TeamSwift

Originally we had picked up a '90 Chevy Sprint vert for $500. It was a hideous vehicle; cold in winter and loud wind noise due to holes in the top and back window. All round a complete POS. The light mounts smashed left over from a couple of bad head on repairs and rust hold you could put you fist through. Parts were missing, others clearly didn't match. It was gutless, slow but cheap to insure and run and at the time cheap was paramount. Joining this site answered some important questions( I have almost zero mechanical experience ) that kept her out of the auto trader and I really liked the mileage (our other vehicle is Jeep JK Rubicon... about 14 mpg).



After the wife hit two deer at the same time (I still don't know how she hit two? ) I considered running her into the crusher (the car, not the wife... not for very long anyway ) but the wife had become attached as somehow it had become her car and as it was still a vert; I didn't have the heart. What was left over after my salvage yard repairs was what member T3 tactfully descibed as a newspaper (black and white and red all over )...



... but I have to admit work of bringing it back from the dead had instilled a bit of affection for the little beast in me. Then the Iraq invasion and oil prices went through the roof and a economical car became very important. So I considered my options. I am no mechanic but do like to tinker around the house. I had a garage and a few tools and more time than brains it would seem. So I got started. After some trips to the salvage yard it became obvious that finding parts was going to be a PITA. I was lucky enough to come across a local Swift enthusiast (Thanks member TooSwift for taking the time to answer all my clearly stupid questions and for the help) who had some of the upgrade parts that I had wanted, and when I went over he also had a parts car taking up space.







As it turns out the parts car had about 89000 km(about 55000 miles) on it as compared to mine which was in the 280000 range, virtually no rust, all the seals and a replacement top still in the box. So her car became the donor and the real work has begun...

EDIT: if anyone has any suggestions or comments please feel free... I'm not that sensitive and am cognizant that I'm no mechanic... or bodyman... or sound tech... just borderline ADD

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90 Chevy Sprint 'Vert Mk2 powered by a 1.3L DOHC and 2 rabid gerbils

'Noisy Cricket' build thread http://www.teamswift.net/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=46988

I started by gutting the fish (incidentally, this was the fun and easy part). As it turns out, and for future reference, I should have kept better notes and pics on how things came apart a good reminder if I ever do something stupid like this again. No crazy suprises after gutting but there was a little bit of surface rust on the inside of the rear wheel wells and very minor at the rear bottom rockers behind the doors. The front quarters were garbage on the bottom so they were tossed. It appears to have had some front end damage and the crushed and badly repaired windshield frame showed signs of having been on her back at least once. A few rusted bolts to drill and re-tap but all in all pretty good shape, hammer here... straighten there... as compared to the other car which had recently become the donor anyway.





I knew from the previous Sprint where the bad rusting areas would be and decided to head off the oxidizing monster before it get a foothold (pretty much any area where moisture from the warm interior air condenses on the inside of the cold panels, rolls down to the bottom and mixes with dirt to stay a damp breeding ground for rust... its how I see it anyway. Poor drainage and lots of dead ends and low spots for water to accumulate) . So after a couple of good pressure washes I prepped and finished the real problem areas (front quarter panels, floor pans and inside the rockers, inside the rear quarters down to the rear drain and behind the rear rockers) with POV15. Then the entire pan recieved bedliner spray as well as the under the wheel wells front and back. In retrospect I should have used some dry ice or waited for a good freezing day and completely removed the tar soundproofing and replaced it. Maybe later...





Some areas where primed as well where there was risk but no exposed metal... just in case.



fyi you may notice the black seats in the front of the picture. This was my second attempt at finding replacment seats. These were out of a Dodge Neon (way to big; wide, tall and thick) and the first were out of '88 Honda Prelude (also sat too high). These verts I determined after two set of seats is you need virtually no padding on the floor to keep your head from poking out of the top like Fred Flintstone;)

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90 Chevy Sprint 'Vert Mk2 powered by a 1.3L DOHC and 2 rabid gerbils

'Noisy Cricket' build thread http://www.teamswift.net/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=46988

I knew the look I wanted I couldn't afford, so the next best look was the early '90s GT. Member TooSwift (thank you again sir) hooked me up with the rails and front and rear bumpers. They were in rough shape but after some lovin with Pro Form Flexible Plastic Epoxy Repair Kit I was able to seal the cracks and reattach some missing tabs.








... and many more (lol). A real PITA but when parts are scarce you have to find ways to make do

Member Stone (Thank you sir) from BC was able to hook me up with a set of fog lamps. One had a hole but I was able to source a replacement. I covered them with a 3M headlamp plastic as its my understanding they break easily and are difficult to replace.

