The start was simple enough, a FS advertisement two and a half years ago in the classifieds of the Wichita newspaper. At the time, I couldn't tell you what a Fiero looked like, but it's name popped out in my head for one reason or another. I went to look at it, and, (much like it is now) it was in rough shape. The interior wasn't in great shape (still isn't), the seats are torn badly in places.

The engine? Well, it didn't even look this good:

That intake is how I came to be involved with the Super Duty 4 cyl. Research trying to find out where it came from led in to more study about the entire Super Duty program.

About one year ago, I discovered that the head on the modified Iron Duke posted above was cracked. I then planned to replace it with either a new SD4 head, or swap in a 3.9, Northstar, or 3800SC. In about November I also discovered that my block was bad, so the engine came out for the last time, last looking like this:

Next post, the start of the SD4.

Nate Engel

David

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His Fiero: 1984 2M4 Coupe

Might want to find a different host for the pictures.
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4.9 Caddy in Garage! Car in Driveway! ACK!
HURRICANE!!! SEND RUBBER RAFTS!!!!!

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http://home.cfl.rr.com/fierose
Central Florida Fieros
http://www.centralfloridafieros.org

btw the pics worked fine for me.. i think they are racist against people who gloat about it being nice and warm in the winter

Okay, before I go into the details of my SD build I'll point out a couple pictures of weak areas on the stock Iron Duke, for those curious. I personally have no love for the Iron Duke, but the Super Duty is a different case.

First off, the block itself:

It has thin main bulkheads, at about .3-.4" in most places.

It has thin block walls also:

That's a reading of about .290". For a main wall on a block? Yuck.

And that thing GM called a crank? Well, I don't have much to say about it other than it's a POS.

HAD to go.

If I had a picture of my old ported head I would point out that it had like a .25" crack in it. I would also point out that it isn't good from a performance standpoint. You say, "Nate, why all the negativity about the Duke?". Bottom line, it's not a performance engine, or really even upgradable to any kind of acceptable performance.

Anyway, moving on, past the Iron Duke:

That's the starting point for everything to come, a Pontiac Super Duty block. Obviously, it's not so hard to tell if you have one. If you're not sure, you probably don't, beings as how they never came off of the production line in any vehicle.