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| "New" Here - some questions! (Page 1/3) |
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musicmansam
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MAY 24, 10:46 PM
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EDIT: Added some pics of my car as a new reply to introduce myself and my car 
Hi everybody! I joined awhile back to do some research and when I owned my first "mistake" Fiero lol. Anyway, last week, I was finally able to purchase my dream car and the exact vehicle that got me into Fieros in the first place - an '88 5spd CJB Fiero. I am very excited to have this car and take care of it now.
That being said, the previous owner was getting up in age and busy with other things, so the car was kind of on the back burner for the last many years. While stored inside and still in very good condition, there are a few things here and there I'd like to do to get this car to really stand out again. Any help/advice is greatly appreciated!
1. I am looking for some gold valve stem caps. Some kids stole 2 of them off this car during the last ownership, and I really like the black/gold theme that is going on with it. I realized they might just be the chrome ones of TFS, but painted? Can anybody advise on that? See pics for reference.
2. Possibly looking for the rubber seal that goes around the trunk. Mine is ripped off on one side on the engine side. I could probably glue it, but would like to replace eventually.
3. What material are the original TTOP bags made out of - Leather or Vinyl? The ones I have are a little dusty so I'd like to clean them, but don't want to do anything that will jeopardize their construction. I tried to find a tag or something on them but no dice.
4. I am having a radio issue with the UX1 head unit. I was able to jiggle it around and change seemingly-good fuses today so there is more response than previously seen. Now, when I push the power button on/off, the speakers do a "blip" kind of noise, but nothing on the unit lights up. I can hear static on the speakers now when the unit is powered on, and when I change the balance, some speakers do crackle. Now that I have all this info, I am remembering some other topics that had this very similar issue, but any extra guidance is still appreciated while I try to find those old topics...
There are many other things I will do over the next few years, but these are the bigger things I'd like to do to get this car comfortably shown this summer already.
Again, thank you for any advice/input you may have!! I am new to owning a manual, and new to a real Fiero (my old one had a 3.4 swap done pretty roughly...), so I am excited to learn everything there is to learn.
Also - if this is the incorrect thread, please let me know and I will move it!!
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-Sam[This message has been edited by musicmansam (edited 06-20-2023).]
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Mike in Sydney
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MAY 24, 11:59 PM
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Welcome to the group. The first thing to remember is to say, "Hi. My name is Sam and I'm a Fiero addict." (We'll take you through the 12 steps later.)
1) Good luck with the valve stem caps. I think they are pretty rare but you may find them on eBay. I'm pretty sure they are after-market.
2) The Fiero Store is a good source of parts for our cars as is Rodney Dickman. Google either and search those sites. I've purchased two trunk seals from TFS in the past.
3) Pretty sure the T-Top covers are vinyl - at least the ones I've seen. (I'm not sure they were from CJB or not but I can't imagine them being leather). Look at the inside seams for confirmation.
4) IMO, the best bang for your buck, radio-wise, is to swap the stock UX1 radio with one for an early '90s radio from a Gran Prix. Chances are you'll find those will have a CD and 7-band equaliser. You can also find those that have been converted to take an input from an external phone, iPod, etc. The faceplate colour is the same as the UX1and the backlight colour matches the existing backlights on the UX1. Also, think about replacing the 4x10 speakers in the dash. You can find 4x10 co-axial speakers that work pretty well and if your car has the premium sound then the sound quality is better due to the factory amplifier and bass reflex speaker. Other than that, an aftermarket amp speaker is the go.
This forum usually is for technical issues and intros would go into General Fiero Chat but I don't think there's a hard and fast rule.
Again, welcome to the Forum.[This message has been edited by Mike in Sydney (edited 05-25-2023).]
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Rhodesia1977
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MAY 25, 03:34 PM
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Welcome to our club! Those valve caps look cool. They are probably custom or after market. I've never seen any like those. Most of the guys on here know everything about these cars and are of great help for the less mechanically inclined people such as myself. I have a red 86 GT, all original and stock up here in freezing Michigan. Ya, check out the Fiero store. They have all kinds of neat stuff. Rodney Dickman has some cool stuff too. O recently purchased some struts for my rear decklid. They are awesome. Good luck!
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Spoon
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MAY 29, 06:03 PM
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| quote | Originally posted by Rhodesia1977:
Welcome to our club! Those valve caps look cool. They are probably custom or after market. |
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I zoomed in the best I could and the stamping appears to say "Made in USA US PATENT xxxxxxx" . Somebody was serious about copy prevention, etc. Hard to believe all 4 weren't stolen, if they're truly gold.
Perhaps they were made by Schrader Co.
Spoon
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"Kilgore Trout once wrote a short story which was a dialogue between two pieces of yeast. They were discussing the possible purposes of life as they ate sugar and suffocated in their own excrement. Because of their limited intelligence, they never came close to guessing that they were making champagne." - Kurt Vonnegut [This message has been edited by Spoon (edited 05-29-2023).]
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fierofool
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MAY 30, 12:53 PM
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| quote | Originally posted by Mike in Sydney:
Welcome to the group. The first thing to remember is to say, "Hi. My name is Sam and I'm a Fiero addict." (We'll take you through the 12 steps later.)
