We got the metro home Saturday. My friend has a trailer with a hydraulic dump feature, so we were able to tilt the bed of it and drove the car right up.







It is in pretty rough shape, no deep rust, but some surface rust. No carpet. The bumper is all messed up. The hatch was beat in and wouldn't open, I have already repaired that.



Here's the bad news – WATER IN THE OIL.........  

So I have to determine what exactly this means. Blown head gasket, cracked head, or external moisture.
Compression was good on 2 out of three - 190dry/210 wet, 180 dry/200 wet. I couldn't test the 3rd because the plug is rusted in place. 

The hood has not been attached for a long time, at least 2 years. The radiator seemed low, but it only took about a quart of coolant to fil it up. No expansion tank, of course. One of the ......um, round rubber radiator mounts, I'll call it.... is cracked, and when I overfilled the radiator, coolant came out of it. So the radiator may be shot, and now I'm wondering how expensive this “good deal” is going to be. At least I have a project, finally!

The alternator is also 'crunchy' feeling. The belt is long gone, and so I dont know if it will work at all. Should I go ahead and have it rebuilt, or not?


I have finally tested the third cylinder, it tested 180 dry, and 170 wet !? Not sure what that means, but it seems that a rebuild is likely. The bumper is actually fitting back together, so I am probably not going to replace it. That fiberglass is killing me, though - I feel like a porcupine