So I bought my first car today, found something rare. A 1997 Pontiac Sunfire GT with a 5 speed manual. Got the 2.4 LD9 twin cam in it, with a blown head gasket. For only $350. If thats not a steal I don't know what is.
Of course, it needs some work. The head gasket blew and the engine overheated to the point were it shut off. Might just need a gasket kit, might need a whole new top end. Future disassembly will judge how empty my wallets going to be. But, you have to look at the positives in life. New transmission, clutch is good, new alternator, tires are good, brakes are fair. It just screams potential. I've got a couple of ideas floating around, and a few JDM exterior modifications to give it a unique look. You're probably either going to love it or hate it.
I even got my first modification done, removing the two front seats. Because this was a farm car, they were caked some of the nastiest substances and odors imaginable. They weren't even bolted in. Or course, I disposed of them in a safe and economical way.
Images aren't working, I'm idiot.
So I bought my first car today, found something rare. A 1997 Pontiac Sunfire GT with a 5 speed manual. Got the 2.4 LD9 twin cam in it, with a blown head gasket. For only $350. If thats not a steal I don't know what is.
Of course, it needs some work. The head gasket blew and the engine overheated to the point were it shut off. Might just need a gasket kit, might need a whole new top end. Future disassembly will judge how empty my wallets going to be. But, you have to look at the positives in life. New transmission, clutch is good, new alternator, tires are good, brakes are fair. It just screams potential. I've got a couple of ideas floating around, and a few JDM exterior modifications to give it a unique look. You're probably either going to love it or hate it.
I even got my first modification done, removing the two front seats. Because this was a farm car, they were caked some of the nastiest substances and odors imaginable. They weren't even bolted in. Or course, I disposed of them in a safe and economical way.
Please forgive my photo mixup.
Lmfao! Y3llowCav will love that last pic, good luck with the project man! Hope the engine isnt to badly beat.
Straight lines are over-rated In My Opinion =]
Update!
Tore down the entire top end today. It was a long day of inappropriate weather for June, cursing, and busted knuckles
Breaking the bolt on the harmonic balancer was a pain, and taking off the timing case was an absolute mess. Word of wise, if the inner fender wall breaks on your car, fix it or face the wrath of the most disgusting timing case ever.
But, even with a little rain, we managed to get the thing off. The cylinders were in great condition, and even had the factory cross hatching still on it.
Unfortunately, like the seller said, the head gasket overheated and blew it apart.
The oil jacket was on the verge of busting too, if it didn't overheat this would have caused just as much trouble.
Aaaaand there's a pit in my valve head. Checked it with a feeler gauge, its about .008 of an inch. Still possible to machined, and since I'm at I'll probably end up getting a port and polish as well.
But, on the positive side, I scored a set of Z24 seats for only $50! They look absolutely great in the Sunfire, and there damn comfy too.
Of course, I had to dispose of the groady back seats. Believe me, under that couch, those nasty things are burning.
You are an idiot,
take your garbage to the dump like a normal human being and quit burning all your @!#$.
Brian Earl Spilner wrote:
Breaking the bolt on the harmonic balancer was a pain,
]
Got a good trick to make that easier. To break loose the harmonic balancer bolt without destroying knuckles pull thethe fuel pump fuse, put you breaker bar/wrench/ratchet on the bolt. Brace the ratchet against any good piece of the frame or ground then bump the ignition. Starter will break it loos instantly
I wouldn't exactly call this thing rare. If it was a sedan, yeah, but it's just a plain jane Sunfire GT. I'd say it's rare to find a farm beater in that good of shape, though. For 350 bones, not a bad find. I paid twice that for my Sunfire sedan 5-speed with a blown head gasket, and it had an arsenal of problems that followed. I'm curious as to what JDM parts you have planned, as most are specific to the Cavalier.
R.I.P. JessE Gerard 7.11.87 - 1.25.08
The Radiation Nation Facebook Twitter Twisted Metal Alliance
I need to find my old couch fire videos........
