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IMSA Fiero (number 61) by Mickey_Moose
Started on: 12-29-2008 11:45 AM
Replies: 22
Last post by: madcurl on 07-08-2009 07:02 PM
Mickey_Moose
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Report this Post12-29-2008 11:45 AM Click Here to See the Profile for Mickey_MooseClick Here to visit Mickey_Moose's HomePageSend a Private Message to Mickey_MooseDirect Link to This Post
For those of you collecting pictures of IMSA Fieros here are some pictures of one from around 1992 (I also included the history).

At the time of the pictures, the car was owned and raced by Jack Ondrack of Edmonton, AB. Excerpt of the car’s history from Jack:

“I bought it from Greg Syfert of Detroit, who built it from the Pontiac Motorsports plans. Greg was Mark Donohue’s one and only crewman when they brought the Porsche 917-30 to Edmonton IS to dominate the 1973 Can Am race. My first Fiero had an Isuzu-based four speed with a GM-commissioned straight cut gear conversion from Webster of California, the people who built Indy car transaxles. The engine was a pushrod 2.7 liter with Kinsler injection, the same setup then popular with midget racers. Throttle response was phenomenally good and I lowered the Calgary Race City GT-2 lap record by a bunch (to 1:21.7, which stood up for ten years) the second weekend we ran the car (in 1991?).

The Isuzu/Getrag broke repeatedly, so I followed what GM did and called Webster in San Francisco. They had built a racing transaxle from the five speed Getrag for GM ca. 1985, and had dozens of modified Fiero Getrag cases and hundreds of gear pairs, forks, bearings, etc. for the Fiero racing transaxle. Since they had no use for it, hardly anyone was racing Fieros and therefore using this stuff, they sold me a truckload for five or ten cents on the racer price dollar. AMS of Edmonton built me two 2.7 engines over the winter as well, one sprint engine at 290 hp and one enduro engine at 270 hp, with Weber 45DCOE carbs so that the car would be eligible to run in SCCA GT-2.

The following year we ran the car at Thunder Hill and Portland IR in SCCA GT-2, as well as in Calgary. With the 270 hp engine it was not competitive with the Toyota, Jaguar, Porsche 944, Nissan and Sunbeam Tiger GT-2 cars, all of which had more power, and some were lighter. The 290 hp engine blew up in one hour. So the following winter we took advantage of Cosworth and Huffaker selling all their three liter four valve DOHC stuff at a steep discount. Again, a truck and trailer from California to bring it all back to Edmonton. Experience with the fragile Isuzu trans and pushrod 2.7 SD4 caused me to buy three extra Cosworth DOHC engines and I had George Morawietz of Vancouver assemble me a couple of extra Webster Getrag five speed transaxles. The 404 hp Huffaker-built Cosworth engine and the Webster Getrag in the car lived for at least three seasons – as long as I raced that car, anyway, because we never replaced another engine or gearbox.

I sold the chassis/body to Drew Salter of Paradise Valley, Arizona, and the parts to various people. A lot of the engine stuff went to Puerto Rico for turbocharged drag racers – 1100 hp, 7 second quarter miles in doorslammers. One engine went into a four cylinder class desert rock climber; another set a four cylinder belly tank Bonneville record. Drew never got around to building a Porsche bodied race car from the Fiero . After a few years in his shed, the car went to David Deerson of New Jersey, who modified it considerably to build a beautiful SBCV8/ Porsche 930 transaxle specimen. “


BTW: Jack still races a Fiero, he currently owns 2, the most recent is Dick Murray's old car that he is currenty restoring...and now the pictures of the above meantioned car:

This images is larger than 153600 bytes. Click to view.
This images is larger than 153600 bytes. Click to view.

[This message has been edited by Mickey_Moose (edited 01-01-2009).]

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Toddster
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Report this Post12-29-2008 12:17 PM Click Here to See the Profile for ToddsterSend a Private Message to ToddsterDirect Link to This Post
 
quote
Originally posted by Mickey_Moose:

“I bought it from Greg Syfert of Detroit, who built it from the Pontiac Motorsports plans. Greg was Mark Donohue’s one and only crewman when they brought the Porsche 917-30 to Edmonton IS to dominate the 1973 Can Am race. My first Fiero had an Isuzu-based four speed with a GM-commissioned straight cut gear conversion from Webster of California, the people who built Indy car transaxles. The engine was a pushrod 2.7 liter with Kinsler injection, the same setup then popular with midget racers. Throttle response was phenomenally good and I lowered the Calgary Race City GT-2 lap record by a bunch (to 1:21.7, which stood up for ten years) the second weekend we ran the car (in 1991?).

