gear box. I replaced the rear end with posi trac rear end 3.73 gears.

My dad knew nothing about cars I read books now the internet is a amazing source.
I wish I had it as a kid on top of that I had money that I saved up and worked for.
This made it even more special it showed how to work on a car with a tight budget.
There was a junk yard guy that would quiz me to see what I really knew and if I got the right answers he would give me better prices I really liked him.

Pinball,

Bet the "JC Whitney" catalog was virtually memorized by you - it was for me at about that time '69-'71.

I used to add up all the mileage improvements they "guaranteed". If so, the car I rebuilt should have gotten 200+ mpg.

Ha!


Steve

I was into power so summit racing was my friend.
The previous owner painted all the lenses black. I was able to save the tail lights with lacquer thinner and Novus 2 polish.

http://ecorenovator.org/forum/attach...1&d=1488128448

http://ecorenovator.org/forum/attach...1&d=1488128448

I won’t keep posting the car fix up here because this is not a car site but I was happy how these turned out.

Oh yeah, there were certain junkyard guys who definitely offered better prices than others. The GTI engine was haggled through the "better pricing" guy. I specifically asked him: How much for the engine and everything I need to swap this into my car, like the brains, wiring harnesses, the alternator, the fuel injection system, and basically everything to the left of the transmission bell housing? (My recipient car had a completely mechanical fuel system, so I definitely needed the brains, and the upgrade to a 90A alternator hadn't been in my previous plans but if it was included, why not?) He said $150, and I went to town getting the engine out after going home, reading up that night, and learning how to hot wire the car to make sure it ran without excessive smoke. After I had the engine home found the reason the GTI was scrapped was the oil cooler was trading fluids with the coolant system via the (oil to water) oil cooler. . I had the head rebuilt, put new bearings in the bottom end, new gaskets everywhere, and drove it for 80k on top of the 85k it had on it when I pulled it! 10.5:1 CR with factory knock sensing ignition, and fuel economy actually improved slightly.

The internet was just in it's infancy when I did my swap (1992), but I definitely got pointers from friends I made all over the globe through usenet forums. Having to be "thrifty" builds a some useful adulting characteristics, like "wants vs. needs". I could want a new car stereo all week long, but
needing a replacement downpipe for the one I was continually breaking welds on took precedence. I always wanted to put an oil cooler back on that engine, but it didn't need it to run. At $70, I decided I could watch my VDO console gauge for oil temps, if I wasn't running Autobahn speeds.

You should know the deal with these cars: they were made for the "economy" market segment. The motor is not a bad design, but less than awesome components were used. The smoke problem came from the " low friction" rings used plus the no oil holes drilled in the pistons. Changing the design to stronger rings with drilled pistons will hurt fuel economy. The choice here is what to pay for: oil or gasoline.

I would just pull the head off and take a look inside. Ash and carbon deposits are easy to remove. If nothing is warped, cracked, scratched, scored, etc. inside the engine and piston tops look OK, you can change head gasket and reassemble the thing. I did that with a mid 90's sl2 and got another 80k miles out of it before it was sold. MMO and seafoam treatments do a lot of good for these cars.

My '02 sc2 just bit the dust last fall with the bad head gasket symptoms. I quickly tore off the head to take a look. Guess what? Previous owner tried to overhaul the bottom end somehow and nicked a piston putting it back together. A crack grew from the nick, or was started while driving the piston and rings back in. Now the piston land is cracked above the top ring and it (probably) warped the head, (definitely) scored the cylinder, and who knows what else. Just a little of each, which could be repaired during an overhaul.

These cars have very close tolerance engine specs. You cannot just run a cylinder hone through them, change rings, and put stuff back together. Much machine shop work has to be done when moving parts are changed. Not fun or cheap like a Nova.

Nope, not going to do that much work to the big piece of Tupperware. It has been sitting around waiting for a used motor (or entire car) to swap into it. Like you stated, the price of a well built motor exceeds the value of the entire vehicle. Plus, swapping the engine on these cars is not super easy. You have to do a c section on the car to change motors or transmissions.

I had a Mazda Miata that I put a super charger on.
I put the newer motor in the older body style. I rebuilt a newer 99 DOHC head to put on it.
I have some experience with 4 cylinder DOHC motors.

I have a set of factory service manuals coming for this car.

I think I can be in this car for around 1k with a rebuild motor. I will know more once I have it apart.

The goal is to make a nice safe dependable car for my son. A car he can take to collage with him.
Also a learning experience where both my sons will know more about cars.

