quote Originally posted by Back On Holiday: Are you coming to carlisle this year? Your like my brother from another mother

I am - I've already registered, but I have a LOT of work to do. I just bought 3 gauges I have to wire up and install (WB O2, Fuel Pressure, Boost), not to mention the Supercharger reinstall (plus find that annoying vac leak), battery quick disconnect, A/C, and if I'm lucky I'll get some interior work done and replace the front battery tray (caught a small fire). Oh yeah, I also have to get it inspected...

I'll get done what I need to - it looks too good not to be there this year.

Edit: My whining owns page 6...

[This message has been edited by grsychckn (edited 03-13-2009).]

Oh okay i forgot about the dietmar scoops. Thank you, Daniel

quote Originally posted by grsychckn: I am - I've already registered, but I have a LOT of work to do. I just bought 3 gauges I have to wire up and install (WB O2, Fuel Pressure, Boost), not to mention the Supercharger reinstall (plus find that annoying vac leak), battery quick disconnect, A/C, and if I'm lucky I'll get some interior work done and replace the front battery tray (caught a small fire). Oh yeah, I also have to get it inspected... I'll get done what I need to - it looks too good not to be there this year. Edit: My whining owns page 6...

That sounds like a small list, and Carlisle isnt until late June

Ok, I got the supercharger back and installed today. I also made a bung for my hole (WB 02) and got the fuel pressure sender installed. Next I'll try to tackle the gauge pod (triple Acura Integra 90-93 molded in) and then onto the wiring. I'm definitely making progress but I'm unsure how long it may be before I can drive it again. I think I'll start a thread on the pillar pod as there isn't a build thread yet and I've done a lot of searching.

I added gauge pods to the driver side a-pillar. The build thread is here:

https://www.fiero.nl/forum/Forum2/HTML/099317.html

With the a-pillar gauges complete, I got the OEM quarter windows installed today and took some pictures. Also, I'm going to change how I have my exhaust mounted as the previous solution did not allow for the tips to move at all.





Next weekend is Zaino + Exhaust weekend. Then I put the car in the car capsule until I can make it to my first show of the season.

Ok, one last post on the paint. I finally got the car back outside for a short time today. Here are some picts. Next week I'm going to my first show of the season and have to get the car inspected (boo).

very nice write up only 1 ? was the 3800 sc up to your expitations , and would you do it again (man vs auto ) most are auto

quote Originally posted by rda738: very nice write up only 1 ? was the 3800 sc up to your expitations , and would you do it again (man vs auto ) most are auto

The 3800SC definitely has power. I think sometimes that I would like the exhaust sound of a V8, but I also really like the SC whine. This is also not my daily driver, so I prefer a manual since it's only for cruising to shows and pleasure driving.

Frustrated beyond belief. The clutch failed and I have no idea why (see other thread). After purchasing a new clutch, aluminum flywheel, and new FWD transmission I've realized I can't make Carlisle. This will be the 3rd or 4th time in a row I've registered for a show I can't make. I'm also in the market to buy a house and I think that means I'm looking to sell the car. I'm going to finish putting the engine/trans back in and get them working, then I'm getting rid of it (look for it in the mall within the next few weeks).

Morning Brian. Can't believe your last post! Sorry you won't be making it to carlisle due to the clucth but selling the car! OBTY after the tear down what failed?
Steve

quote Originally posted by steve308: Morning Brian. Can't believe your last post! Sorry you won't be making it to carlisle due to the clucth but selling the car! OBTY after the tear down what failed? Steve

That's the problem - I don't know what caused the failure. I've since decided to rid myself of the stock fiero slave and go with the internal slave from the later getrag models. All I know about the failure is that my clutch arm swung freely about 4" with no resistance. When I got the trans off the engine, the TO bearing was still on the forks and the fork shaft seemed to be in perfect working order. This suggests that the clutch setup was wrong/bad/broken somehow. The problem is that I can't confirm where the in the clutch/pressure plate the failure occured. I want to believe that I overextended the pressure plate fingers and somehow bent them back far enough for me to no longer get good throw, but I still have no way to confirm this.

I decided to rid myself of the custom made flywheel and buy the custom application flywheel from SPEC for the 3800/fiero. I had to put it in the oven for 30 minutes @ 300 degrees just so I could torque down the bolts and get it flush with the crankshaft. I hope I don't ever have to take it off because it's going to require a large hammer.

