40 years.

[t-tony]

We had one, who else did?

'Mocked' Mini Metro turns 40 and finds new fans

A new exhibition celebrates an "everyday" car that has divided opinion since 1980.

www.bbc.co.uk

Tony.

 

[Paul Rice]

Had an MG turbo for a weekend, that was more than enough.

 

[jonco]

My first `new' car - never had a problem with it but traded up after 2 years, so maybe got out in time.

 

[t-tony]

Our Metro GLS had a Turbo Technics kit on it. The factory turbine sat below the carburettor (remember them) whereas the TT turbine was 3 x bigger and sat where the carb. used to be and the carb. was relocated round the end of the engine on an alloy housing. It was hideously fast and the torque steer was frightening if you didn’t hang on.

Tony.

 

[Synclare]

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[D R Oldfield]

Had two a w reg 1.3Hls and a y reg MG metro a few years ago i was offered a convertable one for £150 it had been converted by a coachbuilder in the south of england

 

[gookah]

I had a white H reg Rover Metro (GTa I think), a long time ago, bought it unknown at auction for £1800,
Turned out it had a blown head gasket,
I remember when doing the head gasket I broke one of the bolts off just above the thread, (not aware of the perils of re-using stretch bolts)
The bolts were 16 inches long, and screwed into the very bottom of the block , the bolt hole opened up under the head into wider waterways at the sides of the cylinders.
I managed to get a grabber tool all the way down the hole, and unscrew the broken thread.
However, when it reached the underside of the head, It was then too wide too pull out of the head with the grabber fingers around the thread, so I had to release it into the unknown.
I then got a telescopic magnet and it pulled it straight out..
God smiled on me that day.....
Anyway, drove it for a couple of years more and sold it for £2200...

Looked like this one, these wheels, but with red inserts on the black trim:

was a great little car.




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[Synclare]

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[DaveP]

I learned to drive in a Metro. That’s as close to one I ever got. When I passed my test I went onto rust bucket Mk1 Escorts. Or as we used to call them at work. Ford mechanics home learning package level 1.

 

[Ian&Sue]

We had two, a W reg. bright yellow 1.0 HLE & a D reg.1.3 city X. Both very reliable & easy to mend if they did go wrong. Surprisingly good on the motorway (apart from the uncomfortable seats!) both cars would happily do 70-80 mph all day long. The biggest problem with them was that like most cars of that era they would disintegrate into a pile of rust in front of your eyes.

 

[t-tony]

They kept me in work for 10 years so I liked them

Tony.

 

[Pingu]

First car was a MiniMetro - it was 1.0L (W reg).
Next were Metro Vanden Plas and an MG Metro (both hand me downs).
I also reshelled a Metro with an MG Turbo engine, then decided to replace that engine with a 1380 half-race Mini engine with a 40 DCOE Weber. Interesting time being stood next to it while it screamed at 130mph on the rolling road while the guy tweeked the jets. Took it from Falkirk back to Glasgow at 6500rpm in top (127 calculated, but the speedo was only reading 90). The brakes couldn't handle the power and faded VERY badly if they were needed a second time . Luckily, it was the days before smart motorways, and there was a hard shoulder to slow down on.

Edit: Here's the one that I reshelled. The only body panel that survived was the fuel filler flap.

 

[Redline]

Had an MG Metro after our first car, an Escort 1100. It seemed the height of handling and sophistication then. it got shortened by 2 feet after someone smashed into it while waiting in a queue of traffic. Six cars were written off or badly damaged in that accident. It happened two days before we moved house. Not good timing.
Had a Fiat UNO Turbo afterwards. That was a bit of an insane car and felt like it was built from aluminium foil. Got shut of that after we had a really big accident!

 

[gookah]

Edit: Here's the one that I reshelled.

Bloody hell,,


What was it like before?

 

[Synclare]

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[Shelly]

Yes I had one , it was my first car