V8 HHR Build
12-19-2016, 10:33 PM
#931
New Member
Join Date: 01-25-2016
Location: Mentor, Ohio
Posts: 21
Found this today searching Google for this thread....
Cliff's HHR on Engine Swap Depot...
http://www.engineswapdepot.com/?p=13467
Cliff's HHR on Engine Swap Depot...
http://www.engineswapdepot.com/?p=13467
12-20-2016, 03:48 PM
#932
New Member
Join Date: 01-25-2016
Location: Mentor, Ohio
Posts: 21
Some pictures as promised...
It took at least an hour with my pencil grinder to shape the Unobtanium that this ignition tumbler housing is made from in order to install the push button into the factory location. I am pretty sure it's actually aluminum, but it has to be some kind of alloy because hits harder then the Tin Man's nipples in this Ohio weather!!
Wiring and fueling and HVAC.... OH MY!!! (goes along with the Tin Man reference, get it? Har har!)
Just a little of what I am working with, lol. I am going to be pulling the engine harness though so I can start with a clean slate.... Meaning I will be removing a lot of the unneeded OEM wiring out of it.
I had seen a few people mention that Cliff just use the ignition wire to the solenoid or to a relay to run the starter then just wiring the harness like the "4 wire harness" on LT1 Swap dot com site. It's not that simple on the HHR. The ignition system is actually a 5v system that is then fed into part of the CAN-BUS network. So it's not as simple as just wiring up that way. However I will be taking that 5v source and feeding it through a standard 12v relay's switched contacts to power the factory system.
It took at least an hour with my pencil grinder to shape the Unobtanium that this ignition tumbler housing is made from in order to install the push button into the factory location. I am pretty sure it's actually aluminum, but it has to be some kind of alloy because hits harder then the Tin Man's nipples in this Ohio weather!!
Wiring and fueling and HVAC.... OH MY!!! (goes along with the Tin Man reference, get it? Har har!)
Just a little of what I am working with, lol. I am going to be pulling the engine harness though so I can start with a clean slate.... Meaning I will be removing a lot of the unneeded OEM wiring out of it.
I had seen a few people mention that Cliff just use the ignition wire to the solenoid or to a relay to run the starter then just wiring the harness like the "4 wire harness" on LT1 Swap dot com site. It's not that simple on the HHR. The ignition system is actually a 5v system that is then fed into part of the CAN-BUS network. So it's not as simple as just wiring up that way. However I will be taking that 5v source and feeding it through a standard 12v relay's switched contacts to power the factory system.
12-22-2016, 07:28 AM
#935
Senior Member
Join Date: 09-07-2008
Location: Mebane, NC
Posts: 1,016
Nice work. Reminds me of all the wiring changes I had to do on my 95 Impala SS when I made the change to the 411 LS engine/trans controller. Also added passenger side electric seat, stereo stuff..... and much, much more. Did my own electrical schematics so I knew where all the pretty colors were suppose to go.
12-22-2016, 01:56 PM
#936
New Member
Join Date: 01-25-2016
Location: Mentor, Ohio
Posts: 21
Nice work. Reminds me of all the wiring changes I had to do on my 95 Impala SS when I made the change to the 411 LS engine/trans controller. Also added passenger side electric seat, stereo stuff..... and much, much more. Did my own electrical schematics so I knew where all the pretty colors were suppose to go.
This is one of the machines I built for the 2015 IMTS. Working for Lincoln Electric's Automation Division.
12-23-2016, 08:43 AM
#938
Member
Join Date: 02-01-2016
Location: Ohio
Posts: 32
My fellow frosty Ohioan
Hey Craig glad to see you here , it's too bad this isn't happening in the warmer season it would have been cool to get the two V8's in a photo together. 
An Ohioan:
-Knows all 4 seasons by heart: Winter, Still Winter, Almost Winter and
Construction.
-Lives less than 30 miles from some college or university.
-Knows what a buckeye really is
-Knows if other Ohioians are from southern or northern Ohio as soon as
they open their mouths.
-Can spell words like Cuyahoga, Olentangy, Bellefontaine, Tuscarawas, Wapakoneta and knows which letter is doubled in Cincinnati.
-Measures distance in minutes.
-Has ever had to switch from "heat" to "A/C" in the same day.
-Ends sentences with an unnecessary preposition. Example: "Where's
my coat at?"
-Knows what 'pop' is.
-Designs his/her kid's Halloween costume to fit over a snowsuit.
-Knows driving is better in the winter because the potholes are filled with
snow.
An Ohioan: -Knows all 4 seasons by heart: Winter, Still Winter, Almost Winter and
Construction.
-Lives less than 30 miles from some college or university.
-Knows what a buckeye really is
-Knows if other Ohioians are from southern or northern Ohio as soon as
they open their mouths.
-Can spell words like Cuyahoga, Olentangy, Bellefontaine, Tuscarawas, Wapakoneta and knows which letter is doubled in Cincinnati.
-Measures distance in minutes.
-Has ever had to switch from "heat" to "A/C" in the same day.
-Ends sentences with an unnecessary preposition. Example: "Where's
my coat at?"
-Knows what 'pop' is.
-Designs his/her kid's Halloween costume to fit over a snowsuit.
-Knows driving is better in the winter because the potholes are filled with
snow.
12-29-2016, 09:04 PM
#939
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: 04-06-2010
Location: Riverside, California
Posts: 655
Update
As Craig Gibson continues on the electrical and some other things in Ohio, I continue on the rear axle here in SoCal. The narrowed Currie housing comes bare and in my case it needs a bunch of brackets. The 4 link brackets, the shock mounts, the pan hard bar mount and the AirLift height sensor brackets all must be fabricated. I have used a combination of 1/4" 3/16" & 1/8" plate steel. I still have more work to do on the 4link brackets but all the other pieces are complete and ready for welding on to the housing. Here is what the brackets look like now.
12-30-2016, 12:21 AM
#940
Platinum Member
Join Date: 04-09-2006
Location: Vancouver, BC, Canada
Posts: 7,032
This is almost just too much or an ol' guy to take in - two awesome builds.
LSPoweredSorento - that was an awesome burnout - it sounded like it was just idling at times. Thanks for the pics - awesome work.
LSPoweredSorento - that was an awesome burnout - it sounded like it was just idling at times. Thanks for the pics - awesome work.