MadisonMPG wrote he'd think that...
> ...a Civic or something with a more powerful engine would make for a much better car.
...and I'd wager most Americans would agree with you today, and will contimue to agree until gasoline gets to about $7 a gallon. I'm not bothering presenting this on the performance car forums 'cause most of my hot car homies would think I have a screw loose. MetroMPG has me figured out, I'd like to nibble at 100 mpg and I want it to be cheap and easy. Metro engines are cheap and plentiful and pretty darn economical to run, and I believe they'll provide <adeqate> performance though not great performance.
If I do end up putting out a how-to book, I'll at least have to give a nod to performance people. A Swift GTI engine would be an easy swap (at 100 hp) and at less than half the weight of a Miata, it would scoot along pretty well. The Tracker/Sidekick engine is adaptable to the Geo transaxle, it's 1600 cc and there are turbo kits for it. However, having more engine than you need hurts fuel economy so my daily driver is most likely to be a 993cc normally asperated Metro, and I'm keeping my eyes open for an xfi.
Coyote X wrote:
> My main priority would be to keep it strong and easy to work on and if that means it is a bit heavier than you wanted it is no big deal.
I'm with you there. My 1100 pound figure is pretty conservative, I'm very confident I can meet it. My target is 993 pounds but we'll see, and if getting under half a ton makes it overly difficult (or overly expensive) for an amateur to build then I'm willing to slide up to 1100 pounds before kicking myself.
Also...
> Drill a few holes in the thermostat to let more flow through to make up for the long distance the antifreeze has to travel to reach the radiator.
Why? What's it going to do on its way to the radiator? At worst it might cool off a bit. But my intention is to mount the radiator at the back anyway; I'm thinking of mounting it in the low pressure 'hole' of Kamm tail. Less plumbing, less weight, less cost, and in theory at least, hot air back there should reduce drag.