The stereo has a USB input on it so I can plug in my iPod and go. Charging and playing the iPod at the same time will be quite convenient!
Until next time.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Stereo... installed
Took the time to install my new stereo this afternoon. Had to do a little bending and cutting to get things in the right place, but all in all I think it looks pretty decent. And it sounds decent, so I can't complain about that.
The stereo has a USB input on it so I can plug in my iPod and go. Charging and playing the iPod at the same time will be quite convenient!
Until next time.
The stereo has a USB input on it so I can plug in my iPod and go. Charging and playing the iPod at the same time will be quite convenient!
Until next time.
Friday, July 23, 2010
Headlights
Moving ahead with the purchase of some new headlights for the Metro. Check them out:
Since I will be painting the car black, these only seem appropriate. Plus they are sold in pairs... so I'll be saving quite a bit of money. Score!
Stay tuned for more...
Since I will be painting the car black, these only seem appropriate. Plus they are sold in pairs... so I'll be saving quite a bit of money. Score!
Stay tuned for more...
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Issues and progress
I've been running into some issues with my license plate mount. Apparently one of the plate screws broke off on the previous owner and instead of fixing the issue himself (or warning me about it, which is somewhat understandable), I've been dealing with ways to mount my plate to my vehicle. As it stands... the plate is duct taped to the back windshield, which seems to be doing the job so far.
Last night, I sprayed some PB Blaster on the spot to help loosen it up. The screw is broken off on the outside of the plate cover, so the only way to get to the screw is from the underside of the car. The is absolutely NO space under the car to get tools in there to work around. I did manage to get a pair of vise grips in there, but it still wouldn't turn. Determined not to give up, I ended up banging out the screw and mount from the (fiberglass) bumper mount. So now I'm stuck with a hole in the bumper and still no reasonable way to get the plate mounted. On top of that, the screws I bought for the side that is okay... well... they don't fit. Awesome.
In other news... I'm in the search for a center console from a 1995 or older Dodge Neon. Apparently they fit like a glove inside Geo Metros. Junk yard, here I come!
I'm also in the market for some wheels. Here are 15" wheels that will fit my Metro and they look really nice on another Metro I've seen:
Shown here is the 5 lug option. Looking into seeing if they still make a 4 lug option, which is what I need. Crossing my fingers I can track them down!
Still running on the first tank of gas. The plan is to have a spare gallon of gas on hand for when she runs out. I want to calculate how many MPG I'm getting with this thing since there is no mile trip indicator built into the instrument panel. (Unless I upgrade to the tach instrumental panel, which I'm considering).
That's it for now... a lot of little things to work on.
Oh... just bought a CD player for the thing. Install should be a snap, according to Jeremy, We'll see!
Be seeing you.
Last night, I sprayed some PB Blaster on the spot to help loosen it up. The screw is broken off on the outside of the plate cover, so the only way to get to the screw is from the underside of the car. The is absolutely NO space under the car to get tools in there to work around. I did manage to get a pair of vise grips in there, but it still wouldn't turn. Determined not to give up, I ended up banging out the screw and mount from the (fiberglass) bumper mount. So now I'm stuck with a hole in the bumper and still no reasonable way to get the plate mounted. On top of that, the screws I bought for the side that is okay... well... they don't fit. Awesome.
In other news... I'm in the search for a center console from a 1995 or older Dodge Neon. Apparently they fit like a glove inside Geo Metros. Junk yard, here I come!
I'm also in the market for some wheels. Here are 15" wheels that will fit my Metro and they look really nice on another Metro I've seen:
Shown here is the 5 lug option. Looking into seeing if they still make a 4 lug option, which is what I need. Crossing my fingers I can track them down!
Still running on the first tank of gas. The plan is to have a spare gallon of gas on hand for when she runs out. I want to calculate how many MPG I'm getting with this thing since there is no mile trip indicator built into the instrument panel. (Unless I upgrade to the tach instrumental panel, which I'm considering).
That's it for now... a lot of little things to work on.
