Building the Geo Metro with 3 cylinders instead of four

Snowdoggie wrote: Every time gas prices jump I think more about going with a stock 3 cylinder for my Geo Metro build instead of the 1300 four cylinder I bought for it. Maybe I ought to build this thing for gas mileage instead of as a hot rod. The advantages would be not having change the wiring harness or do a megasquirt. I would still have to find a 3 cylinder engine and transaxle for it. I know Zomby Wolf thought a turbo three cylinder would be a better option.

You already have the four cylinder and the transaxle. Wouldn't the gas saved by switching to the smaller engine be forever cancelled out at this point by the additional cost of buying (and probably rebuilding) another drivetrain?

Besides, if you're not gonna drive like a hypermiler, why bother?

Alan Cesar wrote: Besides, if you're not gonna drive like a hypermiler, why bother?

Because you don't have to drive like a hypermiler to get stupid-good fuel economy with a 3 cylinder.

You can always sell the GT motor. If you have the trans, you can use it, as well as the FW (4 cyl. is lighter) and clutch for an upgrade. Although I do get a combined 6.5 L/100 km with my heavily modded GT, I talked my long commuting coworker into buying a 3 cylinder Metro, and with the minor mods that he has done, he is seeing 3.8 L/100 km, and can still do better. The wiring harness swap is a pain. Enough so that I wouldn't do it.

You could also do this to your 4 dr hatch. That car is the smaller Mark 1, so you'd have more room in yours.