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90 Chevy Sprint 'Vert Mk2 powered by a 1.3L DOHC and 2 rabid gerbils

'Noisy Cricket' build thread http://www.teamswift.net/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=46988

As it turns out the wife prefers the Swift GT hood so a trip to the pic a part, some sanding and glazing putty had the front end a bit different. I made a point of going over the exposed panels with the same treatment to help bond the top coat. I've since decided that I fricken hate body work!!!




I did a real job on the pic a part car... a 93 4 door sedan. Picked it like a Thanksgiving turkey... hood, head lamps, signals, almost new stainless muffler system and front shock towers, steering wheel and column controls including cruise control lever/hardware, guages, wiring, front and rear sway bars (heavier than ones I'd previously procured from a GT... 1" front and 0.75" rear), rear spoiler, clips and screws, tire jack, etc... I was told later by a Team Swift member that I should have grabbed the engine and transmission... something about a 1.6 L mill with some kind of super cam in the sport sedan or something. So sad...

The biggest pain was the 3 cyl tach mod (thanks Team Swifters)



and figuing out the steering column. The column took some creative surgery and many nights of head scratching to figure out the ignition, lights and windshield washer control wiring( PITA). The sedan is apparently not the same size as the vert so the column was longer and all parts had to be swapped onto the vert column and then tacked up to fit. At 6'2" I'm not that small of a man and there is very little room under a dash for long arms in the winter... good Canadian beer and some Team Swifters advice helped .

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90 Chevy Sprint 'Vert Mk2 powered by a 1.3L DOHC and 2 rabid gerbils

'Noisy Cricket' build thread http://www.teamswift.net/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=46988

The sway bars were pretty easy by comparison. I made a point in giving them a sanding and once over with some leftover POV15 before putting them in. They were larger than expected due to the heavier sedan donor car (1" front and 3/4" rear). As the verts didn't come with rear mounting points I fashion new bracket out of some spare flat iron(in retrospect it would have been nice to make these stainless due to salt), a vice and a couple hammers. Had to drill some new holes in the trunk base for the glavinized carrige bolts and used a couple spare bushings as washers to spread the load in the trunk skin. Worked out better than last time when I but the bolts up from the bottom instead of down from the top and ended up rupturing the spares sidewall





At some point when I had the can of POV15 open I had decided to coat the front quarter panels as they are prone to cancer near the bottoms. I made of point of cutting a couple holes to find some side marker lights of some other year of Swift and a replacement hole for the antenna (new panels don't come with a hole). And as long as the panel was off I mounted up a retactible antenna for a cleaner finished look.

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90 Chevy Sprint 'Vert Mk2 powered by a 1.3L DOHC and 2 rabid gerbils

'Noisy Cricket' build thread http://www.teamswift.net/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=46988

For paint I went with Tremclad and Mineral spirits special (thanks again for the info Team Swifters)... about 50 bucks all in for paint and materials. About 5 coats so far. Using white as a colour helps hide imperfections and I'd give the paint a 10 footer view. Acceptible for a guy who's never painted anything in a garage with a roller. It's also a good pic of the side marker light and power antenna mod...




I was able to swing a rear disk brake swap courtesy of parts from member TooSwift (thanks again sir). I'm still trying to source some drilled and slotted, zinc coated new disks for a convertible front and GT back but this is proving to be more of a challenge than I'd anticipated... patience...



I knew I wanted red calipers but removing 15 yrs of rust was another PITA so I did it electrically with a battery charger, bucket, piece of angle iron and baking soda.

EDIT: People have asked how this works. These are the instructions I followed and it worked awesome... especially if you don't have access to some type of sand blaster. http://www.instructables.com/id/Electrolytic-Rust-Removal-aka-Magic/


After a day in the solution they were rust free and ready for POV15 Caliper Epoxy.

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90 Chevy Sprint 'Vert Mk2 powered by a 1.3L DOHC and 2 rabid gerbils

'Noisy Cricket' build thread http://www.teamswift.net/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=46988

Before swapping in the new carpet I'd bought last year for what is now the donor car I had to figure out the seat issue. The OEM Vert seats are... inexplicably poor . The only redeeming factor is that they do sit low(good if you're tall like me). I tried a replacement in the old, and now donor, vert with seats out of an '88 Prelude but ended up sitting way too high. A set out of Neon sat way too high... and wide. So before wasting any more time trying to source GT's or cash on ill fitting used ones I bought a cheap set of fake Recaro's off Ebay. As these seats were more narrow than the originals the old rails wouldn't fit and the included rails were way to small to fit the old holes. I know I needed to sit lower than last time so some surgery was in order. I only lowered the rear cross brace as being taller I only needed the rear to be low. With the wife shorter I left the front high to give her some clearance(she's 4'11") when she'd move the seat forward. On the rear I used an angle grinder to cut the brace at the sides near the centre of the body, hammered down the high area and ground down the extra material.



