Wonderboy's Metro XFi Revival

[Wonderboy]

i just bought some permatex ultra grey rigid high-torque rtv silicone gasket maker(625F temp) I'm pretty sure it will be alright, but I'd rather be for damn sure since Id rather do this once. The directions say "not recommended for head gaskets." Any cause for concern here? Thanks.

[Christ]

Lots of head gaskets are being made with silicone already on them around water jackets and oil galleys, to reduce the occurrence of leaks after the gasket is seated and torqued.

What that warning SHOULD SAY is: "Not recommended for use as a head gasket"

Which would be less confusing to those who aren't as experienced in the use of sealants with engine components.

[Johnny Mullet]

Good posting

[Wonderboy]

Update! I took the body down to a long time family friend's shop (he's a retired professional welder) yesterday. The shop has a fancy 5-ton crane that we used to lift the front of the car up, like so:

Using an air scaler (GREAT tool btw. - yesterday was the first time I'd even heard of one. They look like this

I went to town on the area in question, and with all the weakest spots punched out by all the vibrating needles, it ended up looking like this:




Not good. We managed to get the front control arm mount off - the threaded sleeves/nuts that were welded into that mount point up inside the hollow looked like volcanoes of rust, so we couldn't really tell if they were sleeves or nuts welded into the mount point. I got one bolt from the rear control arm bushing mount, but it was so rusty the socket started to roll over the hexagonal bolt head. The next step would've been to go inside under the pedals and torch whatever that bolt was bolted into (sleeve/nut). This is what I found when I lifted up the carpet:

I would've had to take a grinder to the floor to get to where the rear control arm bushing mount bolts into, but after looking at the floor, knowing well I'd find the same situation on the passenger side, all the labor involved with rebuilding the control arm mount point, and all of this...
Driver's side wheel well:

Pass. side strut mount:

Driver side strut mount:


...we agreed to call it quits. I decided to abandon this frame and find one where the extent of the rust is the control arm mount ONLY. I know they're out there ant not too hard to find...anyone got one lying around like that? I still have the engine. Ideally I could find a 1.3l swift with a broken motor that I could rip out and throw my engine on...probably not going to happen. I'm assuming it won't be a problem, but any issues throwing an older generation motor into a 95-01? Is there anything I should nab from the XFi before I get rid of it that are specific to the XFi (relay/fuse box? wire harness?) I noticed that the brakes are a little different on the XFi - I don't know how thick the rotor is supposed to be because it looks pretty thin (no ventillation in the middle, just one solid disc)... is it worth saving along with the calipers, which are presumably smaller and lighter than stock? If at the very least to sell or trade with someone who has a workable XFi body...

Hate to see her go. She saw nearly 1000 miles on the road with about .1 miles on her own tires from pushing her on and off the trailer Thinking about making a stencil of the XFi sticker so I can put it on the next host body for good measure.

[Christ]

Gut it. Don't throw away anything salvageable, cuz you'll make a mint off those parts when gas prices go up again.

[Wonderboy]

Alright so here's a laundry list of things I intend to keep for either the next host car or selling for specialty XFi-only parts before I send the car off into the great beyond. (Please let me know if something I have here is no different in a garden variety suzukiclone)

-Motor/trans
-wire harness, relay box/ECM, *instrument cluster
-front brake/axle/suspension assemblies
-*seats (fabled somewhere to be lighter than garden variety seats)
-*shift linkage and shifter
-trace/stencil the XFi badge to paint onto new host body
-*radiator (fan)

*Could differ slightly from garden variety???

[Johnny Mullet]

If I took both my 1997 and my 1998 Geo Metros to your "buddy's place" and he used that "Jack hammer" on my cars, I would have 2 heaping piles of rust and end up driving my truck again getting 14 MPG.

Those rust issues can be fixed in one day with some side cash and lots of beer. Then the car can be driven for the next 2-3 years getting 50+ MPG. That mileage adds up big time! I have 2 rusty pieces of $hit in my driveway that will be welded, rebuilt, reinforced, repaired again, or whatever it takes to save me on fuel mileage.

Donate that XFI to the Mullet and watch me rebuild it and take the top 10 on the ecomodder MPG list.

[Christ]

Mullet -
Yea, the ENTIRE top 10... jeeze, man!

[Johnny Mullet]

I just looked at the list since it's been about 5 months. There is one vehicle on that list that is believable and I do not count EV's

[Wonderboy]

i dont see whats wrong with the air scaler since one cant really make a solid weld to pure rust. this body is definitely salvageable, its just that im at a point where i have a little more money than time and another few hundred could get me a wayyyy cleaner body than this one. id be happy to give you this car sans the xfi engine stuff and wiring, but im sure as hell not going to go back to ohio a third time to drop it off You've got a special gift for restoration, but if you expect them to last only 2-3 years then why do you bother making them look so purdy? i knew what i was getting into when i bought this beautiful ugly-ass thing - a learning experience and maybe a little more mileage (i already get 50+ w/o a carload of equipment for work)...oh yeah and to win a fuel economy competition...and beat darin Anyway i feel like im getting money's worth in education rebuilding the motor alone. im afraid welding a rust bucket together safely will have to come later, as i have enough consuming my time. come get it and its yours.