So I'm trying to make this car into a sleeper (except the fact that I want to make it sound amazing preferably by straight pipe) and I need some help with determining what to get and what can fit and what won't. A few things I would like to do are:
1 bigger engine
2 turbo (twin over single)
3 straight pipe
4 manual transmission (replace automatic)
Can someone help me make suggestions on what I should do for these? Thanks
Find SS and swap the running gear in. My dad had one, it was a rocketship without the chip even. Uses the same running gear as the cobalt SS. Torque steered like a mother though....
Only a few hundred SS panels made... This one died.... Tboned by a red light runner...
How serious are you about this and what's your budget? An exhaust made of only pipe work and no mufflers, resonators, or similar will sound "awful". A manual transmission won't affect the sound output of the engine in any fashion you'd really care about.
Cobalt SS swap already mentioned is probably smart. After that, if you want to change the way it sounds, get on Youtube and listen to video clips of people showing off different exhaust systems. Emulate the one you like the most.
We put a Thule rack on ours. Looks pretty cool now.
I am about 75% serious about this. Budget isn't really a problem. The manual tran is for my own liking. Not for sound. What kind of muffler/exhaust should I get for the best sound. And I would really like to fit the biggest engine possible. The turbo I want to put in a twin from a Saab that I currently have. lIn reply to pres589:
The really easy button here is just buying an SS model outright. But Cobalt SS parts are a straight bolt-on, and GMPP used to sell the complete turbo setup for the Cobalt/HHR SS but I don't see it out on their website anymore, IIRC it was a direct bolt on to the 2.2 but not the 2.4. As Java230 pointed out what you probably want is a salvage Cobalt or HHR SS and just transplant the drivetrain/suspension parts. Biggest engine stock for these was the 2.4 Ecotech, same engine as the NA Sky/Solstice I think. I don't believe the engine bay is physically large enough for the transverse V6, but with a welder and a plasma torch you could probably get it to fit. 
The LNC engine is really pretty damn good. Built for boost and can make good power.
Its really the easy button... The one I posted a pic of sold for $2600 at insurance auction, that's a pretty cheap donor.
TIL: Chevy made SS panel vans
calteg wrote: TIL: Chevy made SS panel vans
216 in total. It was a really fun car too, basically stripped interior except the front. And a ton of power. Unfortunate it got totaled.
You'll need to log in to post.
