IMSA Racecar resoration:The rebirth of the Seyfert/Buist Fiero (Page 5/10)
ChopTop JAN 08, 09:36 AM
lol, I'm slowing cleaning out my basement and just brought my huge red IMSA Sunbrite(?) battery powered model into work today and put it the breakroom (original box and all) for anyone to take, it's already gone. Maybe it will go to a future Fiero enthusiast.

[This message has been edited by ChopTop (edited 01-08-2009).]

California Kid JAN 08, 12:10 PM
Dave,

Thanks for taking the time to create this thread on your car, looking forward to future posts on how the project is going.

Tom
Dave Deerson JAN 09, 09:24 PM
Alright ,on to the first roll out as a complete car!! Now ,I have to talk about the back story going on at this point in time. My wife is a high school teacher and was awarded a Fulbright scholarship to study abroad for the summer.I was(and still am) proud she got it and she was pumped to get it. The program was to study in India and Shrilanka for six week. She left June 21 and came back August 6. The only orders I received when she left was 1.water my plants and 2.just finish that race car!! (so we both can get on with our lives!!). Well I ended up buying new plants! When she left the car was a bare,painted frame with just the suspension hung,aligned and bump-steered. Everything else was pre- fabbed up and stored away such as the wire,oil and brake harnesses, brackets, dash panel,etc...The body had been painted,sanded and polished months before and just needed to be fitted. Well,the car went from that bare frame to having a running engine in one week!! The rest was completed over the next couple of weeks. Now,keep in mind I really wanted to get out to Detroit to attend the 25th so there were MANY all nighters and nights where the sky was getting pretty light by the time I left the shop to go home,sleep,get up,eat, shower and go to it all over again the next day! I give alot of thanks not only to my very understanding and supportive wife for going along with this obsession of mine ,but to my employees who took up the slack at the shop when I would come to work late, exhausted and eyes redder than the color of the Fiero!!! I did not get everything done in time to get out to the 25th,and it really hurts that I did not get a chance to see the prototypes and Huffaker car in person. But who knows what can happen in the future........I was also very disappointed in not getting a chance to finally meet Paul Hosler and his screaming yellow zonker of a car that gave me this IMSA bug in the first place!!

Enough talk.............
This images is larger than 153600 bytes. Click to view.
This images is larger than 153600 bytes. Click to view.
This images is larger than 153600 bytes. Click to view.
That's me on the right,sitting on the tires.............looking a little exhausted!!!

This images is larger than 153600 bytes. Click to view.
This images is larger than 153600 bytes. Click to view.
This images is larger than 153600 bytes. Click to view.
This images is larger than 153600 bytes. Click to view.
The decals were done by Hudson Historics,a shop that specializes in restoring IMSA racecars such as GTP/Camel Light and GTO and U.They are period accurate reproductions of the decals used by the series and sponsers.The Pontiac Motorsports decal was recreated with help from photos and a letterhead from an internal P.M momo I got when I bought some Fiero IMSA photos,press releases and articles.
A few weeks later I finally got the car out on the track for it's shake down. I did the initial testing at New Jersey Motorsports Park,and then really shook her down 2 weeks later at Watkins Glen. To say I was happy at the way it performed doesn't even come close. Honestly,anyone who has built up a car from scratch has spent many hours sitting in the seat working the pedals,shifting through the gears (maybe making some engine sounds?) all the while trying to imagine what his creation is going to look,feel,sound,smell, and drive like.Then come the magic of the first time you slip into the seat,fire it up, snick it into gear and let it loose!! Watkins Glen is my all-time favorite track,hands down,bar none.We go there four times a year and have many laps and there. It was really awsome to finally run the Fiero there after 2 years of blood,sweat,and tears(and lots of $$$$$$$$$ too!) .I really ran there may times with my old street based Fieros and in recent years with my Spec Miata race car,so my top speed down the back stretch was never that fast,maybe 135 in my old 3.4 DOHC '88. Well this car rips up through the esses at 138 and down the backstretch at around 155-160!!! And I'm not even settled in it yet! I'm lapping in the low 2s(2:08 to 2:10) and this car should be able to crack into the 1:59s. Here are some pics we took in Victory Lane and out on track......

