Suzuki Cultus, Metro, Firefly - Drivetrain swapability

[element6]

Hello, I just got started on my quest of setting up the perfect economachine to fit the budget for me and had some entry level questions relating to the drivetrain parts in a Cultus variant.

Would I be able to swap the G10 (going for the XFi G10/ECU) into any 2 door Gen II/III Metro/firefly shell at the stock mounts?

What is the ideal (economy) tall geared transmission with this setup? I saw that the 1.6L Swift got the 5MT with a 0.769 5th while the 1.3L SOHC also had a nice 0.815 5th. Can the G10 push the 1.6L tranny in 5th and gain FE or will it be working too hard to keep speed in that gear with that tranny?

I have been referencing these threads relating to the tranny:
metrompg.com/posts/tranny-swap.htm
teamswift.net/viewtopic.php?t=23748

I'm currently driving around my other car, so I have plenty of time to work on this and the space to do it in. I'd like to pick up the G10, ECU, Cam, and transmission first so that I can rebuild everything before I go to market for the right shell. My ideal shell is going to be a 98-00 2D Hatch.

I'd like to put this into service for my workday commutes. I am a field engineer and drive around 2300 miles a month for work. I spend a lot of my time on the Florida turnpike and I-95 (when I can't avoid it). The terrain here is FLAT, highways are decently maintained, and drivers are somewhat mindless. I need to be able to hit 65mph at most times without completely killing my economy. I will also need to keep the AC hooked up for the summers.. this is south Florida after all.

Thank you in advance for any advice that you may be able to provide. Glad to have found this forum. Can't wait to be able to contribute my experience when I get started with this project.

[element6]

Bump

[element6]

Well, forget my question (not that anyone would have ever answered anyways.. didn't look promising); I bought an 00 5MT Insight this morning.. drove it back with the AC on eco and cruising at 60MPH I had an overall 200 mile trip avg of 73MPG.

Better, easier, more comfortable, and quieter than the metro idea.

PS.. if you are in the market for a metro.. good luck. Anyone I came across that is sticking them on craigslist, autotrader, or ebaymotors should win the "sketchiest seller of the year" award. I would never get a response from 75% of the sellers or dealers, and those who did respond gave lame excuses of how they suddenly felt their 20 year old, poorly cared for beater was suddenly worth an additional 1500-2500 USD on top of what they were originally asking.

Here's an example; 4 door '93 teal metro for sale at dealership in Hialieah, FL.. listed that morning. I called the same day; seller told me price had changed from $1900 to $3000. GTFO.

Another ex; '91 or '92 (I forget) metro XFI outside of ATL, GA. I call the guy 2 hours after I see ad on craigslist and was the first to ask about it. Spoke to both him and his friend and have it all set up with them that I will fly up from MIA to ATL to pick the car up that weekend (2 days away). I had a free flight voucher, so no biggie. He says the car is not idling right and needs some TLC; plus the interior is shot.
Next day I got off of standby coverage from work for the weekend and go to buy my plane ticket. Before I pull the trigger I call the guy back.. his friend doesn't pick up, so I call the owner. He tells me he has had a revelation over night and is now going to be keeping the car and maybe fixing it up and maybe, just maybe putting it on eBay because he thinks it is now worth $5k.

If I ever pulled this kind of s*** when I had sold any of my cars in the past I would expect a prospective buyer to kick me straight in the crotch.

Can you people that are selling your cars make your damn minds up?

I will keep hanging around here as I always do. thanks for noticing me.

See you insight owners on insightcentral!

[piers.singer]

They're clearly worth the extra money because they're more fuel efficient. Economics be damned! Great result with the Insight, any mods planned?

[element6]

Thanks! The Insight has 88k mi on the odo.. plus it is practically new inside.. you can't tell that it was ever driven. No accidents, nothing. IMA battery pack is perfect.

As far as mods go, I am going to mod for comfort at first..

I think I might be swapping the two front seats out with those from an Acura RSX type S.. I can usually find a pair of good condition type S seats for about $150 here.

The original cassette deck is still in there, so I'll probably switch that out with my trusty old kenwood cd player so that I can listen to my ipod.

There is already a cruise control module installed from the PO.. but I'm not sure which one it is and I will have to post some pictures to find out. It's currently not working; so I definitely need to take a look at it. I know it's not the Rostra one. My cruise buttons are on a stalk below the headlight/signal stalk.

Other than that, I was thinking of lowering the car for better aerodynamics, seeing as there is no where to go down here that isn't paved beautifully. But I'd have to see how much that would actually help aero.. it may not do anything at all.

For now I'm going to give it a nice wash, wax, and full detail like I do with every car when I first get it Nothing better than a clean, shiny car.