This is what happens when you get to liking a car...

[DOCTORBILL]

OK...both doors are replaced !

The guy floored me when he charged me only $325 for both doors !

He had a Hell of a time with the passenger door! I watched half of it.

EVERYTHING had to be switched over! All the electrical plugs from the '91
passenger door had the opposite side of the plugs as my '93 had.

The the rods going from the inside lever to the lock were pointing one way while
my '93's were pointing the opposite direction.

The outside handle had different shaped parts.

The window channel in the '91 shell was bent - he straightened it.

What a mess - but he got it done. Here it is....



DoctorBill

PS - Two young morons were drag racing down a major city street today in
Spokane - flipped - went rolling and 'hellicoptering' thru the air, hit four other
cars head on....Jaws of Life used to extract some people.

I'll bet some Liberal butt-wipe judge lets them off with "Probation".

[GM Line Rat]

Originally Posted by DOCTORBILL

OK...both doors are replaced !

EVERYTHING had to be switched over! All the electrical plugs from the '91
passenger door had the opposite side of the plugs as my '93 had.

The the rods going from the inside lever to the lock were pointing one way while
my '93's were pointing the opposite direction.

The outside handle had different shaped parts.

DoctorBill

Yes they are different Doc....For $325.00....you got a deal with all the work that had to be done!......Doc is happy again.... . You are correct though Doc....Anytime you have a vehicle that's worth a Damn, Someone ALLWAYS wants to mess it up! My Wife has a 1993 Buick Roadmaster with 68K original miles on it and it's MINT.....It's a "Garage Queen" and see's barely 2K miles are year on it now. Last year, we fired it up and took it on a 10 mile drive to town and back. We got within 2 miles of the house and some young IDIOT Kid fails to slow down fast enough at a red light and rear ends her at about 15 MPH..... ....Caused very little Dmg to the Roadmaster's rear bumper area and cover but His Toyota's front end was crushed in! I picked up a new rear bumper and a good undamaged bumper cover from some good B-Body friends and had a good friend of mine paint it to match well...She's like new again.....And back in the Garage!

[idmetro]

Originally Posted by DOCTORBILL

I've had AAA for so long, I can't remember when I started with them....!

I hate to let someone haul off my Wife's car to be fixed.

A woman taking a car into an Auto Shop is like letting a grade school kid walk
around with his/her lunch money taped to the back of their coat in a High
School hallway during class changes!

Yes, the tow truck driver will want to take the car to a repair shop but he is not required to! Explain that you want it towed to your home he will look at you like you are from outer space and then offer to take you to a garage; explain a second time and he will tell you that you get only one tow per incident; explain the third time that you want the car towed to your house and he will do it. While the system isn't totally hassle free it does work and I'll bet if your wife gave him "the look" she might only have to explain once or maybe twice. Perhaps your wife could use the line "My husband is my mechanic!" Then you won't have to worry about dealing with the repair shop (there are good ones out there but there are enough bads ones to muck things up). Too bad so many women express no interest in mechanics, if they could at least speak the language it would be much harder for the below par shops/mechanics to take advantage of them.

[mostly_water]

Doc,

I'm glad to see the Phoenix being reborn. It would have been tragic to see that car euthanized by someone’s stupid mistake after all the effort you’ve invested in keeping it purring along. Hope your daughter is ok.

You had me cracking up a few posts back, talking about how easily women are swindled at a service shop. I took no offense; in fact, I’ll wager no one laughed harder than me. But its important to mention that we’re not all that way. I’m young and don’t know much, but I’m eager to learn and get my hands dirty.

I took my Metro in to have a muffler replaced last summer. The sherpa behind the counter saw a slender young college girl walk in nicely dressed, and you could literally see the dollar signs doing cartwheels across his face. When I was lectured that everything from my catalytic converter back was about to rust off I asked to see it. I picked up a small hammer from the shop floor, scraped the surface rust off the ugliest spot and banged on the pipe at different places. “Looks good to me, lets just put a muffler on today and see how long the rest lasts” I said, and asked where I could wash my hands. My dad inspected the work three weeks later and congratulated me for a wise decision. My brother still thinks I’m making this story up (I’ve become a lot bolder in the four years since he moved 800 miles away).

