Ecomodding my winter beater: a unicorn no-rust (*) 2000 Chevrolet Metro 1.0 5-spd

[MetroMPG]

Somehow I missed that one. Merci! Those guys are nuts.

[MetroMPG]

The Metro's second drive of the year was a smashing success!

A 130 km round trip with no problems! The alternator charged the whole way, the exhaust pipes routed exhaust gasses quietly through the muffler, and no check-engine light or other issues cropped up!

(Does this qualify as setting the bar low?)


Oh, and ~64 MPG US / 3.7 L/100 km without trying very hard.


I learned last week that I can no longer get the front exhaust pipe from any of my 3 local (national franchise) parts stores. Options are: order online from the States; have it custom made; or find some good used parts (currently questioning my sanity by thinking about getting this ran-when-parked Firefly that happens to have a relatively recently installed OEM stainless front pipe).

[MetroMPG]

I've come to the conclusion that I may never drive the Metro again.

It's been supplanted by a succession of winter beater Mirages:

1) Last winter, I only had the Metro on the road for about a month before I came across a good deal on this slightly beat-up Mirage:



( I just bought Canada's cheapest 3-cylinder Mitsubishi Mirage. EcoMods now in progress.. )

I sold Mirage #1 (nicknamed "Fancy Metro") in the spring to reap a small profit.

2) This winter's beater: even before summer 2020 had even begun, I'd found another cheap, as-is Mirage ("Even Fancier Metro"):



(^ Oops, I did it again! (Bought another cheap, 3-cylinder Mirage))

I'm just about to park the fun summer crapcan MPGiata and put Mirage #2 on the road for the snowy season.

And that means the Metro won't have been on the road at all during the 2020 calendar.

And since my insurance company has an annoying policy of requiring a mechanical inspection before they will reinstate coverage on old cars that haven't been driven within the past 12 months... I think the Metro is done for!

And I think I'm OK with that!

[freebeard]

So you drove it for about 4 years?

The kicker is: my local parts store says they can no longer get the front exhaust pipe that broke - too old / no demand. Is this a sign?

It [was] ten years newer than my (135K miles rust-free) XFi. I hope this doesn't turn out like finding radiator hoses for the Dasher.

[MetroMPG]

Well, the parts that I can no longer get from Canadian sources are still available in the States.



I guess 10x the market size makes it still worthwhile stocking them. (Actually it's probably more like 20x the market when you consider the number of old Metros that have rusted away up here vs. the number left in U.S. fleet as a whole.)

[MetroMPG]

And, yup, just over 4 years of ownership.

Now the question is: what to do with it?

By default, it'll go into storage and assume parts car status for the Firefly.

But if I can get my hands on this actual parts car Firefly I spotted this summer, then I think I'd sell the Metro. It's still annoyingly roadworthy, after all.



But the owner of the Firefly is a seasoned hoarder and didn't seem interested in talking about a price at which he'd part with it.

[MetroMPG]

Remember this Metro has a torn CV boot and a sometimes clicky CV joint?

Well, someone was clearing out their garage, giving away a pair of new '98 Swift axles:




I nabbed them even though the shafts are the wrong lengths (they're for a 4-cylinder car). I'm assuming the CV joint components themselves are interchangeable.

I never fixed the Metro's CV joint aside from re-packing it a couple of times & trying to seal the boot with Gorilla tape (failed within 500 km).


The guy giving them away had long since gotten rid of his fleet: Swift ice racer, and a 2nd gen Firefly and and Metro. What is it about these cars that brings out the hoarders?

[Stubby79]

Why buy one when you can buy 3 for under a grand in total?

[freebeard]

This is now relevant to my interests. I just put 4ea 95% tires on the XFi for $200 mounted and balanced plus disposal. I thought those are tiny tires, but I looked at the spare and it appears to be about 50-series.



I have these:



...and I'm thinking about ganging them together and trimming the stack down to 12". Haven't figured out how to jury-rig an edge roller to add back the clip.

What think you about putting three 1/8" holes in the rim itself and using button-head bolts with a spacer behind for the depth of the lip, then round the cap over the edge of the rim? (needs a picture).

The 11-30 post shows stock hubcaps. How did those disks work out?



Maybe something like this, I've got enough Aluma-panel. Except as I suggested in 2017 bend up a shark-fin shape on the ends to make an air curtain.

[MetroMPG]

Since I successfully acquired the '99 Firefly parts car from the hoarder mentioned a few posts back, I'm happy to report I will be selling the winter beater Metro!

Just making a little pre-disposal to-do list for myself...

- better front exhaust pipe: swap back to the Flea
- instrument cluster (has tach + trip odo): swap to the Flea
- driver's seat (better padding): swap back to Flea
- re-install rear bumper bar
- sway bars
- swap out chopped springs
- uninstall & save air dam
- re-install side mirrors
- swap carpet with parts car?
- rear wiper motor & arm