How's it going, figured I would check in. The HHR has been a hit! People love this thing. I think because it' relatable, it's not a $100k show winner, but most people will never own a car of that caliber. I'e never taken it out and not drawn a crowd, everyone from old women to young kids grin ear to ear when they see the bomb intake.

Mechanically the car has been great, hasn' left me stranded yet. Gonna change the oil today, put on a power steering hose, and loom at replacing some of the bearings in the rear end, getting a lot of noise out back.

Thanks again for all the help and information that was given!! Me and Beatrice are headed down another country road

 

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! Beatrice is still cruising right along. Logged around 20k miles so far. I put on a set of 235/75/15 AT tires up front to help cushion the front end on these dirt roads. Been running it without the fenders, haven't gotten around to modifying them to put them back on. I need to get a new set of wheels, these have gotten bent somewhere along the way. Was noticeable when the front tires were mounted. Not much else has changed, just a little more rust

 

Glad you checked in, what rims you looking for ? What bolt pattern, offset, width?

 

I've just been looking at some plain jane steel wheels. I might call a wheel repair shop and see what they want to straighten these out. I can get a brand new set of 15" steel wheels for about $200. I'm not thinking I can get them repaired much cheaper than that, but we'll see. Bolt pattern is 5x4.75, low offset wheel, nothing crazy.

Every day I drive these busted roads, and everyday I think more and more about taking this camaro subframe and swapping it for the front section of a 4wd truck frame. I would be able to slide the whole engine and tranny back about a foot, find fenders and a hood, weld them together and brace them, then put that 1 piece on a hinge. Would be like a mini grave digger.

How have you been Blue?

 

All is well, thanks for asking.

 

Hello - I have been reading about your build - Wow - I am impressed - not my cup of tea but my hats off to anybody with the drive to tear into a project like this and get it done. Question - obviously nothing scares you so why consider tearing this car apart for a second frame section ? - At least here in Southern California HHR's are a dime a dozen. We recently bought a fairly decent 2008 2.4 LT missing the engine at Copart for $250. Again not my cup of tea and don't mean to be an armchair quarterback but why not hunt down another complete car and a rollover SWB Silverado / Sierra K1500 - 99 to 06 should be buyable - 4.8 / 5.3 - great drivetrains - great suspension / brakes. You could adjust frame length of the truck pretty easy - you should be able to build the entire HHR nose into a tilt front - I'll bet the electronics will integrate with some effort. Should make a pretty nice and very durable HHR. Just a thought. And last , if emissions are a concern you can register as the truck and you are home free.

 

Some dimensions to consider

w/b. fr track r axle

• LUV)
• 100.5, 54.5, 54.7 -- 1983-'01 Chevy S-10 Blazer 2-dr., 1983-'01 GMC Jimmy 2-dr. Two wheel drive.
• 107.0, 54.5, 54.7 -- 1990-'01 Chevy S-10 Blazer 4-dr., 1990-'01 GMC Jimmy 4-dr. Two wheel drive.
• 108.3, 54.5, 54.7 -- 1982-'93 Chevy S-10 standard cab, 73" box, 1982-'93 GMC reg cab, 73" box (stock Malibu and El Camino spindles are bolt-on) two wheel
• 117.9, 54.5, 54.7 -- 1982-'93 Chevy S-10 standard cab, 89" box, '82-'93 GMCregular cab, 89" box two wheel
• 122.9, 54.5, 54.7 -- 1983-? Chevy S-10 extended cab, '83-? GMC Sanoma extended cab two wheel drive.
• 108.3, 57.22, 57.22 -- 1982-'93 Chevy S-10 standard cab, 73" box, 1982-'93 GMC reg cab, 73" box (stock Malibu and El Camino spindles are bolt-on) four wheel
• 117.9, 57.22, 57.22 -- 1982-'93 Chevy S-10 standard cab, 89" box, '82-'93 GMC regular cab, 89" box four wheel
• 122.9, 57.22, 57.22 -- 1983-? Chevy S-10 extended cab, '83-? GMC Sonoma extended cab four wheel drive.
• 122.9, 61.12, 61.12 -- 1994 - 2003 chevy zr2 extended cab, four wheel drive.
• 135.0, 67.8, 67.8 -- 2008 Chevy Express Cargo 1500 work van
• 111.2, 57.48, 57.48, -- 2004 - '12 Chevy Colorado reg. cab two wheel drive
• 126 , 57.48, 57.48, -- 2004 - '12 Chevy Colorado ext. cab two wheel drive
• 111.2, 59.65, 59.65, -- 2004 - '12 Chevy Colorado reg. cab four wheel drive
• 126 , 59.65, 59.65, -- 2004 - '12 Chevy Colorado ext. cab four wheel drive
• 113, 63.1frt-62.1rear-- 2002-2009 Chevy Trailblazer
• 129, 63.1frt-62.1rear-- 2002-2009 Trailblazer EXT

