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1999 Metro restore & mod
Topic Started: Dec 30 2015, 11:49 AM (2,083 Views)
Daox
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I also 3d printed myself a set of shifter bushings as mine were horribly worn out and there was tons of slop in the shifter. Its amazing how this small change can make the car feel so much 'nicer'.

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Old bushings out.
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New bushings in. The white is lithium grease.
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Daox
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More 3d printing fun. I replaced my shift knob with my own 3d printed shift knob. It has an embedded switch for the kill switch. It also has another switch to act as a push button start, but I haven't wired it up yet.

Stock knob and custom knob
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Wiring connections
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All buttoned up.
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Daox
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And more 3d printing fun. This time for vacuum gauge version 2. This is a bit more refined haha.

Quickly printed guage pod
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VDO vacuum gauge. Its the closest thing I could find to match the OEM gauges. The picture makes it look like it blocks the cluster view a lot. In reality it doesn't. I can fully see the speedometer without any issues. It does block the gas gauge though.
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Daox
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Back to more rust repair... the bane of Metro existence.


This is what I found when I looked at my driver's side rear wheel well. Yeah, that is the interior plastic you're looking at.
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Here is a view from inside.
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A bunch of sheet metal, a bunch of time, and blamo its fixed.
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And primed then undercoated.
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Daox
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Phew, I think thats good for now. I'll add more later.
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Car Nut
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Very nice. What gauge sheet metal did you use for your horns and wheel wells? I've got one that needs some horn repair.
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Daox
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Thanks. I put a bunch of time into this car, and still have a bunch left to get it really back to good condition.

I believe I used 16 gauge. However, the new steel was definitely thicker than the original.
Edited by Daox, Dec 30 2015, 11:08 PM.
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Metromightymouse
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I used a PCV gasket to hold the boot under the shift knob. Something along these lines

amazon link


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Stubby79
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Good work! :thumb

I'll be watching!
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Daox
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I've been meaning to reprint a new knob with the groove to hold the boot up like the OEM knob, I just haven't taken the time. Sadly there are still many issues with the car that need fixing. I'll get around to posting the rest after a while. :)
Edited by Daox, Dec 31 2015, 07:08 PM.
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Daox
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So, where did I leave off... Ah yes, my DRL unit died on me. I ripped it apart but I couldn't see anything wrong (failed solder joints, burnt chips, etc.). I re-soldered some of the joints, no luck.

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So, I came up with this super fancy bypass mod instead. It works... most of the time. Every once in a while my headlights won't turn off. This has happened twice and I have no idea why. I pull the jumper and they turn off, plug it back in and it works again.

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Daox
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A bit later, I found that my backup lights weren't working... A bit of research here showed it was likely a bad backup light switch. So, I pulled it out of the trans. Sure enough, looks worn to me.

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However, I really didn't feel like ordering a new one. So, I busted out the welder and put a bead on the worn out tip. A little grinding so it actuated smoothing and it works good as new.

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Daox
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With all the immediate issues resolved, I went on to add a modification. The Metro definitely could use help in the aerodynamics department. The grill blocks helped a little, but up next is an air dam.

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A few L brackets and lawn edging from the local big box store, some stainless hardware I had kicking around and you got yourself an air dam. I even was able to reuse existing holes in the bumper for most of the mounting points.

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Its not perfect, but since its under the bumper, you can't really tell.

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Daox
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Time for some more 3d printing fun. My partner had been bugging me ever since I got the car to delete the passenger side mirror. So, I finally did. Sadly, my 3d printer isn't large enough to print a whole mirror blanking plate in one piece, so it has to be 3 pieces.

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Here are the pieces snapped together and installed on the car.

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Since that isn't too pretty and ABS can't handle UV, I threw some glazing putty on it.

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Sanded and primed.

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Then shot with a coat of satin black.

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And of course, installed.

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Daox
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At one point this summer, I met up with Iwantageometro and was able to get a spin in another Metro. While driving the car, I noticed it had a lot more low end power than mine does. So, it was time to check the compression.

This is what I found on all the cylinders. Yeah, I tested with all the plugs out, wide open throttle, and a warm engine. Adding oil to the cylinders bumped the pressure up to about 150 psi. Looks like it needs new rings, bleh. I haven't done anything with it yet, but I do plan on rebuilding it. I've never touched the bottom end of an engine but it seems pretty simple.
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