Right now I have the problem of clearance between the hydraulic TO bearing and the pressure plate fingers. The measurements on my setup now are:

.835" - engine housing to flywheel clutch surface
2.45" - engine housing to pressure plate exterior surface (pressure plate fingers recessed 0.10")
2.23" - HTOB to trans housing

This alone means I'm 0.10" in the red (contact with the fingers at rest). I need at least 1/16" to 1/8" gap between the HTOB and the pressure plate fingers to allow for clutch wear. Which means I need at least 0.1625" to 0.225" to make up somewhere. I'll try to post some pictures once I get things figured out.

BTW, I'm starting to cool down from my whine-session last night. As you can tell, it was really late when I posted that and I was so looking forward to Carlisle that I was just ticked off and tired of feeling pressure to get things done in such a short amount of time. Once I decide to cancel a show (it does happen this often), I usually feel better because I'm not worrying all the time about getting things done in an impossible time table.

Glad to hear that time has calmed the emotions! I saw a thread the other day regarding rebuilding the clutch slave using the MR2 piston. Don't know if it would help you cause but it might be worth the read. Hope to see you on the road soon.

Any updates?

It's been a while since I had an update. I just drove the car up route 1 and back and I have more bad news. The clutch I got from clutchnet doesn't hold the power of the 3800SC. I am going to have to get in touch with them and see if they can give me a discount or something since I'm going to have to replace the one I have now. The good news is that they recommended the one I have now and I'm hoping they'll understand if the advice they gave was wrong. The good news is that I can drive it if I need to so I might make it to one show before the season is over. I don't have the cash to put down on a new clutch right now so it looks like I'll have to wait until spring to replace the one I've got.

Also, I wanted to say that I had a hose made to connect to the internal slave of the new transmission. There was a 3/8" adapter needed to mate the stock threads to the new slave.

[This message has been edited by grsychckn (edited 09-13-2009).]

Good info to have on the Clutchnet clutches. I've heard good things about them but not in your case. I tell you getting a strong enough clutch for a 3800 is a big problem. None of the choices that we see used work 100% of the time. We've resd reports here os failures with the Zoom, XTR, Spec, & Centerforce clutches. Makes you wonder which one does work? Perhaps the one that V8 Archie uses is the stronger?

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" THE BLACK PARALYZER" -87GT 3800SC Series III engine, 3.4" Pulley, N* TB, LS1 MAF, Flotech Exhaust Autolite 104's Custom CAI 4T65eHD w. custom axles, HP Tuners VCM Suite.
"THE COLUSSUS"
87GT - ALL OUT 3.4L Turbocharged engine, Garrett Hybrid Turbo, MSD ign., modified TH125H
" ON THE LOOSE WITHOUT THE JUICE "

[This message has been edited by Dennis LaGrua (edited 09-13-2009).]

quote Originally posted by Dennis LaGrua: Good info to have on the Clutchnet clutches. I've heard good things about them but not in your case. I tell you getting a strong enough clutch for a 3800 is a big problem. None of the choices that we see used work 100% of the time. We've resd reports here os failures with the Zoom, XTR, Spec, & Centerforce clutches. Makes you wonder which one does work? Perhaps the one that V8 Archie uses is the stronger?

Well, the guy on the phone sold me a clutch disc that was supposed to handle 330+hp. I wonder if it's the pressure plate at this point that's the problem though. I got the mid-grade pressure plate and I probably should have gotten the heavy duty one. Regardless, I'll have to find my receipt and give them a call tomorrow.

I called Clutchnet today and talked with Oleg. He says that I can ship back the pressure plate and they'll exchange it for free with a new heavy-duty one. He asked me to get some specs on my engine (and RPMs when it slips) so he can test the new pressure plate and ensure it will work. Even though this means I have to drop everything out and disassemble again, I hope the new PP works because I would like to continue to do business with them.

Update?

Wow, it has been a long time. I got a replacement pressure plate from Clutchnet after I dropped the engine and tore everything apart. I've been too busy the last few months to work on it - plus, I have been debating on whether to use the new pressure plate / clutch or go back to the Mcleod one I was using when this whole thing started.

The Mcleod clutch/pressure plate chattered some and I think that ultimately led to a failure in my custom bracket for the slave cylinder. Now that I have an internal TOB, I'm thinking I should go back to the more heavy-duty setup because I know it will hold. I don't think the Mcleod was damaged, and if I decide to re-install it I will take it to a local machine shop to have the pressure plate tested.

The Clutchnet seems to be a nice setup, but I'm still not sure the new pressure plate will hold the power. I do not want to have to tear this thing apart because the clutch slips. I've had bad luck getting this thing ready for shows and I want to make it to Carlisle this year.

