Front Grand Prix struts are sized VERY close to fiero rear struts. (Page 1/1)
ricreatr AUG 17, 04:06 PM
Anybody ever tried using them? i am working on an 88, and bought a gp front strut, compared lots of measurements and was very convinced it would work well. Then i called zzperf and the guy said oh, yeah lots of people try that, and something makes it undoable (he couldnt remember what). zz sells an agx adjustable strut for $150 each. little extra lard in the gp makes me think its struts will be valved heavier which would be good for my 350lbs/inch (thanks for posting info guru!!) springs. the body diameter was very close, the body length was very close. the shaft length was a little longer. the big bolt holes were over 1/2" further apart. i would keep the upper bolt hole and slot the lower one up to drop the strut body as much as possible. the mount was way bigger/unusable.
any ideas whether or not it would work?
Patrick AUG 17, 04:41 PM
Some photos would be great. Maybe a side by side comparison if possible.

[This message has been edited by Patrick (edited 08-17-2023).]

fieroguru AUG 17, 06:48 PM
I think you will run out of material in the strut to knuckle flange.

W-body strut:


Fiero strut:
Raydar AUG 17, 11:26 PM
I wouldn't be surprised if the Chevy Celebrity or Citation struts were a good match.
cvxjet AUG 18, 12:55 AM
The Chevy Citation strut is exactly the same as the Fiero strut....And the angle of the spindle mounting bolts is different on those Grand Prix struts.

A couple of guys have mounted a Bilstein cartridge strut using a cut down old Fiero strut as a mount adapter....But we really need to know which Bilstein strut they used. I have a friend who makes custom suspension parts for 1st gen Mustangs- really amazing stuff. He would probably be willing to make adapters for those Bilstein cartridge struts...

To give you an idea how good those Bilstein struts are, back in the late 90s I was building my '73 Mustang up for handling. A co-worker test drove it and told me the shocks sucked...so I did research on shock-absorber technology....And found out how advanced the De Carbon shock was; I could not get Bilsteins for my 'Stang but found that KYB Gas-A-Just are De Carbon shocks- When I tested my Mustang I could not believe the improvement; Better ride AND better Body control (Basically, Better at both ends of the shock spectrum)
fieroguru AUG 18, 07:06 AM

quote
Originally posted by cvxjet:

The Chevy Citation strut is exactly the same as the Fiero strut....

A couple of guys have mounted a Bilstein cartridge strut using a cut down old Fiero strut as a mount adapter....But we really need to know which Bilstein strut they used. I have a friend who makes custom suspension parts for 1st gen Mustangs- really amazing stuff. He would probably be willing to make adapters for those Bilstein cartridge struts...




The weld bead for the spring perch on the Citation is about 1" lower on the strut body than the Fiero. Not a big deal if going with coilovers, but definitely not exactly the same either.

Fieros used to have a Bilstein non-adjustable strut, but is long discontinued. If you can find one of them, you can have them rebuilt/re-valved.

If the OP is looking for heavier cars that used a compatible style strut, the GM dustbuster minivans would be the place to look, but there are no performance versions for that application.
ricreatr AUG 18, 06:09 PM






Lets see if i can do photos.
The perch is lower on the fiero strut.
After taking out the strut bearing and using the fiero mount, my saggy springs might get me back to original height.
The gp agx struts are adjustable.
The lower bolt hole is going to be right near the edge of the steel.

[This message has been edited by ricreatr (edited 08-19-2023).]

ricreatr AUG 18, 06:16 PM
Photos work!


That first photo makes it look like the lower bolt holes almost line up. They do not. Gp strut was spread ~3/4” farther apart.
Patrick AUG 18, 06:18 PM

quote
Originally posted by ricreatr:

Lets see if i can do photos.



If you hit enter after each image URL, you won't get the URL of the 4th image corrupted (with an introduced gap in the URL). You can fix this all easily by editing your post.
ChuckR SEP 05, 06:34 AM
Just wondering if anyone has looked at QA1 with their custom options if there is anything there that an 88 can use, and what type of mods would be required to make something work.