Caffeine, Code & Chaos

Systems engineer. Robotics geek. Maker of shiny things. Part race car, part glitter. Powered by caffeine and curiosity.

The Vision

Picture this: a lightweight kit car with the heart of a Cobalt SS/SC, wrapped in the iconic livery of the P-51 Mustang “Old Crow.” That’s the dream. Army green body, red and yellow checkers on the nose, old-school pinup girl behind the wheels, and engine exhaust graphics down the sides. The goal wasn’t just to build a track car; it was to build something that turns heads in the paddock and dominates on course.

Build Started: May 2018
Current Status: Active track car, supercharged and sorting tuning
Donor Evolution: 2006 LS 4-door → 2008 LS coupe → 2007 SS/SC engine donor
Total Build Hours: 600+ (and counting)

The Build Story

May 2018: The Beginning (and First Educational Tax)

Started with a manual 2006 LS 4-door donor. The plan was simple: keep it stock during the initial build, replace parts only if they broke. No hopping it up off the bat.

**Entry Hours: 1 Total Hours: 1**

First night, I stripped the trunk, pulled the tail lights, removed the rear seat. One tip for 4-door donors: the rear bumper skin has to be partially removed to free the wiring harness. Remove the plastic pins along the top, take out the two Torx screws on each side, and you can pull the bumper away enough to get the harness through.

**Entry Hours: 2 Total Hours: 3**

Next session, I tackled the front end. Removed the bumper, headlights, fender, inner fender panel, air filter, breather box, and radiator. The windshield wipers were absolute nightmares. Rusted solid. Needed a big pry bar and a “big friendly hammer” to convince them to come off.

Then reality hit.

July 2018: Plot Twist - The Title Saga

Here’s the thing about Missouri vehicle titles: you don’t really own a vehicle until you properly title it in your name. Turns out, the previous owners never paid their sales tax, so I couldn’t transfer the title. I even offered to pay their sales tax for them. They blocked me.

I tried everything. Filed for abandoned property. Looked into declaratory judgement (which would cost $800-$1000). Nothing worked fast enough. So I learned an expensive lesson about due diligence and decided to cut my losses.

The lesson: Always validate the title before money changes hands. Consider it an “educational tax.”

I picked up a running 2008 LS coupe as a replacement donor. At least this time, I got the junk title properly transferred first.

July 21, 2018: Road Trip to DF Kit Car

**Entry Hours: Travel Day Total Hours: 3**

Made the trek from Southwest Missouri to Adam and Lonny’s shop to pick up my Extended Track frame kit. Got to meet the guys, tour the shop, and take a ride in Lonny’s Goblin. That ride sealed the deal. This was going to be worth every hour in the garage.

Loaded up the kit and headed home with a truck full of dreams and carbon fiber.

July 23-28, 2018: Real Assembly Begins

**Entry Hours: 3 Total Hours: 6**

Got the floor plan and front bulkhead installed. Assembled the front uprights and prepped the control arms. Installed brake tees and lines, finished radiator hose connections, mounted the fuel tank.

Then I mocked up the front suspension and immediately spotted a problem: I’d assembled the uprights backwards. Thank goodness for the mockup step. Easy fix when you catch it early, nightmare if you find it after everything’s buttoned up.

**Entry Hours: 5 Total Hours: 11.5**

Got the AC evacuated at a local shop, then started the real donor teardown. We got all the front end components off, but the subframe bolts decided to make our lives interesting. Those rear control arm bolts were so rusted that we broke a couple sockets, a ratchet, and a couple adapters trying to get them loose. Eventually had to cut one bolt with a saw because it had welded itself to the bushing sleeve.

**Entry Hours: 6 Total Hours: 17.5**

Victory. Donor fully stripped, wiring harness removed from the engine. Time to clean parts and start the real build.

Late 2018: Assembly and First Fire

The rest of 2018 was a blur of parts cleaning, assembly, wiring, and problem-solving. Each evening in the garage brought new challenges and small victories. By December, the car was together enough for initial startup.

The first time the engine fired was magic. All those hours of work, all the learning, all the “educational taxes” paid to become this sound: a running Goblin.

2019-2020: Track Time and the Need for Speed

Got the car on track for multiple autocross events with Ozark SCCA. The handling was dialed, the car was reliable, and I was learning the limits. But there were several spots on course where I’d be at wide-open throttle wishing for more power.

The naturally aspirated LS motor was solid and reliable, but when you’re flat-out and still waiting for acceleration, your brain starts doing math. Math that involves superchargers.

June 2020: The Details Matter

Total Hours: 600+ miles logged

Added custom floor mats in the cockpit and tunnels. Not just for looks; after 600+ miles on our first real road trip, the amount of dust and crud that accumulated was impressive. The textured rubber mats made cleanup way easier.

August 2020: Operation Super Crow Begins

Found a 2007 Cobalt SS/SC in Oklahoma for an absolute steal. Guy was building dirt track cars and the motor started acting up, so he bailed on the project. I hooked up a jump pack and everything powered up. Engine would turn over but wouldn’t start. Looked like someone had been in there; coil packs were loose, there were some “extra” relays, and I found a GPS tracker (one of those buy-here-pay-here dealer devices).

Here’s the thing: I paid less for the entire car than what a used M62 supercharger alone sells for on eBay. Even if the motor was trashed, I could part out the leather bucket seats, rims, wing, and other bits to break even.

