So after getting rid of my Miata a couple of years ago, I decided I needed something else to play with. I had a Fiero in college. It was a black 87 base coupe, auto, and it threw a rod less than a thousand miles after I purchased it. Truly, it was the worst car I've ever owned. And yet, when it ran, I loved it. As you all know, the Fiero is a comfortable car, efficient, and tremendously fun. One of my lasting memories of the car was making beer runs at Ohio State, in the rain, with my roommate riding shotgun. We'd take nice left turns, drop the throttle, and the rear would step out wide. The looks on everyone's face, when we'd go sliding by them, was priceless. The two of us giggled like schoolgirls, eager for more slides and our beer.
At any rate, I ended up trading the Fiero for a 92 Sentra SE. Red, SE-R wanna be, black wanna be Recaro seats, 5 speed, 110 horsepower smooth revving, no rod knocking engine. Great, reliable car.
Fast forward...16 years? Holy cow. Since that Fiero, I've gone through more cars than I care to admit. Back then, I had no tools and no knowledge. Now I have some tools and some knowledge. I've restored a Corvette...
lost another (actually both) in a divorce...
Did and am doing the Miata thing...
This one is actually gone. But we have an 01 that we love.
I'm going to "publish" this much, and I'm going to follow with more photos and the rest of the "story." I think I read there is a limit on how many photos you can post in a post....
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09:12 PM
PFF
System Bot
Hulki U. My-BFF Member
Posts: 5949 From: Back home in East Berlin, PA Registered: Apr 2008
Welcome back, loving the beer run story by the way! I am on my third Fiero, but there are people on here who have many, many Fieros. Good luck in your search, go for a fastback GT this time and let the fun begin....
At any rate, I'd been browsing eBay, looking for another Fiero. I really wanted an 88 Duke, 5-speed. My vision, is to have a fuel efficient car that handles great. This is what I found:
Here's my Fiero, sitting at an auction lot in St. Louis. I live Northwest of Chicago. So it was quite a nice little journey I took to retrieve my new eBay purchase. I ended up paying $710 for the car. When I arrived, the seller had no keys and no title. I "communicated" to the seller I wasn't leaving until I had keys and a title. No, he could not mail those items to me. Two hours later, I had keys and a title, and a Fiero on the back of my tow vehicle...
Let me take a pause for the cause and tell you this: The Grand Marquis, much like the Fiero, is a highly underrated vehicle. I towed the Fiero at speeds over 75 mph, and enjoyed over 21mpg (without the car, at around 65mph, I can get over 30mpg). At no point did the car ever strain. I actually kept forgetting the car was back there, until I'd look back in the mirror, see a red car on my ass, and wonder why anyone would follow me so closely. "Oh wait, that's right, that's my..."
There is another post on this forum, from me, wondering if I could tow the Fiero on a U-Haul dolly. Most of you said I could. A few said I couldn't. At least one person chastised and implied I was reckless, irresponsible, yada, yada, yada. I did not respond to such criticism, because frankly, I'm superstitious and knew responding would be akin to kicking Murphy (of Murphy's Law) right in the ya ya's. Doing so would most likely result in my new purchase separating from my tow vehicle and flying many yards before crashing a birthday party at Dairy Queen "Mommy, what kind of car is that?"
Just the same, it worked, and it worked well.
The only caveat, is that I had to jack up the car to return/remove the ramps. Not a big deal. But now I understand why U-Haul would try to dissuade your everyday average car owner from doing this. But face it, we are Fiero owners. We possess more than a few ideas that can be described as creative, it's a prerequisite to owning a Fiero.
I'm going to stop here and continue in another post....
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09:26 PM
thismanyfieros Member
Posts: 3468 From: Red Deer, alberta,canada Registered: Dec 2002
When I got the car home, I didn't know what to expect. I was pleased when we finally put keys to the ignition and the car (after a nice, long jump) started with no smoke and no noise. And despite sitting in that spot at the auction lot for over a week, there was no oil under it. But still, I knew a lot more would be revealed when I got it home.