Our HHR’s Wheelbase (in / mm):

103.6 / 2631

Overall length (in / mm):

176.2 / 4475 (LS & LT)

176.5 / 4483 (SS)

Overall width (in / mm):

69.1 / 1755

Overall height (in / mm):

62.5 / 1588

Track (in / mm):

front: 58.7 / 1491

rear: 58.7 / 1491


a close match for some great 4x4 trucks, like the Colorado

 

nice to see u are still out there ratty ,,,, i,m for the 4x4 i wanted to do it with one of mine was gone use a toyota frame .... good luck happy holidays to u and yours

 

You definitely do your homework and there are many options that would work. The list of chassis combinations listed are a lot of help and would most likely work well. But many of them pose a multitude of issues. The early S10 / S15 platforms may be easy to modify for fit but then you are stuck with the pretty gutless 2.8 V6 motors or the extra weak 4 cylinders. There is a reason you don't see many of the early trucks. They weren't real great when they were new. You really don't want a carbureted V6 , terrible drivability compared to the later injected motors. The later 4,3 motors work very well and would probably do very well in the HHR. In CA , emissions are a really big deal. Keeping that in mind should a modified vehicle land in a state with CA or similar standards or another state that requires emissions testing you very well could have an unregisterable and possibly uninsurable vehicle. I would suggest a vehicle of the same age or newer, you would stand the best chance of a good outcome. If you are stuck on V8 power I would still look hard at a Silverado or possibly a AWD V8 Trailblazer. You made very good points. Thanks for letting me participate

 

Hello everyone!!! Can't believe it's been 2 years since I've been here, time flies.... Thanks for the suggestions everyone, it's always nice to have a few extra minds working on a problem.
Beatrice has been parked, so that she can undergo phase 2 of the project. She has been a warrior, hauling everything from 5k lbs of building materials, to 30' long handrails. Gonna retire her as my work truck, I picked up a nice v8 Trailblazer that's gonna do the heavy lifting.
So for the next phase of the project, the interior and front end will be getting upgrades. Beatrice was a plumbing truck before I got her, so she was used and abused. Interior reflected the years of service.
I have a buddy who scraps vehicles, and he finally had an HHR roll through. A nice one to boot!! Nice black leather interior, body panels in good shape, so I went to town. I got the hood/grill, front bumper cover, fenders, and rear hatch from the exterior. Inside I picked up the front leather seats, door panels, console, black carpet, and every trim panel I could get off. I've always been a fan of black interior, and this stuff is in great shape, so I'm excited about that.
The plan for the front end is to remove the big square grill and shroud that I fabbed up. Probably going to cut the upper tubing going from the firewall to the frame. I grabbed the metal bumper that is behind the bumper cover from the donor HHR. Inside the cover, is a foam piece that is formed to fit around the metal bumper. So that metal bumper is gonna be the foundation for the bumper cover. I'll get it place, and weld it up, then run small braces around the cover to make it nice and solid. I'm only planning on using the front 12", and rear 18" of the hood. The front will cover my radiator, and the rear will cover the junk on the firewall, and tie into the shortened fender pieces. Basically the engine will still be open/visible, but the front should blend much better with the rest of the car.


Front End Upgrade

New Seats

Hope everyone is doing well after the crazy last couple of years!!