Mullet's Metro Project - Page 21 - Fuel Economy, Hypermiling, EcoModding News and Forum

bbjsw10 · 08-19-2008, 07:12 PM

Quote:

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 · 08-24-2008, 01:41 AM

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 · 08-24-2008, 02:37 AM

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 · 08-24-2008, 01:35 PM

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 · 08-24-2008, 03:45 PM

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 · 08-24-2008, 05:54 PM

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 · 08-24-2008, 10:50 PM

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 · 08-24-2008, 10:56 PM

Quote:

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.