Not trying to brag or anything..........OK well maybe a little
Went to a car show today with my 87 GT. Charity Car Show hosted by the Eastlake Rotary Club in Palm Harbor Florida at John Chestnut Park. Having been to a few cruise-ins and very small shows I know that Fieros usually receive no love at these street rod and muscle car dominated things.
After paying registration fees, one of the organizers directs me to a parking space......
YEP...He puts me right next to the inflatable slide for the kids! The blower was deafening of course and kids running everywhere! I can see that I'm getting no love already...
Lots of NICE cars star showing up. Probably 150 -200 cars total by the time registration closed.
Oh well, I'm just here to have fun, look at cars and represent for Fieros
The park has lots of shade and cars are spread out everywhere. Very nice!
Some REALLY NICE street rods are there. You can just barely see my yellow Fiero behind this beautiful street rod....yeah...over by the inflatable #*@^#^~ slide !!!
The judges came around later in the day and don't spend more than 30 seconds looking at my Fiero....*sigh* As they start to walk away, one judge says, "What kind of Ferrari is this?" "I say: "It's a PONTIAC Ferrari" He looks at me funny and they move on.... typical....no love here....
The raffle tickets are called out and WOW I just keep winning! 1 Bottle of white zinfandel wine 1 portable wine cooler tote 1 $50 Gift card for Target Stores 1 Gift of 4 rounds of golf with cart fees at Countryside Golf Club, (nice but, I don't golf....)
I figure I'm ahead of the game and it's a good day!
It's time for the trophy announcements.
The top 25 are called.....Nope...no Fiero,.... not expected either...
Then the Top 10....
8 trophies are handed out and I'm just watching out of curiosity to see what wins..
"CAR NUMBER 49...1987 PONTIAC FIERO"
APPLAUSE!!!!
I can't believe it. I won a top 10 award!!!
I'm still stunned.
The wife wants the $50 gift card for Target.....and the wine. She doesn't golf either....
[This message has been edited by randye (edited 04-26-2008).]
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05:42 PM
PFF
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CoryFiero Member
Posts: 4341 From: Charleston, SC Registered: Oct 2001
Congratulations! It's always nice to see a Fiero do well at an all makes and models show. There were not many nice cars from the 80s...The Fiero is one of the few bright spots from that era. Despite all the bad press, I feel they are appreciated.
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08:20 PM
Fier0Girl Member
Posts: 180 From: Lenexa, Kansas Registered: Oct 2007
Congratulations, I guess it was a good day for 87 gts, as i had my 87 gt in the local p.o.c.i. show here in jacksonville, and due to the fact that there was no class for fieros, i was put in the late model class that was pretty well dominated by the newer gto's. But i managed to pull out a second place, losing out first to an 05 gto that was a thing of beauty, and my 99 trans am took third in its class. I wonder what it will take for our beloved fieros to get the respect they have long overdue coming to them. Probably will never happen though. But once again congratulations on you award!
------------------ 87 fiero gt 4.9 99 trans am ls1 86 fiero se 2.8 (eventually to be a 3.8sc)
Congrats my friend...glad to see it after all the work that you put into that screaming yellow zonker...
Thanks Lee.
I wish I could have given more notice about this show to more of my Fiero brethren, but I didn't even know about it until yesterday.
Other than the usual snide remarks from a few of the muscle car and street rod guys, I had a lot of very nice comments on the car all day. One guy walked over, looked inside my car, then looked at me and said "Mr Mikes?" I said "Yeah, How did you know, do you have a Fiero?" He says "No, a PT Cruiser" So later on 2-3 more of the PT Cruiser people come over to see my Mr. Mikes seats...
Another pic from the show:
Around noon I was walking the show again and I came back to my car and there was a young girl sitting on the ground sticking a camera INSIDE my rear wheel well and a guy standing there with her. I said "Excuse me, WHAT THE HELL are you doing??" The girl jumped up and RAN AWAY! The guy just stood there for a minute, starts laughing and then tells me he has a Fiero he's been working on and wanted to know how I had lowered mine and he had asked his girlfriend to try to shoot a photo of my rear suspension for him because I wasn't around for him to ask me about it. The guy parked next to me confirmed that they had asked him about my car, and nothing was stolen or damaged, so I just chalked it up to weirdness.
