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

I promised a very long time ago that I would document a 1991 Geo Metro faux xfi build... And in keeping with y "binge viewing" tradition, the build is 98% done and I'm going to recreate a two-year scavenger hunt resulting in this, a restored 1991 Geo Metro with some serious economods. Her name? NOT SWIFT.

So my Studeo builder and BFF Johnny gave me a $400 Geo a few years back. That's actually what kicked off my whole ecomod appetite. John had already collected a few misc parts, too, like moon hubcaps, an xfi brain box, cam, and pulley, and new LRR tires. So I took the car and, being my typical overenthusiastic OCD self thought, *** it, let's build this right.

At John's insistance, the engine came out and apart, and the build sheet grew. Here's what we came up with:

New paint
Fresh interior
LRR 13 in tires
Delete passenger side mirror
Custom kammback
Swift lower front bumper
Swift 3.51 final drive transaxle
xfi gear
Rebuilt engine running 0w oil
Fresh bearings
Rebuilt high flow injector
Restored interior (incl delete belts from door, custom panels)
The love and admiration of friends, family and the community at large

Of course, we were building the Studeo at the same time, so the parts began piling up, including a 5d parts car that was unceremoniously chopped and recycled. The neat trick of dong two at once allowed me to forget about how much I was spending on any one car at a time, which helps in this kind of effort, I've learned. Getting the little gal through smog and back on the street turned into quite the journey. Still, she's alomst done now, and that is what counts.

So, one more post till the pics go up, I think. Looking forward to sharing the build with you.

Tbh I really want to see this, can't wait for pics!!

(Almost) finished product
 

I'll just spoil the whole thing by posting pics of where I am at today. Build history to follow.

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...4&d=1410804482

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...5&d=1410804482

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...6&d=1410804482

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...7&d=1410804482

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...8&d=1410804482

Kammback hatch
 

Oh, nearly forgot (I didn't take a rear-angle shot of the car). Here's a little ecoporn to whet your collective appetite for build posts.

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...9&d=1410804889

That Ecoporn at the end is very nice. Man, (and I never thought that in my Tina Turner wildest-dreams I would say this) that is one sweet Metro!

3/4 LH rear view
 

This pic gives a much better view of the Kammback.

All steel with some finish filler. Johnny welded it up himself. Action pics to follow...

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...0&d=1410822797

Are you saying you bought the car for 2 grand and spent 5 working on it?

Not bad looking. Looks new. That maybe the first metro to easily fetch 15 grand on ebay. :thumbup:

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...p;d=1410822797

No, the donor car was $400. I was just being modest about market value vs my investment! Though if I am going to find anyone that values a thorough restoration plus ecomod of a Geo, it will probably be here... I am really shooting for a "better than factory" look, which seems to take as much time, if not more, on a Geo than on, say, a '67 Mustang... But that's what makes the project fun, right?

Beautiful work! I love the kamm back.

I think that paint is better than the Metros in my '91 Geo sales brochure. ;)

Man, that is solid work. Love how all of the "little" stuff was taken care of, like painting the bumpers with the appropriate shade of charcoal, rather than stark-black. Trim looks great, paint is beautiful. Lights are properly restored/polished. Mirror delete on RH looks factory. Dude, way to raise the bar!

I also never thought out actually welding in the Kammback. Voids all "gap" issues, for sure! Looks beautiful.

This car is almost TOO nice to be a Geo ;) Also great to see a non-duct taped Eco-modded car. I don't think that being "Eco" means it has to look like you built it in the dark...

Great work. Now, about those progress pics.... :nails biting:

You are on the cutting edge of the future of car modifications/culture.

Factory looking eco-mods is what keeps me coming back here.

Thanks for sharing!

very well executed. i need more skills!

We were pretty particular about the detail work. The body paint is 2011 Saab Laser Red, basecoat/clearcoat. (I had intended to use 2000 Mazda Laser Red, which is a metallic, but the paint shop screwed up.) I laid down 2 coats of NuFinish wax and it really shines. And Sven7, I'd like to think that, other than a few minor flaws, it is indeed better than the factory paint :-)

Rear taillights and bumpers are off a Swift GT donor. The LH rear light was cracked, so I had to pay $50 for the piece on eBay, but I like the whole early 90s GT Mustang look to the taillights. Go-fast equipment? Plus, the license plate mounts between the lights rather than on the bumper, which means I got to drop the "GEO"-branded trim piece.

I used rattle cans from OSH for the interior -- color is granite satin, paint/primer combo. Came out just a shade darker than the stock medium gray in the parts car. I've got trim from 3 or 4 different vehicles, and colors included grey/blue (orig. color in the 91), light grey, medium grey, and black (may have been sprayed that color, I don't recall that being stock). Coverage was pretty good after 4 or 5 coats. It does scuff a bit, but being satin is easy to touch up.

