Mullet's Metro Project

[bbjsw10]

Originally Posted by Johnny Mullet

The cheapest one I found was $100 but it is a painted (purple) bumper and has lots of cosmetic damage to it also.

I looked on car-part.com in my area but none cheaper. I figured I could bring it to the meet.

That is crazy how much they want for one, plastic=no money for scrap. You and I know they scrap these cars all the time. Maybe not as much now. I could call a couple places tomorrow if ya want.

[Johnny Mullet]

I have finally came up with a grill block that does not really effect the appearance of the front of the car. Since I lost some aerodynamics from the headlight conversion, I figure and internal grill block should make up for it. This will be temporary until I find a reasonable priced 1995-1997 bumper.

The first thing I had to do was remove the front bumper. There are 2 12MM bolts from the front, and 2 behind along with several Phillips screws to the inner fenders. It was not that hard to remove the whole bumper..............



Here it is on the floor..............



I then took my famous "Truck Mudflap" material and measured out 2 pieces to fit inside and cut a slot for the mounts................





Did some trimming and they both fit nice...............



Figuring out how to attach the pieces was the real challenge. I was going to try silicone and my "Magic Finger", but knew it could not withstand the pressure. I decided to use heavy duty tie straps "zip ties" and drill holes in the mudflap material and stitch them from the inside.



That went very well and the material is stiff enough to not rip out or flex while in position. The only problem I had created with the block was my custom mounted lamps would not fit anywhere inside the grill. They were previously mounted behind the grill, but now will not fit between the slats, so I had a new plan.

I went to the parts room in the heavy truck section and found these "bolt on" trailer side marker/turn signal lamps with dual elements and a convex front. I went and drilled the mounting holes and one more hole for the wires and mounted them directly to the block on the lower portion................



These lights look better than the old ones and the actual convex front makes the lamps visible from the sides of the car which is better for safety reasons.............





Now the entire bumper is completely blocked off and airflow for the radiator will come directly from the gap between the hood and bumper. The only visual change besides the new lamps is the visible tie straps, but they do not bother me at all. It was really hot today and I drove around in traffic to see what happens as far as cooling goes and did not notice the fan coming on more often than usual and the temp gauge stayed where it always does.

[Formula413]

Do you monitor engine temp with the Scangauge? Most dashboard temp gauges will not show any variations in temperature once the engine is warmed up. You might be running hotter than normal and not even know it. That was the case when I covered the entire lower grill opening in my Escort.

[honda_joe]

Johnny, have you checked this yard?
Pull-A-Part

They're in Cleveland, but I hear their prices are super cheap, esp compared to the yards around Ashtabula Co.

[metroschultz]

eBay Motors: 1997 Geo Chevy Metro front bumper (item 230283067310 end time Aug-26-08 13:04:08 PDT)

I saw this and wondered,
Is this the bumper you are looking for?

Just trying to help,
Schultz

edit,
its just around the corner from you

[Pu241]

Nice write-up!
Took me a while to get through it, but well worth it!
I can honestly say I've never seen anyone get as much mileage out of mud flap material!
I really want to see what the mpg results will be for the grill block off!

[Johnny Mullet]

That bumper on Ebay is pretty close to where I live, but is painted and not the molded gray color. I plan on running this bumper through the winter months and locate another one later.

The first day and a half of driving with the block and believe or not, I noticed a few things.......

The car warms up to operating temperature much faster.
Car seems to coast better at higher speeds.
Car "feels" different when going over 40 MPH for some reason.

By the looks of my block, you would think that this mod would do nothing at all, but it seems that air deflected is better than turbulent air inside the engine compartment. If I were to do an external block with a smooth front surface, the improvements would probably be even better, but from what I have learned here even a partial block will help and that is true.

[Johnny Mullet]

Originally Posted by Formula413

Do you monitor engine temp with the Scangauge? Most dashboard temp gauges will not show any variations in temperature once the engine is warmed up. You might be running hotter than normal and not even know it. That was the case when I covered the entire lower grill opening in my Escort.

Good you mentioned that. I used our shop scanner and monitored the temp PID before I started while engine was idling and after the fan cycled once and the temp was average around 190 degrees. After the block, I warmed it up again and waited for the fan to cycle once and my temp reading was the same.

You might not think there is any air getting in, but these 3 cylinder cars don't need much airflow. That gap between the hood and bumper seems to be more than enough for cooling purposes on this car.

[Will]

I really like Darin's "bra" that he made as a grille block. Here is a good pic.
I basjoosed my headlights today (sealed the surrounding gap)

[arnphawk]

it must be cool to have access to a car lift. that would be so sweet...........you are doing a great job, Johnny, with the metro.

[Johnny Mullet]

I wish I had a car lift at home! Of course, my ceiling is not high enough so a new garage would be in order

I saved this Metro from the dead and the car's official name is now Christine just like the movie car came from the dead with some help from Arnie, The Mullet revived this red beauty. Instead of killing people, this Christine kills high fuel costs!

