Welcome Guest [Log In] [Register]
Posted ImageWelcome to the all new Geo Metro Forum. We hope you enjoy your visit.

You're currently viewing our forum as a guest. This means you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are features you can't use and images you can't see. Registration is simple, fast, and completely free. If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features:

Join our community!




Username:   Password:
Add Reply
Building my Metro Supercar
Topic Started: Jul 31 2011, 11:28 PM (19,351 Views)
MR Bill
Member Avatar


:bigpop
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Coyote X


I know it has been a long time since I worked on this car but I have not given up on it. I just had to do tons of other work and the car just had to wait for me to get back to it. Now that I have most of my work done except for one major house remodeling project I should be able to get some time to work on it here and there. But don't expect daily or even weekly updates :)

Here is the post from my site.
--------------------

After a short break from working on the car I am back on it at least occasionally. One of the last fitment problems is getting the wipers and heater box to fit in the car and still have room to fit the passenger’s foot area. I tried using the stock Metro wiper assembly and it was just not going to fit in and give me the correct coverage of the windshield. As well as it would make the heater box sit pretty low on the dash and the passenger would end up putting their feet on it. I gave up with trying to get it to fit and went with the AutoLoc WIPER2 Heavy Duty Power Windshield Wiper Kit.

The wiper kit is easy to install and it doesn’t use a set of rods to move the wipers, it uses a cable inside a tube so it will not snag on all the other stuff in the car. Getting the wiper setup mounted was pretty easy and will stay out of the way of just about everything in the dashboard.

Posted ImagePosted ImagePosted ImagePosted Image

I still need to come up with some defroster ducts and figure out how to get them mounted. After that I need to get the heater box mounted. Once they are all mounted then it is time to square up the body and attach it solidly to the frame. I will need to build a lot of brackets and bracing to get it solid and keep it from rattling while driving. After that I should be able to start on the final assembly of the car.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
idmetro
Member Avatar


Good to see you back at it!
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Coyote X


I am finally getting some more time to start back on this car. Hopefully I can keep on it and maybe even get it running this summer if everything goes well.

All the structural parts are mostly in place so I think it is time to start putting some things together for the last time. The easiest thing to do is the front end so that is what I am going to work on first. I have a set of 2 inch dropped spindles to try and get a better ride height out of the car. I managed to get the passenger side swapped out. The boots that came with the new control arm ball joints are rotten so I will have to replace them and get new tie rods before I can call the front end done but that is minor stuff I will do when I am closer to finishing the car.

Posted Image

The new spindles are more or less a bolt on so it is a pretty easy job to swap them out. Here are before and after shots of how it sits. I will remove the wheel jacks and get pictures on the ground after I get the other side done.

Posted Image Posted Image

It looks like it is pretty close to where I want it. If not there are some spring adjusters Speedway Motors makes that would tune it to where I want it without a lot of trouble. I will see if it is sitting where I want it after I get the other side done.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Coyote X


Got a bunch of small things done today. First thing was finish the drivers side dropped spindle. After that I dropped it down on the ground and got a picture of how it sits.

Posted Image

It is still sitting a bit higher than I want but there is nothing in the car right now so after the car is built it should be near the right height. If not it is a minor job to adjust it up and down a bit.

Up next was get the radiator bolted in and the heater box mounted on the firewall so I can measure out how long the hoses I need are and get them ordered. I will need 14 foot of 1.25” hose for the radiator. The stock radiator hoses on a Metro are 1” so I figure a little bit bigger to make up for the longer distance should be good enough to make it work. The heater hoses need to be 13 foot and standard half inch hose is all it needs. I will order silicone hoses so they will last for a while. I don’t want to have to try and change them again in the future.

Posted ImagePosted ImagePosted Image

Last thing for today was drop the motor out and jack up the body to get it sitting square again. The car has sagged from sitting on the frame with no support for a few years and raised up almost 2 inches when I put a jack in the center and raised up on it. After that I adjusted the top roll bar to fit it really tight and bolted the body to it. I need to make a few more body braces to keep it solid and stop it from sagging over time again.

Posted Image

After getting the braces done I will bolt the trunk lid down solid to the body and get it squared up. Once it is bolted solid I am going to cut the top off it and make it open like a normal trunk lid. That will probably take a bit of work to get right but once it is done it will make it a much nicer car to use.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Potter
Member Avatar
Col. Potter

can't wait!!! keep it up rick! this motivates me more to get my stalled project rolling. lets get these red cars rollin' lol
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
suzukitom
Member Avatar
Tom

Potter, I think the picture of the cars in your signature might be in a better order if the white one was in the middle.

Coyote X your build is great reading. Just started reading it yesterday..
Edited by suzukitom, Mar 20 2016, 10:38 PM.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
idmetro
Member Avatar


The ride height is looking good!
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Johnny Mullet
Member Avatar
Fear the Mullet

:popcorn
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Coyote X


I unbolted the trunk lid from the car and hung it from the ceiling with straps to position it on the car. The trunk has is warped and will not sit flat on the car. It took a bit of measuring to figure out how it is twisted but after getting it sorted out I got it sitting square.

