Topic: Our car is missing, um, everything. Find another car?

Our SL1 saturn is a front-end accident victim turned art project turned Sawzall test model. As a result, it's missing the entire top half starting at the base of the window, the b-pillars are cut at the doorhandle level, the mangled part of the nose has been cut off (shortening the car by about a foot), and just for the heck of it we cut off the trunk. The whole trunk.

Now, we have enough stuff to actually turn it back into a street legal car - lights, adequate bumpers, and so on. The plan was to put a metal pipe where the doors would be, then foam&fiberglass the openings to form a nice tub, block off the trunk area with metal, and add some more foam&fiberglass to make it look like an actual, um, car, fenders and all.

So my question is: would a makeshift car like that (with doors permanently sealed, a glass hood and "trunk", and no roof other than the roll cage) have any chances of being allowed to race? It'll look pretty nice, but NOT at all like a Saturn.

We still have the trunk and the doors, but the hood was WAAAY gone to be salvaged.

Please don't tell me I have to spend the next week crawling Craigslist for another one...

K Car Stalker

Re: Our car is missing, um, everything. Find another car?

You have to spend the next week crawling Craigslist I'm afraid.  See the stick thread above discussing the new rules for 2011, specifically no cutting/removal of the factory crush zones of the car.

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OTTER: "I think that this situation absolutely requires a really futile and stupid gesture be done on somebody's part."
BLUTO: "We're just the guys to do it."

Re: Our car is missing, um, everything. Find another car?

JThw8 wrote:

You have to spend the next week crawling Craigslist I'm afraid.  See the stick thread above discussing the new rules for 2011, specifically no cutting/removal of the factory crush zones of the car.

^ This.

Plus, the 2011 rules now require all doors be in place.

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Re: Our car is missing, um, everything. Find another car?

Well at least you have a spares package.  Just find an almost identical car.

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Re: Our car is missing, um, everything. Find another car?

Ok, sad but what can you do. I guess it's time to go get something old and cool smile

K Car Stalker

6 (edited by therood 2010-12-15 10:37 AM)

Re: Our car is missing, um, everything. Find another car?

Sir Thomas Crapper wrote:

Well at least you have a spares package.  Just find an almost identical car.

This. You can find Saturns everywhere for cheap, and you can probably use it for spares on any other Saturn from the 90s. You may want the SL2/SW2, though, as those have four-wheel discs, although you can probably do that conversion easily enough from the cheaper model.

Has anybody run a Saturn wagon ever?

Eric Rood
Everything Bagel, 24 Hours of Lemons
eric@24hoursoflemons.com

Re: Our car is missing, um, everything. Find another car?

Did someone say old and cool?

http://www.misfittoysracing.com/29Nash/Nash.jpg

Keep hunting, old and cool is out there for Lemons prices...just get your tetanus shot updated.

http://wartburg.misfittoysracing.com
OTTER: "I think that this situation absolutely requires a really futile and stupid gesture be done on somebody's part."
BLUTO: "We're just the guys to do it."

Re: Our car is missing, um, everything. Find another car?

therood wrote:

This. You can find Saturns everywhere for cheap, and you can probably use it for spares on any other Saturn from the 90s. You may want the SL2/SW2, though, as those have four-wheel discs, although you can probably do that conversion easily enough from the cheaper model.

Has anybody run a Saturn wagon ever?

Not quite right on the brakes.  The S-series up to at least 1999 only had rear disc brakes with the ABS option.  A twin cam (SC2/SL2/SW2) does not mean that the car has rear discs.

BTW, Saturn uses a craptastic 3-channel ABS that brilliantly removes all sensation of braking if you attempt to brake while a rear wheel is off the ground.  Learned that one the hard way.

But, yeah, everything mechanical is bolt-on swappable between all of the S series cars. 

Most common problems with those Saturns was mysterious oil-burning (improper break-in?), too-small oil hole in the timing chain tensioner clogging and self-destructing the tensioner and ultimately the chain (if the car looks like it hasn't had the oil changed regularly, this is VERY likely), GM alternator too close to the exhaust (thus burned out every 50-60k) and plug wire life about like every other wasted-spark car.

Good handling, reliable, lightweight car.  What could possibly go wrong?

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Re: Our car is missing, um, everything. Find another car?

Are you sure  the 1.9L DOHC  (On Sx cars) have the same problem as the earliest ECOtec 2.2L (L-series cars), the undersized oil squirter for the chain? I changed my squirter in a 2000 L series after the chain overheated/broke and took out the valves. Was a GM TSB.

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Re: Our car is missing, um, everything. Find another car?

djcommie wrote:

Are you sure  the 1.9L DOHC  (On Sx cars) have the same problem as the earliest ECOtec 2.2L (L-series cars), the undersized oil squirter for the chain? I changed my squirter in a 2000 L series after the chain overheated/broke and took out the valves. Was a GM TSB.

I know squat about the later Saturns.  I owned a '94 SC2 for 7 years, my wife had an SL1 for 10 years, and anything that doesn't have plastic body panels on all four corners is not a "real" Saturn to me.  smile  The original 1.9 Saturn engine did, indeed, have problems with the oil hole in the timing chain tensioner IF oil maintenance was not up to par.

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Re: Our car is missing, um, everything. Find another car?

firegremlin 
We've run an Sl2 for three races. with pretty good luck....The last 2 races we ran were top third finishes.
Ditch the t-stat and the cooling isn't a problem
If you have an oil burner it is usually the piston rings.
I've been a Saturn Tech until they went out of buisiness.
If you have any questions let me know.

Manny

Re: Our car is missing, um, everything. Find another car?

firegremlin 
By the way... Where are you racing?
I have a lot of parts!!!

Re: Our car is missing, um, everything. Find another car?

Too late - the saturn roller was sold and all we have left are doors, trunk, AC and seats.

We're going to debut at Southern Discomfort this february in a Stanza wagon.

BTW, if anyone needs Saturn doors, I can bring some for beer big_smile

K Car Stalker