Mullet's Metro Project

[Johnny Mullet]

Originally Posted by alohaspirit

did you grind away any of this before you ducted?
]

No. If I would have began grinding away at the rust, I would have no rocker panel left. Same deal when I fixed the frame. If I have to do it again next year, so be it. This car should have been junked, but I plan on keeping it safe and legal and somewhat decent looking until it finally rots away.

Nobody in their right mind would have done what I have done to a car this bad. It was already headed to the junkyard before I scarfed it up. So far, the fuel savings from this car has been astronomical! I plan on keeping it that way. Maybe down the road, I will find a rust-free shell and I would have plenty of parts from Christine to make one good car.

This is interesting..............

I went for coffee this morning before work and this guy approached me asking about the car. Apparently, this guy bought Christine brand new on December 13th 1997 for his daughter as a Christmas gift. He said he bought her with 13 miles on the odometer

I told him about how I diagnosed the car at work for his daughter's boyfriend and he was going to junk it, so I bought it. I told him and showed him all the work I did including engine rebuild, trans swap, exhaust, brakes, frame, body, etc. He was totally amazed. What really blew him away was when I offered to take him for a ride. He could not believe how nice it drove and said "It's like a new car again." He told me his daughter hated that "piece of junk", but she got over 10 years out of it and kept it because it saved her money on gas when she was in college.

We chatted so long, I was almost late for work.

More pics...........

[Dave5578]

Sir Johnny.... King Mullet..... Good day.....

My name is Dave and I am living in Columbus. I am from Cleveland and Ashtabula sounds extremely familiar.

I have a 2002 flex fuel s-10 as of right now, 5 speed, 4cyl, and it gets 25 on the highway. I am going to sell it and get a metro, love the car, love this site, love your posts!

I was hoping you wouldn't mind if I asked you a few questions once I get the car. Maybe even swing by Ashtabula for you to show me some tips?

I already do my own work on my s10 so I am not stupid with car repairs, but might have some questions. This car looks like a dream to work on.

Thanks for all the posts, and hope to hear from you soon!

-Dave

[Johnny Mullet]

No problem man! Before buying a Metro, please read this...........
Buyer's Info

[Brillig]

Very helpful, and interesting read. I am looking for a Metro worth the effort to 'refresh' NOT restore.

Would you accept a beatup Ford Escort (no body frame welding required?) and work your magic on it?

Joking.

[Big Dave]

The Mullet-Man approaches the line between a DIY economy car and a ecomodded hot rod.

BTW, how are the Singh grooves working out? Are they worth the effort?

[Johnny Mullet]

I know I have not been on Ecomodder for a long time. I been so busy with GeoMetroForum and life and all. Here is a quick update on Christine.............

In July 2010 the frame broke on Christine on the main drag in Geneva on the Lake, Ohio and the wife and I almost hit head on traffic when the left wheel pulled away from the car. Luckily the axle was still attached and we got it off the road. I called the boss at work and we were able to get Christine home on the wrecker.......





The car sat for a week or so and then I inspected the damage. As you can see in the pics, the frame broke behind the welding repairs I made.....





I had an event to attend to and GeoPalooza 2010 rolled on...........



MORE

Member CoyoteX brought his plazma cutter, welder, and steel and we did a "Redneck Repair" right in my garage...........







Since then Christine has been registered in my wife's name while I drive my 1992 XFi.......



Even after all the repairs and having the frame break after fixing it, the car has saved us money. If it were not for the generous offer from Coyote X to fix the car, the car would not have been junk, but would have been fixed one way or another. Even if I had to pay a welder big bucks to fix it, I would have done it.

Christine is now pushing the 200,000 mile mark after buying it with 130K. She still get an average of 57MPG and takes corners in 3rd gear all day long!

[alohaspirit]

thanks for the update johnny


nice to see you on here again

[MetroMPG]

Control arm mount rot strikes again! Glad you didn't smash into anyone/thing. Good to see it repaired as well.

Gives me some inspiration I'll need when I crawl under the ForkenSwift with the welder before spring (it's looking pretty ratty in the exact same spots. Too ratty for me to feel comfortable driving it.)

Thanks for the update!

[Christ]

It would be good for someone to take an un-fixed metro chassis and make some measurements of the suspension points so that a "broken" one could be repaired to the correct specs, given the lack of repair parts.

[Frank Lee]

Now, why am I reminded of this? LOL