This images is larger than 153600 bytes. Click to view.
This images is larger than 153600 bytes. Click to view.
This images is larger than 153600 bytes. Click to view.

This images is larger than 153600 bytes. Click to view.
This images is larger than 153600 bytes. Click to view.
This images is larger than 153600 bytes. Click to view.
This images is larger than 153600 bytes. Click to view.
This images is larger than 153600 bytes. Click to view.

This has been a project that really pushed my boundries.....in performance,in length of build,and most of all in amount of money spent. I questioned my sanity many times,but do not regret taking this challenge on at all. There's more to come,as a project like this is never really done. There are additions such as air jacks to be installed and modifications/improvements like upgrading the trans to dog syncros to do this winter, I just hope the racecar budget doesn't take a hit!
I'm very happy that many of you enjoy my build log. I'm sure there are many questions/comments out there and look forward to answering them. Years ago the only info I could get on these IMSA cars was from the small amount of pictures out on the web. So if anyone would like more pictures or info on the construction,setup or history, I would be happy to help out.

Thanks for lookin'......

Dave D.
doublec4 JAN 09, 09:42 PM
Those are some really great pictures, did you have a professional photographer come out and shoot those while you were on the track?
kwagner JAN 09, 10:48 PM
That looks like a lot of fun
CosVegFiero JAN 09, 11:05 PM
What a fantastic job you did on the car, a high speed work of art.

Thanks for posting the thread.

Dick
R Runner JAN 10, 08:35 AM
Dave,

I just want to say that after looking at the pictures again and again, your car looks really good. No, I mean REALLY good. Frankly I think your craftsmanship is better than mine and all the details in the car show that. This is a great accomplishment and you should be proud (as it appears you are) of this marvel. Congratulations on a job well done. I hope we can get the cars together on the track some time for a little lead/follow (I'll be following ).

Everyone else......

Having built a car from scratch myself, I must say that it is much more difficult and mentaly/emotionaly taxing than most people know. Having lived though it, I am very impressed with not only the drive Dave had for the project, but the ability and unwillingness to take short cuts. It is easy to want to take short cuts at 2:00 am in the morning.
I have spent hours on the phone with Dave during this project (and before) and not doing what you probably think. I was LEARNING from Dave's build and updating MY car based on some of his advice. Things I never thought of like positon of tanks, front and rear clip structure, sway bar tuning. I still have a list of things I wan to do to my car that Dave did and I like. For example, until Dave asked, I never had really done the math on the IMSA suspension and swaybar set up. Then there was all of the help he gave me getting my rear quarters, RCB, and deck lid. That help lasted for 1.5 years! Hard to believe. I have learned so much from Dave that it is hard to imagine.

Thank you again Dave. Here is to collective learning and building friendships through common interests.

------------------
Paul

For a full history of my IMSA Build: http://www.cardomain.com/ride/789315
HHP Adjustable Sway bars for ALL MODELS: http://www.fiero.nl/forum/Forum4/HTML/036556.html

Dave Deerson JAN 10, 09:25 AM
doubleC4, yes I cheated and had a pro take some pics at the track. I am a staff member(Chief of Race Tech) of NASA Northeast/Performance Driver's Association and in addition to lots and lots of track time, we also have an on staff photographer. Nolan will take pics of the drivers during their run groups and put them up as a slide show during lunch (just don't slide off the track into a big mud pit during a morning race qualifiying session and the rain!! I know!!), and then they can purchase a CD of the whole day or a frameable picture. I had him blow a favorite pic up to a huge poster size or the shop!!

Dave.
ALLTRBO JAN 12, 11:58 AM
I wish I could see both of these cars together in person!

The talent, motivation, and persistence (not to mention money and health!) of some of you never ceases to amaze me. I think the best part of it all is the chance to forge lasting relationships with people and to strengthen the ones that previously existed. You know you've really done it well when you have that.

I have the drive but the health (and, therefore, money) isn't there. Thanks, at least, for bringing the story here for me to experience!
jerry455 JAN 13, 05:26 PM
the car looks fantastic. i worked with dave buist and he used to talk about this car, i emailed this page to him. he retired from gm a few years ago where we both work.