Oh... just bought a CD player for the thing. Install should be a snap, according to Jeremy, We'll see!
Be seeing you.
Saturday, July 17, 2010
In the beginning... with pics!
Top profile
Right profile: Metro "stripe" has to go... and look at that front end... ridiculous. Looking into a body kit or modifying the front end of another car... needs some curves!
Back profile: Notice the small dent in the back. Planning on removing the stickers ASAP. After registering the vehicle, I noticed that the right top screw for the license plate has been broken off; mounting the license plate will be interesting.
Left profile: Notice the dent in the rear panel. Again... Metro "stripe" must go!
Front profile: I hate the headlights on this thing. HATE.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
In the beginning...
Everything has to start somewhere, right? This project started the second I forked over $1,100 to an older gentlemen named Steve for a 1994 white Geo Metro hatchback with an automatic transmission. A 16 year old vehicle with 109,000+ miles on it. Seems like a good decision, right?
I can't continue without mentioning what was advertised as "Metro pin-stripping" on the Craigslist (home of anything and everything... including "encounters" in the Stacks). I did not have these FLAMES (?) in mind when I read the word "pin-stripping" for the first time.
Here's what my friend Andy had to say about the "pinstripes": "Hey, looks nice on the outside at least. Maybe a repaint on that bitching stripe."
No comment. (He's right)
Quickly, I realized the SIZE of this car (or lack there of). Mind you, my previous car was a 2007 VW Jetta, so going from a mid-sized car to this is a little bit of a change. (Although my first car was a 1981 Honda Accord hatchback.) So... I pulled up into the parking spot only to realize that I had pulled in too far (a habit I got used to with the larger Jetta). (Pause)
No good project is without it's issues. I know this from experience. So I wasn't that surprised the second I pulled the car up into my girlfriend's parking lot and something broke on the car.
(Resume: Back to the first few minutes driving and parking the car.) So... at this stage I realized that if I left the car parked all the way into the spot that someone would likely whip into the spot, thinking the space was open, and smash into the back of my newly purchased vehicle. With this understanding in mind I put the car into reverse and--oh wait... no I didn't.
The shifter wouldn't budge. Awesome.
Luckily I had my friend Jeremy (who test drove the car with me and who will be heavily involved in this project) follow me to the apartment complex just in case anything happened. (Something was happening of course.) So... Jeremy and I proceeded to diagnose the issue. After about 15 minutes of pointing, poking and prodding... we discovered that the air compressor attached to the safety switch on the gear box (you know... so it doesn't 'slip' into gear when you have it parked somewhere) wasn't engaging and releasing the shifter when the brake was pushed. With Jeremy's help and understanding, a simple hack corrects the issue for now but at this point it looks like a new gear box is in my future. I don't have a problem with that.
So... at this point I think it's time to reveal my early wishlist (in no particular order):
-New steering wheel: the default steering wheel is TERRIBLE; same feeling you get when holding a very skinny persons hand... annoying! I feel like I could break the steering wheel in two if I'm not careful.
-New braking system: the vacuum assist breaks just aren't going to cut it. Jeremy and I will be on the hunt for a power braking system on another Geo. Junk yards... here we come!
-New paint: 'I see a white car and I want it painted black'. That's right... the plan is to paint everything black; inside and out. Also considering adding some logos for our radio station... we'll see.
-Eliminate road noise: Jeremy tells me a rhino liner undercoating will help with the noise. Again... we'll see.
-New headlights: I'm not a fan of the look and functionality of the current lights. Weak sauce, young padawan.
-New mirrors: the side mirrors are ATROCIOUS! I can barely see anything behind me... the side mirrors are way too thin.
So... there you have it. The next step is to buy insurance and then to get plates for the thing. Going to cost me a small fortune, but hopefully the gas mileage will make up for it and then some. I hear rumors of the fuel gauge tricking people into thinking that there is less fuel in the tank than there really is. I guess the next step is to run the car dry, fill it up and then run it dry again to see how many miles I can get on one tank. Another thing I'll report on, I'm sure.