Here’s my take on this. Whenever wrenches need spun, my dad or brother always jump up and shove me out of the way. If I ask one of them “what could this noise be”, the response used to be “I’ll take care of it”. It took a lot of persuading to convince them that I want to learn what it is, and learn how to fix it myself. My brother still won’t let me watch him working on his cars; as if I’ll hurt myself by copying him then he’ll feel awful. My dad doesn’t want to see my hands get scrapped-up; well I don’t either, that’s why I go slow and take my time.

Anyway, this wasn’t meant to be a soapbox, but I really think there is a reluctant attitude against women taking on responsibility for auto maintenance. I think most guys are protective in that way without realizing it. Finding this forum has been wonderful, I’m learning a lot thanks to you all, and your willingness to help each other. Your posts are great Doc, I appreciate the time you take to document so many photos.

[DOCTORBILL]

Well, Mostly_Water, I see you are in Illinois!

I grew up in Northern Illinois - Westchester....a small town west of Chicago.

I remember Chicago winters! Rain like a garden hose! Summer humidity like a
wall of heat.

Anyway - I have two daughters and both have to be dragged kicking
and screaming out to the driveway to get them to even look under the hood !

I forced my oldest to change oil once.

My youngest (17 now) I think wouldn't do that under torture!

If any guy starts giving you those automotive lines of crap, tell him that if he
doesn't stop it, you'll force him to go shopping for shoes and dresses with you
at the Mall all day long....

He will run screaming into the night! No worse torture exists!

All this is a he-in' and she-in' thing.

Men get very up tight if a woman invades what is supposed to be a man's
territory. I suppose the thought is, "If women can do what we do, then we
are of no use at all..."

But then, men have taken over the garment industry....women are out!

Men decide what is chic for women...disgusting!

One of my students is an older woman who drag races!

DoctorBill

[DOCTORBILL]

Here I go again....now the handle on the driver's side broke.

====> Edited - See the post "'93 Metro Broken Door Handle Lever" for how it was fixed

Took the panel off the inside (plastic coupler pieces went flying) and saw that
the little lever that is attached to the handle broke off and is attached to the
lever that goes to the latch.

Looks like it was made of black plastic! Couldn't possibly be glued....



Now I have to go find a handle in the Pull-n-Save that fits a '91 thru '95.

Is the lock hard to change over to another handle?

How cheaply that handle is made...I don't understand how it lasted as long as it has! Nor how it opened the door for that matter!

Each day brings a new problem....I hate cars!

DoctorBill

[DOCTORBILL]

Once AGAIN - some ass wipe has backed into the front of my Metro!

It has to be happening in Shopping Center parking lots.

Big scratches on the front bumper and a broken plastic headlight frame....

Jesus!

What the Hell is wrong with people these days?

Do they see a Geo Metro and say, 'Lets go bash in the little toy car!"

Dirty rotten shaderastin' blasted fladderappers!

I guess I have to give up trying to keep The phoenix in good shape....

An impossible task here in Spokane - the city of Morons and Buttwipes!

Hit and run carwhacking sheiskopfs!

I'd like to mount a .50 calibre on the roof.....maybe a chain gun.

Do I need one of those loud burgular alarms that go off if someone touches the car.

That'd only annoy them and make them back up harder!

DoctorBill

[DanMan7]

Man that sucks.....you've been having all the rotten luck lately. I live in California...sometimes when I drive people don't see the car cause I'm in a lot of people's blind spots (the car just does that). But when I park in parking lots and stuff, I always park in compact spots, or park in a place where there's a concrete square in front of me (I don't know what you call it but it's where they plant trees in the middle of parking lots). But anyway, haven't parallel parked yet.

I'm still buying little parts here and there for my Geo. Costs me about $40 a month for gas now, which is awesome. I drive about 500 miles or so a month, and that's all it costs me.