The Isuzu/Getrag broke repeatedly, so I followed what GM did and called Webster in San Francisco. They had built a racing transaxle from the five speed Getrag for GM ca. 1985, and had dozens of modified Fiero Getrag cases and hundreds of gear pairs, forks, bearings, etc. for the Fiero racing transaxle. Since they had no use for it, hardly anyone was racing Fieros and therefore using this stuff, they sold me a truckload for five or ten cents on the racer price dollar. AMS of Edmonton built me two 2.7 engines over the winter as well, one sprint engine at 290 hp and one enduro engine at 270 hp, with Weber 45DCOE carbs so that the car would be eligible to run in SCCA GT-2.


These were actually Weber 55DCOE carbs. I bought both engines and still have the windowed 290 version awaiting rebuilding

 
quote

The following year we ran the car at Thunder Hill and Portland IR in SCCA GT-2, as well as in Calgary. With the 270 hp engine it was not competitive with the Toyota, Jaguar, Porsche 944, Nissan and Sunbeam Tiger GT-2 cars, all of which had more power, and some were lighter. The 290 hp engine blew up in one hour. So the following winter we took advantage of Cosworth and Huffaker selling all their three liter four valve DOHC stuff at a steep discount. Again, a truck and trailer from California to bring it all back to Edmonton. Experience with the fragile Isuzu trans and pushrod 2.7 SD4 caused me to buy three extra Cosworth DOHC engines and I had George Morawietz of Vancouver assemble me a couple of extra Webster Getrag five speed transaxles. The 404 hp Huffaker-built Cosworth engine and the Webster Getrag in the car lived for at least three seasons – as long as I raced that car, anyway, because we never replaced another engine or gearbox.

I sold the chassis/body to Drew Salter of Paradise Valley, Arizona, and the parts to various people. A lot of the engine stuff went to Puerto Rico for turbocharged drag racers – 1100 hp, 7 second quarter miles in doorslammers. One engine went into a four cylinder class desert rock climber; another set a four cylinder belly tank Bonneville record. Drew never got around to building a Porsche bodied race car from the Fiero . After a few years in his shed, the car went to David Deerson of New Jersey, who modified it considerably to build a beautiful SBCV8/ Porsche 930 transaxle specimen. “



I got most of the Getrag stuff as well as various engines, axles, and components.

[This message has been edited by Toddster (edited 12-29-2008).]

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Mickey_Moose
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Report this Post12-29-2008 12:25 PM Click Here to See the Profile for Mickey_MooseClick Here to visit Mickey_Moose's HomePageSend a Private Message to Mickey_MooseDirect Link to This Post
 
quote
Originally posted by Toddster:

These were actually Weber 55DCOE carbs. I bought both engines and still have the windowed 290 version awaiting rebuilding


...could be, I am just forwarding what I was told (hence the "quotes" and different color)...

[This message has been edited by Mickey_Moose (edited 12-29-2008).]

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blakeinspace
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Report this Post12-29-2008 02:34 PM Click Here to See the Profile for blakeinspaceSend a Private Message to blakeinspaceDirect Link to This Post
No wonder the last Engine and Gearbox lasted so long... The man started running Amsoil!

Amsoil FTW!

<---- (note: biased Amsoil dealer posting)

Nice pics and history, I'd never have known about this car without you taking the time to share.
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Dave Deerson
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Report this Post12-29-2008 06:16 PM Click Here to See the Profile for Dave DeersonSend a Private Message to Dave DeersonDirect Link to This Post
Thank you for posting those picstures!I thought Jack had sent me all he had of my car.I love to look at old pics o any racing Fiero. Here's the car as she looks today!These were taken at Watkins Glen this past fall.
This images is larger than 153600 bytes. Click to view.

This images is larger than 153600 bytes. Click to view.

I have been toying with the idea of starting a build thread of the restoration as I took lots of pictures throughout the process.
The car was updated with the "later"(1988 season) wider front fenders and increased track width due to longer control arms.The engine is a warmed over LS6(Corvette Z06) and Porsche 930 gearbox.I would like to upgrade the gearbox to a Hewland DGB,but it is just not in the budget for now.However I will upgrade the 930 box to full dog-engagement spec this winter.
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IMSA GT
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Report this Post12-29-2008 09:32 PM Click Here to See the Profile for IMSA GTSend a Private Message to IMSA GTDirect Link to This Post
 
quote
Originally posted by Dave Deerson:

I have been toying with the idea of starting a build thread of the restoration as I took lots of pictures throughout the process.