That night, after another long jump, I was able to pull the car from the tow dolly. I let it sit in the darkness of my driveway, while I reacquainted myself with the Fiero. Honestly, I had not sat in one since I coaxed my black 87 to make it the 30 miles to Ricart Ford in Columbus, OH, after I had traded it, sight unseen.
Bwaaaaaahahahahahahah. As a side note, that trade, my Fiero, against the Sentra, was my one resounding triumph over a car dealer. I think I actually got $2500 for that car. That rod knocking, overheating, car. Once, it steamed so badly in my apartment parking lot, one of the chicks who lived in back of us called the Columbus fire department on it. Some could call my trade unfair business practices. I called it Karma. It was my way of scoring one for the little guy, against that SOB car dealer who had, in my humble opinion, screwed so many.
Ok, so I watched the Fiero in my drive, listened to the motor, watched the oil pressure and the coolant gauge. Much to my surprise, the idle was good, the oil pressure was solid, and the temperature needle never moved to hot. Then I tried to drive the car and it died. After another long jump, and another stall, I tried to push the car into my garage. It would barely budge. The wheels were far from moving freely. I jumped it again, moved it into the garage, and parked it.
I put the car up on jackstands, and pulled the wheels and brakes. The calipers were shot, but luckily, the wheel bearings appear to be ok. I gave rebuilding the calipers a shot, but honestly, I think replacement is the way to go. So I have new ones on the way. In the meantime, I got to work painting the car. The hood had gouges in it and overall, the paint was a wreck....
My biggest fear with this car was that it was a Katrina car, or something equivalent. I was scared to death it would be rotted underneath, or there were items the auction photos were hiding. To my amazement, the underside of the car is LIKE NEW. Truly. The interior is actually pretty decent. The door panels are nice, the carpet is good (I'm still going to replace it with black). The seats are, well, Mr Mike's will take care of them. And I ordered a new black headliner. But the rest is solid and will make for good weekend projects.
In my next post, I'll show you my progress....
[This message has been edited by joeveto (edited 11-17-2008).]
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09:45 PM
kyunderdawg Member
Posts: 4373 From: Bowling Green, KY. USA Registered: Aug 2008
Glad that the Fiero "bug" was still bitting. Looks like you were in my neck of the woods in that photo in front of the Corvette Museum. Let me know when the next time your gonna be here.
So I've had this car for two weeks. The undercarriage is great, the interior needs work, and the paint...well, you've seen the paint.
I'd been reading a lot on Moparts, and on this very forum, about a rather, ahem, creative way of painting. I decided to give it a shot. There was no way I was going to spend $2000 to paint a $700 car. Off to Menard's I went....
I also went to NAPA, to pick up some body supplies. The various gouges needed some work....
This is the hood, with me deep into it.
More prep work, on the rear...
I found it very relaxing, sitting in the garage, with Sirius playing some great Classic Rewind (rock from the 80's). At one point, I was whisked away to my high school years, when I was 12, in 1984, building an MPC or Monogram, or whatever model of a red 84 Fiero. I had to laugh. Here I was, working on the real thing. I'm not sure which is better, they both have their positives, but I know which one is more expensive.
Here's a peak at the first coat...
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09:52 PM
Gumby Member
Posts: 213 From: Medicine Hat,Alberta, Canada Registered: Jun 2006
And here is the car with wheels back on, in the daylight.
In the background of this last picture, you can see our other Miata, and a stack of tires that I sold on Craigslist for $180. They were being picked up that day and will help pay for my brakes!
This is the first time in nearly two weeks the car has been off the jackstands. In a few days, it will be back on so it can get its new brakes. I did seize the opportunity to take the car cautiously, and slowly, around the block. It ran well. I really can't wait to put some real brakes on it and truly shake it out. Besides the brakes, my future plans for the car are this:
Interior: black carpet and headliner, cloth Mr. Mikes seats (probably with leatherette bolsters). I may dye the center console black. I've already purchased a Pioneer GM size head unit for the car. New in the box, I got it for $80. Yet, there is a side of me that would like to have a stock GM CD unit in there. For the most part, I just want to be able to enjoy Sirius in the car. And there are a lot of ways to skin that cat. I also plan on replacing the speakers, as they are a little bit buzzy.
