Now, a grade-8, 1/2″ bolt threads in to the pipe coupling from below, and spacers can be stacked between the pipe coupler and the spherical bearing, making the control arm angle adjustable. On the control arm, Alex used a 1″ hole saw to remove the old ball joint and welded in a spherical bearing with a 1/2″ ID. The coupler was clamped in place, then tig welded to the forged steel upright. The ball joint was moved first by pressing a 1/2″ pipe coupler (threaded on the inside) into the front upright’s ball joint clamp.
How was all this accomplished on a Lemons budget? Scroll down… It normally attaches to the top of the steering arm. To restore harmony, the tie rod was flipped. Doing this alone would cause horrendous bump steer as the tie rod and control arm swing through different arcs. The ball joint has been moved down, restoring the original conrtol arm angle. If you haven’t spotted the solution yet, you haven’t spent enough time under Geo Metros. Sitting so low puts the lower control arm at an awkward upward angle, putting the roll center too low and exacerbating the body roll problem These big tires lift the car, and mask the fact that the suspension is actually sitting quite a bit lower than stock. The sortof Honda-ish wheel and tire size worn by the Gnome is a larger overall diameter than the stock Metro. Those cut front springs are paired with a slightly stiffer front bar from a 4-door Metro, but that still wasn’t enough to quell the car’s massive body roll and constant bump-stop thumping.
#Metrognome lemons full
This simple tab of scrap steel holds the shortened spring to the perch so it doesn’t fall out at full droop. Anything substantially stiffer would simply overpower the feeble damping power of the stock Metro shocks. Up front, the front springs are simply cut stock pieces. Looking for potential weaknesses, Alex bolted a 6′ bar to the hub and pushed on it to see what flexed when the suspension was subjected to corenring loads. The steel plate welded to th end of the toe control link is also worth noting. At full droop the BMW spring will simply fall out, so a steel cable is used as a droop strap to prevent a Felipe Massa moment. By some miraculous coincidence, the car sits at a reasonable ride height, but the bottom of the spring sits up on the hump that’s supposed to center the stock spring. Alex’s street car wears lowering springs, so these were just laying around. That rear spring doesn’t seem to fit right… That’s because its actually a rear spring from a 1999 BMW M-Coupe. While you’re under here, though, look around a bit. Two 4-door Metro sway bars are attached by simply welding two stock sway bar brackets back to back.Īt the ends, a simple homemade link connects both bars to the end link.
With the right attitude, half price day at the junnkyard is also 2 for 1 day. Since the 2-door lacks the sway bar mounts, Alex welded this crossmember into the spare tire well. The heavier 4-door Metros had a rear sway bar, though. Not only was the back of the Metro softly sprung, it didn’t even have a rear sway bar. Stiffening the rear forces the rear tires to carry more of the cornering load, relieving the overworked front tires and reducing understeer. The first thing any front-drive shitbox needs to be a race car is a stiffer rear suspension.
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