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

[DOCTORBILL]

Frets14 - I bought some 10 x 3 Phillips Head sheet metal screws at LOWES.

I measured the length required to have them screw into what was left of the plastic holes the
original screws went into and cut them off and ground them down to a slight taper.

I had to lightly hammer the middle screw hole under the big hole where the
adjustment lever goes to straighten it. Got bent somewhat when the mirror
was ripped off.

I re-threaded what was left of the two broken off plastic holes (middle one
wasn't broken off !) using the original self-tapping screws.

Then I screwed the Rear View Mirror (RVM) back on ! Looks good as new!





On the second photo, you can see how my window trim has been beaten up
by sun damage...

Thanks for the suggestion - it worked well !

Now I am "legal" again....

New Geo Metro driver's prayer...."Dear Lord, please protect me from D-A-D's".......Dumb - Assed - Drivers

Had I been getting out of the car when she backed into me, I would have been cut
into three pieces between the door frame and the body of the car!
Or crushed to death at the minimum....while my daughter watched!

DoctorBill

[GM Line Rat]

Your on a roll now Doc....Take the DS Door pad off, roll the window up all the way, reach inside the door and with a glove on, take the palm of your hand and pop the dent in the DS Door out. It's probably not going to look perfect after you do but it wont be "Bashed in" anymore.

[DOCTORBILL]

I have decided to buy the local Driver's Side door "Shell" and, just to make the
car symmetrical, the passenger side door (complete) from a local wrecking yard.

Saves Crvett69 shipping a door to me (Teal Color)...... But I want to say that
he is a very nice person to make the offer!

I called the wrecking yard (they wanted $40 for the Shell) and offered $100 for
the pair and they accepted.

So, I'll pick them up in my Jeep Cherokee tomorrow and take them to the Body
Shop I've frequented before.

Crvett69 said (I talked to him on the phone) that Makko paints cars for $400
and it isn't too bad!

We'll see......

I'm replacing my passenger side door since it is forming rust bubbles along the
trim strip.

I may take pictures (its what I do) of the whole process....

Maybe someday I'll win an Academy Award ! If Al Gore can win one, then I can too!

Off Topic __________________________________________________ _______
Global Warming....as if we knew enough about the Earth's Climatological changes
to put into a gnat's eye!
We are supposedly due for another Ice Age at any time!
If Gore is right, we need Global Warming to counter the Ice Age coming....
__________________________________________________ _________________

DoctorBill

[idmetro]

My experience with Maaco has been so/so. Price is right but job quality could be better. One way to improve that is to do some of the prep work yourself. I suggest cleanup/wet sanding whatever area you are having painted prior to delivering the vehicle to them.

[DOCTORBILL]

Sanding an entire automobile doesn't seem like a pleasant thing to do for a 64
year old man....(see how I make excuses now!).

Anyway, do they even bother to wash the vehicle off...or do they paint over the dirt....?

Probably $50 extra to wash it first - no? Maybe let it dry in the parking lot in the wind....

Do they mask it off or paint over the windows leaving me to scrape it off?

Bet I could do a reasonable job buying the enamel and using an electric spray
gun myself.....I wonder?!

With my luck, some bozo will crash into me right after the painting job!

DoctorBill

[idmetro]

What I was trying to say was wash the car well, scrub off any tar, stubborn bug splats, tree sap and the like as the Maaco folks are running on a time constraint and will do what they can but it likely won't be an exceptional job. If you have any chipped paint I suggest sanding the area to feather the edges.

Windows/trim/door handles were masked off in my experience but again I believe due to the time is money continuum they get close and go on so expect to see some overspray on the windshield moulding and perhaps other trim (not a huge deal but perhaps not as clean as it could have been).

I suggest painting the car the same color it already is that will help blend the paint to look a lot better. Your car has a two stage paint job: base coat b/c and a clear coat c/c, unless you wash and wax your car regularly you will probably want to stay with that same combination. The single stage paint jobs are cheaper but they do require more effort to look as good as the two stage jobs.

"With my luck, some bozo will crash into me right after the painting job!" Not to be a wet blanket but that is almost exactly what happened to me. My son and I rebuilt a Subaru wagon, engine/clutch/struts/brakes/etc/etc and then got it painted at Maaco. Approximately 30 days later it got compressed by two pickups and the battle with the insurance adjusters began.....

