Friday 21st January 2011

SOTW: Austin Metro Supercharged

Metros might not be cool, but superchargers definitely are. Shed eyes up a potential track day 'sleeper'

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We're well known to be fond of a left-field shed on PH, but today SOTW has gone so far and deep to the left that it is beyond the boundary walls of the ballpark - quite possibly in another town.

On the face of it, a shabby white Metro with mild but noticeable rot, a four-speed manual and an engine with a swept capacity that's 2cc shy of a litre is hardly going to ignite much desire on a website whose tag line is 'Speed Matters', but stick with us, because this most humble-looking of Metros has a bit of a trick up its sleeve.

You see, beneath the bonnet of this humble Y-plate 1982 Austin Metro might be a 998cc A-series motor that was good for just 46bhp even when it was fresh out of the box, but attached to it is an M45 Eaton supercharger.

And a little trawl through the internet reveals that this ought to make it potentially good for between 100bhp and 120bhp, which would be more than enough to embarrass far more exotic machinery should you decide to turn it into a track toy, especially when you consider that it weighs less than 750kg (possibly significantly less, depending on how far the rust has progressed).

It also has an MOT (albeit a short one - you'll have to make a trip to your local testing station come February), and has only done 45,000 miles in its entire life - with plenty of history to back up the fact.

But this shed isn't about what you get, it's about what it could become. Pop in a roll cage, a grippy seat, some cheap-but-smart suspension and you could have a cracking little motor for circuit driving.

Oh, all right, you'd need decent brakes and rubber as well - and the whole thing's not going to be a particularly cheap experience - it'd certainly blow the remaining £250 of the SOTW shed budget well before you got it circuit-ready. But imagine the look on the face of the bloke in the Clio 182 as you pull away from him round Brands Indy...

Advert is reproduced below:

Join SOTW on Facebook

EATON COOPER S SUPERCHARGED M45 AUSTIN METRO 998CC (1982)
45,000 miles £750

As i am moving to a different house i wont have all the driveway room and big workshop anymore so im selling all my cars to get down to just my daily. So this little gem is now up for sale even though ive not long finished supercharging it!

Model: Austin Metro - Eaton supercharged 998cc engine
Year: 1982 (Y)

Mileage: 45,000(all backed up with MOTs and service history)
Tax: November 2010(has run out unfortunately but cheap tax band so only £60 for 6 months)
History : Lots of old receipts, service history, MOTs etc

MOT: 13th of Feb 2011 (only had 2 advisories on the last MOT for slightly worn front tyres and slight leak of exhaust gases on centre exhaust joint so shouldnt have any problems on the next one)

Location: March, Cambridgeshire PE15 postcode

Price: £750ono(open to offers though nothing wrong with a haggle)

Contact details: email - [e-mail](also msn) Phone - 07540765075 or message me here

Righty as some of you may or may not know i havent long finished supercharging this but as im having a clearout it needs to go! Fueling and ignition is very very nearly there now but could do with a rolling road session to get it spot on as it does have the odd stumble on acceleration etc now but i have done 2,000 miles since the conversion and did 200 miles in one journey with no problems!

Engine:
-Custom crank pulley with 80mm supercharger drive pulley to make 12psi max boost with the 65.6mm supercharger pulley
-Mini cooper S third gen eaton m45 supercharger that has been fully ported and modified for drawthrough setup
-Jonspeed supercharger setup that has been modified to work better, flow better and be stronger(also almost completely eliminated carb icing problem) This kit costs in excess of £1000
-Very strong great low mileage 998 A+ series engine good service history, good strong 4 speed manual gearbox with no problems
-Only just serviced with good quality oil etc
-Modified and flowed HIF38 which showed nearly the same CFM as a HIF44 on the flowbench so you know it was all good work. Cool radius' long polished trumpet
-Locked distributor
-Ported(DIY) unleaded head
-DIY LCB manifold(ported)
-Modified heater housing to allow for supercharger fitment
-Custom exhaust(DIY) with coop polished upswept tailpipe
-New thermostat(QH)

Suspension:
Standard stuff (with front shocks!) just with all the fluid let out so its a simple pump up job to get it back to standard with either cheap hydrogas pump or drop in a garage for them to do it cheap for you.