I measured out the seat bracket, drilled some holes and pounded in some nuts and then welded it all back up tight including some square tubing for seat supports.






If it ends up I have to go even lower I'll cross that bridge down the road...

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90 Chevy Sprint 'Vert Mk2 powered by a 1.3L DOHC and 2 rabid gerbils

'Noisy Cricket' build thread http://www.teamswift.net/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=46988

Because the wifes blood is always about 3 degrees above freezing and this is Canada I made a point of dropping in some after market seat heaters in the Ebay seats on the seat and backs. My girl is perpetually cold and it should make for a more comfortable spring and fall during top down runs, and maybe even in the winter if gas prices stay high.





The lower seat belt points won't be an issue but for the upper shoulder belts I have removed the existing retractible belt(after 20 yrs they don't work worth a ... darn anyway) and will mount a bent piece of 1.5" .120 DOM tubing between the shoulder mount bolting points. Almost like a mini roll bar.



The shoulder mount base is reinforced already and I will make the attachment in such a way that when bolted with Grade 8 hardware it spreads the bending forces over a larger area. And with the retractible shoulder harness removed there is now plenty of room. Worst case senario I can alway tie a support brace back into the rear seat belt mounts. I want to avoid that for cleaner lines but will have to investigate further.

With a little foresight I might just be able to install some time of overhead maplight in the centre as well... have to give that some thought

I just have to figure out how to bend 1.5" tube now...

I haven't finalized the switch mount for the heated seats but I'm leaning toward the space just below the left instrument cluster.



There is an almost new tan canvas top with a zipped in rear window(smoked) that's was previously installed on the donor transferred over and between the donor and new car there are plenty or seals, clips and spare pieces to make it for a while. I've bought the tinted side windows but am still playing with the idea of installing them due to local laws... we'll see...

I also redrilled the auto stick shift rod so that the handle is cocked to a more natural hand position toward the driver. A little detail but I like it.

I was able to massage the salvaged exhaust system from the sedan to work on the vert. A day of my life I'll never get back... Capped it off with a stainless tip (yes, it is all about the bling). I'm thinking after almost 20 yrs a new oxygen sensor may be in order?

I have to keep my eye open for some type of foglamp controller as well as I have the dash switch, but the foglamps don't work. I read an answer to the probelm earlier but will have to find it again.

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90 Chevy Sprint 'Vert Mk2 powered by a 1.3L DOHC and 2 rabid gerbils

'Noisy Cricket' build thread http://www.teamswift.net/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=46988

For audio I'm think I've seduced the canine on this one... I have an old sony reciever which hopefully is homely enough that no one with want to steal. I should have replaced the wiring with some monster cable I have sitting around but am not convince it'll make that much of a difference. There's a panasonic amp in there too. For speakers I used old ones from a logitech computer set I blew up the controller for on a houseboat party a couple years ago. The amp fried but the speakers looked good. They were too small so I fashioned the old speakers as mounting brackets and backed it with stuffing from an old pillow.

I did the 'Big 3' upgrade to help mitigate power drain issues (thanks Team Swifters)http://www.teamswift.net/viewtopic.php?t=31228&highlight=wiring









heres an example of how I tried to use the existing speakers as a template for the smaller TB speaker mounts. A PITA and I'm not convinced it was such a good idea. There definately seems to be some vibration from the front speakers for sure.







Well, suffice it to say, its sounds faintly reminicent of having you older brother fart in your ear when you were five... just horrifying and leaving you scarred for life from the experience.

It might have something to do with bubbaing the speaker mounts like so...




I have not the desire to have my ears bleed but I do like it to be loud enough that I don't have to listen to her sing or to embarrass my son with Dads music when his friends are over. I know there is tons of equipment out there but the fact is we don't have much cash to spare. I'll just have to make it work somehow... I know I'm no pro at stereo installation so its likely I have some of the settings wrong. I know the +/- is correct but thats about it. Any tips from the pros would be appreciated. I'm thinking it may be the speakers as they were not meant for car audio but who knows?

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90 Chevy Sprint 'Vert Mk2 powered by a 1.3L DOHC and 2 rabid gerbils

'Noisy Cricket' build thread http://www.teamswift.net/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=46988

Very good post Liked the Pictures
I have a Geo vert/GTI proj I can't get restarted on (long story)
it's down to the shell i love tearing n them upart then get over welmed with the body work ...
put on 2lb of bondo sand off 3lb ..repeat..repeat..repeat......
When I get up I'm going to look hard and long at it again ..Thanks jv&s

Wow!!! You have been busy. Excellent job with great Resto-Photos. It gives me encouragement for when I start my project...thanks

Thanks for the kind words and encouragment.

