The car is not sitting on all fours. The front hood is off. The spare tire and jack is out. The radiator is removed. The drivetrain is removed and on the floor currently. So, yeah, there's still a lot of weight to be put on the suspension.

The coilover shock nuts were just tightened enough to take any slack out of the spring at full extension. I still have lots of adjustment on them. The shocks are not adjustable and I haven't actually measured the travel distance of the shock. I'll probably end up doing that when I remove everything for the final cleaning.

The hubs were purchased from WCF along with their corvette brake package.

I am building a 355 conversion on my Fiero down here in Calgary AB. I have gone through a LOT of challenges with suspension for this build. I, originally, paid a local kit builder for some suspension but he took the money and did not deliver. After some leagl battles, I got other stuff in return and then I started looking around for other suspension kits to purchase.

I looked into RCC products as well as Held and I thought they were all good but I thought they were too much money for what you get. I ended up building my own suspension. Took me about 2 weeks to design and build the basic setup. Spent another few weeks working through details and ensuring I was not going to miss some important consideration. Rears were much easier as they are pretty much seting up some measurements and welding together the tubes. Not too hard there. I also extended both front and rear to get the wheels in the correct location for the wider 355 body panels. ~ 4" each in the rear and 2" each in the front. Bump steer will be removed in the saem way that RC is doing it by moving the training arm pivot point out to the control arm pivot point.

I built the front suspension on stock geomtry just made a new cross member and control arms out of tubular steel rather than the press formed sheet metal. It has turned out well in my opinion. I had the same concern you do with shock travel. The lowering shocks that are normally used do not give you much travel at all so, on the front, I worked in a longer shock set from Monroe Shocks with coil over conversions. Only thing with that is I had to go through the inner fender well by about 2" to get the mid length of the shock for full travel abilities. I also built in some reinforcing off the front frame to the shock mouting points and will put in a cross brace across the front trunk area to ensure minimal flex.

Spring rates I have used are 275 lb in the front and a 300 in the rears. Stock is about the same so if you are not putting in extra weight such as the V8 going into this one, 275 and 300 thereabouts seems about right. Stock rides with much more spring will rattle your knidneys pretty badly from what I have heard.

The suspension and engine conversion look like they are going well. Keep it up and good luck.

Cheers
Don

Thx Don,

It sounds like you've taken on a much bigger project than I have. I am definitly interested in seeing your setup. I don't think I have the experience yet to redesign a complete crossmember, but I've surprised myself before. Perhaps your car will inspire me on the next project.

Don: Your doing an awesome job on your 355, I've followed your build at Ari's.

Soelasca: You to. This is a great build topic. Keep up the good work... I do have a question for you concerning the POR-15.. Are you putting a top-coat on it, or are you leaving it natural? After seeing your stuff, I had to finally break down and buy some.

thanx for all the info..
Bob

quote Originally posted by RCR: ..I've followed your build at Ari's. Bob

How about a link, we would all like to check it out, sounds awesome.

http://www.kitcar.ca/yabbse/index.php?topic=4100.0 - Cradle/chassis reinforcement
http://www.kitcar.ca/yabbse/index.php?topic=3168.0 - rear suspension
http://www.kitcar.ca/yabbse/index.php?topic=2508.0 - front coil-overs

There's probably a few more articles (I just did a search for"Don") The cradle one is the newest I'm following.

I actually bought some topcoat, but didn´t use it. Apparently I´ve either got to wait until the base coat is tacky or use some tie-coat primer to put on the top coat. Seeing how I don´t start painting my stuff until I am nearly going to bed, I´m not getting up at 4 am to put on the top coat. All the stuff I´m painting is just suspension parts anyways so I figure it won´t hurt any.

Thanx, that's what I figured. Besides, why sell silver if you have to top-coat it? I've done my rear brake shields and like the results so far. Keep up the good work. I'm looking forward to see your final results.

Bob

RCR;

I am using POR-15 as well on all my undercarraige parts. I bought the chassis black quart can (really expensive up here retail $72.00 CDN/quart but I think worth it). I then found the Canadian distributor and got more for $41.00/quart so that is better. I talked to the Canadian distributor and he said just paint the cleaned metal with that and it sticks and will wear very well. You can use the etching primer as well from the makers of POR-15 on some heavily rusted areas but if your parts are cleaned or sand blasted to raw metal, you can just paint the top coat and let it dry. It is like painiting semi congeled or really thick paint.

I did my frame top piece getting ready to install into the car and it is very hard. I even tapped a couple drips with a hammer to see if they break off and they would not. I had to file the drips off so you know it is sticking well.