Suspension: 1" drop springs, with newer struts, and some 17" wheels, black centers, mesh or 5-spoke, little red line. I'll also replace any suspension pieces that require it. The bushings look pretty crappy, so they'll be replaced.
Engine: Nothing until it needs it. Right now, knock wood, it looks good. I'm shooting for economy here.
Body: Nothing but the paint I've already done, and lots and lots of wet-sanding! Oh, and the headlights. They need to be rebuilt. I have the kits, one headlight is removed, and I'm working on it.
I think that's it. For me, this car is a work in progress, something to keep my mind and body busy, a hobby to enjoy.
I'll keep you all updated as I progress.
Cheers!
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10:04 PM
katatak Member
Posts: 7136 From: Omaha, NE USA Registered: Apr 2008
My father did the same with an old '86, rolled on rustoluim flat black with a small, tight, foam roller. It was no show winner, but it looked a hundred times better than before, was like $5, and unless you were looking for faults, it wouldnt really stand out in everyday life.
Yours looks like a real paint job though, we need more details!
I owe all that I know to the fine folks over on the Moparts forum. AND ESPECIALLY MARTIN TIBENSKY! (69Chargeryeehaa). Martin turned the world on to this process and provided all of us with another take on paint jobs. Don't want to spend $2000 on a decent job? Don't have $2000 to spend on a decent job? Here's an alternative....
I once heard an old addage that compared American car companies. It went something like:
Given an equal task of creating something, GM will make it the most complicated, Ford the most simple, and Chrysler the cheapest.
I don't know how much of that is really so, and frankly, I'd like to replace "cheapest" with least expensive.
At any rate, I followed that HUGE 3 segment, forum post. The process made a lot of sense to me. Unless you desire a metallic paint job, laying the paint is far less important than preparation and finishing. I initially went to the Menard's paint section and choose a host of paint chips. I laid them out on my car and tried to decide which color I liked the most.
I had considered changing the color completely (i.e. blue or green). While this would have been cool, and different, I felt it would be too difficult for my first shot at this. So I stuck with a red that was close. The initial color I found that I really liked, was called "Ready To Dance." I found this to be appropriate, given the handling characteristics of these cars. Earlier, I asked a gentleman working in the paint department, if they could mix custom colors in their Alkyd paints. I forgot the name of the brand they offer, but it's an industrial, gloss Alkyd paint. When I returned later, to have my color mixed, the gentleman working that night said he could not mix the paint to spec. He said the system gave no formula for the color I sought. Not good.
I ended up back in the Rustoleum isle, where I settled on a color called Carnival Red. We opened the lid and it was a very close approximation of the paint chip. Unfortunately, when I laid it on the car, it looked a lot more pink than red. So back to the store I went, and I purchased Sunrise Red. Sunrise Red is a true red, and I like it very much. Still, I'd like to pursue an outlet that would allow me to custom mix any color to spec. The other option, of course, is to experiment with mixing paints until the desired color is achieved. I really don't believe this would be too difficult, so long as you were somewhat flexible with the results.
As for laying the paint, it was very easy. I purchased:
A rolling tin - $1.95 A 4" high density foam roller - $4.00 A 2-pack of additional foam pads - $2.00 2 rolls of Blue masking tape - $7.00 1 gallon of mineral spirits - $6.00 3 cans of my color of choice, Rustoleum - $7.99 each
Looking back, I only needed 1 foam pad, 2 cans of paint, and 1 roll of tape. To wit, this job can easily be done for less than $50.
Additionally, I needed sand paper and body shop supplies. I purchased a three pack of spreaders for the plastic body compound ($2.00), ICE plastic repair compound $22, mixing cups for a dollar each, and sandpaper. The sandpaper ended up being the most expensive. I picked up 5 sheet packages from NAPA of 400, 600, 800, 1200, 1500 grit. Each of these ranged from $6.59 - $10.99 (!!!) If you can find it cheaper (I'm sure you can) do so.
