Is this karma or what?? Kid is supposed to pick up my baja bug (project) on Sunday, and today on local CL I find a '94 Metro for $600! 122k, runs great, cold a/c, auto(sigh), it even has racing stripes! My son wants it bad, may have to fight him for it. Should be an easy fight, he has a broken ankle (so he won't kick my ass too bad).
Anything to watch out for on these besides the auto? Be a fun high school car for him, and good pit manauver practice for my Impala 9c1!
They had one on Jalopnik today. Looks like a great little car. Certainly not a family mobile.
I think the front subframes are prone to rusting??
I thought it was the lower control arms.
I'm digging the kid wants to fight dad over a Geo.
you need to talk to skooby or whatever he is calling himself now. auto is hella slow cause 55hp plus 3speed auto equals slow as mollasses. swap to manual is easy and you will yeild 40mpg either way. super easy to work on and cheap cheap parts. rust under the front floor boards is pretty bad on most, but if its clean it could be a killer shell for a gt 1.3dohc swap. amazing cars imho. very biased though.
I'm sorry, I don't want to offend but I have to say this.
Why oh why would buy a Geo Metro on purpose with anything other than Monopoly money? They feel like a tin can, they shake rattle and roll like a 50's rockabilly group and just weren't built to hold up to this many years of abuse.
I'm only saying this because I'm working on one right now. Good lord that thing is terrible to drive and there is no part of it that feels more substantial than a wet noodle. My classic mini feels like a Mercedes in ride, comfort and build quality compared to the Metro. And it's BRITISH for Gods sake!
Appleseed wrote: I'm digging the kid wants to fight dad over a Geo.
yeah, that's something special right there, no sarcasm, enjoy!
The first thing to do is ignore advice like this...
DrBoost wrote: Why oh why would buy a Geo Metro on purpose with anything other than Monopoly money? They feel like a tin can, they shake rattle and roll like a 50's rockabilly group and just weren't built to hold up to this many years of abuse. I'm only saying this because I'm working on one right now. Good lord that thing is terrible to drive and there is no part of it that feels more substantial than a wet noodle. My classic mini feels like a Mercedes in ride, comfort and build quality compared to the Metro. And it's BRITISH for Gods sake!
With a little work, and very little effort, you can make one handle, and feel great on the road. The pre 95 cars had no swaybars, and 12" wheels.
13, or 14" wheels, (cut) springs, and swaybars from a 95+ cost almost nothing, and will make it handle like a race car. The auto is not great, but you can either put up with it, or swap it for a trans with 4.39-1 gear. With that, and a little effort under the hood, it'll be a fun little car, and great learning project for you and your son.
Look at the frame section where the control arms mount, They rot and break up here, but in your area are probably fine. You can make a tie bar to join those together to strengthen it up.
There is excellent tech support for anything you want to do with it. Believe it or not, it's an unusually tech-strong community.
I got a manual trans and a rear sway bar I could hook you up with....
zomby woof wrote: The first thing to do is ignore advice like this...DrBoost wrote: Why oh why would buy a Geo Metro on purpose with anything other than Monopoly money? They feel like a tin can, they shake rattle and roll like a 50's rockabilly group and just weren't built to hold up to this many years of abuse. I'm only saying this because I'm working on one right now. Good lord that thing is terrible to drive and there is no part of it that feels more substantial than a wet noodle. My classic mini feels like a Mercedes in ride, comfort and build quality compared to the Metro. And it's BRITISH for Gods sake!With a little work, and very little effort, you can make one handle, and feel great on the road. The pre 95 cars had no swaybars, and 12" wheels. 13, or 14" wheels, (cut) springs, and swaybars from a 95+ cost almost nothing, and will make it handle like a race car. The auto is not great, but you can either put up with it, or swap it for a trans with 4.39-1 gear. With that, and a little effort under the hood, it'll be a fun little car, and great learning project for you and your son. Look at the frame section where the control arms mount, They rot and break up here, but in your area are probably fine. You can make a tie bar to join those together to strengthen it up. There is excellent tech support for anything you want to do with it. Believe it or not, it's an unusually tech-strong community.
^ This. Remember it's the same car as the Swift GT's, just missing a cylinder and a cam.... and the brakes.... and the swaybars.... but all that is easily changed. Metro's typically weigh in just north of 1500lbs, unless you cna snag and XFi which IIRC is just north of 1400lbs. Add the G13B Swift engine/trans into that shell and holy hell.... watch out.
DrBoost wrote: I think the front subframes are prone to rusting??
cHECK where the lower control arm bolts to the body. That little "loop" that the tie rod runs through likes to rust. Once they're rotted, the car is done.
Rust! I second all the rust comments, but only because I'm canadian and repairing the crap out of a rusty shell right now. Rust may not be as big an issue for you though...
Manual swap is a good idea, and you don't need any specialty tools to do it. Seriously, a half strong person could yank the engine out of that thing.
Hyabusa swap?
Bobzilla wrote: Remember it's the same car as the Swift GT's, just missing a cylinder and a cam.... and the brakes.... and the swaybars.... but all that is easily changed. Metro's typically weigh in just north of 1500lbs, unless you cna snag and XFi which IIRC is just north of 1400lbs. Add the G13B Swift engine/trans into that shell and holy hell.... watch out.
Actually, they're about 200 lbs heavier than that, but that's still not bad.
The springs don't need to be changed. Swaybars will get you 90% of the way there, but it's a good idea to swap over brakes from a 95+ car. The 95+ cars were bigger, heavier, and nicer to drive, but the 3 cyl. motor can't move them around very well. The good thing is, most of the bigger, better stuff from them is a direct swap to the older cars. GT, or sedan seats are a must.
My 93 rallycrosser for inspiration 
They're so awful, I finished 4th overall with it.
FALSE ALARM!! Called today and it already sold. Thanks for all the input, still watching out for a clean one. I'd really love a swift GT sometime. About that crazy kid of mine...Seems most of the kids at his school are either into bass thumping,body kitted Hondas, or mega-lifted 4x4 "rigs". I am proud to call him my son because he REALLY wants his first car to be either a Geo Metro or a Ford Festiva, and after he thrashes that for a few years,Then he wants to get a CRX! He also wants to try auto-x and HPDE in the Impala with me! Just call it good genes, or bad parenting!
You can do some neat things with a Fest-evil. B6Ts and Mazda 121 coil overs fit. Yes, I've played that scenario many times in my head.
Hey... for the right monies mine could be yours! GT that is.
Bobzilla wrote: Hey... for the right monies mine could be yours! GT that is.
What I always say is, everything's for sale. You just have to want it more than I do.
Tempt thee not, Bobzilla!! Sweet car. Let's see...money from the bug, sell the Honda Hawk and the garden tiller, patio furniture, kidney, old comic books...You are not tooooo far away for a weekend road trip. I might actually be interested!
Wife would kill me... lol.... but there's this beautiful white Arizona EF that has my attention.
Bobzilla wrote: Wife would kill me... lol.... but there's this beautiful white Arizona EF that has my attention.
Don't give in to...the Dark Side!
hamburglar wrote: Rust! I second all the rust comments, but only because I'm canadian and repairing the crap out of a rusty shell right now. Rust may not be as big an issue for you though... Manual swap is a good idea, and you don't need any specialty tools to do it. Seriously, a half strong person could yank the engine out of that thing.
^ One of my instructors this semester works at the local Chevy dealership, which also used to be the Geo dealership. He said that any time they had to replace an engine in the Metro the didn't get the pallet jack they just handed the crate across the parts counter. Seriously light work.
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