TeamSwift

I've got a 1995 metro LSI, 1.3L 3 speed auto, and when either the trans or engine finally pops i'd like to look into a different engine/trans setup.

My major grief with this car right now is lack of Overdrive so my first question is, are there any other Automatic transmissions with O/D that will bolt up to this 1.3L ??
I would swap the car over to the 5 speed manual and be done with it, but it's my wifes car and for the love of god she can't drive a standard, it's hilarious when she tries.

I don't want to get rid of the car, body wise it's in excellent shape, same goes with suspension/fuel system...ext. I was an auto technician so i've really kept up with the car and it would be a shame to let the chassis go when the drivetrain goes. I don't really have any gripes with this little 1.3l other than getting ahold of quality replacement lifters , but if there's no option for a better transmission then i'd swap.

My next question is, whats the most common engine swap people perform with these cars?

Being that the chassis is GM i thought about a GM 2.2 ecotec/trans but i think i'd be the first, and there would probably be allot of fabrication involved.

Chassis of your Metro is not a GM product , its Suzuki product as is everything else in it. Only GM parts are the badges .
Unfortunately there is no options for auto trans , they never produced better auto trans for that chassis . You can upgrade the engine that was available in later years SOHC 16V 1.3 , I think its '97 +

Well that's a bummer. I have a few friends at local transmission shops, i wonder if with alittle more power this car would do better with a higher final drive ratio, has anybody ever attempted that? Really sucks that there's no option for O/D without switching to a manual setup.

Why do you want an overdrive gear?

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Because the car turns a pretty high RPM to do 65 MPH, and with O/D or bringing the engine speed down at hgihway speeds the car would get better millage, i only average 32-35. I see the 5 speed cars doing way better.

Dropping the RPM in an auto trans car won't likely make any difference.

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Contact 3tech: [email protected]

on my 91 gti automatic i always thought that they had done a good job of getting the engine rpm just right for highway driving. the engines aren't really incredible torque monsters and the only way you can get suitable power from them is to wind them up.

unlike a v8 large displacement engine, you just don't drop engine revs on these cars. when you do that on a g13 all you do is decrease available power without doing anything much to fuel economy.

i would recommend that you leave the car as it is and drive it.

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Superfly, regardless of transmission type (automatic/manual), changing the final drive would make a world of difference, depending on what you do. A higher (numerically lower) final drive would raise top speeds throughout gears at the expense of acceleration, where as a lower (numerically higher) would make the car pull harder at the expense of top speed.

T3 ragtop i agree, these engines lack the torque to turn a higher final drive, stock. Believe me i drive the hell out of this little car lol, i'm just brainstorming for when it finally throws in the towel. I'd imagine that with a small engine supercharger and the engine built accordingly, you could turn a somewhat higher final drive and have allot of fun, given the weight of these vehicles.

Not with these cars. They lack the displacement and torque to pull a higher gear, especially with the auto trans which has it's own parasitic losses.

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Superfly, i stated in the post above that i know these engines STOCK lack the torque necessary to turn a higher gear. I was referring theoretically to if the engine was built to make more torque in the lower band.