Project Saturn SW2

Back from the garage...

Did the obligatory "look im standing in the engine bay" picture just before the engine went in:

Putting the engine in.

If you look closely you will see the clutch alignment tool is still in the engine. I forgot to take it out. Could not figure out why it was hanging up hahahaha.

Finally after much back breaking work and lifting and shifting things around....BY MYSELF, i got the engine and transmission mated and got it all bolted in

Back to the garage now

Should've mate the engine/trans outside the car, then lowered them in :)

ProDarwin wrote: Should've mate the engine/trans outside the car, then lowered them in :)

Thought about it but the lifting loop did not look all that solid so i did it the other way

called it a night. wrapped it up with finishing installing the new hydraulic system for the clutch, spark plug install and coil pack mouting. Overall a very productive day. Im kinda meticulous and thought time wise things went well. Im happy with the days work.

Engine bay is 95% done.

Thanks for tuning in

Hmmmmm, maybe my Saturn should get a treatment like this in a year or so instead of getting replaced....

got more parts in today.

all the brake stuff...rotors, calipers, pads, drums, shoes, rear wheel cylinders, rear brake hdwr.

and suspension stuff...lower control arms, tie rod ends, wheel bearings

Damn. I thought I was the only one crazy enough to just start replacing every goddamn part on an old Saturn. I've done 4 struts, front strut mounts, front control arms, tie rod ends, a right axle, brake rotors and pads, and cat-back exhaust in the past two months. You've got me beat. Those Mini wheels look good on it too.

BTW- new drums?! I've never even heard of a Saturn needing new drums. Were the old ones seized or something?

I had you both beat by far, then I sold the berkeleying car.

Kudos to you for replacing drums. I'd have thrown a rear disc setup on it, or just taken it to a local shop for that. I flat out refuse to work on drum brakes.

While you have the front end partially apart, make sure you replace the front swaybar -> cradle bushings.

sway bar bushings? whys that. mine look good

Because even when they are going bad, they "look" good. And due to the goofy swaybar->lca geometry it means bad swaybar bushings will have a much larger effect on the car than with a traditional swaybar. Vibration, wheel hop, massive toe changes, tire wear, etc. Given the age/mileage of your car, I'd guess they are nearly worn out unless they have been replaced before. Energy suspension sells them separately pretty cheap IIRC.

In from the garage....

Looked in the box of random Saturn stuff we got from a former employee and low and behold....2 SWAY BAR BUSHINGS!! I totally got lucky. So i threw those on the wagon.

Then i installed new lower control arms and bushings, new tie rod ends. During this time i lubed up everything, wire wheeled the bolts and cleaned everything up. Front end still needs brakes and hubs/bearings installed.

Then i went off to re-do the rear brakes. More on this and drum brakes later, however for now here ya go:

All tore down and cleaned up.

Brakes finished

Borrowed a friends carpet extractor for just a quick cleaning on the interior.

That machine is a beast. Used that and some scrubbing wit ha stiff brush and i cant believe the results. Although i did get a bit carried away.

Next thing i know all the seats are out...

So now at 12 something i call it quits and the interior is oh so clean and fresh smelling

Love this build...soopar kleen

In reply to 4cylndrfury:

I agree lot of time invested but you. Should have a nice dependable driver when done good work

That's the strangest front suspension I've ever seen. The Swaybar locates the control arm?

2002maniac wrote: That's the strangest front suspension I've ever seen. The Swaybar locates the control arm?

Single-link setup. How many more links could you need?

2002maniac wrote: That's the strangest front suspension I've ever seen. The Swaybar locates the control arm?

BMW used it on the E21.

2002maniac wrote: That's the strangest front suspension I've ever seen. The Swaybar locates the control arm?

It's terrible, although it isn't as uncommon as it should be.

Wire brushed, re-tapped threaded holes, cleaned and finally painted my exhaust manifold.

Also cleaned and mounted the rear mudflaps. I think these will stay but not totally sure yet.

Switched things up a bit too. A while ago i scored factory foglights from the junkyard. I snipped the wiring harness from the car for the fog lights. I started with this:

Snipped off the not needed pigtails, looming and what-nots. Here is what i removed:

And ended up with only this:

Then ill finish up some wiring harness for them and wire them into the car. Mount the lights. and good to go.

Front suspension is together.

New tie rod ends, lower control arms/ bushings, wheel bearings. All torques and lubed and cleaned.

Front brakes tomorrow? well see

Finished front brakes wednesday or thursday night. Went well. New rotors, pads/ hardware, rebuilt calipers.

Got an aluminum valve cover. The powder coat from the factory was shot so i wire wheeled it and thought i would powdercoat it myself. I had touched up my own powder coating with a heat gun so i figured for whatever reason that i could do a whole valve cover. Beer musta been strong that night....

FAIL

Made a mess.

So i went to my uncles shop today (friday) to sandblast the whole mess and just spray paint it. Well he had glass beads in it and was not heavy duty enough to remove my, and factory powdercoat.

So i came home with paint stripper. Things i learned...

• Wear gloves and long sleeves
• Wear goggles
• Ventilation.

Smells like pure amonia and toxic waste, got some on my fingers and thought i was gonna die. Burned the piss outta my fingers.

So after i used the stripper i used a pot and pan scrub pad (kinda like steel wool) and thought "hey this looks pretty nice" so i did it again in more detail.

Then i used some Mequiars chrome polish on it, then cleaned it and finally clear coated it.

And so this is how a quick shoot and spray turned into a typical CarKid project.

Looks good, the natural aluminum looks cool.

This is the first time I've checked into this thread and DAMN, is it awesome.

I love how OCD you're getting on a car that generally gets little to no love. this is going to be one of the finest SW2's in the country!!!

Great resto and a great read.