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Our new "One liter can of whoopa$$"; Our LeMons racecar build
Topic Started: Mar 21 2010, 12:50 PM (18,502 Views)
Coche Blanco
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When/where are you racing? I really want to go watch one of these.
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CityConnection
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Sir, yes sir!

Could you post a pic of the transmission and ask where he got it from? I'm sure I'm not the only one who wants to know where it came from and how it got mated to the engine ^o)
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Johnny Mullet
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Fear the Mullet

I am also curious about the transmission :news
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Woodie
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Yes, the idea of a transmission swap is fascinating. Not because anyone would ever put in a four speed, but because the car desperately needs a six speed.

That claim about the Harley-Davidson engine is ridiculous, there have been vehicles of every description you can imagine powered by Harley engines, unless he's building a unicycle it's nothing new.
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3tech
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I was all ready to make a bunch of recommendations. I'm glad I watched your vid first.
That car is at least a 95, so a lot of what I was going to recommend is already on the car.
The sway bars are good. Cut the springs, and change the oil in the shocks. The brakes are fine, but you should at least have good pads up front, the best you can afford.
15" wheels are good, but 14" with 185 60 rubber is good too, and may be cheaper.
Check the front frame rails where the control arm bolts up, and make sure it is sturdy BEFORE you go any further.
Fab up a frame brace for that section.
It's the one in the middle
Posted Image

These things are notorious for burning exh. valves. If it's in your budget, pull the head, and replace them. Reface the head .040" if you can, no more.
A +10 advanced timing sprocket will help with throttle response. If you have room in the budget, a perf. cam will help a lot, and if you can send me your cores, I'll do a set up for you for $100 plus shipping.
If the head is coming off, I'll throw a set of exhaust valves in the box.
The 36 mm throttle body on that thing is too small, so if you can get one to work from an earlier car (38mm) or bore one to 40-42, that will make a big difference. 2" exhaust, with a cheapo muffler, and you should be good to go. Don't forget to check those frame rails.

That guy with the records, that's Tom Bruch. I've raced with him. He's a great guy.
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DrDomer
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Thanks everyone for the recommendations.

Woodie - No clue on the Harley Davidson engine thing. Just something he said to me. Maybe I'm misunderstanding his meaning. The rest of the stuff I saw. The guy is in his 50-60's and seems completely self taught. He's certainly not a braggart though.

As for the tranny. Gonna have to back track now. I called up the previous owner, and got the lowdown. Apparently the car has "the taller of the two possible transmissions" that would fit the car. When I said he mentioned it only had 4 gears, he said he couldn't remember that. He says he can't remember, but thought top speed in the car was indeed 82mph. So... The simplest answer would be to just shift the friggin car through all the gears, right? Well... I will do that soon... when I can get back up to the shop. We haven't even driven the car except in 1st as the wheels/brakes were seized pretty badly. So now I feel like a dumba$$. I certainly don't know Metros well, and just took him at his word.

3 tech - Yep.. Tom is his friend's name. He actually helped the previous owner fit this tranny. So.. I suspect.. there isn't anything "new" or "interesting" going on here. Just misinformation by me. I will take some other info to P.M. with you.

Coche Blanco - We plan to run at Mid-America Motorplex, Pacific Junction, Iowa on August 28-28th and Autobahn Country Club, Joliet, IL on October 23-24th.

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DrDomer
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Well, tomorrow we will be installing front rotors, calipers and new pads. We've decided to keep the rear drums. I'll post pictures of our progress this weekend. I'll also take pics of the frame rails tomorrow. One of our guys has looked at them and says they're solid, but I'd love your guys' opinion.

Next weekend we'll install our seat. We also have obtained our six spout fire suppression system from Spa Technique. If anyone ever needs fire suppression for a race car, they're great guys.
I will try to stay on top of things for this build thread.

We plan to take it to a HPDE on April 10th at Putnam Park in Indiana to test it out.

We hope to find two sets of 15" wheels as we can get Bridgestone RE-11s in 195/50 R15 for free!!!
Edited by DrDomer, Mar 26 2010, 10:16 AM.
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Will
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Victory is mine!!!!

Love the build so far, and looking forward to more updates.
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Coche Blanco
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DrDomer
Mar 26 2010, 10:14 AM
We hope to find two sets of 15" wheels as we can get Bridgestone RE-11s in 195/50 R15 for free!!!
I'm too busy to do the calculations, but I think those tires will hurt your acceleration. If tires are "free" I would use the stock 13" rims.
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CityConnection
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Sir, yes sir!

the 195/50R15 tires will be .2" shorter than the 155/80R14 so it won't hurt.

I run that tire size on my track car... well I did when it was street legal. Track tires are 185/65R14 "R" compound tires. They are actually .2 larger than the stock size on the Metro, same as the stock for the Swift GTi.
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Coche Blanco
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CityConnection
Mar 26 2010, 06:19 PM
the 195/50R15 tires will be .2" shorter than the 155/80R14 so it won't hurt.

I run that tire size on my track car... well I did when it was street legal. Track tires are 185/65R14 "R" compound tires. They are actually .2 larger than the stock size on the Metro, same as the stock for the Swift GTi.
*facepalm

I didn't read the numbers right.

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DrDomer
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Thanks for info guys!! We definitely would go for smaller R-comps, but 24HoursofLemons rules prohibit them. The best we can do is go to a 180 treadwear rating. Fortunately, most of us already do quite a bit of track time, and have supported Bridgestone in one way or another. One of our drivers organizes HPDEs, so he can get two sets of the RE-11's for free. Unfortunately Bridgestone doesn't make them in anything smaller than 15's. So that's what we're gonna try to go with. Now fortunately, one of our drivers has owned a salvage auction in his past life, so he's working on sourcing the Suzuki Swift 15" wheels someone mentioned were less than 10lbs. Does anyone know what year those are?

We got both front rotors, calipers, pads and brake fluid replaced. We even regreased the front wheel bearings!!! More on that later. I need to source the pics that are on someone else's camera. More pics and explanation later today or tomorrow!!!!

Next weekend we hope to put in the steel braided lines (didn't come in), carbotech pads (if they come in), measure out seat and make brackets. This week the glass is coming out. So much so fast... Will try to update accordingly!!!
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Woodie
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Those Suzuki Swift alloys were 14", not 15". They're quite rare anymore, if you do find a set, you can sell them to pay for two sets of new 15s from a wheel and tire store. You should probably just buy some 15x6.5" steeleys. They'll be much cheaper and not really that heavy. 40mm offset will do with a bit of fender rolling, 42mm would be ideal.
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DrDomer
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Woodie
Mar 28 2010, 04:30 AM
Those Suzuki Swift alloys were 14", not 15". They're quite rare anymore, if you do find a set, you can sell them to pay for two sets of new 15s from a wheel and tire store. You should probably just buy some 15x6.5" steeleys. They'll be much cheaper and not really that heavy. 40mm offset will do with a bit of fender rolling, 42mm would be ideal.
Thanks. I was told by someone on the forum there were 15", but I hadn't been able to find any. That explains that. One of our guys gets wheels made for his enduro car, maybe will just get some 15" uglies. Light would be nice.
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mwebb
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FOG

late 80s or early 90s Acura legend s were shipped with 15" wheels
that bolt up to Geo Metro s
some were alloy , i dunno how light they are , but they feel relatively light
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