Couple questions -

1. Does anyone happen to have a photo of the forward side of the engine with the heat shield installed over the exhaust manifold?
2. Has anyone tried/is it possible to install the forward heat shield over the rear manifold?
3. Any recent experience with WCF fulfilling manifold orders? They are bloody expensive, but if they can deliver in a reasonable time frame it's better than me hunting for good manifolds
4. Any recommendations on installation hardware? ARP studs, maybe?

Muchas gracias!

1. This is the the bulkhead side manifold looking from the front (passenger side) of the engine.



4. In the pictures I have the heat shield is attached to the outside studs with a nut and washer. The other points are connected using bolts. In my experience those should be hardened or heat treated M8 x 1.25 x 30 or 35mm. I recently replaced an outside bolt with one 35mm long, but it bottomed out so I added a washer and lock washer. I also added a piece of aluminum bent up around the head of the bolt to keep it from turning on its own. These things love to work themselves out. The best way to prevent this IMHO would be to make a heat shield that attaches in this way (with a bent up tab to prevent the bolt from turning) to each bolt.

[This message has been edited by 85 SE VIN 9 (edited 01-15-2017).]

Thanks for that - looks like a side swap is not possible... now I gotta do some research on DIY heat shield material!

Thought I would follow up on this...

The factory front heat shield will definitely not work on the rear, not even close. I'm sure a lot of you knew this, but I'm just confirming.

I placed an order for the WCF "factory" manifolds on 1/30 and they arrived last week. Not what I would consider a stellar turnaround, but a) they are the only game in town, and b) the parts are *really* nice. I think well worth the wait.

I hit up the Fiero Store for hardware, but retrospectively that may not have been a good choice. Their parts are great, but based on how this unfolded maybe not the right approach anymore. We'll see.

Shiny new WCF manifolds vs. my decimated factory ones:



Prepped with VHT Flame-Proof Primer, several coats of VHT Flame-Proof satin black, and a coupler coats of VHT Flame-Proof satin clear. THESE THINGS BETTER BE FLAME PROOF!



For heat shields, I used DCI's "Sheethot XT1000," which claims a temperature rating of 1650 Degrees F - should be *plenty* for anything the Fiero can do! The stuff looks and feels very similar to the heat shield used on my Audi, and my friend thinks it's similar to BMW's as well. I'll trust Ze Germans. Although, this stuff is made in Australia.

I used the factory heat shield as a template for the front, but just winged it on the rear. I realize the rear doesn't have a fitted heat shield from the factory, but I am hoping it will help keep heat out of the trunk, and maybe prying eyes from the not-quite-legal manifolds. We'll see.



I ended up going down the rabbit hole a bit further, so it'll be a bit before I can see how this stuff works out. I decided to go ahead and replace the intake and valve cover gaskets, and now I gotta figure out how to replace the rubber connectors on the vacuum pipes. They are 30 years old and not in the best shape.

[This message has been edited by thesameguy (edited 01-27-2020).]