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1999 Metro restore & mod
Topic Started: Dec 30 2015, 11:49 AM (2,081 Views)
Daox
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I've posted some stuff here and there, but I figured I'd start a thread and share what I've been doing with the Metro for the past year of my ownership. Its been a pretty fun car to play with.

FYI, much more in depth info here: 1999 Chevy Metro 1.0L 5spd ecomodding thread

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Daox
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Before I even put it on the road, it was rust repair time for the control arm horns. They were pretty bad.

Before
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After
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After
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Daox
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While doing the rust repair, I also cleaned up the headlights using this method:

How to polish headlights so it lasts (re-adding UV protection)

It has lasted about a year now. My driver's side headlight is still pretty clear, but my passenger one needs redoing. Next time around, I'll do 2-3 coats of urethane (vs just 1) to extend the life and add additional UV protection.

Pics:

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Right done, left not
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yiffzer
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Great work! Did you have any welding experience prior? I'm looking to weld mine up. Any suggestions on what you used?
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Daox
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Along with the headlight work, I also wanted to tidy up the horribly faded bumper. I tried mother's back to black. It helped, but couldn't fully get rid of the fade. I eventually tried a heat gun. That worked quite well, but it hasn't lasted. Its just as bad now as it was. I recently picked up some forever black bumper & trim dye. I'll give that a shot when I have time.

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Here she is ready to hit the road all washed and waxed.

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Edited by Daox, Dec 30 2015, 12:08 PM.
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Daox
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yiffzer
Dec 30 2015, 11:59 AM
Great work! Did you have any welding experience prior? I'm looking to weld mine up. Any suggestions on what you used?
I'm no welder, but I know how to weld. I've done enough backyard stuff that I know how to do it.

IMO this isn't a horrible first time job. Just be sure to cut back to soild metal and get it as clean as you can. Trying to weld to paper thin metal is very frustrating. Rust also makes welding difficult. You can see in my pictures that all my patches are larger than the rusty areas.
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Daox
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Around the same time I also did the basics, air filter, pcv valve (was totally clogged), etc. Seller said 'recent tune up', I say HA. :hmm

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I also welded the CAT back to the hanger as it was banging on the front sway bar.

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Daox
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First mod was a kill switch. Its ugly but it worked. I had the switch and wires from another car I had a kill switch on. I'm sure most here probably know, but it cuts the signal to the camshaft position sensor. Works great.

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Daox
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After having my battery take a dump on me, I decided to replace it with a deep cycle and disable the alternator. The battery then gets charged by a plug in charger when I am home. I installed a 70A relay in the main charging wire to the battery to enable the alternator if need be. I never fully wired it up as I haven't needed to use it since.

New group 24 deep cycle battery. Its a bugger to fit in the engine bay.
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70A relay
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5A Soneil automatic smart charger so I can plug it in and forget about it. I then unplug it when I go to leave.
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Edited by Daox, Dec 30 2015, 12:34 PM.
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Daox
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Next up really isn't a mod... maybe an unmod? I have the typical rear sway bar mounting point rust. So, for now the bar is removed. I really hope to have time to get to this soon as I do really enjoy a car that handles well... and the Metro really is not that car right now. I love how the previous owner bothered to put hose clamps on the sway bar to stop it from banging around haha.

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yiffzer
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I have the same problem. How do you intend to fix the rusted off mounts for the rear sway bar?
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Daox
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Next up was some synchromesh. Love this stuff in winter.

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Daox
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yiffzer
Dec 30 2015, 12:39 PM
I have the same problem. How do you intend to fix the rusted off mounts for the rear sway bar?
I plan on reconstructing the mounts out of sheet metal and/or angle iron and welding them in. It shouldn't be too difficult.
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Daox
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After looking at some BSFC charts and doing some math, I figured out I wanted to add a vacuum gauge to the car. Here is version 1.

I teed in right before the MAP sensor. The vacuum line is currently run around the driver's side and through the door. I'll tidy that up some day.
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The first gauge I used was one I had kicking around for testing engines.
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I hung it by a hook on the vent. Not very refined, but it worked and I knew after driving with it that I wanted to have one in the car permanently.
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Daox
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At this point it was starting to get cold, and I knew I'd want a grill block. I have a real short commute of 7 miles, so fast warm up is something I focus on.

This was the quick hack version I came up with. The passenger side ripped out after not too long, but the driver's side surprisingly held out about a year.

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Edited by Daox, Dec 30 2015, 12:52 PM.
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