[TheCruzen]

Background:
My 2012 ECO MT has been named "Cruzen" so this is the build of "Cruzen2.0"
My ECO is worth too much to do all these modifications to it.
I WILL build the first(?) 2.0t 6MT CRUZE!

2014 Buick Verano Premium, 2.0T, 6MT, 17k miles, salvage- runs/drives, $3k (PURCHASED)
2012 Chevy Cruze LS, 1.8L, 6MT, 195k miles, bad clutch, $3k (PENDING AS OF 5/30/18)

The Buick was delivered today (5/30/18) and this it the first bit of prep so I could find out what replacement parts I needed to buy.

As Delivered

After removal of front crash bar and upper rad support (and hood)

Messed up rads. No leaks tho, AC still blows cold! Only part not usable or the same with the recipient Cruze is the main engine radiator

As of now the wheels haven't fallen off the project, but they did have to come off the car

JUNK!!!

The wheels I will be using from now on (including the final look) will be 17x7 5x115 from a 2012 Equinox with 225/50/r16 tires to look stock and be the same size as the factory Cruze ones while fitting the Buick hubs and not saying "BUICK" on them.

Something like this

Updates will come as I make progress

 

[TheCruzen]

The buick wheels are beyond saving and none of the tires are even repairable. So I needed to buy both wheels and tires so I purchased a set of 4 off an equinox (the diesel cruze wheels are a bit ugly to me) and matching tires. Hopefully i can take the buick for a rip down my street this evening!

 

[TheCruzen]

MISTAKE NO.1

Wrong wheels, those equinox wheels (purchased) are 5x120, so now to see about another set of 17x7 wheels

EDIT:
I did my research but the guy at the local used parts depot assured me that wheels from the 08 equinox and wheels from the later 2012 were the same... I shall be returning there in the morning to exchange them for some 17x7 '08 Saturn Vue wheels that I know are 5x115 as my family used to own one.

 

[TheCruzen]

thebac, i've used that for years now, but just went with what the parts guy said for once. Wont be doing that again!

 

[TheCruzen]

Success! Buick is now driveable, and it's f*cking FAST.
The wheel saga isn't quite over but there are four wheels and tires on the buick.
I was only able to swap 3 of the wheels and will have to pick up the 4th on monday, but 3 of 4 means I can just throw the buick spare on in place of the missing one.
Got the ac system properly emptied/evacuated today as well, for $50 it was quite tempting to "accidentally" cause a massive leak, but instead I went with the right way of doing it.
Progress!!

(stock photo, mine have bowties)

 

[TheCruzen]

Most gm center caps are interchangeable, finding CHROME bowties instead of the normal painted ones is proving to be harder. The 5 spokes I have were also available on the 08 equinox and the later Captiva. The parts place just happened to have a pair of the bowties laying about, my guess is they came off a set of malibu wheels.

UPDATE: While the offset is correct on the current wheels, the shape puts the front wheels uncomfortably close to the brake calipers. I have ordered a pair of 3mm spacers just to make it impossible for the wheel to flex and contact the caliper. Also got a good bit of the interior pulled out of the car so I can gain access to the wire harness. Found out that the emergency "my fob is dead and I need to start the car" system is literally the same ring you would find around the ignition barrel in a regular key ignition system to read the chip in the key. Good use of existing systems, also makes it a lot easier to change the Cruze over to the buick drivetrain and wiring as I can just mount the sensor on a pocket and just throw the keys in there and go.

 

[TheCruzen]

A few more photos and a question.

Left or Right?

 

[TheCruzen]

Repairing the Verano is pretty much out of the question due to the difficulty of getting it repaired adiqutely to get it inspected and registered in Michigan when it currently has an out of state "parts only" title.
I am aware the the resale value will be quite low in either case, thats the reason I dont want to do this swap on my ECO and "loose" that much in value. As it is the ECO is worth about 7k so id prefer to start with a car that I can buy for 2-4k, not have to worry about the value, and get a good bit of money back from selling the ECO.

Now I just have to get everything lined up to purchase said other cheap Cruze...

 

[TheCruzen]

RichLo1
The m32 is garbage, I doubt it would last more than 100mi or 1 quarter mile pass with the 2.0t

Blackbird
I do have another vehicle, but as I said, I would like to avoid using my nice ECO

Taxman
It would make things a lot easier to start with a stick cruze. One less thing to worry about, but it does make it harder to find one that will work. Also, it's the out-of-state part that makes the rebuilt cert hard.

 

[TheCruzen]

Preferred, out of state salvage

Expensive to ship, clan title A
Expensive to ship, clan title B

LS model with MI salvage title

 

[TheCruzen]

As far as I can tell, it's bolt in. I'm more worried about if the clutch master mountings are there, if the shift cables come out the same spot, and sometimes (I can't confirm for the cruze) the column lock and shift lockout are different. All things that can be overcome, but though I would like to avoid it, you might have a good point. An auto will be cheaper, more common, and I know of one on craigslist with a clean title for $1800... Decisions, decisions...

EDIT: Nevermind about the $1800 example, too many issues.

UPDATE: I looked up the process for titling a salvage vehicle a while ago and I just checked the michigan sos website to make sure I was remembering everything correctly. LINK. I had missed/forgotten that there is an annoying but not too difficult way to do it, have a police officer re-certify it as a salvage vehicle, then fix it, then have it inspected and rebuilt title issued, then it can be plated. I would do all of this BEFORE beginning the swap to make it less likely to fail the inspection.

 

[TheCruzen]

Really, my only protest to buying an auto is it's just one more thing to sort out on top of the long list I've already got. I'm considering it.

Also, have you ever tried to get a hood for a cruze? Pain in the ass, usually expensive, and the majority of cruzes get scrapped from a front end crash. The junk yard near me had a total of 4 cruzes in the last year that weren't hit in the front, out of 30+ cars I believe. In the end it might be worth it to spend a little more for one with a good hood.

The rarity of a manual verano is the reason I spent as much for it as I did.

 

[TheCruzen]

Between shipping and paint was where I couldn't justify replacing the hood on my ECO. I mean, it's wrinkled, but it still closes fine and the panel gaps are OK.

I'll at least keep an eye on the red auto's auction

 

[TheCruzen]

Teardowns commence as soon as this one arrives.

 

[TheCruzen]

The Gutted One, she has arrived!

Teardowns will begin tomorrow!

 

[TheCruzen]

Sisters

 

[TheCruzen]

For those wondering about a auto to manual swap, the mounting, bosses, and even the port for the clutch fluid is there. Pedal support also has all the mountings for the pedal, just looks a pain to get to. Like its "take the dash out to get to it" hard to get to... Which I have to do anyways to swap wire harnesses. I'll get a pic of the pedal assembly later.

Swaping to a stick is so much nicer in these cars than my Grand am would have been (2001 w/ factory 5spd), on those GM didnt even bother to punch the hole for the clutch master. And to make it even more difficult, the manual had a different subframe and the trans mounted to it instead of the body.

 

[TheCruzen]

Progress