This car have pop up headlight. The motor kept running when they went down. I took the motor out and the plastic gear is bad. I just ordered one off ebay 7.99 shipped. It will be back to working again.

http://ecorenovator.org/forum/attach...1&d=1488147470

I don't think you can really put too high of a price on a learning experience. I say go for the rebuild. If you screw it up, get a junk yard motor and chalk it up as a $350 learning experience.

One thing I adore about those s- series cars is that they can be maintained without many tools. Pretty much the entire vehicle can be dismantled with about 5 sizes of wrenches and sockets. Plus there aren't a ton of unnecessary brackets holding things together. I had the head off the '02 in a short afternoon. Naturally, you will need a few big sockets for the wheel hubs and crank pulley, and a strong impact wrench to break them loose.

Trust me on this one: if you're going to remove the engine, do it from underneath. To get the cylinder head off, most of the stuff on top of the engine has to be disconnected anyway. The whole drivetrain can be put on a cart, and the car can lift right off with ease. Taking the motor and transmission out the top is a lot more sketchy and very not fun.

This car is interesting I see some people pull it from the top some from the bottom. Since I have a car lift dropping the motor might be easiest. I like having the transmission out to clean it up and check the front and rear seal.

The car will need a paint job. I have seen posted where some people have had good luck with tractor paint. I think I might give this a try in red.

It is Oil Base Enamel $29 gallon
Catalyst Hardener $16
Majic Reducer $10

http://ecorenovator.org/forum/attach...1&d=1488234480

http://ecorenovator.org/forum/attach...1&d=1488236311

Any updates on this project?

The long lenses on the trunk is not turning out as good so far. I think he added clear coat over this black.

I have not given up on this just yet.

The driver’s power window is not working I took apart the switch and cleaned up the contacts. It is working but I hear it clicking the motor in the door so I took off the door skin and see what it going on.

The windows regulator was riveted in and the power motor is also riveted in. so I had to trill it all out my youngest son drilled most of it.

I bought a new power window motor for my driver’s door Dorman 742-143 Window Lift Motor.

http://ecorenovator.org/forum/attach...1&d=1490196746

I was able to get a couple parts for my windows regulator from the Junk Yard. I just tested it outside the car and it worked well. So in need to clean it all up and lube it all up put it all back together.
Amazon had it on wherehouse deals special because it had a couple marks on it.
It was $23.18 I could care less it has a couple marks on it you don’t see it at all.

I am going to redo the headliner I bought 2 cans 3M Super Trim Adhesive.
http://ecorenovator.org/forum/attach...1&d=1490197337

I ordered headliner material from Joann fabric they canceled my ordered twice. So I called them and NC had some so they did a store to store transfer. I used a 50% off coupon so 3 yards was $23. This is enough to do headliner and visors.

http://ecorenovator.org/forum/attach...1&d=1490197337

I went to Upull it in Columbia SC. We have some self-serve junk yards here but no older Saturn’s are in them at this time. If you are a Veteran you get in the yard for no charge.

My son could not come help me. You have to be 16 to enter the yard.

The valve cover on our car is plastic it is known to warp from heat and leak.
The older years 93-95 had aluminum covers they are nosier but they do not leak oil. You need the bolts and spacers from the older cover.
I picked one of these up at the JY $19.95

Our car was missing the visors completely I picked up to that we will recover.
The drivers side on the 96 had an uncovered mirror I can’t stand that so I picked one from a newer
Saturn that has a covered mirror. (Two visors) $11.90

His overhead light switches did not work I was able to find one 7.50

New dipstick 3.50, wheel cap 3.50

The timing chain cover had the bolt ear broken off. He did not take off the bolt in the top center of the timing chain cover. He tried to get it off and broke off the bolt ear on the cover. This cover was pain to get off you have to take off motor mounts AC, PS pump. Valve cover all pulleys motor mount…. It took a long time to get off but the cover was just $13.95.