I started by wiping the car down repeatedly with mineral spirits. The car has to be free of dirt and oil. Then I did a light scuffing of the old paint where appropriate. Those areas that had heavy cracking, splitting, gouges, whatever, needed to be addressed. In some cases, I sanded the paint completely off, going down to the base black gelcoat. I also spent time masking off all the areas that would most likely get hit by the paint roller. But listen, this is a huge benefit of rolling as opposed to spraying. With rolling, I wasn't afraid of:
1. Overspray on everything. I painted within a few feet of my motorcycle, and had zero concerns about getting paint on it. 2. Fumes. The fumes aren't a picnic, but they are noting like the life and death situation posed by today's paints we shoot. 3. Masking. Masking is relatively easy, because you don't have to get paper and completely cover everything on the car.
The gouges on the car needed to be sanded and filled. That was a process of mixing the plastic filler according to the directions (not hard at all, really) and then spreading it onto and into the cracks and gouges. The filler sets in less than 20 minutes. I used this time to further sand down any imperfections I found. I would then go back and sand and feather the areas I filled. Then I'd rub the area with my hand and go back over the area with the filler. I continued this process (filling and sanding) until I was confident the area had been repaired.
After sanding and repairing and wiping the car down with mineral spirits, over and over, I was ready for the first layer of paint.
I found that a mix of 200ml of paint to 20ml of mineral spirits was just about perfect. I'd pour it all into the paint tray and then run my roller back and forth across the paint to mix. Once mixed, I began rolling. I'd like to tell you there is some important method to this, but there really isn't. It's almost too easy to believe. Upon first roll, the paint goes on and then forms bubbles. Don't sweat these. After a few minutes, the bubbles disappear on their own, the paint self levels, and it gives off a beautiful shine.
I allowed a minimum of 8 hours between coats. In most cases, because of my schedule, I allowed 24 hours. I laid new layers on top of previous without sanding. However, I did use each layer of paint to look for body repair areas that needed more work. The new paint acted as a guide coat. Where needed, I went back over the repairs with the body filler and re-sanded/feathered as needed.
There was one panel where I found a drip and was not at all pleased. So I sanded the new paint back down. Though the paint was tough, I had heard people say using Rustoleum would provide for a paint surface that would be nearly impossible to remove, because it would chalk up and "clog" the sandpaper. I did not find this to be the case. I wet sanded the area until it was back down to the base surface. Then I applied new paint coats to match what I had done previously.
I then allowed the paint to dry. Afterwards, I went to work wet sanding, first with 600 - 800 grit, then 1200, and finally 1500. If you're not familiar with wet sanding, it's basically this: You take a bucket of warm soapy water, soak your sandpaper of choice, and then slop a bunch of the soapy solution on the paint surface. After that, you go to work rubbing the paint and removing any imperfections. You want to "cut" into the paint in a way that removes the imperfections, but does not remove the paint down to the base. If this happens, no big deal, but you have to reapply the paint. Even pressure is important for this. Because we're not using clear coat, you'll see a slurry of red (or blue, or black or whatever color you used) soapy water running off. There is a zen quality to this, in that after awhile, you'll get a feel for the process and know when to move up to the next grit. With each successive grit, you'll feel resistance at first, then smoothness. That's the polishing.
After that, I experimented with different 3M products, Turtle wax rubbing compound, and Meguire's deep crystal polish. So far, Meguire's has given me the best results. I've also alternated between machine polishing and hand polishing. I'm still dialing in the process. I also think a good long curing is in order. I believe moving too quick to wet sand was an issue. My plan is to address the brakes, and then go to work doing the final wet sanding.
Still, as you can see from the photos, the paint shows well. I believe once I fully wet sand and compound the car out, it will be difficult to tell the paint job from a far more expensive one. Having had a car painted by Earl Scheib, I can attest to the fact that my car with rolled on paint shows MUCH better than the Earl Scheib job.
