Ahh, now I get it. I had misunderstood, obviously.

Dave: Welcome to GasSavers.

Lowering a Metro is pretty easy as long as you have a good way to cut the springs. The rear ones can be taken out to cut, just take the 2 bolts off the top of the strut tower and jack the car up till they are free. Don't take the center bolt out of the rear struts or it will be a pain to get back together.

Front ones just take the center bolt out and jack the car up. There is enough room to cut the springs while they are still on the car. I guess you could take the 2 lower bolts out of the strut after the spring is unloaded and take the struts/springs off the car. That would be a good time to put the offset bolts in there so it can be aligned easily. The car will need to be aligned after you get it sitting at the height you want. Mine was off by like 5 degrees camber after lowering it to within 1/2 inch of the bump stops. That will wear your tires out much quicker than normal.

If you want to put 13 inch wheels on it the proper way is to take the 10mm studs out and redrill the holes for 12mm wheel studs. There are some lug nuts that are bigger than the stock ones and can let you use the 13 inch wheels with the 10mm studs but I have no idea where to find them. Drilling out the holes and fitting 12mm studs is a pretty simple job really.

Hey thanks for all the input. Sorry but I can't help you on the ECU as thats out of my skill sets. They hand me one all ready instrumented and if they get toasted we put in a new one. As to what I do it's really a glorified mechanic. We have to fix the car without the manual! It can be interesting, we have to rely on the engineers input. You have to develop good diagnostic skills. As to the post on getting an education in eng. great idea, lots of interesting things going on in our field. Reverse eng and ecu is tricky without lots of specialized tools or someone who has broken the code. I found out today about the 12 to 13's at the junkyard thanks, studs are pretty easy. I just hope a 95 speedo bullit will fit and keep my speedo cal. Coils are cheap so they will be cut, after fitting the 13's. Problem is that they have 2 fenders and a hood for $100. So do I do it the easy way or do the aero ideas I have on rusty parts.
Slanted hood to the front of the bumper and frt. skirts decisions, decisions.
Thanks again, great group

Yes and no to our suspension experts. So many of the seat of the pants people have left due to retirements. Most of the time everything is designed and tested before we see it, and it's just updated. Also MPG is a large campus. I'm powertrain and I'd have to go to a different area and building. With thousands of people you need contacts. ]
You have done it, been there and know how it works on your veh. So to me thats more gospel than someones ideas to me. Grass roots can be a good thing!

My dad was one of them; he worked at MPG for 43 years and still does seat testing as a contractor. He would've stayed there for the rest of his life if they hadn't forced him out. He started out at NVL in `62, then moved to Chevy in `67 and was a development engineer on Camaros, Novas, G-Vans and Vettes, moving on to designing quality audit rides from there. I worked there a bit during my summer internship in `90. All the engineers there knew they had the world's best job.

I grew up in Miford. Please turn off the lights if you're the last to leave. :(

Metros are great for the PEP vehicle rebellion. We sold our used Chevette to another guy there when they first cut the program.

I asked Dad about fuel economy mods a few months ago; he suggested lowering the front of the car and raising the rear usually gave good results. Air dams, not nearly as much. And just like any other kind of driving, anything you can do behind the wheel is fair game.

I haven't told him about my 550 mile tanks yet. :D

Welcome. I am also a mechanical engineering student from down south. I wanted to go to Kettering University but couldn't handle the distance from home and the steep tuition. Oh well, I am currently don't a co-op with an oil drilling company.... I hope to do something automotive related once I graduate, but there are not alot of automotive engineering jobs in the midwest. It looks like the best I could do would be cummins or catepillar. Your job has been my dream-job since I was 15 by the way...except I want to work for Mopar and work on a retro chargers drivetrian...now that the charger is a 4-door the most I can hope for is the 09 challenger.

Always remember the grass is always greener on the other side. There are down sides to our industry too. I was reminded of it today, it's called politics. In my 24 years at GM I've found you can't get away from it. If anything ever happened to my job, my next choice would be one that you good walk into the owners office and talk face to face!
Alot of eng. have come from other areas to work here and pay a price for our great weather lol. Many have left for Calif. lots going on out there.
43 years what a waste of knowledge!!!!!!!!!!! Good idea though maybe cut the frt. springs first? I used to drive a 68 GTO with L60's on the back, only took a little while to get used to going down hill. Hey there is an idea! lol

Welcome to the site :) . Nice to see more metros and from michigan too. You have my dream job (minus the politics), I've always wanted to work at the proving grounds. My cousin lives in the fowlerville area. I'm from leslie. Someday maybe you can hook me up with a job:D .

It takes a two year degree in automotive. If so it would be contract.