4) IMO, the best bang for your buck, radio-wise, is to swap the stock UX1 radio with one for an early '90s radio from a Gran Prix. Chances are you'll find those will have a CD and 7-band equaliser. You can also find those that have been converted to take an input from an external phone, iPod, etc. The faceplate colour is the same as the UX1and the backlight colour matches the existing backlights on the UX1. Also, think about replacing the 4x10 speakers in the dash. You can find 4x10 co-axial speakers that work pretty well and if your car has the premium sound then the sound quality is better due to the factory amplifier and bass reflex speaker. Other than that, an aftermarket amp speaker is the go.
This forum usually is for technical issues and intros would go into General Fiero Chat but I don't think there's a hard and fast rule.
Again, welcome to the Forum.
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When upgrading to the later GM radios, almost any Pontiac model on up past 2000 will have the upgraded radio Mike mentions. It is a direct fit into the Fiero, has PONTIAC cast into the faceplate, and has the correct color lighting to match the Fiero's lighting. Go to replacementradios.com and crutchfield.com for radios, speakers, and conversion harnesses so you don't have to cut and splice radio and speaker wires.
Plug and play radio harness
https://replacementradios.c...72eb547f0236365bcd99
Plug and play speaker harness
https://www.crutchfield.com...rnesses.html?tp=3097
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musicmansam
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MAY 30, 06:42 PM
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| quote | Originally posted by Mike in Sydney:
Welcome to the group. The first thing to remember is to say, "Hi. My name is Sam and I'm a Fiero addict." (We'll take you through the 12 steps later.)
1) Good luck with the valve stem caps. I think they are pretty rare but you may find them on eBay. I'm pretty sure they are after-market.
2) The Fiero Store is a good source of parts for our cars as is Rodney Dickman. Google either and search those sites. I've purchased two trunk seals from TFS in the past.
3) Pretty sure the T-Top covers are vinyl - at least the ones I've seen. (I'm not sure they were from CJB or not but I can't imagine them being leather). Look at the inside seams for confirmation.
4) IMO, the best bang for your buck, radio-wise, is to swap the stock UX1 radio with one for an early '90s radio from a Gran Prix. Chances are you'll find those will have a CD and 7-band equaliser. You can also find those that have been converted to take an input from an external phone, iPod, etc. The faceplate colour is the same as the UX1and the backlight colour matches the existing backlights on the UX1. Also, think about replacing the 4x10 speakers in the dash. You can find 4x10 co-axial speakers that work pretty well and if your car has the premium sound then the sound quality is better due to the factory amplifier and bass reflex speaker. Other than that, an aftermarket amp speaker is the go.
This forum usually is for technical issues and intros would go into General Fiero Chat but I don't think there's a hard and fast rule.
Again, welcome to the Forum.
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Thank you for all the good information! I will remember that first line in the future for sure...
All good info for 1-3, and it will help in my quest to bring this car back to 100%. I am personally trying to keep the vehicle as stock-looking as possible, so I'd prefer to have a stock Fiero radio, but also know that issues are to be had with these because, well, its a 30+ year old car. I may just get a slightly newer one for the time being until I can find someone/somewhere to get the old one back running again. Also thank you for the speaker recommendation - it hadn't really crossed my mind yet as things to do, and probably won't for another year or two, but will definitely be a good thing to have in mind soon.
Thank you again![This message has been edited by musicmansam (edited 05-30-2023).]
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musicmansam
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MAY 30, 06:46 PM
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| quote | Originally posted by Rhodesia1977:
Welcome to our club! Those valve caps look cool. They are probably custom or after market. I've never seen any like those. Most of the guys on here know everything about these cars and are of great help for the less mechanically inclined people such as myself. I have a red 86 GT, all original and stock up here in freezing Michigan. Ya, check out the Fiero store. They have all kinds of neat stuff. Rodney Dickman has some cool stuff too. O recently purchased some struts for my rear decklid. They are awesome. Good luck! |
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Thank you for the warm welcome! I love the valve caps because they really do match the scheme of the rest of the car, so it stinks that I only have half of them! Hopefully someday I'll be able to find or source another set. Michigan is about the same weather as MN, so we are on the same page there
Thanks again for the good info and websites - I definitely have a lot to learn yet!
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musicmansam
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MAY 30, 06:51 PM
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| quote | Originally posted by fierofool:
When upgrading to the later GM radios, almost any Pontiac model on up past 2000 will have the upgraded radio Mike mentions. It is a direct fit into the Fiero, has PONTIAC cast into the faceplate, and has the correct color lighting to match the Fiero's lighting. Go to replacementradios.com and crutchfield.com for radios, speakers, and conversion harnesses so you don't have to cut and splice radio and speaker wires.
Plug and play radio harness
https://replacementradios.c...72eb547f0236365bcd99
Plug and play speaker harness
https://www.crutchfield.com...rnesses.html?tp=3097
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Thank you for the response! And for the links specifically - I had heard of others upgrading to newer units, but was not sure the best place to find one other than salvage yards as time goes on. It would definitely be nice to get everything in one place to ensure it all works together.
Thanks again!
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musicmansam
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JUN 20, 09:56 PM
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IMSA GT
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JUN 20, 10:04 PM
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Now THAT is one gorgeous car. I love it.
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