Project is looking good so far. It seems like it was a hell of a deal. I think the seats you put in are by far the best factory option for our cars. Also burn away!
Evan Undead (The Black Pearl) wrote: "I wouldn't exactly call this thing rare. If it was a sedan, yeah, but it's just a plain jane Sunfire GT."
Personally I disagree. A 5-speed GT not beat to @!#$ is rather hard to find in Minnesota, at least in my opinion. Or course, it might be different in other areas.
Update!
Me and my partner in crime sacrificed a Z24 to the scrap yard. It only turned in $180, but he's willing to donate the earnings to fix the cylinder head. And by donate, I mean loan.
I called an average joe machine shop today, and he wanted $200 to machine the head and do a valve job. I'm weary on that price. I've had some ideas thrown at me to just machine it myself with sandpaper, which is a great deal cheaper, but if I'm going get it machined I want it done right. I'm still on the fence about it. Any opinions?
You will never get that head straight with sand paper on your own. Machine shops actually use machines to keep the surface perfectly flat. I would say $200 is cheap but I would check out their work anyways.
Brian Earl Spilner wrote:Evan Undead (The Black Pearl) wrote: "I wouldn't exactly call this thing rare. If it was a sedan, yeah, but it's just a plain jane Sunfire GT."
Personally I disagree. A 5-speed GT not beat to @!#$ is rather hard to find in Minnesota, at least in my opinion. Or course, it might be different in other areas.
Hence my sentence that followed the one you quoted 
R.I.P. JessE Gerard 7.11.87 - 1.25.08
The Radiation Nation Facebook Twitter Twisted Metal Alliance
Evan Undead (The Black Pearl) wrote:Brian Earl Spilner wrote:Evan Undead (The Black Pearl) wrote: "I wouldn't exactly call this thing rare. If it was a sedan, yeah, but it's just a plain jane Sunfire GT."
Personally I disagree. A 5-speed GT not beat to @!#$ is rather hard to find in Minnesota, at least in my opinion. Or course, it might be different in other areas.
Hence my sentence that followed the one you quoted
Well, regardless of its rarity, it was too good of a deal to pass up. Its going to be a while, and more money than an average teenager has to blow, but damn it I'll get this car back on the road again.
Update!
Second update of the day! Unfortunately, no picture this time. A fellow JBO member cut me a deal, $80 shipped for a cylinder head. Big thanks to him! The mighty Sunfire should be running by the end of the month!
Yea man no problem on the head, good thing your buddy got ahold of me today bc me and my buddy where gonna throw the whole motor in my parts car along with couple other engines for scrap tomorrow and haul car in friday most likely, just glad a good head didnt get scrapped and you can use it instead.
FuzzMASTA9
So have you put any thought into the engine block? Since it overheated so much, you might wanna check that the block is straight before putting the new head on.
I checked his block, shes straight
updates are comin boys, shes all back together now, first fire will be tomorrow, he has plenty of pics to add when his computer gets fixed, will record the first fire tomorrow though! wish us luck!
if it had coolant in the cylinders i would check the rod bearings as well. not a bad idea to change them out anyway, just to be safe...
M45/OS crank/2.4 snout. It's nice to be injected but I love being blown!
bottom end is beautiful man, oil had no coolant in it, drained it today
Update!
So because money I ripped a cylinder head off a parts car with my partners in crime.
Beautiful. No pits, no warping. Came out of a Z24 with a spun rod barring. That car may be junk, but its heart lives on in the Sunfire.
Any way, it was inappropriately hot today. Sunburns aside, we started early after noon on the reassembly.
It was a long day. There was a lot of yelling and rashed knuckles involved. Between our stupidly and anger things were actually coming along great.
As the night started to roll in and the rain began its plummet, we were just putting on the air filter and tightening down the motor mounts.
This is it. We've reached our apex. Tomorrow we see if she starts. There is a lot riding on this, this Sunfire is my first car, and me and my Rice Crew spent quite a bit of time and money to rebuild this engine. Its everything or nothing.
Just out of curiosity, why is your factory air box still in there with the cone filter/WAI?