But anyway, I'm loving the car. Even my dad, which was totally against little cars like the Geo, has come to appreciate the car after a drive in it one day. Heck, it's awesome owning a 40+mpg car without having to buy a new car that gets that much and paying $300+ a month payments on it.

Bill, you should install some front metal spikes in the bumper, or something sharp, so if someone hits you you'll do more damage to them (but of course that would look ugly on cars if they had spikes, lol).

Anyway, sorry to hear about your bad times lately. Hopefully things will start looking up for you with the car!

[carpenter_jai]

Aw man... Happened to me once, when my car was still looking nice. You know, before the wheel wells rusted out and pieces started randomly falling off. I used to be tempted to weld a cow grate to the front and sides of the car so I could just ram all those people who don't bother to shoulder check or back into me. Alas, that would have some effect on the fuel mileage... Sorry to hear it happened to you.

When I park at grocery stores, I always back in and like Dan, I pick a tight spot, but I line up my front bumper with the SUV's (that's all anybody drives in Edmonton). This makes it easier to see, for those buttwhipes, and for me, cause, well it's a pretty small car, even if it is bright green.

Jai

[Mike_Van]

"sheiskopfs!" - > Make that Scheißköpfe (plural), Doc.

People who behave like those who violated your car are simply unconscious, which is the worst sin of all. The unconscious are those for whom the rest of the world ceases to exist. Only their wants (perceived needs) exist for them...

[DOCTORBILL]

I am wondering if I should put two open cylinders on each side of the front
bumper such that I can drop a 6 ft fiberglass rod into them with a Skull or Flag
on the end and then maybe these Dull Bozos in their Suburbans and Diesel Dodge RAM
can see my little car sitting there.

Those damned Hummers, Dodge Ram Pickups and Suburbans are so high up that
Metros aren't even visible in their rear view mirrors!

AND - when they hit my Metro, they don't even know it !

If they drove over it, they'd probably think they drove over an Aluminum Pop Can !

Yes - unconscious....listening to music.

I am becoming afraid to drive into or out of a Wal-Mart or Albertson's parking lot!

You should see the blatant dumb-assed driving!

Just put it in reverse and punch the gas! Whip the wheel and punch the gas!

Then they glare at you as if you are some bug in their way!

Mostly women, I hate to say......

I think the more money women have, the more they become intolerable primadonnas.
Like the world owes them whatever they want - right now!

Ah well....Maybe that is why the Vikings raped and pillaged. They saw some
English Primadonna give them that "look"...

I'm tired and becoming silly....

DoctorBill

[way]

Hmm. Perhaps it would be a good idea for us Metro owners to scour military surplus for some reactive armor. That way we can at least give as well as we get and it only gets triggered by the other driver.

[GM Line Rat]

Damn Doc....Again?.....Not sure if it will make you feel better but I just finished putting on a new Front bumper cover, L Fender, bumper support, fog light and headlight in my Daughter in laws 1994 Pontiac Bonneville last week....Why?....Because some ignorant Hillbilly SOB in a Full size Ford truck decided to "Show Off" in front of His buddy's and nailed it while backing out of a Parking spot at Wal-Mart.....Yep! Smashed right into the front of Her car... .....Then he tried to flee the scene too!....Witnesses got his license # and he was picked up later......... He had NO INSURANCE!... Her insurance cut us a check and is suing him now!

[gasenvy]

I had the same experince that you had. I worked on my small block "Gasenvy" for 6 months and the 2nd day I had it running right a messinger service car smashed in the right rear causing $4200 in damage. The car was totaled by insurance company. Very good end of story, I get $1400.00 for a car I paid $700.00. I put $1000+ in to it then I sold the salvage car for $700. My parts were put on another car that 2 weeks later hit a deer. Yesterday I bought " Gasenvy II" for $125 bucks. It has the "big block" 4 cylinder auto tranny granny engine. I hope this one lasts for more than 2 days.