[DOCTORBILL]

I got the '91 two doors (both shells essentially) for $100 and took them to the
Body Shop yesterday.

I hope the '91 doors fit on my '93 ! After all this to not have them fit will
give me a fit....

Yes, Idmetro - it seems you can't have anything of value anymore...

Gets busted up by cretins and/or stolen by cretins.

If it is old and you put money into it, the Insurance Companies only want to
Total it....at lowest current price.

Bean counters again....

DoctorBill

[frets14]

Doc, I'm not a professional painter, but I've had respectable results on a couple of small cars. Most recently, I repainted a white 1986 VW Golf. Someone once told me that the cheapest way for a paint job is to buy primer and paint from a local farm implement store. Here in Ohio it's called TSC (Tractor Supply Company). They carry a really durable enamal for all kinds of tractors, combines, bulldozers, etc. You've seen those things in the fields and on construction sites so you know those paints hold up well. You'd be surprised at the wide variety of colors they come in. Anyhow, they had a nice bright white so I masked off, primed and painted my VW myself (air compressoer and 1 quart cup gun). The primer is about $20 a gallon and the top coat is about $9 a quart. Both the primer and top coat needs to be thinned a little to give a nice smooth coverage. One quart of each will repaint your whole Metro. The car still doesn't look too bad and it's been about 2 years since I painted it. My son drives it and doesn't wash it too often, but it still looks respectable. This spring I plan on repainting that red, white and blue Metro convertible back to its original red using the red TSC paint. Anyhow, knowing you're the adventurous type, I thought you might find this information useful... Steve, from the Lima,Ohio Army Tank Plant where we NEVER have a sale on used Abrams Tanks

[DOCTORBILL]

Hey Frets14, could you bring one of those Abrams Tanks here and back
it into the woman's car who banged The Phoenix up.....
then say, "Oh! Sorry!"

I will keep what you have said about the Tractor Paint in mind. We have a Farm
Supply place here called "Big R". Bet they sell farm implement paint like that...

In any case, read below and see why I now don't need to worry....

Tuesday I had left the two door shells at a local Body Shop I've dealt with in
the past.

Yesterday (Wed's), I took The Phoenix in and left it for the guy to replace
the guts of both of the doors.

Here is a pictorial of that....

This is the Shop owner working on the Driver's side door. Took him 5 hours.
He said it had been farted with a lot and was difficult to work on.
Here he has the replacement door on and is attaching the various things.


Here is the old, damaged door shell after he had removed it. I pulled out all
the old rubber seals to keep for posterior...just in case I might need it later!
Took all the Metric screws too!


This is what it looks like finished and back in my driveway...Same Damned Color!
What incredible luck! That must have been a "Standard" color...
Both doors even have the "Metro" name on them!


The Body Shop guy (Laughlin's Body Shop) put my mirror back on and used the
wrong screw (I had used to fix it - see back a day or two) in the wrong place
and went thru the plastic leaving a hole.
Now I'll have to fix THAT...


My Passenger side door had some BONDO work on it when I bought it used from the
Montana guy. The BONDO was splitting and allowing water into the door -
it was rusting badly on the insides.
This is why I bought both those '91 door shells....


Here is the passenger side door shell in the Body Shop waiting for him to
work on it Friday (tomorrow).


He said the Driver's side door will be $250 for his time, but the passenger side door shouldn't
take so long if it hasn't been messed with like the DS Door was...

I am glad to pay it - He knows what he is doing. I would not have and would have taken
two days and been so pissed off with cut fingers and frustration - which I don't handle very well.
Getting too old....

So, I figure that a "Ball Park" estimate to get these exact same color doors back on will cost me about $500.

No painting required with these doors! Saves me the rest of the $1,154 ($654).

DoctorBill

[GM Line Rat]

Originally Posted by DOCTORBILL

I am glad to pay it - He knows what he is doing. I would not have and would have taken two days and been so pissed off with cut fingers and frustration - which I don't handle very well.
Getting too old....DoctorBill

Doc, have you no faith after doing the engine rebuild? After that project, there's NOT 1 thing on a Metro you cant do! These things are toys.

[DOCTORBILL]

GM Line Rat - how old are you....? I'm 64 last week.

I can cook, also, but I enjoy a big three item Mexican Dinner and will gladly
pay $10 for it versus making one myself - which won't taste as good!

No....there are some jobs best left to those who know what they are doing.