Cheers
Don

[This message has been edited by 355Fiero (edited 01-18-2005).]

Wow! That's going to be a very nice ride when you are done

------------------
Palm Beach Fieros
http://pbfieros.tripod.com

Don:

Who is the Canadian distributor for POR-15?

Thanks
Nolan

The local distributor I found for Edmonton was in Spruce grove at a place called eagle´s nest. It´s a motorcycle shop. I think I paid about $50 for a quart of por 15 and $60 for a quart of topcoat.

I´m currently in Mexico. I haven´t seen a Fiero yet. I was hoping to see a few down here, but no luck.

I can´t wait to get back and work on my car

http://www.canada-por15.com/
Stevens Auto Electric & Machine Ltd out in Grimsby Ontario

I had mine shiped out by UPS for $9.00 frieght and I got two quarts of the PoR-15 satin black for the frame.
Took about 3 days to get out to Calgary from Ontario.

Cheers
Don

Thanks Guys.

PS, Enjoy Mexico!

Nolan

Well, I got around to ordering some of the last minute pieces yesterday. I ordered a powermaster starter from summit racing. I also ordered the front inner tie rods for the steering rack from the fiero store. I removed the rear hubs for inspection this past weekend. Rusty, but seemed to turn fine with no play. However, the seals on them looked burned. I tried to find some replacement seals but could not source any out. So I ordered new rear hubs from the fiero store. I also tried to remove the dowel pins from my 2.5 engine. I got one out. The other one I butchered and had no luck so I ordered new ones from GM. Apparently they are discontinued but they still had some in Vancouver so the new dowels will be here tomorrow.

I also removed the clutch and brake pedals last night to replace the teflon bushings. NOT an easy task for a larger guy like myself. I also pulled the clutch master cylinder and replaced the banjo with Rodney Dickman's adjustable banjo. Not too bad of a job if you've dealt with REALLY small snap rings before .

By this weekend hopefully I will have the rear knuckles sandblasted and a fresh coat of POR 15 applied on them. I also intend on having the engine and tranny together and mounted on the engine cradle.

Oh yeah..... I found a source for the control arm bolts I was so desperately looking for. The Fiero store

So I was a little rushed yesterday and didn't get to take my usual bazillion photos. I did get a fair amount done for the time alotted though.

The engine with the pressure plate and flywheel attached.

The drivetrain together sitting on the cradle.

The last picture shows how close the front mount of the engine sits to the edge on the cradle. However, I haven't slotted the tranny mount holes yet.

I slotted the mounting holes for the front tranny mount last night and then drilled and fastened the engine mount to the frame. Here's a few pictures.

Is that a re-location bracket on the toe-link bracket to help with bump-steer? Is that part of someone's kit?

Bob

[This message has been edited by RCR (edited 02-08-2005).]

That looks loke the RCC bump steer kit. It repositions the pivot point for the trailing arm out over the control arm pivot so the arcs are a lot closer. Removes almost all the bump steer except for when the suspension is in extreme extension or compression.

If you are in extreme extension you have much bigger issues to deal with than a bit of bump steer.

Cheers
Don

Yes, that is a RCC bump steer kit. I had put them in place awhile back and never bothered to pull them off yet.

I mounted the water pump last night. The pictures actually make the colors look like they match. The water pump is actually quite lighter than the engine.

Can anyone tell me what mistake I made here?

You got it all mounted and forgot to paint the bracket.
[shrug]

Bob

Bolt holes drilled too close and therefore being a real pain?

To tell the truth both answers are right. I kicked myself when I noticed I forgot to paint the angle iron and then DOUBLY kicked myself when I made the classic mistake of drilling two bolt holes on the same plane.

So I attempted to test fit the engine and cradle tonight. It didn't go as well as planned.

1. I had to lift the car DANGEROUSLY high to get the engine underneath. Needless to say, I was very cautious while moving the engine underneath.

2. I still was tight with clearance. I had to remove the distributor cap to actually get the unit to fit underneath the car. I also kicked myself for not removing the driver's side coolant tube when I had the chance.

3. The tall valve covers made installation a pain. I had to remove them to make the job MUCH easier. I also dropped one in the process and scratched it. THAT did not make me happy.

4. Then I ran into this problem. It appears I did not get the engine far enough to the driver's side. The harmonic balancer pulley is rubbing against the frame. I've read about this problem and seen that some people beat in the frame with a hammer or even cut away a portion of the frame. When I pull the cradle out I'll see if I have any more room to travel left. If not, a hammer should fix things.

Looks great!!!!!!!!!!