Total parts cost $69
http://ecorenovator.org/forum/attach...1&d=1490274848

Tractor supply had a sale. If spend $50 get $10 off so we now have paint, hardener and reducer. I also have parts washer solvent. I ended up doing two web orders and one in person so I saved $30.
The one gallon of paint came to $24.81.

http://ecorenovator.org/forum/attach...1&d=1490287480

http://ecorenovator.org/forum/attach...1&d=1490287480

http://ecorenovator.org/forum/attach...1&d=1490287480

I have Freon 134 and I ordered a valve from china to release the Freon and it just came in the mail today.
http://ecorenovator.org/forum/attach...1&d=1490287864

http://ecorenovator.org/forum/attach...1&d=1490287864

I received my main motor and Transmission Mount. The other two mounts are on back order.
http://ecorenovator.org/forum/attach...1&d=1490367935

http://ecorenovator.org/forum/attach...1&d=1490367935

The dog bone strut mounts can be refurbished. Prothane insert kit 7-510. Does both struts, works better than stock. Cost is around 40 bucks.

Beware of crappy upper and trans mounts! I had to immediately replace my upper when I bought my SC2, because someone went to the zone or advance for one when the OEM mount failed. The only upper I will use is the OEM part. All of the others either transmit vibration to the steering wheel and/or dash, or let the engine flop around when you take off or downshift.

I will look into the dog bones thanks for the info. The motor mount I bought will cost about what I paid for it to ship it back so I will try it. Oem is a about 100 so if this one fails I will get that one. The one I bout is not frown face one. But lots of people agree with you go Oem on this mount. It is easy to replace later if this one goes bad.
Again go advice thanks.
We have the drives side window working.
I used blue Loctite on the new bolts just incase.
This was the first time my son saw the window working. One thing done many to go.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riolCfok9-Q

I put my 3D printer to work on my headlight motor. They are just small tabs the help keep the cover in place. I found the file to create these on the internet.
I put silicone on the cover to seal it up so it really should not need the tabs. But just in case they will keep the cover in place.
http://ecorenovator.org/forum/attach...1&d=1490993969

I'm a fan of Flip up Headlights!
 

My Middle-age-crazy car was a Red 1991 Plymouth Laser RS 2L. (a bit like the Mitsubishi Eclipse)..
http://zombdrive.com/images/1991-plymouth-laser-4.jpg
I sold it to a buddy when I decided I needed 4WD, (1999 CRV picked up on Y2K).
He used the Laser for commuting for years, before giving it to his son.
They just sold it last summer because his son was going to a distant college.

I was driving the Laser, when my buddy got married.. Time flies..

Double check your favorite forums, but I used 3M Hi-Strength 90 adhesive on my headliner material in the 2004 wagon when I redid it. Two plus years later, it's still hanging tough in the heat and humidity of South Florida (wish I could say as much for the OEM clear coat on the outside). I spent quite some time reading my favorite VW forums before I went with the 3M 90.

I used the JoAnn's headliner material, in the black color, along with a 20% or 50% or some crazy off coupon that saved me $$$ that I used toward adhesive cans at the big box hardware store. I found the crumbly old foam backing from the original headliner was soluble to an extent with acetone. It took numerous rags to remove the old material. Once I had most of the old backing goo removed, I sanded the headliner board with some 120 or 220 grit to give the new adhesive something to bite into. Depending on the area you need to cover with material, consider having a spare can of adhesive on hand. I had to run out and pickup a third can, but I was covering the headliner for a wagon, not a sedan.

Best of luck with that project. I picked a sunny day, set up some saw horses in the front yard in the shade, and finished before sunset.

The plastic gear I bought for the headlight motor did not work not even once. The ebay seller refunded me.
So I ordered a new brass CNC gear $26.
http://ecorenovator.org/forum/attach...1&d=1491608460

Here it is working. One more thing off the list.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vjl_X...ature=youtu.be

Looky what I picked up today:
http://ecorenovator.org/forum/attach...411_135428-jpg
http://ecorenovator.org/forum/attach...411_135359-jpg
Only 400 bucks plus a 50 dollar core. Saw it running smoothly Friday. Single cam engines were even cheaper.

Need any wing dings?

How many miles where on it? Was it at a Upick it type place?
What year is it?

Nope, I got it out the door for like $477. Came out of this '01 SC2:
V see below V

Vehicle was rear-ended at a stoplight and immediately totaled by insurance adjuster. I have been looking around for a while for the right motor at the right price. Went and drove this one a couple laps around the salvage yard Friday, dickered with counter guy, and pulled the trigger. They pulled it Monday and I went and got it this morning. I was pleasantly surprised to see they left just about everything on the block. Intake, injectors, sensors, clutch, etc. are all still there. Should be real easy to swap.

