Getting my Fiero out of Storage (Page 2/3) 82-T/A [At Work] FEB 01, 02:46 PM quote Originally posted by TheDigitalAlchemist: Ooo! This news is genuinely EXCITING! You might have seen my thread about how I discovered that Pontiac changed their cars somehow in the past decade or so, when I got a Fiero for my Son to enjoy as his "first car".... Don't worry. just put the palm of your hand on that car, and it'll all come back. Lemme tell ya, though. The Fiero is SUCH a weird car. The grey interiors remind me of some kinda aircraft, SOOOO good. the 'tan' ones? It's my 70's basement, especially the carpet... tans upon tans with an extra helping of brown and some extra tans thrown in for good measure... You're mid 40's which is usually (at least) slightly past "middle age". So "enjoy your "Golden years", bro". Go get that car goin' the best you can, and enjoy the next (hopefully) 25 years. Hope its another 40 or 50, even... A stranger told a guy today: "don't be an empty suitcase". I think that's kinda an interesting bunch of words. The Fiero is wonderful, but not as wonderful as YOU! Have fun and enjoy this decision of yours. The few of us who are still around with half a brain are here, holdin' up a cup of somethin' to toast your victories and such. Share pics, because if folks take pictures of their lunch and dumb plastic faces and lives, please share pics and details of your progress. XOXO I definitely will. It's embarassing to say this, but the first step was getting my Crown Victoria running. It's a huge car I have that I got from my Grandfather. It has under 50k miles on it, and I've had it since 2004. It basically sits in the garage, but I will be using that car to tow the Fiero from the storage unit. Battery was completely dead, so two chargers later (had to get a manual charger, in addition to a trickle charger), the battery had enough charge and it started right up. Now I need to replace the rear passenger caliper because for some reason it ceased up from just sitting. Tires are good because I just bought them a year and a half ago when I drove it from San Antonio to Tampa... after sitting for basically 3 years, hahah. Ugh... But yeah, I'll take pictures. I can't even imagine what it'll be like to be driving that Fiero again. Last time I actually drove it I was still in my 20s. quote Originally posted by TheDigitalAlchemist: When exiting a Fiero, as long as the steering wheel locks up, my back won't... I recall the phrase from that old Altered beast game and call upon it as a mantra when i get out of the car: "RIIIIIISE FROM YOUR GRAVE!" LOL, OMG... that a Sega Genesis game is being used as an old-people reference is just blowing my mind. It's like going into a store for old people, and they're playing Guns n' Roses because that's "oldies but goodies." quote Originally posted by Mike in Sydney: Don’t I know it! Getting in and out isn’t as easy as it was when I bought my 1st one 30 years ago - or even last year. 😂. Now, I get in by opening the door, backing up to the seat, plonking my butt in the seat, and spinning around to put my legs under the steering column. I reverse the process to get out - but that requires more effort. Yeah, I don't even know. When I was 19/20 or whatever... I would just hop in it like it was nothing. I'm 20+ pounds heavier, and while I'm not an old fart by any means, I'd imagine that sitting on the floor is probably going to be an interesting experience. Cars have changed a LOT since I last drove my Fiero. I took pride in the fact that my Fiero (stock height), I could drive under the gate at my apartment complex because it was so low. Driving next to pretty much any SUV or truck right now would feel like being next to a semi... Patrick FEB 01, 09:41 PM quote Originally posted by 82-T/A [At Work]: I'm in my mid-40s now, about 20 pounds heavier, and am curious what it'll be like getting in and out of that thing. Just for you Todd, I looked up an old thread Here from 2012 with all sorts of advice for getting in and out of a Fiero... including my post copied below. I'm pleased to report that I'm only 5 lbs heavier than I was 11 years ago. quote Originally posted by Patrick: I'm 6'3" (195 lbs), so my technique is for tall people I suppose. My right hand is on the steering wheel and my left leg takes my weight as my ass and right foot lead the way (with my right knee pointing towards the outside of the car). When my ass is planted, I push a bit with my right hand on the steering wheel while I pivot and move my right knee towards the console while lifting my left leg into the car. When getting out, I place my left foot on the ground, my right hand on the steering wheel, and with my left hand I grab the handle of the half-open door to push and "launch" myself out of the vehicle as the door fully opens. The door actually "pulls" me out. As we all know, these doors are heavy, so I like making use of their inertia when exiting the car. The bolded part really helps! Jake_Dragon FEB 01, 10:39 PM Good for you, its always nice to see someone put their first car back on the road. TheDigitalAlchemist FEB 01, 10:40 PM quote Originally posted by 82-T/A [At Work]: A nice maroon Crown Vic was going to be my first car, it was really sweet, but it was HUUUGE. Felt like I was driving a boat. ended up getting a Cutlass Supreme, had