Interior:
all in great condition this very retro awesome interior(in pics glovebox was out but will be back in before collection). Gas struts have gone so dont hold boot up on its own, hardly a big deal? Very easily replaced etc.

Exterior:
Looking a bit tatty around the edges overall very very solid underneath no rust problems there. Front valence is looking a bit frilly now but very very cheap to buy and weld in a new one. Some damage on the rear drivers side arch and paint is a bit flat as it sat in the workshop for a while but comes up great with a good polish i just dont have the time really.

I appreciate MOT is short and tax has run out but these are only minor issues. I would RE MOT but i dont have chance really i work full time and we will be moving soon so it needs to go. It would cost you a lot of money to build the same engine.

Could perhaps make a good cheap supercharged engine for a mini or stay whole and keep a supercool metro alive whatever suits you best.

Im looking for £750ono but i am open to sensible offers im happy to haggle. Dont do "whats your best price requests" they annoy the hell out of me send me your offer and i will say if i accept it or want more etc thats how it works.

07540765075 is my mobile number. Feel free to text me between 8am to 6pm as I cannot answer calls at work but after that calls are fine as are weekends. Viewing avaliable anytime after 6pm in the week (well lit driveway and will help you look at any parts you want) and of course weekends.

[Gallen]

tidy little conversion!

Probably quite fun to drive.

[CampDavid]

Awesome town car. I'm sure someone will be on in a minute to miss the point completely but this is cool.

[Stu R]

I'd rather walk.

[UH-Matt]

From the front on picture I thought the number plate might be worth a few quid (dateless) then from rear shot I see the front one is just snapped off and its actually a Y Reg

[Pat H]

It is as rotten as a peach.

But the oily bits are intriguing and will doubtless end up in a quick Mini, where they rightly belong.

[boredofmyoldname]

This shed makes me I need something so utterly daft in my life.

[Usergonemad]

You'd have to be crazy to jump on this shed...and I suspect it'd be well worth the money pit for the fun you could have with it, once sorted out.

[EDLT]

Can the A-series cope with that much boost?

Apart from that, the car looks pretty rotten and driving around on the bump stops can't be good for the suspension.

[G0ldfysh]

so appealing in such a wrong way.
Tyres would be cheap given small overall diameter, yeah could fit engine in a mini and then follow the herd, early 80's boxy uglyness just makes it look cool to me, hearing the 'charger whine just adds to the fun.

Would need a decent cage in though and proper seats though, ncap 1/2 star scores suggest only for the very brave.

[Mr E]

Pedant time. Rust is (famously) more massive than metal (it's an oxide after all).

So it will only get lighter once bits drop off....

[mik_jg]

i'd love it had a really st corsa, totally bog standard inside and out but with a 2.0 16v redtop motor in it. crap but class )

[j_s14a]

The charger's as large as the engine!

[5678]

I like the concept.

Edited by 5678 on Friday 21st January 11:11

[XJ40]

I like it, looks fun!

[vrooom]

100-120hp? i hope the gearbox is strong enough!!! with that setup i reckon it hoovering around 70-80hp. but those engines are sooo easy and cheap to tune.

I would love to see those generation metro fitted with vvc K series engine.

[GTO Scott]

Excellent shed. Run till it won't pass an MoT any more, then throw the motor into a Mini.

[tr7v8]

Doesn't look too rusty to me, if the subframe mountings & sills are solid then the rest is cosmetic. could be great fun, also all the hardware would transfer to a 1275 or 1340 very well! Metros are good fun, years ago bosses missus had a MG Metro & that was a hoot.

[CampDavid]

vrooom said:

100-120hp? i hope the gearbox is strong enough!!! with that setup i reckon it hoovering around 70-80hp. but those engines are sooo easy and cheap to tune.

I would love to see those generation metro fitted with vvc K series engine.

I think the box is the same as the MA unit Peugeot/Citroen use. A 106 GTI box should therefor fit and could handle the torque but the standard one should be borderline fine.

[ninos]

He he, this would be so much fun. Would need a the brakes looked at with a good upgrade otherwise you'll be seeing a few bushes.

[pSyCoSiS]

Something different and interesting.

Not a looker, but, I suppose that's part of the idea!