The one thing that I really love about fiero chop tops, is the change in the angle on the rear pillars. As it is from the factory they are already at an aggressive angle, but after a chop, wow, just wow. same goes for the windshield angle. Notchbacks design tend to make the car look taller than it really is. I think we should chop all of them.
------------------ Matt D 1984 Indy Fiero (auto) 1985 2m4 4T60, DIS V6 3.1 to be turbocharged
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05:58 AM
Archie Member
Posts: 9436 From: Las Vegas, NV Registered: Dec 1999
Hey, Archie, I just noticed you don't have a front air dam on the LT1 Stinger. Why not? Would it be too low with the lowering? Don't like the looks? Didn't have time?
I think the car looks chinless without one, but I'm not sure how it would look with one either black or yellow. I'd probably add it in black - yellow might change the lines of the front end too much.
Originally posted by Formula88: Hey, Archie, I just noticed you don't have a front air dam on the LT1 Stinger. Why not? Would it be too low with the lowering? Don't like the looks? Didn't have time?
I think the car looks chinless without one, but I'm not sure how it would look with one either black or yellow. I'd probably add it in black - yellow might change the lines of the front end too much.
It's got one now to be installed this week...... when we were putting it together we realized that the one we were going to use was damaged (& we didn't have a spare) so I got on from PaulV yesterday.
Archie
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01:48 PM
Feb 7th, 2002
Lady Pegasus Member
Posts: 1416 From: Hammond, IN Registered: Jul 2001
I was asked earlier about how we got the ride height lower & told you that I would write it up for you. I had cut a coil on the rear springs and had installed a set of lowered spindles on the front. You'll remember that when we sat this car on the floor it was way too high & after bouncing up and down on the car it was still too high. Here is a picture of the front a couple of days after putting it on the floor.
Here is another picture taken at the same time, I measured from the center of the wheel to the lip at the top of the wheels well at this time and got 14.5".
Here is a picture of what it looked like when we took it to the show. Guess what? 13.25".
How did we get 13.25"?... We didn't change the springs or remove anything. The car had already been jounced more than we had ever jounced any car.
As I said in my earlier post, I learned something from one of my customers when he made some suggestions on ride height that (after he had seen the pics. in this thread) I had never considered or heard of before. And that was the key to the stance cure.
This customer of mine joined this group a few weeks ago screen name "Fino" & I'm hoping that he is following this thread so that he can also answer your questions.
When he saw the earlier pics. he called me and asked how I assembled the "A" arms to the chassis. Let me try to explain. When someone assembles the suspension on a car, he usually puts the suspension together and tightens it up with the car in the air. Like this...
"Fino" mentioned the following to me... When the suspension "A" rams are bolted to the chassis tightly in the full rebound position the Bushings in the "A" arms become stressed as the car is put on the floor and the "A" arms begin to support the cars weight. Imagine this on a car with rubber bushings. The Bushings are vulcanized right to the outer housing and the inner sleeve. When installed into the "A" arm the outer housing is solid to the "A" arm. Then a bolt passes thru the inner sleeve and attaches it solid to the frame, via the serrated ends on the inner sleeve. When the car is then lowered into the floor the rubber bushing is required to twist & stress just to set on the floor static. Well I slapped myself in the forehead & said "after working on cars since I was 14, how come I never thought of that?". I went on to explain that I didn't use rubber bushings, I instead used the Poly bushings. We discussed it further and decided that I should try a little experiment just to see if the poly bushings bolted tight into the chassis could suffer this malady even if to a lesser degree.
Anyway, so this is what I did.... without lifting the car off of the suspension, I went and loosened all the "A" arm bolts a couple of turns and jounced the car and let it set for a day, then went back and tightened them up.
It could be that the car would have settled in if given enough time. However, given it's to high appearance in those 1st couple of days, I immediately ordered a set of lowering springs and was fully prepared to put them on when I tried this suggestion. If I would have had a set of lowering springs in stock, I would have put them on right away and the car would have ended up WAY TO LOW.
Anyway, I hope this helps someone.
Archie
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10:30 PM
PFF
System Bot
XDrewX Member
Posts: 241 From: Millersville, MD USA Registered: Jun 2001
Archie, I thought the stance was strange because I have the same spindles with stock springs on mine. Wasn't sure what springs you have so I just assumed they were taller or stiffer etc. Didn't think about how you were torquing everything down
If you've got access to a lift you can do the torque down easy. If you're in your driveway it's practically impossible to get under the car with it on the ground and the wheels bolted on. You could do it with ramps under the wheels but it's still is tough to get access or leverage under there with a wrench. What I did was with the wheel off, jack up the lower arm approximately to the right ride height. Main thing is removing the major amounts of stress in the bushings, eventually the bushings will settle in. Make sure you don't lift the car off the jackstands by lifting the arm, block everything so there is no chance that the car will fall and torque everything down.
Originally posted by Black86SE: What kind of wheels are those?
Konig Tantrums 17x7F 17x8R
Supplied be ME.
------------------ Project MR1 / Let the modding begin! triadtuning@hotmail.com * AIM ~ Michael Blue 72 Only the dead have seen the end of war. ~ Plato
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10:35 AM
Smoooooth GT Member
Posts: 8823 From: Lake Palestine, Texas Registered: Jun 2001
Originally posted by TRiAD: Konig Tantrums 17x7F 17x8R
Supplied be ME.
Triad, Hey bud, what up?? How GT coming along?? I hope that you are having better luck with it now!! If I may ask... I would love those for the Smoooth GT... What was the total (tax) for the set of those??