Please feel free to post away
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Mr Ferrari
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Report this Post12-29-2008 09:45 PM Click Here to See the Profile for Mr FerrariSend a Private Message to Mr FerrariDirect Link to This Post
That car looks fantastic..
I know someone selling an IMSA Fiero at the moment.. I am sure it is a true IMSA car..

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kwagner
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Report this Post12-29-2008 11:57 PM Click Here to See the Profile for kwagnerClick Here to visit kwagner's HomePageSend a Private Message to kwagnerDirect Link to This Post
Always love seeing IMSA pics Thanks for sharing!
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Report this Post12-30-2008 01:04 AM Click Here to See the Profile for JefrysukoSend a Private Message to JefrysukoDirect Link to This Post
 
quote
Originally posted by Dave Deerson:

I have been toying with the idea of starting a build thread of the restoration as I took lots of pictures throughout the process.


I would certainly love to see what you have to share.
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Report this Post12-30-2008 04:28 AM Click Here to See the Profile for R RunnerSend a Private Message to R RunnerDirect Link to This Post
 
quote
Originally posted by Mr Ferrari:

That car looks fantastic..
I know someone selling an IMSA Fiero at the moment.. I am sure it is a true IMSA car..



Who is selling one?


Dave.... Great pictures! I love seeing that thing in action.
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Dave Deerson
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Report this Post12-30-2008 07:45 AM Click Here to See the Profile for Dave DeersonSend a Private Message to Dave DeersonDirect Link to This Post
The only one I can think of right now would be the car John Kerkoff owns.He had mentioned last year that he had no intentions of racing any more,so the car would be for sale.That car is a real Huffaker chassis(early production) that ran under the "Pickway Shoes" banner.I think one of the drivers was the TV star Lorenzo Lamas.
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Report this Post12-30-2008 07:49 AM Click Here to See the Profile for Dave DeersonSend a Private Message to Dave DeersonDirect Link to This Post

Dave Deerson

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Member since Dec 2007
As to posting the progression of the restoration of my car,I will find some time over this long weekend to upload pictures to photobucket from home as I have a faster connection there than what I have at the shop.
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Mickey_Moose
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Report this Post12-30-2008 10:54 AM Click Here to See the Profile for Mickey_MooseClick Here to visit Mickey_Moose's HomePageSend a Private Message to Mickey_MooseDirect Link to This Post
 
quote
Originally posted by Dave Deerson:

Thank you for posting those picstures!I thought Jack had sent me all he had of my car.I love to look at old pics o any racing Fiero. Here's the car as she looks today!These were taken at Watkins Glen this past fall.


No problem, nice to see some recent pictures of the car - looks good

I too would like to see a 'build thread' on the car as well. It's too bad all our tracks around here are closing, as it does not give me as much of an opportunity to see Jack run his cars anymore (can't even go over to the shop to see them, at least not while they are in the US).

...anyways...
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Report this Post12-30-2008 11:14 AM Click Here to See the Profile for Mr FerrariSend a Private Message to Mr FerrariDirect Link to This Post
 
quote
Originally posted by Dave Deerson:

The only one I can think of right now would be the car John Kerkoff owns.He had mentioned last year that he had no intentions of racing any more,so the car would be for sale.That car is a real Huffaker chassis(early production) that ran under the "Pickway Shoes" banner.I think one of the drivers was the TV star Lorenzo Lamas.


The person that has the IMSA for sale is Bill Lentz that lives in New Jersey.. He has a big collection of Fiero's and I recently bought Don Kraus's old low 11 second Aldino from Bill(see sig). He has a 3800s/c 355 for sale that was Dave Helds personal car with slalom suspension and Corvette brakes, a V8 Testarossa replica, he just sold the N Star Mera that was owned by the creator of the Mera.. I bought a V8 308 replica he had, he has a old Daytona and F40 replicas as well.. Plus he has the IMSA fiero that he is currently selling..

I have known Bill for a few years and he is having a tough time in his life dealing with medical issues in his family.. He is selling most everything he can..
I think the IMSA needs to be restored to a point and I dont know any details other than it is a genuine IMSA car.. Bill only bought the good stuff and loves his Fiero's..

------------------

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Dave Deerson
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Report this Post12-30-2008 12:22 PM Click Here to See the Profile for Dave DeersonSend a Private Message to Dave DeersonDirect Link to This Post
Where in New Jersey?I am in central NJ and would love to check the car out.Are you sure it is a real IMSA race car(tube chassis GTU) and not an IMSA body kit on a Fiero chassis?I was under the impression that the only other tube chassis Fiero in this area was owned by Mike Kallelis in Mountainside,NJ.He built his car from the GM plans and ran in SCCA GT2.
PM me with contact info if possible.