I don't know how long the gas was in the tank so I dropped it, gave it a swish to remove any sediment, and burned the contents in the fire pit. Took the opportunity to change the all the filters and fluids including fuel just in case.



I sure hope after all this work it starts . It had started previously but now it won't. I wonder if there is a way to tell if you can put in too much auto transmission fluid without starting the engine?

The brakes scare me a bit. I don't know anything about them. I suppose I'll just have to bone up and do some reading.

I have to give some thought to a few items of interest. I think I'd like to fab up a set of front and rear tower braces. Times like this that make me wish I could weld aluminum (no capacity for that on my $80 110v Ebay mig welder ).

Also I'm going to try and source some white faced guages for the instrument cluster... I always liked that look!

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90 Chevy Sprint 'Vert Mk2 powered by a 1.3L DOHC and 2 rabid gerbils

'Noisy Cricket' build thread http://www.teamswift.net/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=46988

I didn't have to waste much time watching the Oilers late this last season so I had a bit of free time .

Incidentally, if anyone has a old, used lower underbody brace or the front/rear strut braces sitting in the corner of a garage or off a wrecked car feel free to PM me... I'm looking for some. Maybe I have some parts to trade or cash if the price is right.

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90 Chevy Sprint 'Vert Mk2 powered by a 1.3L DOHC and 2 rabid gerbils

'Noisy Cricket' build thread http://www.teamswift.net/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=46988

WOW....awesome progress! Yours is in MUCH better shape than mine was when we started the restore. Keep us updated!

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It did help not to have much in the way of cancer. It its turning into a multi-year project though. It seems I'll hit it in bursts and then get bored and have to move on to something else for a bit to reset the brain

I did a couple of cosmetic things for her. Some trunk netting out of a cavalier because the wife liked it.



and I finished hooking up the heated seats. I tried to put the switches in a spot that they wouldn't get too wet if the rain hit while the top was left down.



and the seat belts except for the shoulder harnesses.



With the 4 point harnesses I am able to remove the existing seat belt assemblies including the shoulder belts. This allows me the room to install a combination shoulder harness anchor point/roll bar. I initially thought I'd be able to bolt the bar directly to the top where the existing shoulder harness strap came out but I don't think one bolt on either side would hold the force of two bodies in an accident. What I believe is the answer will be to open a 1.5" hole and run the roll bar tubing down in behind the frame stiffener. I should be able to attach or weld it directly to the stiffener, maybe even down to the floor itself. If it goes to the floor I can weld on a plate to help distribute the load in case of a roll over. I thought of tieing it into the rear seat belt mounts as well but don't really like the look. I'm open to suggestions though...

One problem is for the roll bar to be effective it should be, at minimum, higher that the top of the seats. But for the seat belt shoulder harness to be effective it is supposed to be in line with the access holes in the seat, which is about 4 inches below the top of the seat. You can see the issue better in this pic...

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90 Chevy Sprint 'Vert Mk2 powered by a 1.3L DOHC and 2 rabid gerbils

'Noisy Cricket' build thread http://www.teamswift.net/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=46988

What a great story. You have done an excellent job and I love those seats. We should get together for a Timmy's in Red Deer. Again Great resto!!!!!

If I remember correct from my NHRA days, the top seatbelt mounting point should be below the shoulders.

The rotors are in pretty rough shape so I've been able to source the front convertible rotors (cross drilled and zinc(silver) coated) but am having a hell of a time sourcing the rear rotors for a 89-93 Swift GT in drilled and zinc(silver) coated. Go figure?

Can anyone point my nose toward a supplier. I wouldn't have thought they would have been that difficult to source but there you have it

EDIT: I was able to source a set of just the rear Swift GT rotors from irotors.com for $109 US (2010 pricing [email protected])

I'll need to figure out an option for the rear GT porportioning valve as well without having access to a GT donor car

EDIT: Apparently there are adjustible porportioning valves readily availible for about $40 US (2010 pricing) so both problems solved!

I the venerable words of John "Hannibal" Smith... 'I love it when a plan comes together' or B.A. 'I pity da foo who can't find a porportioning valve... Sucka!!!'

