Notable eco-cars (old & new) spotted in the wild: post your pics!

[War_Wagon]

Now that the exchange rate here against the US dollar has pretty much drained all the cars from Canada, there hasn't been too much to see here lately. There was a super clean '93 Metro 1.0L with 130k KMs at the auction last week but that's it. I totally spaced out on getting pictures of it.

I wanted to get some MPG numbers for this, but it is still acting up.







I picked it up at a charity auction, 1 owner with 59000 miles. The guy spent $3900 on it last year with new gas tank, brakes, shocks, tires, clutch, headgasket, carb, etc, etc, then donated it to charity. Sadly, it still runs like crap. There's a ton of new parts, but the shop that put them on was full of butchers. It has a wicked vacuum leak somewhere that makes it idle way too high, rather than fix it properly, the shop bottomed out the idle adjustment screw, and when that didn't work, they messed with the mixture screw until it started to run rough, but that in turned dropped the idle some more. I'll get it sorted out, it'll be fun to see what kind of numbers this thing gets for FE.

[freebeard]

Neat.

It has been a while since you posted. Nice catch though; do you have plans for it?

Resell it? Ditch the bumpers and add a full aero kit?

[redneck]

.

Nice snag.

That might just be one of the finest examples outside of a Ford museum. You just don't see them anymore.



Unfortunately, it was known as "The original car bomb"...

https://books.google.com/books?id=dW...20bomb&f=false



Make sure the fuel tank was upgraded and moved to the new location.





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[War_Wagon]

I have to admit, when I bought it I had planned to do a V8 swap. But it's too clean to cut up, so I just want to fix up some issues with it, get it running better, and enjoy it for the summer. I rarely drive my own vehicles anymore with the dollar being the way it is (I export vehicles to the USA for a living), so the Miata and the Pinto spend most of their time parked. I am supposed to go to Edmonton next month (about 700 miles away through the Rockies), I was debating driving the Pinto, but that just seems like a terrible, terrible idea the more I think about it haha.

[freebeard]

I have to admit, when I bought it I had planned to do a V8 swap.

Just A Car Guy : Pinto

It would be outdated. How about stanced with a turbo four?


3DTuning

[MetroMPG]

Originally Posted by War_Wagon

Now that the exchange rate here against the US dollar has pretty much drained all the cars from Canada

I bet there are no more stray pickup trucks in Alberta.

There was a super clean '93 Metro 1.0L with 130k KMs at the auction last week but that's it. I totally spaced out on getting pictures of it.

If you're still rescuing those cars, have you ever posted on GeoMetroForum.com? I'd be willing to bet there are members there who would come get them from you.

I'm still looking for a (another) decent 96-00 1.0 5-speed. A non-rusty one turns up around here roughly once every 2 years by my count. If I don't have one by 2018, I may have to get you to hook me up!

PS: the Pinto is awesome. That colour combo! And stick!

Also:

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...25-a-1186.html

Also also...

We should start a thread for "eco-driving/modding classic eco cars". This summer I have myself lined up for my first ever turn behind the wheel of an original Beetle and a Mini Cooper.

[MetroMPG]

I bet this is the first sighting in this thread.

I also bet that's because only a diehard Accord fan would be able to tell a hybrid from regular at a glance.

I actually heard it before I knew what kind of car it was -- I had my head down, tidying up the new-to-me beater Echo. The hybrid/EV/Jetsons sounds the Honda made while approaching a turn, and then driving away on e-power made me look up.

And then I thought, "Huh. A new Accord hybrid. Never seen one before, and probably won't again."

---

Oh, and I also saw my first BMW i8 on the 401 a couple of months ago. No pic. Fantastic looking. I might have drooled a little.

[War_Wagon]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

We should start a thread for "eco-driving/modding classic eco cars". This summer I have myself lined up for my first ever turn behind the wheel of an original Beetle and a Mini Cooper.

I think both of those would beat the Pinto. Not by much mind you, I don't think there would be a huge gap between any of them. All are old, no overdrive, carb'd. The Beetle and Mini probably weigh less, and have less loss through the drive train as they don't have the engine at the opposite end from the drive wheels. Plus the Pinto is a 2 liter vs a 1.6 or smaller for the Beetle and whatever came in the Mini. I think being at least 40 years old, more would come down to tuning/condition than anything else. Still, it'd be fun to do! There was an old dual point Accel distributor on the local Craigslist for a Pinto 2.0L, I wonder if it's still there? I have driven lots of old Beetles, but never an original Mini. If I had to guess, I would think the Mini would win, the Beetle would be second, and the Pinto last. If we did a thread for it, what would be the cut off for "classic"? I think my '87 Civic 1.3L 5 speed would clean up, if I could get it to stay running haha. I'd say if it has a carb instead of F.I. it's a "classic".

As for the pickups in Edmonton, why do you think I'm going there? haha.

I haven't rescued an old eco car since the teal Civic I grabbed last year, but I had to pay actual money for that. There just hasn't been anything old showing up for a long time. Or anything like a 1.0L Metro, the '93 I saw was the first in a long time, and someone paid $1000 plus fees for it. I still have that '96 I bought a few years ago if you want it. If I drive the Pinto to Edmonton and back you have to drive the no 2nd gear synchro Metro across the country haha

[MetroMPG]

You should seriously make a dedicated thread for the Pinto.

[freebeard]

Plus the Pinto is a 2 liter vs a 1.6 or smaller for the Beetle and whatever came in the Mini.

There was the Mini at 850cc and the Mini Cooper S with 997 or 1275.

Sales of the Mini Cooper were as follows: 64,000 Mark I Coopers with 997 cc or 998 cc engines; 19,000 Mark I Cooper S with 970 cc, 1,071 cc or 1,275 cc engines; 16,000 Mark II Coopers with 998 cc engines; 6,300 Mark II Cooper S with 1,275 cc engines.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mini#M...1.3B_1990-2000