I know that I can do anything!

I started saying that after I got my PhD because someone told me that if you
think that way, that it comes true!

It did! The only thing I can't do is bamboozle my wife....

We got psycho-babble Bozos telling us how to think Success! in the Corporate
world I was in for 22 years. It pisses you off to have to sit there and listen to that crap,
but it is true!

So...sure I could do it....I choose not to....lazy, perhaps.

One of the Seven Deadly Sins. Sloth.

Beam me down, Mephistophelese....cause I gonna be Bad!

Besides...the good die young! Billy Joel sang that!

I want to live to be 91 and die with a smile on my face while making love to
five women all at once.

DoctorBill

[GM Line Rat]

Originally Posted by DOCTORBILL

GM Line Rat - how old are you....? I'm 64 last week....DoctorBill

I'm 49 Doc....Been building Cars on the Assembly line at GM since Jan of 1978 (29+ Years). My Wife has been doing the same thing since July of 1983.....My Hands dont work as good as they used too, they really go South in the cold weather quick but I understand where your coming from Doc! Despite the fact that my Wife puts on timing chains, Crank sprockets, camshafts, starters etc on new engines.. all day long at work....If I asked Her to help me in the garage.....This would be Her response..... . I have 2 Sons (22 and 24) that I just pick up the phone and call for the real heavy stuff......I taught them well and despite the fact they both went thru college, they love to jump right in there doing the dirty work......

[DOCTORBILL]

I am the only one who does any automotive work in my family.

I have to threaten, cajole, admonish, push and or yell to get either my wife or
son to check their oil level.

I think my son is doing OK, but there have been times when I've checked my
wifes '93 Tracker's oil level and only a drop is hanging off the end of the dipstick....

Now I would like to yell and scream, but if I want to ever talk to my wife again,
or eat dinner or whatever, I have to gently remind her that she loves her tracker
and if she wants it to run any longer....you get the picture!

So, if we want our vehicles to run, old Bill has to keep up on them....

God knows what will happen to them when I die.

You guys have all gotten that dreaded phone call on some rainy, cold,
miserable night...."Hi, sweetie....my car stopped running and I'm over at
such and such intersection and everybody is honking at me!"

Those calls make my blood run cold.......

Either the engine has blown up, the water pump has blown ( 2x now), a wire
is loose (many many times now), or some fluid is low (hydrolic clutch fluid).

DoctorBill

[idmetro]

DOC;
Those doors are looking good!

I can relate to the call ...."Hi, sweetie....my car stopped running and I'm over at such and such intersection and everybody is honking at me!" and I can offer a suggestion which you can disguise as a present from a loving husband/father.

A membership in AAA with the extended towing option (100 miles towing per incidence versus ~10 miles for the standard) runs approx $79 a person per year (if I remember right) and will save you much grief from those darn calls. You will still have to deal with the car once it gets home but you do not have to race out to the rescue and if your family is across town or out of town the tow truck can often get there faster than you can. As an added bonus the membership is good whether you are in your car or someone elses (envision your teenage daughter riding in someone elses beater which breaks down god knows where) so you can call for a tow whenever its needed. If you use the benefit once per year it pays for itself and so much more if it takes care of a family member when you otherwise might not be able to get there in a reasonable timeframe.

Separate note: If you are in need of a tow truck and can call it yourself; do so! Here in Idaho if the police call the tow truck the bill is 2X what it costs if you make the call......

[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!

"Cheez Lady, your throttle mozzel has twisted around the injector inducer and
that is inhibiting the piston erector from pulling in hydrogen fusion energy!"

"Oh! Is that hard to fix, Sir?"

"We need to replace the back seat to fix that and pull the entire dashboard out
to get at the transmission backlash inhibitor which has backed up into the
clutch drive shaft bearing holddown clamperdowner..."

"Oh! Really. My goodness gracious! Can you fix that by this afternoon, Sir?"

"Sure mam! Easy. But we have to order a part from Detroit.
We'll have it drop shipped by Stealth FedEx and have it installed real quick.
But that will add about $247 to the repair costs..."

"Oh you men know so much about cars!
Here's my credit card.
Just ring it up and I'll sign it.."

The above is a nightmare I had a while back.

In actual fact, my wife has this "jaundiced eye" look that freezes the blood of
anyone trying to play fast and loose with her.

She takes no wooden nickels....

DoctorBill