24 Hours of Lemons Fiero. What's gonna blow up? (Page 1/2)
billy bee AUG 31, 08:21 PM
As I have mentioned in other posts, we bought a 1988 Fiero Formula that has a 3.4 swap. Seems to run pretty well. The car came with a cage and has been prepped to a pretty high standard, but what is likely to fail over 14-plus hours of endurance racing?

We have aftermarket front hub, but I suspect there is a problem with them already and we have not even turned one lap on track. I have read about the rear hubs, but I think if we get good hubs and bearings and torque everything properly, we might be ok. We may have to replace them every race weekend, but who knows? I certainly don't

What do you all think is going to blow up on this car? Bear in mind that it is much lighter than a stock car as it has been completely stripped out. We will certainly look for pattern failures and make sure to have spares, but would love to hear from the collective wisdom of the Fiero Faithful.

Thanks,
Bill

PS: Here are some pictures:




This is what we are shooting for with the paint job; still got a ways to go:


Interior shots:
Kitskaboodle AUG 31, 08:52 PM
Ignition coil failures (due to heat & high rpm)
Brake pads (duh)
Kit
Patrick SEP 01, 12:16 AM

quote
Originally posted by billy bee:

CLICK FOR FULL SIZE



Is this a 24 hour endurance race over boulders? Why is the car sitting so high?

[This message has been edited by Patrick (edited 09-01-2022).]

cvxjet SEP 01, 12:27 AM
Make sure you have A) An AC/Delco ICM in your distributor (And a spare with the proper Thermal paste and tools to swap them in the event of a failure)

B) Move your coil to the trunk wall (I did and then used a calibrated temp sensor- temp dropped from 160 to 120)

C) Duct as much air to the brakes as you can to help cool them (And definitely some good pads)
Notorio SEP 01, 12:46 AM

quote
Originally posted by billy bee:

As I have mentioned in other posts, we bought a 1988 Fiero Formula that has a 3.4 swap. Seems to run pretty well. The car came with a cage and has been prepped to a pretty high standard, but what is likely to fail over 14-plus hours of endurance racing? ...




Your foot? (i.e. after repeatedly slipping off the Clutch and the Brake pedals.)

[This message has been edited by Notorio (edited 09-01-2022).]

ericjon262 SEP 01, 01:01 AM
which 3.4 are you running? 3.4 camaro engine? 3400 aluminum head engine? 3.4 DOHC? flattening a cam lobe is definitely a possibility on a camaro engine with a flat tappet, the 3400 and DOHC camshafts tend to hold up better.

IIRC, the Camaro engine prioritizes oil to the cam compared to the mains/rods. IF your cam bearings are toast, the mains and rods are in for a treat when you start beating on it. I know the 2.8 is this way, the later roller cam engines all have priority main oiling.

intake gaskets tend to be the Achilles heal of the 3400, if one of those goes during a race, I won't say it's the end of the race for you, but it will be a tough one to recover from.

other than weight, I'm not aware of a inherent flaw to the 3.4 DOHC.

as mentioned above, ignition control modules are a single point failure for all of the above, they're quick enough to change, but you don't want to be caught without one on game day.

------------------
"I am not what you so glibly call to be a civilized man. I have broken with society for reasons which I alone am able to appreciate. I am therefore not subject to it's stupid laws, and I ask you to never allude to them in my presence again."

I invited Lou Dias to trash me in my own thread, he refused. sorry. if he trashes your thread going after me. I tried.

darkhorizon SEP 01, 08:43 AM

quote
Originally posted by ericjon262:

which 3.4 are you running? 3.4 camaro engine? 3400 aluminum head engine? 3.4 DOHC? flattening a cam lobe is definitely a possibility on a camaro engine with a flat tappet, the 3400 and DOHC camshafts tend to hold up better.

IIRC, the Camaro engine prioritizes oil to the cam compared to the mains/rods. IF your cam bearings are toast, the mains and rods are in for a treat when you start beating on it. I know the 2.8 is this way, the later roller cam engines all have priority main oiling.

intake gaskets tend to be the Achilles heal of the 3400, if one of those goes during a race, I won't say it's the end of the race for you, but it will be a tough one to recover from.

other than weight, I'm not aware of a inherent flaw to the 3.4 DOHC.

as mentioned above, ignition control modules are a single point failure for all of the above, they're quick enough to change, but you don't want to be caught without one on game day.




Not here to say much other than the TDC in my ex lemons car just runs and runs, previous owner(s) ran probably 8 or 9 weekends on the same junkyard motor.

As far as my recommendations for reliability.. put a half decent modern fuel injection system on it so you are not dealing with failing electronics from 40 years ago all the time like I was with my lemons car.
billy bee SEP 01, 10:13 AM

quote
Originally posted by darkhorizon:


Not here to say much other than the TDC in my ex lemons car just runs and runs, previous owner(s) ran probably 8 or 9 weekends on the same junkyard motor.

As far as my recommendations for reliability.. put a half decent modern fuel injection system on it so you are not dealing with failing electronics from 40 years ago all the time like I was with my lemons car.



TDC must mean something other than top dead center here. What is TDC?

[This message has been edited by billy bee (edited 09-01-2022).]

billy bee SEP 01, 10:14 AM

quote
Originally posted by ericjon262:

which 3.4 are you running? 3.4 camaro engine?



That’s the one!
billy bee SEP 01, 10:20 AM

quote
Originally posted by Patrick:

Is this a 24 hour endurance race over boulders? Why is the car sitting so high?




The car is on jack stands. Sirs quite low, actually..