a neat digital Dash... 82-T/A [At Work] FEB 02, 07:49 AM quote Originally posted by Patrick: Just for you Todd, I looked up an old thread Here from 2012 with all sorts of advice for getting in and out of a Fiero... including my post copied below. I'm pleased to report that I'm only 5 lbs heavier than I was 11 years ago. Hahah, thanks Patrick. Truthfully... I'm not that worried about it. I'm still in pretty good shape, and I jog every day, so while I'm a few pounds heavier, I'm still pretty fit. Even when I was in my early 20s, I still got out of the car very carefully. I had the thought that I'd be keeping this car forever, so I was very careful when I got out so as not to pull on the steering wheel, push on the seat, or destroy the seat bolster. What I would generally do is use my legs, and pull up on the outside of the car to lift myself up and out, without putting any pressure on the side bolster, or using the steering wheel. But we'll see... haha... I was more kidding than anything. I see E-Frugal (who started that thread) is no longer with us... moment of silence (he got banned, not deaded) quote Originally posted by TheDigitalAlchemist: A nice maroon Crown Vic was going to be my first car, it was really sweet, but it was HUUUGE. Felt like I was driving a boat. ended up getting a Cutlass Supreme, had a neat digital Dash... Yeah, it's a silver Crown Victoria: ... and at one point I had a maroon Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme: I ended up selling the Oldsmobile though, but still keep the Crown Victoria as a spare car... though I basically never drive it. It does feel like a boat. I've tried to improve the suspension a bit with progressive spring-assist shocks, and it's worked pretty well... but it's definitely no sports car. It still has ballerina slipper tires on it too, which are the OEM size. Lots of power though... it really gets up and goes... quote Originally posted by Jake_Dragon: Good for you, its always nice to see someone put their first car back on the road. Yeah, the only thing I'm concerned about is that I'm going to end up wanting / needing to rebuild the engine again. I don't think such a great job was done when I did it last time. The machine shop asked me... "Do you want me to balance the rotating assembly, or is it good?" and I said... "Nah, I've got a harmonic balancer, it's good..." So... yeah. I've learned a lot since then... but that's my thought. I am also obsessed with trying to get a modern computer in there that will more efficiently manage the engine, while still looking totally stock from the engine bay... so that's going to be my challenge. Jake_Dragon FEB 02, 02:28 PM I think if I was going that way I would do a 3.4 and a performance rebuild. Not too crazy just open it up a bit, then stick a turbo on it I have always loved the sound of a healthy V6 with an nice open exhaust. If I only had a shop, money and all of the tools. I miss wrenching on cars, its been way too long. Look forward to seeing your progress. 82-T/A [At Work] FEB 02, 04:05 PM quote Originally posted by Jake_Dragon: I think if I was going that way I would do a 3.4 and a performance rebuild. Not too crazy just open it up a bit, then stick a turbo on it I have always loved the sound of a healthy V6 with an nice open exhaust. If I only had a shop, money and all of the tools. I miss wrenching on cars, its been way too long. Look forward to seeing your progress. Well, I suppose this is probably worth a post in the technical section, but I'll focus on getting the car back into the garage first. The engine has been rebuilt into a 3.2L, if I think I'm doing my math correctly. It has a 3.1 crank and rods, and I went with a .040 overbore hypertectic pistons (?). It has maybe 1,000 miles on it since the rebuild, but my biggest concern is that the cam lobe was probably wiped out. Also, I did not use locktite on the torque converter, so the bolts on the torque converter are rattling... which is not really a problem because I'm converting it to a 5-Speed anyway. I've already installed a new clutch master cyl in the front, new clutch lines, rebuilt pedal assembly with clutch pedal, and I've got a low mileage 28k 5-Speed Getrag from a 1987 that was wrecked back in the 90s. It's been sitting on a pallet for the past 14 years. How much harder would it be to install the 3.4 crank and rods? I'd like to keep the factory block, and while I'd love a turbo, I want to keep it stock looking. But again, I may open it up anyway. My goal is to make it reliable in the upper RPMs as well... and make it a good mid-to-upper rpm performer (in as much as a V6/60 can be). I have a Crane H272 cam, brand new in the box (that I bought in 2007) that I would install in it. Patrick FEB 02, 04:08 PM quote Originally posted by 82-T/A [At Work]: I see E-Frugal (who started that thread) is no longer with us... he got banned Yeah, nice to see that the ratings system does occasionally get rid of the a-holes. 82-T/A [At Work] FEB 02, 07:27 PM quote Originally posted by Patrick: Yeah, nice to see that the ratings system does occasionally get rid of the a-holes. I actually don't even remember anything he posted... pmbrunelle FEB 02, 08:29 PM 3.4 crank and rods are the same as 3.1 crank and rods. It's bigger pistons and larger bores that distinguish a 3.4 from a 3.1.