Right now, the car sits in my garage waiting for me to put the clutch/trans back together. I'm also debating repainting the SC again as the last paint job is starting to bubble in places. I realized that the guy I paid to paint the supercharger only stripped the existing paint off and I believe if I were to get it media blasted the paint would adhere much better. The nice thing is that I can put everything back together and decide what to do with the SC after I make my decision on the clutch. I'm hoping to have some more updates after my upcoming trip to Australia in February. I expect to get some good progress made in March.

Ok, I finally have a small update (of sorts). I finally decided to use the McLeod clutch again - mostly because the pressure plate has a smaller profile than that of the Clutchnet, but also because I know it will hold the power of the engine. Unfortunately, when I went to place the McLeod disk against the Spec Aluminum flywheel, it was too large for the contact inlay they provide. This means I need to go back to the old steel flywheel if I'm going to use the McLeod.

The problem with the old steel flywheel is that it is 0.840" thick from crankshaft to flywheel surface where the Spec was 0.820". Below is a chart I made up showing the tolerances with the new FWD trans. I believe at best I should shave off 0.020" from the steel flywheel to get some "comfort" room between the pressure plate and the inside of the trans. The blue lines represent the future measurements with 0.020" taken off the flywheel. I welcome thoughts, I plan on taking the flywheel to the machine shop Tuesday.



Edit: I'm not much concerned about the TO bearing as I believe it can compress down nearly another .100" behind the highest part of the trans housing.

[This message has been edited by grsychckn (edited 02-21-2010).]

Bump - taking it to the machine shop to grind it down to 0.820" deep on the flywheel. I guess I'll also have to get them to balance it again.

If it was mine, I would have them resurface it down the .020" and be done.

As for the balancing, was it balanced by holes on the flywheel face (and not the back side)? I prefer for the balancing to be on the back side so you do not have to rebalance it with every flywheel resurface.

quote Originally posted by fieroguru: If it was mine, I would have them resurface it down the .020" and be done. As for the balancing, was it balanced by holes on the flywheel face (and not the back side)? I prefer for the balancing to be on the back side so you do not have to rebalance it with every flywheel resurface.

Correct, I don't know what I was thinking. So long as they take the same amount of metal off the face, it should still be balanced - duh...thanks for setting me straight.

Nice car man! Sounds like you will have that thing cruisin the way you want it soon! I like the paint. Mine is similar colored. two tone though.

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Say no to socialism communism marksism maoism and say yes to Freedom! God Bless America!
1986 black gt fast back 4 spd recently rescued. 1987 gt fastback 5 speed! Hopefully swapped before end of summer.

Any updates? Did you get the clutch issue worked out? Is the AC working again?

quote Originally posted by Cancer Researcher: Any updates? Did you get the clutch issue worked out? Is the AC working again?

I drove it around the neighborhood yesterday and adjusted the SGI-5 from Dakota Digital. Tomorrow I will take it to a local shop here for emissions/safety inspection. If everything goes well there, I'm planning on attending my first show of the year April 24th. I think I'm only going to plan on making it to local shows this season as I don't want to get my hopes up for Carlisle until I make it through a season without something major happening. In re-using the original McCleod clutch, I'm pretty sure it's not going to slip and so far the clutch pedal requires much less effort to push (hydraulic TOB). I have a lingering doubt about if the master cylinder is pulling in air, but after my driving around on Sunday, things still seem to be holding together pretty well. Everyone cross your fingers for a good result tomorrow during the emissions test...

Ok, got some good news and some bad news. Good news: The car passed both emissions and safety inspections. Bad news: The safety inspector pulled my car into the bay and opened the driver door into a stack of .5" steel jack stands. Luckily, it only scratched the ground effects on the door skin so I can take it off for repair. Since the shop is also a body repair center, they are going to repaint the panel (for free obviously). If they can't match the rest of the car with the repair, I'm going to take the piece back to the guy who originally painted it. The paint is so pristine that I feel they will match the base color, but I worry about the clear. We'll see.

On a separate note, if I make it to a majority of the car shows this summer I am going to seriously consider selling the car as it is too much a source of stress, time, and money. Start saving now if you want it!

How about an update!

quote Originally posted by 87Fiero: How about an update!

Ask and ye shall receive. I went to a local car show on Saturday. Got burned to a crisp even though I had sunblock. There were 70 cars and they gave away 30 prizes, but I didn't get one. Oh well, I got a lot of interest in the car. The clutch seemed to work well and haven't had a major problem yet. I need to clean up the interior and get the driver door fixed since the mechanic opened the door into a jack stand during the safety inspection.











Also, I got some interest from a fellow local car club member. He wants to write up an article on my car and post it on his blog. He got a video of me leaving the show and said he plans on calling/e-mailing me to get some pictures and info on the car (cool!). Here is his blog: http://wherewereyouin62.blogspot.com/ .