Not sure if I'm going to build up the motor out of my car or not. It depends on how this one performs. My '02 SC2 did fine driving to work and back 6 days a week, 50 interstate miles each way for a year or so, then I got a job across town. The stop and go traffic, stoplight every mile or less, did it in. It seems the previous owner tried to overhaul something and chipped a piston on reassembly. The rapid heat cycling broke the chip off enough to lose most of the compression in that cylinder. The head and block look ok from above, plus I took the car off the road before something bad happened to the engine. Once it comes out, I'll do a better autopsy.

Black Friday parts for my sons Saturn rebuild. $281.49 shipped.
We hope to work on it over this Xmas break.

http://ecorenovator.org/forum/attach...1&d=1511551545

Here are some pictures of just how nice the cars under carriage is. Southern cars sure hold up.

http://ecorenovator.org/forum/attach...1&d=1511551801

Look at the brake lines no rust. This car is a 1996
http://ecorenovator.org/forum/attach...1&d=1511551801
http://ecorenovator.org/forum/attach...1&d=1511551801
http://ecorenovator.org/forum/attach...1&d=1511551801
http://ecorenovator.org/forum/attach...1&d=1511551801

Here is how I was able to get those pictures.
http://ecorenovator.org/forum/attach...1&d=1511552118

Looks better than the one I have underneath. What's up with the taillight? Mine needs new headlight assemblies: no amount of "wipe new" or polishing pads can bring them back. They don't look all that bad from the outside, but from the headlight's source, the light that makes it out is scattered.

I was seriously considering rebuilding (and may in the future if I decide to run a supercharger instead of air conditioning) my original engine. I believe the whole job costs out at around 800 bucks. Parts weren't much more than what you have. The only real difference was pistons and valve springs. The main expense was machine shop work. All the checking, clearancing, balancing, grinding and polishing adds up. From past experience, it's definitely worth it.

The guy that owned it before us painted all the lights with black paint. We still need to do more work on the taillight on the trunk.

We saved the turn signals (before and after picture.)
http://ecorenovator.org/forum/attach...1&d=1514857305

My son has Xmas break so to work on the car we go.
The motor is out and apart the cleanup begins.
Everything looks pretty good so far.

My son excited to get his car running again.
http://ecorenovator.org/forum/attach...1&d=1514857305

The barn cat wants to help.
http://ecorenovator.org/forum/attach...1&d=1514857305

Before
http://ecorenovator.org/forum/attach...1&d=1514933635

Block
http://ecorenovator.org/forum/attach...1&d=1514857305

New pistons
http://ecorenovator.org/forum/attach...1&d=1514857305

Head is apart it is DOHC
http://ecorenovator.org/forum/attach...1&d=1514857305

Head is ready for cleanup.
http://ecorenovator.org/forum/attach...1&d=1514857305

Ooh, shiny! I like those pistons. I'm still not sure if I will be overhauling my old motor. It looks about the same, except for the plastic intake. Black plastic valve cover, too. The new motor remains string and smoke free...

Nice progress!

I ordered plastic gauge, all new hoses, new Belt Tensioner, spark plugs and wires, Front Transmission seal, Transmission Temperature Sensor, Oil Filter Bypass Valve. Assembly lube.
I have vale lapping compound on hand but I ordered a new lapping tool and a ball hone.

The car came with new water pump, belt, idler pulley and thermostat.

We are all set with parts.
Rock auto can really save money with these parts.

I saw where super clean would help clean up the block and the head. We tested it on the head it was 30 degrees outside so we did not spend that much time on it yet. But it worked well. I look forward to using it on the block and the head again.

Before and after (I just sprayed it on let it sit pressured washed it off)
http://ecorenovator.org/forum/attach...1&d=1515179275

http://ecorenovator.org/forum/attach...1&d=1515179275

$9 at Walmart
http://ecorenovator.org/forum/attach...1&d=1515179275

Some or my parts
http://ecorenovator.org/forum/attach...1&d=1515179275

We have a setback I went to Columbia SC to get my timing cover and some other parts.
We spent a fair amount of time cleaning it up. We finished cleaning it up yesterday and we very happy how it turned out. Then I noticed it has a big issue the part that holds the idler pulley is broken off.
My old cover has the top right bolt ear broken ½ off. I wonder if I could cut off the bolt ear of this one and weld it on the old cover?

Issue highlighted in yellow.
http://ecorenovator.org/forum/attach...1&d=1515337845

http://ecorenovator.org/forum/attach...1&d=1515337749

My son cleaned up all the valves and more parts came in the mail including valve lapping tool.

http://ecorenovator.org/forum/attach...1&d=1515337749