Geo Metro Truck?

[Christ]

So... you probably wouldn't catch me doing that with something as small as a Metro... I've seen Civics and others done, I never really like them...

Now, on the other hand, I'd probably get a Suzuki Sidekick and put a G10 in it. You get 4x4 and a decent cargo area. Not great on the highway, but who cares?

I guess it really depends on what your primary function consideration for the vehicle is.

If you put an aeroshell on the back, and made it look anything like Darin's Kamm, you'd probably be in better territory than the OEM styling, and a hundred or more lighter to boot.

[MadisonMPG]

I haven't really figured out exactly what I want to do with my Geo. I just keep brainstorming, with no results.

[Christ]

Well, you've got a truck, and you've got a Minivan, so how about a reverse trike? You can pie-cut the floor and roof, taper the sides from the fenders back into a point, fab a swing arm from the two trailing arm assemblies, and put a single wheel between them, tapering the body work back to a logical point beyond the wheel. Single exhaust with a rocket can pointed up just under the lowest point of the body work, some 16" rims with Low profile tires on the front and a 205/50R13 on the back, and you should be pretty good to go. Plus, you can retain one more seat in tandem between the two front seats, but in the back.

Three racing seats, you get to lose a butt load of weight, it's still stick shift, still 3 cylinder, and can actually do more now with the same power, and it's just plain sweet looking. You could also make a semi cage inside and remove the top/make a targa for it, for the nicer days driving through town.

[MetroMPG]

A Metro pickup conversion with a properly designed aero shell would have lower drag than the stock body, yes.

I like the 4-door pickup conversion better. Longer bed & better proportions. Plus, a longer the aero shell can be more effective at reducing drag.

[winkosmosis]

Isn't the rest of the unibody structural?

[MadisonMPG]

Love the idea Christ, but I don't have the time. Well, at least I don't think I have the time. Has it been done before? I would like to do something like that, but i'm not 100% sure I could do it.

Got any more ideas?

[Christ]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

A Metro pickup conversion with a properly designed aero shell would have lower drag than the stock body, yes.

I like the 4-door pickup conversion better. Longer bed & better proportions. Plus, a longer the aero shell can be more effective at reducing drag.

And, you can leave the rear doors able to be opened, and have easy access to the front of the pseudo bed.

[Christ]

Originally Posted by MadisonMPG

Love the idea Christ, but I don't have the time. Well, at least I don't think I have the time. Has it been done before? I would like to do something like that, but i'm not 100% sure I could do it.

Got any more ideas?

You could start off easy, without the aero tapering and such, by designing and fabricating the rear swing arm assembly to be installed at a later date. This would help out immensely on it's own, due to rolling resistance being lowered by 25%. Later on, as you have more time, you can work out the dimensions of the pie cuts and get everything marked up and work around the structural requirements, then, when you have a couple weeks where you wont' need the car at all, you can start chopping.

Other ideas... seal 'er up and make a water-capable UTV? LOL.

How about a GSXR 600 swap? 60% of the engine and more horsepower available...

If you don't use the back seat in the Metro, how about just chopping and tear dropping the roof? There's a 20% loss in frontal area and a nicer shape for flow to stay attached to... Make for a decent project that might be able to be finished in a weekend if you're any good with sheet metal. The glass will take longer to get, though, and could be prohibitively expensive, unless you can use Lexan or similar on passenger windows where you're at.

[Christ]

Originally Posted by winkosmosis

Isn't the rest of the unibody structural?

Yes and no... technically, even the windshields are both structural to the chassis, in that they help to stiffen things up a bit. As long as the vehicle's primary support structure is kept intact, bits of bracing can be added on here and there to shore up the weaknesses created by cutting sections of the chassis away.

[MadisonMPG]

I think I will save and buy another Geo, and do the trike (or some other radical mod) to it.