Dave
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Report this Post12-30-2008 09:00 PM Click Here to See the Profile for Dirty HarrySend a Private Message to Dirty HarryDirect Link to This Post
Great pictures of a beautiful car. I had the pleasure of meeting Billy and Richie Dingman three years ago and got to look over the Dingman Brothers Racing #4 Valvoline Fiero GTO. Craig Stephens arranged for he and I to transport it on my rollback to the Daytona meet to display in the Fiero section. Bob Earl drove the car in the Camel GTU class and compiled a record of 10 wins and 16 poles in 27 starts during the 1985 and 1986 seasons. He also won three races in the Camel Lights class during 1986. This car had a Pontiac Super Duty 90 degree V6 of 4.5 liters (272 C.I.D.) that produced 500 hp @ 7,500 rpm. The car is unrestored and in the condition as it was last raced. These cars are time capsules to be treasured.

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Report this Post12-30-2008 09:37 PM Click Here to See the Profile for doublec4Send a Private Message to doublec4Direct Link to This Post
Definitely need some more pictures of that car!
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Report this Post12-30-2008 10:49 PM Click Here to See the Profile for Mr FerrariSend a Private Message to Mr FerrariDirect Link to This Post
[quote author=aa2uk link=topic=9918.msg104237#msg104237 date=1212112327]

I also have a GT IMSA that was to be IRM's show car before the owner passed away it is 95% completed built on a 1984 Fiero that I want $10,000 for. It has a Buick 4 banger OHC motor and a 4 speed automatic.
[/quote]

He is giving the car away basicly.. He dropped the price to $7,500 for a genuine real IMSA car..

Bill (aa2uk) is a member of this forum and here is a link to his for sale thread at the kitcars forum... http://www.kitcarsforum.com...e-entire-collection/

[This message has been edited by Mr Ferrari (edited 12-30-2008).]

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Report this Post12-31-2008 12:45 PM Click Here to See the Profile for RickNSend a Private Message to RickNDirect Link to This Post
Anyone else having trouble opening Mickey_Moose's pictures? I can open Dave's with no issue, but MM's act like they are opening for half a minute and then my browser says it's done but no image shows up.

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Mickey_Moose
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Report this Post01-01-2009 10:56 AM Click Here to See the Profile for Mickey_MooseClick Here to visit Mickey_Moose's HomePageSend a Private Message to Mickey_MooseDirect Link to This Post
 
quote
Originally posted by RickN:

Anyone else having trouble opening Mickey_Moose's pictures? I can open Dave's with no issue, but MM's act like they are opening for half a minute and then my browser says it's done but no image shows up.




...try now, server issue - sorry
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Report this Post01-01-2009 05:39 PM Click Here to See the Profile for RickNSend a Private Message to RickNDirect Link to This Post
 
quote
Originally posted by Mickey_Moose:


...try now, server issue - sorry


Works now!

Thanks!

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Report this Post07-08-2009 05:29 PM Click Here to See the Profile for kwagnerClick Here to visit kwagner's HomePageSend a Private Message to kwagnerDirect Link to This Post
 
quote
Originally posted by Mr Ferrari:

[quote author=aa2uk link=topic=9918.msg104237#msg104237 date=1212112327]

I also have a GT IMSA that was to be IRM's show car before the owner passed away it is 95% completed built on a 1984 Fiero that I want $10,000 for. It has a Buick 4 banger OHC motor and a 4 speed automatic.


He is giving the car away basicly.. He dropped the price to $7,500 for a genuine real IMSA car..

Bill (aa2uk) is a member of this forum and here is a link to his for sale thread at the kitcars forum... http://www.kitcarsforum.com...e-entire-collection/

[/QUOTE]

Sorry to bring this thread back from the dead, but somehow I missed this. Are you kidding me? A genuine IMSA 95% complete for $7500? Is there any way to get in contact with him? I hope he's sold it by now, but if not, a real imsa fiero has been my dream since day one (evidenced by the fact I found this thread ), and I have the cash.

Edit: After re-re-reading it, it appears to be a regular fiero with an IMSA kit?

[This message has been edited by kwagner (edited 07-08-2009).]

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madcurl
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Report this Post07-08-2009 07:02 PM Click Here to See the Profile for madcurlSend a Private Message to madcurlDirect Link to This Post
 
quote
Originally posted by IMSA GT:


Please feel free to post away


I second that.

------------------



"I drive modified Fieros- anything less would be uncivilized."

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