Some Fieros are narrower than others. I had to notch the frame on mine. Besure to leave enough room for belt changes. You might want to reverse that nut/bolt on the RH side of the front mount so it won't get in the way of belt changing, either. You may also have some trouble with those valve covers. I used tall Moroso chrome covers on mine and had to make lower tranny maounts and put the engine in the lowest holes on the front mount. After all of thet, the rear cover still hit the dogbone mount and I hade to remove almost all of the decklid hinge. The torsion springs had to go, too. But then again, that's the fun of engine swapping. Good luck!

------------------
1986 SE 350 V8

I'm looking at your pictures and wondering about something. It appears that you don't have much or any room to change the oil filter. Are you going to install an oil filter relocation kit?

quote Originally posted by avengador1: I'm looking at your pictures and wondering about something. It appears that you don't have much or any room to change the oil filter. Are you going to install an oil filter relocation kit?

Its probably just on there for paint and test fits.
It cant stay that way the starter goes there.

Correct, the oil filter was originally installed when I ran up the engine on the stand. I left it there for painting purposes. I just got my remote oil filter kit last weekend, so hopefully I'll be installing it soon. I also got the engine shifted over so the harmonic balancer/pulley clears the frame rail. I pounded in the rail with a hammer too so I'd have room to change the belt.

I also found out something semi-interesting too. I recently changed jobs and now I'm working in an engine shop. I was boring a block for a inline 6 cylinder chevy. When I happened to take a look at all the parts I noticed the harmonic balancer pulley from the engine looked almost identical to the one in the v8 kit. I haven't checked it out yet, but I'm pretty sure that's where it comes from. Just to think that I thought they were machined down from a v8 harmonic balancer all this time.

I just received some more parts from the fiero store yesterday too. I got my inner tie rods and rear hubs from the fiero store. I should have pictures of all those when I get it together.

The clean up on the engine compartment is coming along well. Everything seems "close" to finishing, but I know the project is still a LOOOONG way away.

Oh yeah.....
On a sarcastically funnier note. Dix Performance North called me yesterday. If you don't know, they're the guys who know even LESS about parts than me (which is a little less than nothing) and pretty much screwed my over $1200 worth of valve train parts. I ordered the parts in August of last year. They just called me yesterday ( 6 months) to let me know my clutch was in. Nothing like good customer service.

DON'T BUY PARTS FROM DIX PERFORMANCE NORTH !

Ok, so I got my starter and remote oil filter last week and decided to mount it this week. Nothing seemed to go right with this event.

1. The remote oil filter was the wrong one. (says right on the box it's for ford and chrysler and guess who didn't take the time to read? )
2. The instructions with the start say " Remove the block by lifting it on both ends while pressing on the pinion with your thumbs". BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA....... riiiiight. Here's a picture of what came apart after a little persuasion with my dead blow hammer.

3. Then When I get the block offf I notice a "spring" in one of the holes and decide to pull it out so I won't lose it. Turns out that spring was a helicoil. I stopped pulling it out after about 3 threads, so it's still salvagable, but I'm questioning the quality of powermaster starters now. Here's a picture of the helicoil (circled in white)

So then I decide to move on to the task of switching the teflon bushings on the clutch and brake pedal. Removing the clutch pedal was easy. Removing the brake pedal WOULD have been easy if the bolt that goes through both pedals was inserted from the driver's side instead of the passenger side. I had to remove the brake booster and the bracket that holds the pedals just to get it out, but all is well that ends well..... right? Wrong. You tell me what's wrong with this picture?

I thinks me has a bent clutch pedal.

I can't remember if I showed a picture of the installed adjustable banjo, but here's another one anyways

Here's what I did tonight after having a semi-frustrating day with the fiero.

Don't worry, the wife isn't going to kill me for putting stickers on the fridge. I put them all on magnetic material first.
Now they're magnets! Free to be posted anywhere, anytime.

I'm not so sure you have a bent clutch pedal. I was under my dash today and noticed the clutch pedal had that same curve to it on the bottom just above the foot portion.

I'll check it again tomorrow night but I think they might have been built that way or I have a problem as well. I hope it wass built that way.....

Is there something in behind that it needs to clear to get a full travel?

Cheers
Don

So the last week has been a little frustrating. I hoped I was going to have more done than I actually got done ( This is always the norm for me). I did however manage to get the new bushings put into the clutch and brake pedal and the pedals back into the car.

I was hoping to get the right length bolts to install the starter all week, but one after another after another problem fell in my way..... just for TWO FREAKIN' BOLTS! Unbelievable but true.

