My Latest Find: $250 Geo Metro - Fuel Economy, Hypermiling, EcoModding News and Forum

Jim-Bob · 12-20-2010, 04:16 AM

I am in the process of building a Metro as a pizza delivery vehicle. Sadly though, the one I have is an automatic. Thus, I was shopping around for a 5 speed parts car. Lo and behold, I found a 3 cylinder 5 speed 4 door today for $250. It both runs and drives and is not in bad overall condition. It has an oil leak, something wasted in the front suspension, and a few other minor issues but is rust free and drives fine. Supposedly the A/C works but the owner took the belt off because it wouldn't run right when it kicked on ( A/C is important when delivering in the summer in Florida). I plan to fix it's issues and get it on the road in the next couple of days. Hopefully, 40+ city mpg is no longer a distant dream and I can now start saving money by the end of the week.

vacationtime247 · 12-20-2010, 04:43 AM

Great find. Should have no problem keeping costs under $500. They're pretty easy to work on, you could do most of the work yourself. Guess I can understand wanting A/C since you live in Florida. The heat and humidity can be brutal in the summer. So, you have 2 Metro's now? Don't make 1 a parts car, turn them both into drivers!
VT247

Jim-Bob · 12-20-2010, 10:33 AM

Both cars will live again, don't worry! I just haven't decided the exact configuration of how that will happen. I had already sent the head of the automatic car out to a specialist ( 3 Tech performance) for their fuel economy rebuild and reground camshaft so that engine is getting rebuilt. That engine will be paired with the manual transmission but I do not know which car will get it yet. I will be running a compression test on the engine in the 4 door car when I get it home today to see if it is any good. If it is, it will go into the 2 door car with the automatic and the new engine will go in to the 4 door. If it is bad, I have a buyer for the 4 door's shell and I will carefully take what I need from it before sending it on to a new owner who wants to use it's body for his own project. It's a rust free Metro with minimal body damage after all, and those are hard to come by nowadays. I'd much rather see it go to a good home than as shredded scrap to make more junk products in China.

My hope is for a city cycle fuel economy of 50 mpg when used for pizza delivery. It would represent a 60% reduction in fuel costs over the Frontier I currently use, or a savings of $150-200 a month depending on the price of gas. I will also be VERY happy to have A/C this summer. I didn't last year and it damn near killed me from heat exhaustion.

cgbjake · 12-20-2010, 10:43 AM

If the A/C doesn't get fixed, look at the bright side...your pizza's will be warmer when delivered so a better tip or compliments on a great job. Which to me = a pay raise...maybe. Good luck!

MetroMPG · 12-20-2010, 11:13 AM

FYI, 50 MPG city is a tall order. You'd have to employ some pretty advanced driving techniques to achieve it.

vacationtime247 · 12-20-2010, 01:02 PM

Get some beaded seats and install a simple fan to blow on you (like a UPS / Fed EX delivery truck). No significant weight gain and you'd solve some of your heat issues without running A/C. If you're doing a lot of stop and go driving, mpg will obviously drop. More gas is being used to propel the vehicle forward from a stop. Uses less when driving at a reasonably consistant speed. Also, pizza delivery? Watch the idle time!
VT247

Jim-Bob · 12-20-2010, 01:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

FYI, 50 MPG city is a tall order. You'd have to employ some pretty advanced driving techniques to achieve it.

I agree-which is why it's a bit of a challenge! I will be happy with anything north of 40 city, but 50 is just so tantalizing I gotta try to achieve it. I plan on an engine kill switch on the shifter for coasting when it is beneficial and adding a MPGuino to try and figure out the best driving techniques. My focus will remain on maximizing total deliveries as one good delivery will offset the fuel cost savings from losing it. It's a fine line but I love a challenge. If I manage to get out of the delivery game like I want to I will probably reconfigure the car to skew it more towards highway use. I have a lot of ideas right now, but likely will not get to use them all at once. I am going to pick it up right now and hope to have some baseline numbers by this time next week. I gotta fix whatever safety and maintenance issues I find first though as there is no sense driving it in a manner that will damage the car or get me hurt. At any rate, where is the best place on this site to do a build thread? I don't know if they are all aggregated in one spot here and want to put it in the right place.