I bought a project 96 Saturn SC2 car.

[where2]

Originally Posted by pinballlooking

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 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.

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.

[jeff5may]

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.

[pinballlooking]

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.

[natethebrown]

Originally Posted by pinballlooking

Also a learning experience where both my sons will know more about cars.

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.

[jeff5may]

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.

[pinballlooking]

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.

[pinballlooking]

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

[Daox]

Any updates on this project?

[pinballlooking]

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.



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.

[pinballlooking]

I am going to redo the headliner I bought 2 cans 3M Super Trim Adhesive.


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.