So in less than a week, and for right around $50 (ok, my cost was $70 with sandpaper, I should have been a better shopper!), I have a freshly painted car. And once it's wet sanded, it will show very, very well.
If you have any questions, just give me a shout, I'm happy to help!
------------------ Spend my days with a woman unkind Smoked my stuff and drank all my wine...
Yeah, my question is how much do you charge, lol, your paint job looks great!
i bet you couldnt pay him for the time he spend on the paintjob the sanding + polishing is most timeconsuming , i did 2 cars this way and both took me a month till they looked good ( after work and weekends )
shes a bute! + for you for giving the mixing measurments im in this process now and found that i had a big issue. every thread says to use a 50/50 mixture and i found when i first did this i had serious issues with the mix it was too runny and when painting over black i found i actually had to thicken up the mix. as much as i may get flamed for the experiment im trying to perfect a glass like finish on my car. i had the usual runs but they wernt thick ones and what led me to doing the process was the convience of it and nothing could have been worse than the previous owners hackjob.
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07:26 AM
86stealthfiero Member
Posts: 667 From: zanesville ohio Registered: Aug 2008
Interior: black carpet and headliner, cloth Mr. Mikes seats (probably with leatherette bolsters). I may dye the center console black. I've already purchased a Pioneer GM size head unit for the car. New in the box, I got it for $80. Yet, there is a side of me that would like to have a stock GM CD unit in there. For the most part, I just want to be able to enjoy Sirius in the car. And there are a lot of ways to skin that cat. I also plan on replacing the speakers, as they are a little bit buzzy.
if you decide on the interior being black i did mine last year carpet and all i dont have mr mikes seats but i found leatherette seat covers with red stictching at pep boys. i used dupli color interior paint and did my dash center console etc and toped it over with a metallic finsih. the negative is the odor when spraying its strong so wear a mask. i dyed my carpets with black dye and also did the back piece behind the seats. of course since i painted the car yellow i may change my interior though since hince my name i had a blacked out car. btw when painting your car did you paint the door jams i fine this to be the hardest area to paint and the ground effects.
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[This message has been edited by 86stealthfiero (edited 11-19-2008).]
As far as the mixture goes, I feel 50/50 would be waaaaaaay too light. The folks on Moparts have been using that mixture with really light coats. I rolled the dice and went heavier. What I found, is that the coverage is much better, the runs are fewer, and obviously, the time to paint is much less.
Something I left out, is that because it's so cold here (my garage runs around 50 degrees in this weather -- 30's outside), I didn't even have to do anything special to preserve the roller. In other words, I mixed a batch of paint, rolled it on, and then left the roller in the pan. The next session, I walked outside, grabbed the roller, and went to it. I was prepared to use a new pad each time, but that wasn't necessary.
I know to someone who hasn't tried this, and has little experience painting, this whole process probably seems really sketchy, half-a$$ed, whatever. But honestly, I'm thrilled with the results and the project itself. I have a compressor and an HVLP gun. But I wasn't thrilled about the prospect of building a make-shift room within my garage, dealing with respirators, overspray, and everything else that's entailed. Also, being that I've never really shot a car (i.e. painted it), or anything else for that matter, the thought of spending what I consider big bucks (most likely half the cost of my car!) for paint, to try something that is little more than an experiment...it just doesn't make sense.
I have college tuitions and braces to save for. Given the choice between spending dough for a pro to give a pro paint job, and foregoing saving for my kids' futures, or taking this route...You do the math. The kids win!
Thanks for the info about your interior. I too was considering the red piping, I think that would really look nice. I've worked a bit with the interior dye that you can buy at Autozone, etc. I found the coverage to be really good. I actually used it a few years ago on the Miata at the top of the post. I used it to freshen the carpeting and the seats. I was skeptical about what the end result would be. I was afraid it would look like crap! But it turned out really nice.
In the case of the Fiero, with the gray plastic dash, I'm a little more concerned. I think like all else, prep is very important. When it comes to the dye, I think it's really important to make sure all residue, dirt, silicone, etc has been removed. I think a hearty wiping with acetone is important.
