How hot is too hot for a Metro/Swift
 

Hi, I want to get a Geo Metro or a Suzuki Swift made between the years of 1989-93.

I live in the desert South West. The temperatures here can sometimes get past 120 in the summer. I have no idea how hot it gets under the hood when driving on those days?

I plan to block up the grill to improve the aerodynamics of the car.
Is there a danger of overheating the engine on hot days if the grill is blocked up?

Does the radiator fan constantly run?

If so, can a temperature sensor be installed to turn the radiator fan on only when the engine gets to a certain temperature? I want to conserve electricity drawn from the battery. This in turn reduces the amount of time the alternator must work, which in turn reduces the engine's workload.

On that note, is the radiator fan powered directly by the alternator?

If so, can the radiator fan be powered by the battery instead of the alternator?

Is the engine constantly running the alternator to charge the battery?

If so, I would like to somehow remove the mechanical workload of the alternator from the engine when the battery is fully charged. Is there a way to do this in Metros and Swifts?

In this set up I would imagine if the battery's charge fell below a certain level the alternator would be activated.

I have tons of questions about replacing the car battery with a deep cycle battery and assisting the alternator with a solar panel and questions about the air conditioner, but I'll save those questions for another post.

Thanks for your help.

I've never run a car in that kind of weather, but my first thought would be to call a local GM dealership and ask them if the metros ever come in with heat-related issues in the summertime.

Good idea. I'll do that before attacking any of those mods I mentioned.

The Suzuki engines love heat! There are lots of California Swift/Metro owners and I never hear them complain about the heat on the cars.