I really don't think I will ever stop doing improvements to this car one way or another. My future mods still include installing an XFi camshaft, 10 degree advanced cam gear, a better air intake system, more non-radical aeromods, etc. If I find me another Metro project, I will have to make a new thread. This next time around will be more extreme though. I will probably radius the valves, thread the intake ports, cut Singh grooves in the head, and do radical aero mods. Christine is too pretty for radical aeromods and I am quite happy with what she gives me in return.

[Johnny Mullet]

Well, I have actually discovered the car is running warmer than usual and my test with the scanner was not effective enough for real results. I had some errands in town and when coming to the next light, I heard my fan come on and thought "That's strange" because usually it will take a minute of idling before the fan kicks on.

Looks like I will have to cut out a section of the grill block and open up the hole directly in front of the radiator and right above the driver's side turn signal lamp. I should of went with my other idea...............

Fill 'em all with lights!"

I may have to come up with something different because cutting my original design structure will hinder strength and rigidness of the material. Maybe I shall make a complete frontal external block from my special aeromodding material, cut 2 oval shaped holes to fit the grommets of the original lamps I had installed and a slot opening for the radiator? The light would then be flush with the block and the entire front of the car minus the freakin' Ohio plate will be smooth. This should net some results, but in effect also become a permanent part of the car since I will have to screw the material directly to the existing bumper.

I did not want to stray from keeping the original look of the car while aeromodding, but with a bumper like this, I have no other choice at the moment.

[dentprone]

Mullet,

Thanks for the post, I think you have me turned on to the Singh groove deal, as I will be putting together a Metro engine in the next month or so. I'll have to try it and post my results.

[Tango Charlie]

Singh grooves? That's a new one on me. As another member says;

"Google
Google
Google
Ah, yes. Here we go:"

SOMENDER-SINGH.com - Home

[Area51]

Since I'm new to these forums, I have been trying to catch up. I came across this thread of a Metro rebuild and had to comment on one subject.
I am referring to the headlight situation.
I work for a headlight factory, the coating that is on them is what we call "Hardcoat". I don't know what it's made of exactly but it's really tough stuff.
It has to be because plastic scratches so easily. We use Acetone to check them to make sure they have been sprayed.
If they haven't, they turn white like in your photos. As far as I know there's nothing that will take that hardcoat off other than age.
Sometimes we get an imperfection in one, if it's not too big we can buff it out with a special polish we use.
We used to make them for I think the earlier Metro's but don't remember the years.
We make the lights for 10 years after the OEM model ends for replacements such as for autodealerships, automotive stores, etc.

I have a question on your replacements that you have now. You are losing a few MPG's with them because of bad aerodynamics, have you thought about putting aftermarket covers over them to gain some of it back? Just a thought.

Keep up the good work.

[Johnny Mullet]

Welcome to Ecomodder Area51
It's good to meet someone who knows about these composite lamps.

I plan on using the same method bbjsw10 posted on this thread................
Lexan headlight cover how-to

Yes, the new style headlights are aerodynamic and cool, but for $100.00 a pop to replace them just for them to look like crap again in 3-5 years and then every year after that was not worth the trouble to save my already ruined composites which were tossed out and picked up by the trash man. The headlight units I replaced them with provided by RacerX are the kind I wanted because I prefer them over composites. Visibility is way more important than 1 or 2 MPG.

I haven't got to the lexan covers yet since I am still trying to get my bumper block (grill block) finished. I totally redid the bumper and pics are uploading now..................

[Johnny Mullet]

Christine has gotten a face lift and will be more aerodynamic than ever! I totally scrapped the "internal" block and figured if I was going to block off the gaping frontal holes on this "Schick Quattro" bumper, I am going to do it right. I learned a few things about aerodynamics and how important an even flow is.

I took my famous Truck Mudflap material and cut 2 pieces. I then used my original lamps I installed as a template and cut out the oval shaped holes. The turn signal/marker lamps are now flush with the bumper. I do not have the build pics (forgot camera) but you will all get the general idea...............

[bbjsw10]

Did you block the whole thing off? Or is it open in the middle below plate?

From what I see of your truck looks good for a 95.

[Johnny Mullet]

I could not get low enough with the camera and my aching body, but there is actually a 1/2" gap the entire length across the bottom. this should allow more airflow than the previous block and also be more aerodynamic. There is no gap besides the bottom and of course, under the hood. I screwed it right to the bumper

My 1995 Chevy truck is still in great shape for the age and low miles

Sorry about the crappy pics, but I think my crappy camera has something to do with that. I am not a photographer, just an ecomodder

[Clev]

Great work; I'll have to grab a mudflap next time I'm at Flying J. :-) I think I can block off the entire lower bumper and just leave the nose snout open.