Geo Metro XFI Convertible Project Finished

[Coyote X]

Just spary painting it with gray primer mostly. The other day I was out of primer so I used some white spraypaint. I could wait till the whole thing is done before painting anything but it is easy to miss a spot that way and doing it a bit at a time seems to be working out pretty well.

I will probably prime the whole thing then paint it white before putting the blue color over the white. That will give it a nice bright base for the blue paint. I figure I will get a quart of white rustoleum to paint over the primer with and anywhere that any yellow is left. Then I will wet sand it and get it smooth before rolling on the blue rustoleum paint. I will probably just spray the interior and underhood area since it is the fastest way to cover it.

I won't do any of that though until the welding is done and it is time to start assembling the car. So maybe next week if I am lucky.

[Coyote X]

The car is starting to come together. I decided to not bother trying to make the under hood area totally sanded and smooth. It really isn't worth the trouble since it would take a few days to get it right. I can have the front end finished tomorrow and get a good start on the floor. I figure there will be visible welds and seams but it will still be solid and look good enough to me

[Coyote X]

if you guys want to see something funny look about halfway down this thread where the comments about how I am building my car are.

http://www.utah4x4club.com/index.php?showtopic=6045

It is amazing how many people think that since they have welded stuff together for years they are now structural engineers Personally I would rather make the car out of fence post than go by what they say, then again the internet does make everyone an expert on everything now days...

I could probably make the car safer and what not but seeing the stock metro crash test and considering I am driving around in a car that when I open the door the drivers seat drops about a half inch I figure anything is an improvement.

I have several more links of forums that have picked up my car and they all basically say the same thing. Either I didn't put anything in square/didn't use their preferred material, or I should have started with a 'real' car. I also get lots of comments like that posted on my site but I normally just delete them. I guess that is why I post on this site and not nonsense sites like pirate4x4

[Daox]

Its quite obvious they don't understand the design, intent, and application of the vehicle. Its just ignorance voicing their opnion.

Keep up the good work Coyote. Can't wait to see more progress.

[dcb]

Just curious, what do you use for bending the tubes?

[Coyote X]

Got some of the big stuff done today so it looks like I made good progress. The gas tank mount took a long time to make. I had to put the tank in place take a few measurements then move the tank to the other side of the garage and make the bracket. Then put the tank back in and go to the next part. I probably made 25 trips across the garage carrying that tank

The floor was easy, just run some braces across and slap a floor on it. The floor is made out of 2 dryers. I have a washing machine and a water heater left to get more floor material from. I figure the washing machine and the last panel from the dryers will be enough to finish the floor back to the gas tank. Then I can unwrap the water heater skin and use that for the trunk area. If I run out of metal I can always get on my atv and go drive around the creek and find another one to drag home. Sometimes living in an area where dumping an old washer in the creek is considered a normal way to get rid of them can be handy I guess.

I am using a bender from harbor freight. They are cheap enough to buy 2 of and grind, fill and modify one set of dies to do exhaust pipe and tube. Then the other set can be used for pipe and conduit.

[MetroMPG]

Ooo! I just had an idea:

Since the car has no solid roof, you've got more options for doing something like the tandem aero Metro guy did...

Think: half width "convertible" windshield. Just thinking of reducing frontal area when the top's down. You could put a tonneau over the passenger side, like the British sports cars, and fab a removable/deployable passenger side windshield when someone's in that seat, or when the top is up.

OK, I haven't thought this through very far.

[Coyote X]

That would be a cool idea though. I seriously thought about getting one of those aircraft canopies and forgetting about the convertible part all together.

With the car as it is now I will have a few options on how to drive.
-top up windows up
-top up windows down, back window unzipped.
-top down windows up
-top down windows down tonneau covering the passenger seat and behind the drivers seat.

Out of those options what do you think would get me the best mileage? I kind of think with the top up but all the windows open I would get better mileage than having it all closed up.

I am really not that worried about it being convertible other than it gives me a lot more flexibility in the future. Chances are if it is nice enough to have the top down I will be on my bike anyway So doing away with the capability to put the top down is not really a problem to me if I can make a big difference in aero.

A new windshield is going to cost me 300 so I might be tempted to do a split lexan windshield in the future. The one on the car is cracked so I won't leave it on there for long.

[zjrog]

My intent was not to start a board war. I did offer you a website with excellent fab examples. And you did reject everything I suggested out of hand, or at least not giving me an indication you even considered my comments as anything other than harrassement. My only concern was your safety, not a fight.

Again, a different choice of material might make for a lighter and more sturdy structure. Fence post? please. DOM tubing is inexpensive and easy to work with. And a lot sturdier than other materials. You don't need difficult to work and expensive Chromoly, which was where you seem to have thought I was directing you. I have seen what holds up and what doesn't. So choice of materials is a very important aspect of any build. And no, I haven't tried to rebuild a vehicle the way you are. Please also note I wasn't rude in my comments either. I'm not an expert, nor do I play one on the internet. But have done a good deal of research planning my own projects.

And when I did ask you offlist, I DID say I respect what you are trying to do. Seriously. Still do. You are doing more than I am at this point in time. But I am sure you can look at the site I gave you and see a major difference in the type of work being done.

But I still am concerned about the safety issue as mentioned. I do not expect you to crashtest it to prove me wrong. And chances are you are building it stronger than when it was new. I realize it isn't a competition vehicle, but given the rust you've cut away and the flimsy original mounting tabs for the suspension were reused, I really hope everything holds together.

I don't know what other people have said on other forums. I do know there are other forums that would say far worse. I frequent many different forums, not just this one or my own club site. But I look at the work of hotrodders, motorcyclists and racers too. Not to mention avaition and boating forums.

Once again, I do respect what you are DOING.

[zjrog]

I don't see how a windshield could be $300 for a Metro. I recently had a new windshield installed on my Grand Cherokee for $150 installed... I've even seen junkyards offer used windshields installed for less than $100. $300 seems awefully steep.