Posted ImagePosted Image

Now that it is sitting in the right place I can bolt it to the car and pull the warp out of it. I am hoping that once it is sitting square it won’t move when I cut the top off it. If it does I will have to brace up the trunk lid so it will close without leaving a big gap.

First thing after getting it bolted down is to cut that spoiler lip off the body and come up with something that won’t dump 5 gallons of water through the window when I hit the brakes while driving it in the rain. The spoiler shape on the car now always keeps a puddle of water on the trunk lid and is really annoying.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Coyote X


Didn’t get much time to work on the car today but I did manage to get the trunk lid bolted down solidly.

The trunk has a slight warp in it and it made it a bit hard to get lined up. After getting one side bolted down I used the straps to pull the other side tight and bolt it down. After that I just had to bolt the old hinge section in place and it is now attached solidly to the frame.

Posted ImagePosted Image

It only has one bolt in each corner but that is holding it flat and I hope it will pull the warp out of it over time. I will put several more brackets on it and make sure it is really solidly mounted before cutting it open. But before I do that I am going to redo the rear spoiler section. In the last picture you can see where the water always collects, I am thinking of just rounding the back off and putting a wing on. That will let the water run under it and not puddle up and soak the interior when hitting the brakes hard. I will build up something in foam and see if it looks nice before cutting the spoiler lip off the car.

Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Bannedfonz
Member Avatar


Nice project. I always wanted a kit car to play around with but I would have to find a LS1 or 3.8 supercharged to throw in it. Your xfi manta works to though...

Keep up the good work!
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Coyote X


I put a 500 in that body once. It wasn't fun, just terrifying to drive. The metro base will make it a far nicer car than it ever could be with a v6.

Here is yesterdays post that I didn't get up here since my site was acting up.

March 25, 2016

I started trying to build a wing for the trunk lid. I am using foam and shaping it to get the look I am after. Then I will make it out of fiberglass and mount it to the car. It will fix one of the big problems with the trunk and hopefully look nicer.

I found a few sheets of foam insulation. and cut some strips out and glued them together to get the thickness I needed. After cutting them to shape with an electric knife and getting the basic outline of what I was after I taped it down and fit it to the car.

Posted Image

Then I used a random orbit sander to give it roughly the profile I was after. I copied the shape from a spoiler I had laying around and started working it into that basic profile. It was pretty easy to shape and if it got messed up I could always glue more material on and start sanding again.

Posted Image

Once I had the shape figured out and it looked nice and even I started putting the final shape to it. I am making it the size I plan on having the finished spoiler and making sure it looks right on the car. I have it really close to where I want it now, just a bit more smoothing and shaping and it will be perfect. Once I have it where I want it I will make it out of fiberglass.

Posted ImagePosted ImagePosted Image

For reference here is what it looks like now. That dirty spot is always there, any time it rains that is where the water collects on the body. If I am going to drive this car all year round it is going to get wet and the paint won’t last long with it always holding water. With that lip cut off and the wing in place it won’t be a problem anymore and it should look nice as well as give me a place for a third brake light.

Posted Image

Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Coyote X


After spending a few days measuring and trying to find the best square on the trunk lid I managed to get a line that looked pretty good. So today it was time to cut the trunk lid and get started shaping it to be set up the way I am wanting. It was pretty quick to cut, I just used a jigsaw and followed my line around the whole thing.

From there I glued in some foam to fill in the area. I did some rough shaping and set the wing on top to see how it looked.

Posted ImagePosted Image

I was not happy with how the foam shaped and it was not easy to shape in the tight space so I pulled the center piece out and tried again with cardboard. It held the curve much better and is a lot closer to what I am after.

Posted ImagePosted Image

It is just taped in place and is not tight to the body but it is more or less where I want it to be. I will have to round the edge over but that would be easier once I get a layer of fiberglass on the cardboard. First thing I need to do before I fiberglass it all solid again is to smooth up the lower cut line. It is going to be where the trunk lid closes so there is no point in joining it back together just to cut it back apart as soon as it is done. I will get that line evened out and smooth then tape it up so the top part doesn’t bond to it. That will make cutting the rest of top free much easier.

Posted ImagePosted ImagePosted Image

Overall I think it looks pretty good and it will make the car look better by breaking up some of the huge flat areas on the car. The wing is still slightly oversized but once I get the trunk lid fiber glassed back together I will do the final shaping on it and then reduce it 1/8 inch and fiberglass over it. I am not sure if it is worth using a bit of acetone or something and removing the foam out from inside the wing or just leave it there after it is done. I am thinking for now to just leave it in there.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Stubby79
Member Avatar


Looking good! :thumb
Online Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous)
Go to Next Page
« Previous Topic · Project Forum · Next Topic »
Add Reply