blue collar Geo Metro Areo mods

[Ultra-Orange]

so. gonna start a build thread. Prolly take me a while to come to fruition but. gotta start someplace.

so. Bought a 93 metro XFi, promptly dubbed it "Actual Size"

please note in this photo the hood is fully closed and latched. I got a bit of work ahead of me.



Drivers side mirror was broken off so a "Mirror Delete" was only natural. .



The outside is currently sealed with blasters tape, when I get supplies ill fiberglass it to give it a finished look



While spelunking in the local boneyard looking for a new hood I found some hubcaps. Im sure these help but they are gonna soon be used a the base for a full smooth wheelcover project.



Engine compartment was literally black with grease. a can of foamy engine brite and some elbow grease and you can start to see the engine.



a trip to the local carwash/pressure washer and Viola! An engine!



My third cardboard template actually fit rather well. So, this being the crap weather season, I sprayed it with a can of rustolium I had floating about. put it on with shelving support for a brace.



Boneyard hood and drivers side parking light cover and shes starting to look like a real car.



Part of my "to do list" is a front air dam and partial underbody tray. Problem was the turn signals are in the bumper.



So. Time for some ghetto garage work, relocating the turnsignals to the parking light housings. Picked up some three wire light bulb sockets and bulbs from the local auto parts hause. I removed the parking light housings and "Modified" them to accept the larger bulbs. (originally planned to cut a smaller hole and smooth it bigger. Didn't work that way) I cut the hole lower and more to the middle to compensate for the larger bulb.



the existing harness had quick release connections between the bulbs and the harness so I cut between the connects and the bulbs and wired them together with the three wire socket. Everything plugs straight in and BAYAM. Combonation turnsignal/parking lights/

[ecomodded]

hm thinking slam it tint it weld in side skirts with a removable panel for tire changes then paint it bright bright red with a black stripe down the center!

[Ultra-Orange]

Nah, this is my eco build. my Subaru is my "look! Im still a kid! No really!" car

[Ultra-Orange]

CAD front air dam(?) inspired by MetroMPGs big ass air dam. Spent to much time and to much thought getting it "just right" and screwed it up. But then thats why we start with carboard instead of jumping straight to Titanium yeah?



All in all not a bad design I think, Its bottom edge is about even with the exhaust and includes a partial belly plate, running from the bumper to the front tires.

inspiration from:
http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...down-9732.html

[Ultra-Orange]

About 2 hours after I posted picks of the Dam the duct tape pealed off. Like.. all of it. Luckily I didnt have it *Permanently mounted* as I was still making adjustments but I think this project just got put on hold till I find a Coroplast vendor.

[99metro]

Watching with interest - keep the pics coming!

[Ultra-Orange]

updated the side skirts to Coroplast (wowsers! How do you guys make smooth radius cuts in this stuff?). picked up one sheet (30'"x36") for $8 at the local Home Depot.



Bottom edge is 2" lower than the last version to make it even with the bottom of the car, and I included what I can only term a "Tire spat" to bring it flush with the body



Doesn't fit quite as well as version 3 but that is mainly to my lack of Coroplast workmaship skeelz, its aslo not nearly as stealth, this one realy jumps out at you. I do like this version better but it needs a little more finessing.

Inspiration from: a lot of different places! Sorry to anyone I missed!

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...amics-312.html
http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...tions-240.html
http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...ast-16970.html

[Ultra-Orange]

working on some smooth wheel covers.

First try, next set a second coat of fiberglass... not to bad I think. Still need to paint them.



inspiration from:
http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...ers-18495.html
http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...vex-14958.html

[Ultra-Orange]

And here they are after 1 coat primer, 2 coats flat white rustolium, on the car. They look ok but far from perfect. ill probably put them on the rear where they will be mostly hidden by the rear skirts and do a better job on the next set.



Any time I make modifications to my car I like to check the wheels/tires/suspension for clearance, I use the neighbors cat method.



Please note. The above is a joke, no animals where hurt in the ecomodification of this vehicle.

[FXSTi]

It looks like you are really going to town on this car. Have you noticed any increased vibration from the fiberglass hubcaps? I would think that the fiberglass would work like a wheel weight if it is not balanced perfectly.

I'll add my two cents, and agree that the grey skirts were more subtle. I think it is because our eyes are accustomed to seeing a black tire and not body color there.

Kirk