Black is the least consistent. The shop sprayed the bumpers and B pillars in satin charcoal -- OG VX, thank you for noticing. I rattle-canned door window trim (which I tracked down only after painting - hard to find in any sort of shape - more on that later) in rustoleum satin black, which is close but just a touch brighter. I may reshoot the trim under the pop-out rear windows in the same rustoleum -- the charcoal which the shop laid down already rubbed off a bit on washing. Door handles are gloss black, as is the LH mirror, but that's how they came when I bought them new on eBay and I chose not to repaint.

I still have to install the lower front lamps, and the front turn signal lamps are showing their age a bit up close, so a clean set is on my pick n pull list.

I'd like to track down a console with cup holders, if any of you have tried fitting something like that before and have advice.

Original vehicle(s)
 

Here are pics of the car when it arrived. Wish I had taken more, because man, it looked trashed and is a great reminder of just how low the bar was when we started! Johnny snagged it at auction for $400.

We also picked up a 5 door donor that wouldn't pass smog -- it's been divided between the 91 NOT SWFT and the Studeo (another build thread I've got on here -- I'll post a link to that one, too). The 5 door did have a (relatively) excellent interior, which went into the NOT SWFT; most of the running gear is in the Studeo. The body, doors, roof, floorpan etc got recycled -- I think we got something like $62 for the metal.

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...1&d=1410885032

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...2&d=1410885032

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...3&d=1410885032

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...4&d=1410885032

Antenna delete
 

Johnny pulled the antenna and welded the opening shut. Good work -- after paint and body work, you literally cannot tell that that opening was filled.

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...5&d=1410885187

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...6&d=1410885187

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...7&d=1410885187

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...8&d=1410885187

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...9&d=1410885187

Kammback under construction
 

We scored an extra hatch at Pick n Pull (well, if $130 counts as "scored,") and thus felt free in taking a welder to the hatch on the car to create the Kammback. After debating materials, Johnny decided to weld one up out of metal. This has its pluses and minuses, but certainly scores some points in the durability department.

Essentially, he built a ladder frame and then skinned it. The biggest downside of what he did, other than time, is that the frame material does tend to warp under the heat of the MIG welder, so it was not easy keeping straight -- there are definite waves to the finished product, and we couldn't fill and straighten in paint because body filler would pop loose from the shaking. On the other hand, having a metal kamm painted out body color does look extremely clean and consistent, and the material wins in the durability department. All in all I am tickled pink with the result. Total cost was probably $500 between materials, labor, paint and finish, not counting the welder or the second hatch.

Here are the pics of the frame going up.

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...1&d=1410885965

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...2&d=1410885965

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...3&d=1410885965

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...4&d=1410885965

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...5&d=1410885965

Kamm skin
 

Here's the skin going on.

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...6&d=1410886033

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...7&d=1410886033

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...8&d=1410886033

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...9&d=1410886033

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...0&d=1410886033

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...1&d=1410886033

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...2&d=1410886033

Finished unpainted Kammback
 

Here's the skin on and done - before paint and body, of course.

We set the slope of the Kamm based on threads off this site -- thank you, Ecomodders, for sharing!

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...3&d=1410886096

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...4&d=1410886096

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...5&d=1410886096

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...6&d=1410886096

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...7&d=1410886096

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...8&d=1410886096

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...9&d=1410886096

I would think that your vision out the back would be much worse, nice going:thumbup:

Visibility isn't great, but it's still better than what it was in my 1972 Mustang fastback I had in high school! The loss of the RH mirror is more disconcerting, to be honest. Still, the glasshouse in the Geo is pretty good for visibility.

Nice bro. What kind of looks do people give you on the roadways? Car well-received?

Transmission
 

The tranny is a 3.51 gear ratio (or at least should be!) out of a Pick n Pull Suzuki (stock is 4.11). Based on the fact that I have to downshift to maintain speed while going uphill, I am pretty tempted to think that that's the gearing. 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.

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...0&d=1410890306

OG VX, I don't get that many double-takes, surprisingly -- I think that with the new paint and no badging, people don't know what it is. And they see the Kammback going, not coming :-) I try to salute other Geo drivers, but don't get much of a response...

Engine out, off to paint
 

'Nuff said.

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...1&d=1410890555

Engine build
 

Check out those tolerances. We got an xfi brain box, cam and pulley, but have stock pistons. We got a rebuild kit on eBay for $126 or so... For such a beater car, I was shocked by how good the original engine was, in tolerances, rings looked good, normal carbon. There was some bearing wear/scratching, of course.

Check out the clearances on the rebuilt block.

Finished engine
 

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

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...5&d=1410890794

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...6&d=1410890844

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...7&d=1410890844

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...8&d=1410890844

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...9&d=1410890844

Paint
 

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.

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...0&d=1410891762

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...1&d=1410891762

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...2&d=1410891762

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...3&d=1410891762

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...4&d=1410891762

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...5&d=1410891762

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...6&d=1410891762

In goes the engine
 

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.

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...7&d=1410891975

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...8&d=1410891975

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...9&d=1410891975

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...0&d=1410891975

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...1&d=1410891975

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...2&d=1410891975

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...3&d=1410891975

Impressive all around!

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

Before pics
 

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

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...4&d=1410900701

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...5&d=1410900701

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

Suzuki headlights
 

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. :-)

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).

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.

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!