More weirdness was seeing Florida "Antique" plates on a Bricklin! Wow, are they really that old now?
[This message has been edited by randye (edited 04-26-2008).]
Congratulations, I guess it was a good day for 87 gts, as i had my 87 gt in the local p.o.c.i. show here in jacksonville, and due to the fact that there was no class for fieros, i was put in the late model class that was pretty well dominated by the newer gto's. But i managed to pull out a second place, losing out first to an 05 gto that was a thing of beauty, and my 99 trans am took third in its class. I wonder what it will take for our beloved fieros to get the respect they have long overdue coming to them. Probably will never happen though. But once again congratulations on you award!
Congratulations to you too! Love was in the air for Florida Fieros today! My GT was just lumped in with all the "1969 to Present" class. I honestly didn't think I had a prayer of any kind of award seeing the cars that were there, so just maybe our Fieros are starting to get noticed!
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11:05 PM
jrwgt Member
Posts: 23 From: Raleigh, NC, USA Registered: Oct 2007
I think they are getting more and more respect all the time, if they are nice examples of the marque. Oh, and don't be TOO concerned if the judges only spend less than a minute judging the cars. Having judged shows, and working with judges at shows, I can tell you that if they spend 1 minute on a car at a show like that, that would be a rarity. If you think about it, even if the show only has 100 cars, 1 minute per car is still 2 hours worth of judging. 30 seconds is probably a little quick, but you can see a lot in 30 seconds of you know how to look.
Congratulations.
John Stricker
quote
Originally posted by jscott1:
Congratulations! It's always nice to see a Fiero do well at an all makes and models show. There were not many nice cars from the 80s...The Fiero is one of the few bright spots from that era. Despite all the bad press, I feel they are appreciated.
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08:19 AM
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Tina Member
Posts: 2858 From: At an elevation of 8564 feet. Registered: Nov 2000
Good job there. Exactly what we need more of. YeAH. More recognition (positive that is) for our beloved Fieros and the many hours a lot of us spend working on those things. Kudos to the judges too, for not being small minded to begin with. Congrats Tina
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09:16 AM
kevin Member
Posts: 2722 From: Elk Grove, CA USA Registered: Jan 2000
Congratulations! You won the reward for having such a beautiful Fiero. We see the outside of course, but why no pictures of the inside? We would love to see what the judges saw when they viewed the inside. Post pic's please :- )
Cordially, Kevin
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12:26 PM
California Kid Member
Posts: 9541 From: Metro Detroit Area, Michigan Registered: Jul 2001
I looked into all the cars shows around here and there are none for my poor Fiero. Most of them are for pre 1983 and people actually have the nerve of wearing t-shirts there that say "what part of pre 1983 don't you understand?". The rest are for the tuner crowd, which my poor Fiero doesn't belong to. It kind of makes me want to buy a rusted old POS that backfires and diesels when you shut it off and go to their events. Dave
Congratulations! You won the reward for having such a beautiful Fiero. We see the outside of course, but why no pictures of the inside? We would love to see what the judges saw when they viewed the inside. Post pic's please :- )
Cordially, Kevin
Ok... Here's the 3.4 motor. The coil was replaced before the show, so no rusty bracket.. I also have installed a chrome cruise diaphragm cover from Ecklers. (This pic is from Daytona last month) The entire bay is very clean. Upper intake manifold has all the casting parting lines removed and the throttle body cooling tubes mounting lug removed. The TB cooling tubes and cold start injector are removed. Thermostat housing tubes were removed, welded, ground smooth and the assemlby refinished. The rubber weather stip on the decklid that was removed during recalls is replaced with a nice "new" looking one. All the trunk weatherstip is new NOS. Trunk carpet looks like new. All engine brackets are cleaned and then powder coated or painted. I have replaced almost every bolt and nut with new stainless steel or chrome hardware.
The Upper manifold and valve covers were painted with a sort of unique method. Cleaned with Tal-Strip brand paint stripper., Then painted with HT Universal red (rattle can), red paint was sanded off the bare aluminum areas then the entire parts were sprayed with Clear wheel paint, then baked in the oven at approx. 200 degrees for a couple of hours They come out very glossy and the clear wheel paint is very durable.