I finally got the right fittings to get my regulator working so I could apply some POR 15 with the new paint gun I bought. That was a waste. It woulda been easier to apply with a brush like I did from the start. The good news is I got my rear knuckles and brake guards painted tonight.

I've been searching high and low for information or pictures on how this torque strut is installed on the engine. The instructions that come with the v8 kit state to mount it to the left of the rear cylinder headand then mount it to the frame. Not that I can't figure that out, but the video doesn't show anything on the matter either. I don't even think the engine he installed had one on it. I found one picture of one with the rod on it, so I'll have to use that and my imagination for now.

The master cylinder that came with the brake kit from WCF has different port sizes than the original. I wish the kit would've included some adapters. I live in buttlick, nowhere. I went down to the 3 stores we have that carry brake lines and adapters and got a few things but not everything I need. So, off to the city just to find some fittings. GRRRR.

I'm still wondering what I should do with my coolant tubes. The passenger side tube has some serious dents in it. I can probably get some decent ones from Kick Hill, but I've been thinking of sourcing out some stainless and having them bent. However, time to source out materials and service providers is scarce.

I ordered all new brake lines, clutch lines and a clutch MC rebuild kit from the fiero store. Hopefully, they'll be here next week.

Anyways, here's a few pictures of the clutch pedals with the new additions.

In this picture I've got an old bushing next to the brake pedal. I had to cut the new bushing to the length of the old one since it went in too far and binded near the weld. If you end up doing this repair on your car you'll know what I"m talking about without question.

So here's the latest.

I got in the pattern to cut the insulation out. But it turns out the insulation I bought is too small. So I got to go find some insulation that's the right size. DOH!

I finally got the right brake lines and adapters. I only had to custom make one fitting and everything else should be fine. I won't know until I get all the brakes hooked up.

Here's a few pictures.

I am dilligently working on some of the small odds and ends like blasting and painting bolts that I'm reusing. Yes, I'm putting a lot of time into it. Here's one picture to show the lengths I'm going.

I managed to get a 4 bolt main 350 short block. Why? Just cause I did. Now I'm debating on whether I should rebuild it and put int underneath the already existing top end I have bolted to a 2 bolt main. Doubt it will happen. Money is getting tight.

Here's a picture of it anyways.

This swaps reminds me so much mine.... All the little problems that doesn't show up in the video See below my build thread for how I did the torque strut. The head part is easy. At the frame you need to build a bracket. Many ways to do it.
Mine has gone bad too in so many ways. Last Friday when I thought I was ready to take it out and test drive it again (after new tranny and clutch) the master cylinder went bad Tomorrow a new one arrives. Hopefully everything else will be right and I may make it to Daytona with this car....

https://www.fiero.nl/forum/Forum1/HTML/046290-2.html

So, I got around to putting the rear hubs together and had a problem when I mounted the brake rotors.

Here's a picture of the hub assembly.

Then I put on the spacer for the rotor.

Then I put on the 12" rotor

It didn't fit so I tried the 13" rotor

It didn't work either, so I guess I'm going to have to grind off that tab. I wish I would've known that BEFORE I painted them :P

I hear you on the rear hub;

I am doing the 11.25" upgrade and ran into the same problem with the rear Beretta brake disks. I had to grind that tab off as well as the rear dust guards will rub on you when the tab is gone and the brake goes all the way to the hub.

I am still looking at what I can do about my dust guards as there will be a fair amount of bending and fitting to get them on. The fronts were better but I still have to adjust my spacers to get the dust guard on properly.

Something to look out for with the upgrades. Looking good though.

I am in the process of running all new brake lines in my car and I have run up against the metric bubble flare versus the 45* standard flares you get on NA cars. Fiero uses the bubble flares. I have had to order a flaring tool in from the States to get a decent flare. I have also broken two of the cheap $40.00 flaring tools a well. Stipped the threads on them just by crimping the soft metal tubing. Junk.

Anyway. Looking good and pay attention to the dust guards as that is your next interference coming.

Cheers
Don

Thx for the advice Don. I was actually thinking about that last night, whether or not those dust guards were gonna fit or not.

I got the tabs ground off tonight, not a big deal. About a minute each with the grinder.

I got the clutch line and brake lines installed and the clutch master cylinder rebuilt. It was a little bit of a PITA but nothing unexpected. I couldn't quite get that rubber grommet looking good again since the lines have that coil protector around them. Here's a few pictures.

Here's a picture of the starter mounted and the placement of the remote oil filter. The starter mounting block had do be milled down in order to get the proper gear engagement out of the pinion. Since this kit is over 4 years old, I would assume that the new kits come with a differently machined block *shrugs*.