Why do I still hang around here?
 

I just bought my 4th Geo Metro this year:

Geo : Metro:eBay Motors (item 200417438478 end time Dec-19-09 13:31:14 PST)

You have issues but we support your habbit?

You paid 2 grand for that thing!!! :laugh:

I ask myself the same thing from time to time, I haven't driven a miata in almost a year now, joining the Army killed my ability to support the habit since I'm in Germany now.. Yet for some reason I can't stay away, I love this place.

I hang out here cause I have a miata......Oh wait that makes too much sense:D

If I had to daily drive a Metro I would hope every day that a big truck would run me over. A Metro is the least fun/interesting/attractive car I have ever seen. No offense to your poor taste or twisted ways. ;)

clearly the only reason anyone should be part of miataturbo is due to the fact of hustlers obnoxious post=:bowrofl:

Yeah, I did steal it didn't I?

This '94 sold for $3500:
Geo : METRO:eBay Motors (item 260520084786 end time Dec-14-09 12:50:44 PST)

This '93 (same body style as my '94) hit $3000 but didn't meet the reserve:
Geo:eBay Motors (item 220522087114 end time Dec-12-09 10:25:17 PST)

I bought my current '93 with no carpet, a cracked dash, a blown motor and 158,000 on the clock for $1500. A nice '94 for $2,000 around SC is quite a find. I think I just got lucky since it is close to the holidays or something. People must have taken their eyes off Ebay for a few days. I offered the guy $2500 cash to end the auction and he turned me down. I've kind of stalled out at 50 MPG City in my convertible so hopefully this hatchback will get me over the 60 MPG City that I'm looking for. I'll probably keep the convertible for a while until gas prices go back up. Metros were selling for $5,000-$6,000 just a year ago.

Just buy a CRX hf and you'll get the same gas mileage and save yourself the humiliation of driving a Metro. I've been rocking mine for nearly 15 years.

God I've had a bunch of them metros too. They are lots of fun actually. You need some more of this:
http://www.shoremotorsports.com/pics...Swift/ST20.jpg

turbo geo :bowrofl:

You had better not leave here there are few enough of us people with real knowledge and expereince to weed out newbs.

I would drive a turbo one.

i bought a geo metro for $25(talked him down from $50) from a kid who lost his license, he never came though with a title so it sat in front of my house getting tickets for not being registerd or inspected, then got an abandoned sticker on the windshield. then they finally towed it. i stripped the car of all it's aftermarket stereo stuff and sold it for a profit.

so 2K for this car seems insane to me. plus i gotta ask why? your other thread on living within your mean and being happy by docementing every penny spent.....then buy this? i'm confused as hell

Friend at work has a turbo swift, same thing I hear. One of a handful of American cars with an engine smaller than my 1.6. You're an idiot.

They made one (under the Suzuki Swift badge) for several years. Produced nearly 80 bhp, if I recall correctly.

That said, I drove a 3 cyl Metro convertible for a few years in the mid 90s. It was surprisingly fun in town. Curb weight = 1753 lbs.

Show me where to find one and I would buy it. I've been looking for 2 years. The closest thing I have found was a nice one in Arizona. The book was $1800 and the guy wanted $7,000.

The car goes along perfectly with my other thread (I documented what I spent on it, it is most definitely within my means, and I am happy driving it):

1) Definitely didn't buy it to impress anyone. You say you have a Metro and you will face ridicule from other people.
2) Very economical, saves money on gas, engines are bulletproof.
3) Prices are down right now but will go up again. Well documented that these cars sell for much more than book. I would say that Metros have jumped in value by 30% in the past 3 months (but are down from the insane prices of 1-1.5 years ago).
4) It is basic transportation. It gets me to and from work and nothing else.
5) Paid cash for it. My money, my car, my decision.
6) It is a hobby. I turned my vert model (worst mileage Metro made) from a car with a 35 MPG EPA city to one with a 50 MPG city.

I sold my turbo'd light weight Miata to clear space to buy my first one and then sold my blue SC'd Miata to get it in the garage. When I drive to work I am getting 50 (well, 49 at the moment) MPG vs the 25 MPG on premium gas that I was getting in the SC'd Miata. Sold the Miatas for $9000 and bought a Geo for $1500 that gets double the mileage with $.25/gal cheaper gas. I pull up to work and park it beside BMWs with $500 payments. All the while getting under the snobs skin. You gotta love it!