Those valve covers are beautiful! Where did you get them?

quote Originally posted by doublec4: Those valve covers are beautiful! Where did you get them?

At one point, someone from the forum had a group buy on those. I believe it was Animul. Here is a link to a separate site where he shows his work.

http://www.gmforum.com/showthread.php?t=241652

edit: I don't believe he's in business anymore, his website (www.animul.com) comes back empty.

[This message has been edited by grsychckn (edited 05-04-2010).]

is this guy still around, I would like a picture of his low alternator mount. thanks

quote Originally posted by fierofan25: is this guy still around, I would like a picture of his low alternator mount. thanks

I'm still here, but not as regular as normal. Below is the best shot I could find in my pictures of the bracket. It's an aluminum welded 3800 Alt bracket and Fiero Alt bracket with a support brace welded in.

I realy like all The things u did with the car a + for u

I am working on a swap my self but bevore I get to the point to put the engine in the car
That will take me some time.

For now I try to find all the info I need for this swap

Wanted to give a heads up for new work on the car. Upcoming work:

1. New steering wheel
2. New carpet on floors and doors (also embroidered trunk mat with the same carpet)
3. Fix the temperature gauge (pegging)
4. Front-mounted removable license plate (that won't damage the paint)
5. Mr. Mikes seat covers and cleaning up the seat rails
6. Mirror (stainless & acrylic) panels for the decklid and hood

Picts to come...

[This message has been edited by grsychckn (edited 04-13-2012).]

Ok, I started installing the carpet and getting the seats ready for paint. I also tried to fix the temperature gauge, but the posted fix didn't work. I know the sending unit is good because when I hook up the computer, it gives what I believe to be accurate readings. I'm pretty sure the wiring is correct, unless the sender isn't connected correctly to the C500 connector. I'll have to do some more testing soon, it could just be a bad temp gauge.

I made a cardboard template of the trunk so I can take it to the upholstery shop.





I also got the Fiero Store (ACC) carpet installed on the floor. It's not great but I have the feeling it's probably the best option available. I had a hard time with the driver's left foot rest. The carpet buckled a bit and was very tight around the curve from the floor to the foot rest (you'll be able to see this in the picts below).









Next up, remove the carpet from the door panels and install the new. Also, time to visit the upholstery shop - going to do that tomorrow.

Alright, I got the carpet done, but have to wait for the glue to dry before I start reassembly. Also, I bought new map pockets so I'll have to install those before the door panels go back on.

Let's start with carpet picts. It was nice because I could cut a template out of cardboard for the carpet and then trace that out on the back of the carpet for cutting it out. I also use the other side of the template for the opposite door.









Next up is the new removable front license plate. I may end up adding a support for the top of the license, but I'll drive it this upcoming weekend to see how it behaves first. I bought the magnets from Gaussboys.com and have included pictures of the two sizes I purchased.





I attached it with an epoxy from Adavance Auto and later put duct tape over it both on the plate bracket and on the inside of the bumper. The plate bracket is just a single piece of aluminum I bought from Lowes and bent myself.









I used a clear protector for the contact points to the bumper as protection from the magnets moving around.



Video removing the plate and putting it back on - I know, nice pants...the original recording was bad so I had to re-record after changing clothes.

http://www.grsychckn.com/Fi...te/license_plate.avi

I'm going tomorrow to get the carpet for the trunk complete - I have some surprises for that as well, but won't be able to update until later this week.

I also bought some Mr. Mikes seats - should get here this week as well.

[This message has been edited by grsychckn (edited 04-22-2012).]

Alright, I got most everything installed. My map pockets didn't arrive so I couldn't get them installed to the door panels - otherwise I think I'm nearly done with the interior. I got my new steering wheel from dallas steering wheels and it looks great. I got extra padding added to it so it's a bit thicker than stock. I also got Mr. Mikes seats installed and they look great. I got the trunk carpet back from the only person in my area that would surge it. Here are the interior picts:





Here are a few pictures of the installed trunk mat:





Ok, now for the bad news. I paid $280 for a set of acrylic/stainless mirrors for the hood and decklid. The decklid mirrors fit and look great except the contoured surfaces of the top left and right sections don't allow those panels to be easily installed. Plus, since I have a spoiler, the mounting nut for that is right in the middle of the mirror. There are two panels I won't be using (but still looks good).





The front was a complete disaster. None of the panels fit right. I was kind of surprised to see that the set didn't come with any instructions or mounting tape. After spending another $35 on 3M moulding tape, I was back in business. You can see below the poor fitment of the front acrylic pieces. Some parts of the panels don't even look like they attempted to smooth out the edges. I will be contacting the company on Monday to discuss getting a replacement front set.