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10:45 AM
skitime Member
Posts: 5765 From: Akron, PA, USA Registered: Aug 2000
Hey Archie, The method your customer suggested is actually the correct way to put suspension bushings on. You should never tighten the suspension bushing while it is hanging. It causes premature bushing failure. The correct way is to put a jack under the suspension and lift the corner and then tighten the bushings.
Great job with the car. I can't wait to see it.
------------------
Red 88 GT T-TOP
Red 86 GT
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10:56 AM
fix Member
Posts: 193 From: Houghton, Michigan Registered: May 2001
Originally posted by fix: Archie, forgive me if this has already been asked, but do you ever plan on offering suicide door conversions?
I don't know yet..... There was a whole lot more work to this than you might think. We had to weld in a lot of steel to support the weight of the doors. It really depends on how well it holds up in test driving.
Archie
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11:23 PM
Feb 9th, 2002
Archie Member
Posts: 9436 From: Las Vegas, NV Registered: Dec 1999
Archie,you have outdone yourself.All your carshave been awsome and my goal is to own one of them.The white IMSA,Purple PE,blue ChopTop.3 more years until my mortgage is paid off then I can mortgage one of your beauties.See you at Carlisle.PS: I Love to see a beautiful woman,but not the ones that look like old hookers.
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09:52 PM
artherd Member
Posts: 4159 From: Petaluma, CA. USA Registered: Apr 2001
Hi Archie, Poly bushings will eventually 'settle in' (after a few weeks or so) as they will turn in place slightly.
Rubber bushings will not however, so if you put them on the car with the suspension fully extended, they will wear out real fast.
My t-top Fourmula had *shot* rubber bushings on the front at only 60k miles. (I'm guessing the previous owner at one point had loosened and re-tightened the bushing bolts with the car's suspension extended)
Best! Ben.
------------------ Ben Cannon 88 Formula, T-top, Metalic Red. "Every Man Dies, not every man really Lives" 88 Formula, Northstar, Silver, In-Progreess. -Mel Gibson, "Braveheart"
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11:47 PM
PFF
System Bot
Feb 12th, 2002
AgaricX Member
Posts: 1165 From: A genetics lab somewhere in TX, USA Registered: Aug 2001
Do you have a place devoted to the MYRIAD of pictures youve taken on all these projects??
I'd love to see... well... EVERYTHING. I've downloaded all the Stinger pics on here manually, but your past work deserves as much attention.
Also... O/T... Would it be feaseable to chop the top on a convertible? I would love the lower profile... but am especially interested in the windows rolling ALL THE WAY DOWN.
------------------ '85 SE 3800SC 5 Spd I WANT A FASTBACK!!!
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12:29 AM
Feb 13th, 2002
Philphine Member
Posts: 6136 From: louisville,ky. usa Registered: Feb 2000
just occurred to me that there haven't been any perspective shots. like someone of a known height standing beside it, one next to a regular height/suspension fiero, and maybe one for fun beside a regular height suv or even a lifted truck.
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06:51 AM
Feb 14th, 2002
x-thumpr-x Member
Posts: 1992 From: Toronto, Ontario Registered: Aug 2001
In the 13th post down on the first page I suggested turning the LT1 intake around.
In the 35th post on the 2nd page you posted a picture of an LT1 with intake removed pointing out the differences in the seal rails front and rear. You'd obviously been thinking aobut it as you had gotten far enough along to know this. Or maybe you just know SBC's well enough to know about it.
Anyway, did you get the reversed intake idea from me or did we think of it independently?
Just curious.
Good job with the car and with your best in class win!
In the 13th post down on the first page I suggested turning the LT1 intake around.
In the 35th post on the 2nd page you posted a picture of an LT1 with intake removed pointing out the differences in the seal rails front and rear. You'd obviously been thinking aobut it as you had gotten far enough along to know this. Or maybe you just know SBC's well enough to know about it.
Anyway, did you get the reversed intake idea from me or did we think of it independently?
Just curious.
Good job with the car and with your best in class win!
Thanks.
Actually, I read that old thread differently than you do. You stated that "LT1 intake manifold can bolt on backwards" Giving the impression that it was just turn it around and bolt on type thing. I just stated that your claim was wrong.
The only way the manifold will bolt on backward is with some heavy modifications. We did the modifications to make it work.
At the time I had posted to that thread we had already turned around an LS1 intake and already knew the mods it would take to do the LT1.
BTW..... one more thing, You also stated "keep the intake in the same place as the stock Fiero V6, simplifying plumbing a little bit". You cannot pull air thru the old side intake to feed this engine. We tried using the stock intake on a normal SBC engine years ago and it just couldn't pull enough air thru the Fiero system to feed the V-8. We ran the test car thru the 1/4 mile and it would just fall flat on it's face before it even got to the Traps.... When we tried it with out the Fiero system, it pulled strong thru the lights. We tested this and I'm positive that plumbing a SBC V-8 thru the old air cleaner system will hurt performance.
Thanks for reminding me of that old thread, I had forgotten all about it.
That's one reason I can wait to get the new PFF C/D.
Archie
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08:16 PM
Archie Member
Posts: 9436 From: Las Vegas, NV Registered: Dec 1999
Originally posted by Jefrysuko: I want to know what was up with this?
Would you believe that someone was walking past the car with the door panel and accidently caught it in the pic. and after looking at the pic, decided to leave it in there?
