How to spend $5k on a $2k econobox = NOT SWIFT (Geo Metro restoration & mods)

[StudeChamp]

Looks great in the posts, but the paint we used later peeled under heat. Ugh. Should have left the brushed aluminum alone.

[StudeChamp]

The paint was laid down in a small shop by a guy named Rico -- he does reasonable and affordable work. I wanted to stick with metallic red and shoot the car in 2000 Mazda Laser Red (I had a 626 in that color and always liked it). Rico blew it on the paint and got 2011 Saab Laser Red, which is also a good color, and he gave me $100 off, so there's that. I brought him the bumpers (upper and lower) off the Swift -- I also had the Swift upper bumper with grill trim (and lights) but no hood, so that wasn't going to work -- we didn't realize the Geo hood didn't match the Suzuki lights. (I may make that upgrade in the future, but it'll be a few hundred to buy and paint the Suzuki hood).

Rico shot the inside as well; he didn't pull the headliner, so there is some minor overspray on the B and C pillars I'll have to get when I clean the headliner (goof off?). Still, all in all, it's a 9/10 in my book, plenty of depth to the clearcoat, it's a nice color, and any flaws are only visible from VERY close up (some dimples in the clear finish on the roof from dirt in the paint area, a couple scuffs from buffing, etc). The bumpers look like they are new.

[StudeChamp]

Back at the garage, in she goes... Sure, we got it out with our hands, but thought a cherry picker on the way back in would be safer.

[MetroMPG]

Impressive all around!

Originally Posted by StudeChamp

Is there any labeling on the tranny that would confirm? I guess I could pull a plug at TDC and check wheel rotations, the old-fashioned way.

As far as I know, that's the only way to know for sure. Count teeth on the gear or wheel rotations.

[StudeChamp]

For good measure, here are a couple "before" pics.

[igo]

Fantastic Work! Just an amazing restoration. Any thoughts about switching to the next gen (flush fitting / non bucket) headlights?

[StudeChamp]

Hi Igo,

Great question. I pulled some late-model-style headlights off the Suzuki GT at Pick n Pull. And then, after painting, discovered... the hood is not the same! So yes, it will happen someday, once everything else is done and I'm willing to drop the +/- $300 on the hood + paint. In the meantime, I'll squint and pretend that those rectangular sealed beams are flush with the fender!

In the meantime, it's my first longer ecorun tomorrow -- approx 160 mile round trip, almost all highway and freeway. I should put up some pretty good numbers, can't wait to actually see what I got. Am planning on getting through the city before traffic and then following semis on the more rural stretches of interstate. Although I jumped from 12in to 13in tires, I also swapped in a tranny from a car with 13in standard, so the odometer is spot on. (The speedometer is off by 10%, which is easy enough to remember when driving.)

Starting tomorrow, I'll go through the interior restoration and then document the ecomods proper.

Thank you to all posters for your feedback! And to the moderator who put me on the front page, a deep bow and tip of the hat. It's definitely the high water mark for me in car restoration so far. :-)

[StudeChamp]

Made my first longer shakedown run and was a bit disappointed on the mileage. I drove 154 miles on my baseline fillup, of which 80 miles was on truly rural freeway; most of the rest was on two-lane highway, though I did drive through a city center (incl 10 min at one stoplight, though mostly slow-go freeways; took approx. 20 minutes longer than when there is no traffic).

Averaged 49.7 mpg, which quite frankly underwhelmed me. I do need a wheel alignment, I am just breaking in the engine, and I did hit a rush hour, so there's that. Short-term improvements are thus:

1. Nitrogen fill on tires to max sidewall pressure
2. Install sway bar and align tires (I had quite a bit of vibration)
3. A/C -- it's blowing hot -- it's the end of the hot season, so I'll pull it rather than fix it, and reinstall in May
4. Check the rear brakes -- I didn't do those
5. Check the transmission -- make sure I'm running the 3.52 gears like I think I am
6. Change the oil. May go with 5w20 mineral this time rather than the 0w20 synthetic I had (Johnny is concerned...)

Any further advice, Ecomodders? Any and all advice is appreciated!

Future posts: How I refurbed the interior, and then I am going to move on to documenting how we worked through MetroMPG's list of 65+ ecomods point by point (what's done, what's still in the hopper).

[Baltothewolf]

Only 50? Were you keying off at stoplights? Because that's one of the biggest mpg killers is sitting at Red light with your engine running. Also,have you installed a MPGuino? Because that would be a massive help to you as well.

[StudeChamp]

Hi Baltothewolf -- Re stop and start: My starter is still fussy, so no, not until I get the electrical repaired (I think it's between the ignition key and solenoid and am going to run a relay). I have the MPGuino but have not installed it yet. Thanks for the feedback!