As far as carpeting goes, I found Menards actually carries bulk (on the BIG rolls) auto carpeting, in black. They call it "Porsche" something or other, and I think it's .47 a foot. I've seen folks here have gone that route instead of the molded stuff. For the cost, I just might try it.
------------------ Spend my days with a woman unkind Smoked my stuff and drank all my wine...
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04:52 PM
86stealthfiero Member
Posts: 667 From: zanesville ohio Registered: Aug 2008
i know the feeling i have various hvlp guns and i can shoot paint but with my garage being attached to the house and haveing grandma here shooting the car isnt happening period.i am so far impressed with my results so far im just haveing trouble with the door jams and the gt ground effects inside the jams. i did one of the headlight doors and finsihed it off with 2000 grit and used some spar urethane and it came out like almost mirror like but i may run into a problem with the bigger stuff hood and trunk mainly. the only con tot this job is the constant sanding but thats to be expected because the car was black my coats had to be thicker which when i mixed my paint ended up like a 60/40 mix and my first two coats had some runs so im wondering even though there sanded down and feel smotth i wonder if they will still show.
[This message has been edited by 86stealthfiero (edited 11-19-2008).]
Don't be afraid to go back over areas where you rolled. It's not like you roll it and then leave it. Go back over those areas that "don't look right" such as drips. Also, I found it worked best when I took my time and really watched how much paint was on the roller, especially for the vertical areas, like the doors and fenders.
My paint is very close to what was on the car, stock, so I haven't yet hit the door jambs.
My car doesn't really have ground effects, just the black sill that leads to the interior. I heavily masked this area. Also, I painted with the headlights up.
I think the 60/40 mix isn't thick enough. Go thicker, and you'll experience fewer runs. It really is possible to do this with 0 runs.
------------------ Spend my days with a woman unkind Smoked my stuff and drank all my wine...
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08:14 AM
dozol Member
Posts: 679 From: Chicago, IL (Oak Lawn) Registered: Feb 2005
Welcome back to Fieros man, looking good on the paint job, I would have never considered rolling paint on a car, but yours looks very darn good! A + for you man.
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01:42 PM
Jan 13th, 2009
82-T/A [At Work] Member
Posts: 24149 From: Florida USA Registered: Aug 2002
Let me take a pause for the cause and tell you this: The Grand Marquis, much like the Fiero, is a highly underrated vehicle. I towed the Fiero at speeds over 75 mph, and enjoyed over 21mpg (without the car, at around 65mph, I can get over 30mpg). At no point did the car ever strain. I actually kept forgetting the car was back there, until I'd look back in the mirror, see a red car on my ass, and wonder why anyone would follow me so closely. "Oh wait, that's right, that's my..."
I TOTALLY agree...
I have a 2002 Ford Crown Victoria LX-P74. I inherited it from my grand father back in 2004, and I've had it since then. I've only got about 40k miles on it now, but I've used it to tow a bunch of stuff first. It's a GREAT car because it's got a SOLID frame, unlike any other passenger car currently being made today, they all have subframes, or just unibody, or something lame. But because of the solid frame, we can tow pretty much anything. I've got a Class-3/4 hitch on mine as well.
I've towed an 84 Fiero with it, and also towed a 1984 Porsche 944 about 320 miles. I've hauled a bunch of engines, including a 1000 pound Oldsmobile 455 big block and Th-400 from Georgia to Miami.
I don't know if you're on there or not, but go to www.CrownVic.net. They have a lot of great stuff for our vehicles there. I was kicked off because I got in an argument with someone about Muslim extremism in the Off-Topic forums... hahah... but it's a great place to upgrade the vehicle.