Just the fact that you and some others on here don't understand is like a private joke that only I get. It's like that millionaire next door book. I drive around with a semi and a smile on my face thinking about it.

My project's fuel log:
http://ecomodder.com/forum/fe-graphs/graph3323.gif

I would dd a Metro. Something about having three cylinders and getting motorcycle-grade fuel economy in a four-wheeled vehicle is just plain freakin' awesome. That said, I think the prices that they're fetching are absurd, I've seen high-mileage, salvage-titled ones go up to $1500-$2000 on ebay. When gas prices went up Metro prices SKYROCKETED. I kind of was tempted to buy a bunch to resell if/when gas prices went up but thought of better investment strategies in the interim.

I think if I did more city driving I'd want a Metro even more. My daily driver Saturn SL2 gets ~36mpg average (all highway I break 40mpg), but I really don't do any city driving (my commute is from the middle of nowhere to the ass end of nowhere and back on 50-60mph roads) and I can only assume that the Saturn would be getting ~30mpg or so in the city. The advantage is that I've got about $1500 in the SL2 (purchase price plus repairs necessary to get it roadworthy).

Alas, the Metro would be (most likely) more fun to drive and a WAY better conversation piece and, with the hatchback, WAY more functional.

Anyway, that's pretty cool. Keep it up, I enjoy following the stuff you post on the website and all.

It takes a TRUE car nut to appreciate a Metro.

I'm glad you've got a new project...I appreciate reading about all of them. I too would modify and improve any old vehicle, especially lightweight and dependable ones...and I've told my wife I'll NEVER buy a new car. Why would I? I've never spent more than $2K on any car I've owned...and thoroughly enjoyed every one.

I still want to get 100mpg out of a Ninja 250.

lol i love you dude:D. i understand what you're doing but can't imagine actually being that extreme about it. soon i'm going to have to adopt some of your ideals as we're thinking about starting a family sometime maybe next year so i'll probably get rid of the miata and my bike to help get a kid carrier, but sadly i don't think it would be a good idea to get a metro. i also gotta ask, with no kids, what are your plans for all your money? retiring soon?

I saw a very well maintained one with perfect original paint and nice interior for $1900 on Craigslist in Tampa a few months ago. Nobody wanted it because it didn't have A/C. 120k miles, 5 speed, hatch. I was helping my nephew find a cheap car.

For the following reasons.
1. We support your strange Geo Metro Fetish.
2. We like hearing stories about your boomstick's.
3. You give out sage like financial advice on how to live comfortably.
4. You miss miss actually being able to go fast, and can live through us.

I'd sell you mine for half that. ;)

I bought it in 1995 w/ 80K on it for $5950. It has 248K on it now and I have never had to do any repairs on it other than preventative maintenance except for replacing the alternator. Heck, it even has the original clutch in it. Right now it needs a passenger side axle due to a torn boot and new front pads and rotors, but I'd drive it anywhere. I have seen upwards of 50 mpg on interstate trips and it gets around 44-46 mpg around town. This picture is a from a few years ago, but it pretty much looks the same with the exception that some of the clearcoat started peeling off the hood.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3142/...3f0b55e3_o.jpg

I'm going in the same direction (kind of) with my OTM, selling the SRT4 and getting a TDi wagon. Going from 26 mpg highway to 41+ while using cheaper fuel.

You know, this whole thread is actually making me want to buy another Metro. I really did kinda like that car.

I'd likely paint it pink.

You need this!

http://thegarageblog.com/garage/wp-c...ge-500x333.jpg


FYI they are still pretty cheap around the NW. Just did a quick Craigslist look. Lots of them from $600 to $1500. Don't know about miles or condition but plenty of them advertised.

Ohh first gen 3cyl turbo sprint. I guy who worked for my dad had two and I almost bought one before going with a newer 4cyl suzuki swift. FYI, the suzuki's had 4cyls, metro's had 3cyls. The Swift GT's had twin cam 4cyls @100hp NA. That's what you put the turbo on! Turbonectics even had a cast T3 manifold (that's what we used on our shop car). There were even AWD versions in australia and europe, as the Suzuki Cultus and Subaru Justy.