Low profile headlights from Fiero1fan Gold & Black nose badge, (NOS)
Interior: Nearly everything in here, including the dash switches are new or 100% refurbished. The shifter handle has been replaced since this pic was taken with a black Corvette handle and the steering wheel horn button is now an all black one. Door panels recarpeted to match the floor carpet.
Wheels are HP Design EVO 18 X 8 (38mm offset), Nexen P225/40ZR18 tires all around Intrax 1.8 drop lowering springs. All poly bushings. All marker lights, body moldings and gaskets are new from Fiero Store Windshield and door glass are new PPG Inside and outside dew wipes are new NOS
Taillight lenses are new Fiero Store reproductions..very nice.
Paint is Corvette Millennium Yellow, and was done panel-off
There is a LOT more to be done to the car, and there are a lot of "problem areas" that need attention. but it's come a long way in 2 years from THIS:
[This message has been edited by randye (edited 04-27-2008).]
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03:05 PM
bmwguru Member
Posts: 4692 From: Howell, NJ USA Registered: Sep 2006
I thought I would update this old thread from last year.
As many of you might know, my 87' GT was repainted and a few more minor mods done since last year. We have been entering a few shows this season again, and I am happy to report that it looks like the Fiero might finally be coming into it's own at car shows.
I entered the same annual show that this thread started with again this year and won another Top 10 trophy.
A week later we entered another local show. 150+ cars entered. This time we won BEST of SHOW!
The next 2 shows we won another Top 10 award out of 300 cars entered, (Quaker Steak & Lube Show), and a Top 25 award out of 200 cars 2 weeks later.
Last night we entered a Premier Productions car show in Wesley Chapel, Florida. (Shops at Wiregrass Summer Classic Series) 240 cars entered. The Premier Productions Car Shows draw a lot of the "big boys" in central Florida with some amazing cars. My Fiero was placed in the "Car, Modified, (1987 -1992) class... I walked around the show and looking at all the cars in my class, I just *knew* we probably didn't have a prayer at this show. and of course, we didn't win the class we were entered in....
We *did* win BEST of SHOW, Modified Car, (1981 to Present) !!!
I almost fell over when they announced my car!
(I left my camera at home this show, but I'll post a photo of the trophy here later.)
Here's a link to a video of the previous Premier show at the same venue, just to show a small sample of what we were up against:
( Last night I was parked next to the same "Scooby Doo" van thats near the end of the video )
I don't know if it's sentiment over the demise of Pontiac or what, but the Fiero marque sure seems to be getting some long overdue attention lately. We got a lot of very positive comments and attention, along with tons of photos being taken all evening. It was amazing to say the least after attending so many shows last year and never placing but once.
[This message has been edited by randye (edited 06-15-2009).]
You do know that I am nearing completion of my paint and by the end of next month I will be giving you a run for your money.
Bring it on brother!
I really do hope my thread isn't construed as pure bragging, (well at least not completely ) I honestly want to encourage more Fieros owners to enter the "all makes / all models car shows as much as possible Several of the people in Florida and elsewhere already do, but I honestly believe that to gain the respect and recognition we know our Fieros deserve we need to get in there and compete as much as possible and not be detered by the past "reputation" and myths, so I also mean this thread as encouragement for others and hope that the LUCK I've had with some nice wins will prompt a lot more Fiero owners to get out there and do the same. The Fiero is a very unique and nice car that I now KNOW is getting more and more positive attention.
[This message has been edited by randye (edited 06-14-2009).]
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08:17 PM
Nazareth Member
Posts: 730 From: morristown, TN Registered: Aug 2003
I really do hope my thread isn't construed as pure bragging, (well at least not completely ) I honestly want to encourage more Fieros owners to enter the "all makes / all models car shows as much as possible Several of the people in Florida and elsewhere already do, but I honestly believe that to gain the respect and recognition we know our Fieros deserve we need to get in there and compete as much as possible and not be detered by the past "reputation" and myths, so I also mean this thread as encouragement for others and hope that the LUCK I've had with some nice wins will prompt a lot more Fiero owners to get out there and do the same. The Fiero is a very unique and nice car that I now KNOW is getting more and more positive attention.