The plan was set: tear down the supercharged LSJ completely, rebuild it with performance components, and swap it into Old Crow. While I’m at it, rework the wiring harness and swap in the ‘07 BCM to get cruise control (because I’m spoiled like that).

March 2021: Trailer Build

Before the engine swap, I needed proper transport. Picked up a trailer and went full overkill on the setup:

The trailer alone was probably version 1.0 of overkill, but I like being prepared. Plus, the wife didn’t say no, which is basically an enthusiastic yes in car guy language.

November 2021: Engine Teardown with the Family

My oldest kid came home from college and offered to help wrench on the engine. We spent two nights breaking down the supercharged motor, pulling accessories, separating the engine and trans, and dismantling everything for inspection.

Found a socket under the intake manifold. From the rubbed spot on the block, it had been there a while. Probably the oil filter cap socket someone lost during an oil change. From the look of the oil when we drained it, that socket had been swimming in nasty oil for quite some time. Yuck.

April 2022: Suspension and Handling Upgrades

While the engine was out, I knocked out a list of upgrades:

Also installed new LED headlights with custom 3D-printed mounting bases. The DRLs could be white or amber. I hooked up one of each for the crew chief (my wife) to choose. She went with white. Smart woman.

Ran an autocross in late March and had a photographer there. Got some great action shots of Old Crow carving corners. You can see the bugs in her teeth. That’s right, it’s a drivin’ car, not a lookin’ at car.

April 2023: The Cam Bolt Incident

Started reassembling the new supercharged engine. Everything was going well until it wasn’t.

April 6, 2023: Discovered both cam bolts were loose. The intake cam bolt had backed out several threads. The exhaust cam bolt was only finger tight. This led to broken rockers, and broken rockers led to pistons hitting valves. Hard.

Damage assessment: 3 bent intake valves, broken rocker arms, scattered roller bearings, and one bruised ego. I’m generally diligent about torquing and verifying bolts, but looks like I either missed these or misread the spec on my sheet. Probably my fault, though I wanted to blame a part failure.

Ordered new rockers, cam bolts, head studs, cam sprockets, and a full set of replacement valves (just in case I missed any other bent ones during inspection).

April 17, 2023: Got the head back together and installed it. Unless something went sideways, I’d have the car back together within the week.

April 23, 2023: Victory. The new engine fired right up. Still had a bunch of little things to finish, but the motor was alive and running correctly this time.

April-May 2023: Shakedown and Sorting

April 29, 2023: Car moving under its own power. The boost gauge always showed vacuum, which had me worried initially. Turns out I wasn’t running enough RPM to see boost. Once I got on it, the gauge worked perfectly.

April 30, 2023: Took it up and down our side road a few times. The throttle was pretty touchy (normal for these cars, apparently). The idle wasn’t perfect; watching VCM Scanner, the ECU kept adding and pulling timing. I’m betting it’s the larger injectors since the computer doesn’t know about them yet.

Ordered an AEM wideband O2 sensor so I can start tuning after the engine break-in period. Time to learn HP Tuners for real.

Current Configuration

The Heart of the Beast

Chassis and Suspension

Interior and Comfort

Exterior and Lighting

Support Equipment

Lessons Learned (The Hard Way)

Title Troubles

Always validate title paperwork before money changes hands. In Missouri, you don’t own the vehicle until it’s properly titled in your name. If previous owners didn’t pay sales tax, you’re stuck. Consider it part of the educational process, budget permitting.

Assembly Mockups Matter

Mock up major components before final installation. I caught backwards front uprights during mockup. Finding that after everything’s buttoned up would’ve been a nightmare.

Rust is Your Enemy

Budget extra time for rusted fasteners. Those subframe bolts turned a 2-hour job into a multi-day adventure requiring saws, broken tools, and creative problem-solving.

Check Your Work (Twice)

Loose cam bolts cost me 3 bent valves, new rockers, and several weeks of rebuild time. Torque specs exist for a reason. Verify critical fasteners, especially on rotating assemblies.

HP Tuners Has a Learning Curve

The interface is poorly designed, and math functions fail silently if parameters are zero. Debug by splitting formulas into individual parameters and logging each separately. It’s tedious but it works.

Family Bonding Through Wrenching

Some of my best memories from this build involve wrenching with my kid on college break. Teaching moments, shared victories, and the occasional “why is there a socket in the intake manifold?” make it all worthwhile.

What’s Next

Immediate Priorities

Short-Term Upgrades

Long-Term Goals

Track Record & Philosophy

Old Crow has logged extensive track time with Ozark SCCA autocross events. The goal was never to build a garage queen. This car exists to be driven hard, cornered harder, and brought home with bugs in her teeth.

Multiple autocross events taught valuable lessons about suspension setup, tire management, and the limits of naturally aspirated power. Those wide-open throttle sections where you’re waiting for acceleration? That’s what motivated the supercharger swap.

The car handles. It stops. It goes (and now goes harder with boost). Most importantly, it puts a stupid grin on your face every time you drop the hammer coming out of a corner.

Philosophy: “It’s a drivin’ car, not a lookin’ at car.”

By the Numbers

This is a living document. Old Crow is never truly “finished.” There’s always another upgrade, another track day, another corner to perfect. That’s the beauty of kit cars and motorsports.

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