Me likey!

Attachment 201671

Is that a Metro or a CRX? If that is a metro, and you own it, I will track you down this coming week when I am in Charleston and give you $25 just to get my picture taken next to it.

Metro. Built by one of the guys on my Geo forum for his daughter. I think they live in the Ohio area.

That swift gt is the one my buddy at work turbod, didn't know a dual overhead cam 1.5 4 cyl. was such a step up from the standard geo motor. My sisters '97 chevy metro had a 4 cyl. with an intake manifold made out of a Rock Star energy drink can.

I'm on gassavers.org under the same name... when gas was high I spent $12 modding my intake on my Saturn SL2 auto and went from 32mpg all-time high interstate mileage to 46mpg interstate.

Now that gas is cheap I don't mess w/ modding for fuel economy or hypermiling (never did any of that anyway) though I'm still looking for an '01-'02 Saturn SC1 5sp to replace my '96 SL2 auto. I still manage 36-38mpg interstate just driving w/ this modded intake.

I test drove a 5sp 3cyl metro and was 10x more disgusted w/ the "power" than I was with my Saturn and decided I couldn't make the sacrifice.... even if I was able to brag about 50+mpg. I did the math and only driving 8,000 miles per year the savings wasn't much.

any idea how to get that kind of milage out of a Fit? I honestly expected better out of my wife's 08 Fit when she got it. she gets roughly 30mpg combined.

Also don't the late 90s tdi VWs get 50+ mpg on the highway?

Yeah, remove all the modern convienence and safety BS and you'll be at least partially there. A 3-cylinder metro weighs in the 1700 pound range, the Fit is in the 2500-2600 range. So shave off about a third of the weight and that should help- airbags, extra speakers, sound deadening, all that plastic in the engine bay, etc.

I know of a guy who has a 3cyl suzuki swift. It's a Canadian market car so maybe they had different engines available there?

Which Swift GT?

Actually it all depends on the years. I'm talkin 89-94 USDM? The red chevy sprint turbo 3cyl is the early first gen boxy ones (1988 I think), then there was the 89-94's, then in the usa the geo metro went to a more roundy shape in 95 with a 4cyl but the rest of the world got the 94 body style still. They were also called chevy sprints, pontiac firefly's or subaru justy's depending on your country and the year.

In the usa, the 89-94 metros were 3cyl NA at like 55hp. The base model swifts were 4cyls at ~80hp with bigger front brakes and composite headlights, and the Swift GT(i) was 100hp and disc brakes all around, rear sway bar, body moldings & foglights, recardo seats, rear wiper & spoiler, dash with a tach (ha!), center console, fancy steering wheel, etc.

It was very easy to crank the boost up in the early turbo sprints and get yourself a very fun car.

I'm eventually gonna build a ford festiva with a 1.8L BP motor, turbo'd of course ;) RWD and everything. The 1992 model has a curb weight of 1540LBS IIRC, stripped I reckon it would be less than 1300lbs. If I make custom fenders/wells I think I could stuff some 255's all around. Might make for a decent auto-x car.

The golf ball car episode of Mythbusters showed that 800 pounds of extra weight didn't change the MPG of their test sedan (kills the acceleration though).

In my experience (with this current project), jack rabbit starts don't do much to your MPGs either. I can gun the hell out of the Metro at stoplights getting back up to cruising speed. What really makes a difference is what your cruising MPGs are. Increase those and your overall MPG goes up. So, the 15seconds I spend getting 20 MPG don't really harm me since I am driving the next 5 minutes at 55MPG.

Of course, I have the Metro stripped anyway! Can't trust those damn Mythbusters <G>...

Wait... I'm getting a vision of the future. It's Rob's Metro, completely covered in dimples!

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2697/...aed8a904_o.png

nothin a hammer couldn't do, i'll help

I talked to the owner today, apparently the Swifts were available with the 3 cylinder in Canada, but only as 4 cylinders in the US.

He has a build thread on teamswift.net but I can't seem to find it right now...