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90 Chevy Sprint 'Vert Mk2 powered by a 1.3L DOHC and 2 rabid gerbils

'Noisy Cricket' build thread http://www.teamswift.net/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=46988

i'm in the same boat for the gt proportioning valve, i just can't find one around here. my new rear discs could stand a whole lot more juice than they get with the vert's braking balance.

i can spit more with a dry mouth than what gets sent to the back brakes with the 214 p-valve.

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Good to keep in mind. I'll have to keep my eyes open for one.

The zinc plated rotors came in. I wanted the Zinc coating to keep the non-wearing parts looking rust free... as long as possible anyway. Getting the old ones off was not to bad except for one screw (there always has to be one ) ... it can never be easy . I don't like the rust so I'll have to see if these zinc plated ones make any kind of a difference.

.

Getting the caliper pistons to move was a PITA. I started with one of those cubes but couldn't get it to fit due to the small size of the calipers. A new set was too pricey so I fabbed one out of 17mm socket with a grinder.



Necessity is the mother of invention... It worked great and saved about $80 on a dedicated disk brake piston set. Now I just have to learn how to bleed brakes

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90 Chevy Sprint 'Vert Mk2 powered by a 1.3L DOHC and 2 rabid gerbils

'Noisy Cricket' build thread http://www.teamswift.net/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=46988

Bleeding is the easy part, easier with 2 people though. Attach a hose to the bleed valve, loosen the nut so fluid starts flowing, then have someone pump the brakes till the bubbles stop.

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'99 Metro Sedan Auto 4cyl, '91 Metro Vert 3/5, '91 Metro 5dr 3cyl auto

Thanks for the info M... this helped a lot

I had a few hours on Monday evening after the long weekend so I got to installing the new rear calipers and lines from RockAuto.com. As it turns out the used ones I'd bought must have been rusted inside as they would only compress so far (ie not far enough to install). I thought about a kit to hone out and maintain the existing ones but I'm no mechanic and brakes aren't something I want to get wrong. They came quick and I have not problem recommending Rock Auto.



They look so nice out of the box;)



...and installed. Nothing to it but the rear disks aren't in the manual so I hope I didn't pooch the install somehow. Mcmancuso was right, once I figured out the line bleeding process and with the girlfriends help pumping the brakes it went fairly quick. Didn't hurt to have a 'One Man Bleed Kit' from Princess Auto. Good money spent for 4 bucks

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90 Chevy Sprint 'Vert Mk2 powered by a 1.3L DOHC and 2 rabid gerbils

'Noisy Cricket' build thread http://www.teamswift.net/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=46988

Just an update on this item. My garage is old and leaks. As such over the spring and summer water leaked and slowly dripped on the car. No biggy in my world, I'll just wash it off right?

Well as it turns out the Tremclad paint must be more porous than automotive paint. The leaking has produced staining which can not be washed off. Same with grease and oil. Brake oil was like turpentine to this stuff as well. A light sanding will take off the stain but buffing doesn't appear to. As such I will now probably have to get a finish coat of automotive grade paint. Not a huge issue and I can probably do it my self with some reading but I don't think I'd use the Tremclad again based on these results.

*Edit As an afterthought (an after I repainted coincidentally), I was wondering if just a layer of clear coat might have helped ? But if you have the facilities to clear coat, you have the facilities to paint so possibly a mute point

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90 Chevy Sprint 'Vert Mk2 powered by a 1.3L DOHC and 2 rabid gerbils

'Noisy Cricket' build thread http://www.teamswift.net/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=46988

Summers almost done and I've might just get her on the road before the snow flys up here. Finished the new coat of automotive grade paint over the tremclad. I'm convinced I'll never want a career in autobody any more but it turned out ok. There's a place in town where you can do your own automotive work including a paint booth. Better than the garage at 30 bucks an hour to rent plus about 300 in supplies. I went with a white but added a blue pearl that you only see in direct sunlight. It's a fair 10 footer job.









All that's left is to get the roll bar in so I can attach the seat belts and figure out why the signals have stopped working . EDIT: the signals had stopped working because the hazards were half on but not flashing, just enough to impede the signal lights Might even be able to get in a road trip to see the leaves change colour in the Rockies if I can get it together in the next few week. There's light at the end of the tunnel now

As an afterthought I'm starting to think it may have been a good idea to go with a black top instead of the tan... I'll have to think about that one for a while.

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90 Chevy Sprint 'Vert Mk2 powered by a 1.3L DOHC and 2 rabid gerbils

'Noisy Cricket' build thread http://www.teamswift.net/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=46988

Dunno about your climate, but in the Southeast, the black top is way too hot without AC. I'm gonna put a tan top on mine when I get a new one.

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'99 Metro Sedan Auto 4cyl, '91 Metro Vert 3/5, '91 Metro 5dr 3cyl auto