Finally... I can't go on without saying this: I know little to nothing about how cars work. I'd consider myself pretty good at quickly familarizing myself with how things work, so with Jeremy's assistance (and my 'money'), I feel really good about this project. I know from the beginning that there will be ups and downs, but we'll take it in stride and hopefully keep this car running for as long as we can; maybe even make some money off of it in the long run.
Photos and stories to come. Stay tuned!
Be seeing you.
I can't continue without mentioning what was advertised as "Metro pin-stripping" on the Craigslist (home of anything and everything... including "encounters" in the Stacks). I did not have these FLAMES (?) in mind when I read the word "pin-stripping" for the first time.
Here's what my friend Andy had to say about the "pinstripes": "Hey, looks nice on the outside at least. Maybe a repaint on that bitching stripe."
No comment. (He's right)
Quickly, I realized the SIZE of this car (or lack there of). Mind you, my previous car was a 2007 VW Jetta, so going from a mid-sized car to this is a little bit of a change. (Although my first car was a 1981 Honda Accord hatchback.) So... I pulled up into the parking spot only to realize that I had pulled in too far (a habit I got used to with the larger Jetta). (Pause)
No good project is without it's issues. I know this from experience. So I wasn't that surprised the second I pulled the car up into my girlfriend's parking lot and something broke on the car.
(Resume: Back to the first few minutes driving and parking the car.) So... at this stage I realized that if I left the car parked all the way into the spot that someone would likely whip into the spot, thinking the space was open, and smash into the back of my newly purchased vehicle. With this understanding in mind I put the car into reverse and--oh wait... no I didn't.
The shifter wouldn't budge. Awesome.
Luckily I had my friend Jeremy (who test drove the car with me and who will be heavily involved in this project) follow me to the apartment complex just in case anything happened. (Something was happening of course.) So... Jeremy and I proceeded to diagnose the issue. After about 15 minutes of pointing, poking and prodding... we discovered that the air compressor attached to the safety switch on the gear box (you know... so it doesn't 'slip' into gear when you have it parked somewhere) wasn't engaging and releasing the shifter when the brake was pushed. With Jeremy's help and understanding, a simple hack corrects the issue for now but at this point it looks like a new gear box is in my future. I don't have a problem with that.
So... at this point I think it's time to reveal my early wishlist (in no particular order):
-New steering wheel: the default steering wheel is TERRIBLE; same feeling you get when holding a very skinny persons hand... annoying! I feel like I could break the steering wheel in two if I'm not careful.
-New braking system: the vacuum assist breaks just aren't going to cut it. Jeremy and I will be on the hunt for a power braking system on another Geo. Junk yards... here we come!
-New paint: 'I see a white car and I want it painted black'. That's right... the plan is to paint everything black; inside and out. Also considering adding some logos for our radio station... we'll see.
-Eliminate road noise: Jeremy tells me a rhino liner undercoating will help with the noise. Again... we'll see.
-New headlights: I'm not a fan of the look and functionality of the current lights. Weak sauce, young padawan.
-New mirrors: the side mirrors are ATROCIOUS! I can barely see anything behind me... the side mirrors are way too thin.
So... there you have it. The next step is to buy insurance and then to get plates for the thing. Going to cost me a small fortune, but hopefully the gas mileage will make up for it and then some. I hear rumors of the fuel gauge tricking people into thinking that there is less fuel in the tank than there really is. I guess the next step is to run the car dry, fill it up and then run it dry again to see how many miles I can get on one tank. Another thing I'll report on, I'm sure.
Finally... I can't go on without saying this: I know little to nothing about how cars work. I'd consider myself pretty good at quickly familarizing myself with how things work, so with Jeremy's assistance (and my 'money'), I feel really good about this project. I know from the beginning that there will be ups and downs, but we'll take it in stride and hopefully keep this car running for as long as we can; maybe even make some money off of it in the long run.
Photos and stories to come. Stay tuned!
Be seeing you.
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