I've outfitted mine with most of the Police and typical upgrades: 1 - Aluminum driveshaft 2 - 140mph Speedometer 3 - Mercury Marauder Air Box / 80mm MAF 4 - Steeda spacer 5 - 70mm Ford Racing Performance Parts Throttle Body 6 - MagnaFlow mandrel bent catalytic converter / header pipes. 7 - Grand Marquis LSE Dual Exhuast w/ Resonators and H pipe. 8 - Blue Oval Chips ECM reflash 9 - Steeda Underdrive Pulleys
and a few other odds and ends. The ECM reflash really made a huge difference. I've got the car just breaking into the 14s. I had just made their "14 second N/A club" before I was booted. It's the craziest thing... I mean, this was my grandfather's car... it has a MASSIVE leather split bench seat that's got to be about 6 feet wide. White wall tires, and a column shifter, and it'll crack into the 14s in the quarter mile.
Surprisingly enough, I stuck with my 2.73:1 peg-leg rear-end. I've been really anal about upgrading it so that I get the best performance, with the best fuel economy. My best fuel economy ever was a trip to Orlando from Fort Lauderdale. I got 28.1 miles to the gallon.... with a ~4,200lb, V8 powered car!!!
Anyway, if you're bored, check out the stuff I've done to my Vic:
Dont tell them its for a Fiero. No stability issues, didn't even notice it there "like others have said". It just looks like a Fiero is going to ramp you every time you look back.
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02:02 AM
82-T/A [At Work] Member
Posts: 24149 From: Florida USA Registered: Aug 2002
Dont tell them its for a Fiero. No stability issues, didn't even notice it there "like others have said". It just looks like a Fiero is going to ramp you every time you look back.
Does everyone here tow a Fiero with a Crown Victoria or Grand Marquis? That's awesome... hah...
I'd love to hear if this car was finished being painted and how the paint has held up
I haven't finished wet sanding it. It's too cold (0 degrees) to sit out in the garage. So I've been driving it instead. I've driven it over 4000 miles, in the snow, sleet, salt, ran it through the car wash, did the long freeway slog with the semis kicking up crap, and so far, the paint still looks great.
Check out the Moparts site (I know it's Mopar, but the website is www.moparts.com). A couple of guys have had this for some time, and some have over 5 years on their paint jobs with no issues.
------------------ Spent my days with a woman unkind Smoked my stuff and drank all my wine...
82T/A, you're right. The Crown Vic Forum is very cool for info. I've checked it out a ton, though I haven't really participated.
I really wish I knew why Ford rated the Panther cars at 3000 pound tow rating, when 20 years ago, the Panthers with half the horsepower got 5000 pound tow ratings. The only thing I can think, is that Ford wants to sell more trucks...
My personal best for mileage was 31.9, it was during a summer trip to Detroit.
The car gets a lot of comments from my customers and coworkers. Many think it's funny that I'm driving a "grandpa car." But so many don't realize it's capabilities. And after a ride in it, they understand a lot better. The car is great. My buddy is a service writer for a local Ford dealership. He said they just don't break.
And every time I get in a cab, I lean forward and ask the driver how many miles he has on his. Invariably, it's 200 and 300 plus thousand miles. Then I ask what they've done to the car. They always say "nothing, I just change the oil." The cars are solid. Then again, going down the freeway, the motor is barely turning (1500 RPM). Too cool.
Mine is the Premium Edition (with the digital dash - woooo hoooo ) The only thing I've really done to it, is add Sirius, an aux adaptor to the stock stereo, and a power Webasto internal moonroof.
------------------ Spent my days with a woman unkind Smoked my stuff and drank all my wine...
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09:37 PM
blkpearl Member
Posts: 367 From: SanDog,CA,US Registered: Oct 2004
I was thinking the samething. Here a pic of one the last Fieros that I dollied and even though this car was a parts car (body panels). I towed it rear first just to aviod problems. I had to use two floor jacks to get the tailend up high enough to clear the dolly but I would not have done it any other way. (make sure you secure the steering wheel) This is one of DCFox's fieros that was under 7ft of water when his home was flooded after hurricane IKE.
------------------ White 88 GT 5 spd Red 88 GT Auto Black 88 Coup 5 spd
I am on my third Fiero, but there are people on here who have many, many Fieros. Good luck in your search, go for a fastback GT this time and let the fun begin.... 
