Well, I wasn't going to start a build thread yet, because I was just in the teardown phase, but things are progressing fairly quickly, so I'll go ahead and start my thread now.

If you want to catch up to where I am now, please visit my Journal of a Concept website.

Simply put, I'm building my own concept Fiero body, and as such, I aim to keep some of the characteristics that readily identify it as a Fiero.
The characteristics I'm keeping are:
- The hood
- The front fascia. It will be lowered & modified, but it will retain the Fiero look.
- The tail lights. I love the GT tail lights. They will be changed to conform to my rebody, but they will retain the same general layout and look of the original GT tail lights.
- The sunroof. My concept will have a removable hard top, AND it will keep the unusually large Fiero sunroof. In fact, the entire top section of the roof will be trimmed down to just a ¹/₂ inch around the sunroof glass, leaving mostly the sunroof as the roof itself.

For starter pics, I'm going from this:



To this:



I'll quickly run through the last few days with a small pic or two from each, then I'll keep you updated on a daily basis from here on, with larger thumbnails that you won't have to click on.

After removing all the panels, interior, wiring harnesses, etc, etc, everything except the gas tank and drivetrain, I started cutting. I cut down the fiberglass sunroof surround:



Then I estimated where I want my finished roof line (with masking tape), and cut the top completely off:



I then raked the windshield back about 4.6^o, which is a 2" chop. I'm 6'4", and after doing the math on a 3" shop, it didn't look like it was going to be roomy enough for me.
To determine the rake, I just used some simple trigonometry... I basically just formed a right triangle from a point at the top of the windshield, straight down, then straight forward to the base of the windshield, and the stock windshield angle appeared to be about 31^o. My hypotenuse (the line following the windshield) was about 28.5 inches, so I just calculated sine(31) = X/28.5 and solved for X. This gave my straight down drop a distance of about 14.67 inches, so I subtracted 2" form it, and plugged it all back in: sine(X) = 12.67/28.5 then solve for X with arcsine: arcsine(.44456)=X and X ends up being roughly 26.4^o.
Yes, I'm a nerd, and I wanted to know the exact rake of the windshield, or as close to exact as possible so I could better map it out and get an idea instead of just jumping in.... especially since it's my first chop. Plus I love math...

Anyway, on with the pics of the raking:



As you can see, after the rake, I test fitted my fiberglass roof piece to kinda see where things are going to lay out... And to my surprise, it's pretty much dead-on with what I have in my drawings!

This brings us up to lastnight, which was awesome, because my best friend was impressed with my progress, so he bought me an early Christmas present... a welder!!!
It couldn't have come at a more perfect time, because I had to sell mine when I moved from Seattle.
Anyway, of course I played around a bit with the welder, but before that, I went ahead and cut out the metal roof piece that the fiberglass piece mounts to, and again, a test fit showed it fitting together much better than I imagined it would and exactly where I thought it would be.



I guess that quickly catches you up to where I am now, but like I said, if you've got a few minutes, read the journal to fully catch up on how the madness started and to see all of my concept drawings.

Let me know if you find this interesting or not. I don't want to be an annoyance, but I think most of the build threads are really inspirational and informative, so I thought I'd contribute.
Thanks for reading!

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Journal of a concept: http://southeastfieros.com

enough with the small talk, is it done yet? LOL
I thought my car was a large undertaking.
the last time I saw a Fiero that cut up I was throwing it away piece by piece.
I can't wait to see it start going back together.
just dont give up I would hate to see another one die!

quote Originally posted by whodeanie: enough with the small talk, is it done yet? LOL I thought my car was a large undertaking. the last time I saw a Fiero that cut up I was throwing it away piece by piece. I can't wait to see it start going back together. just dont give up I would hate to see another one die!

HA! I will die before this does *knocks on wood*
I have never wanted anything more than this... it's an absolute dream. It IS going to take a loong time, but the best builds always do, right dean, curly, exoticse, jscott, and fierocious? (to name a few...)

Keep postin pics!

quote Originally posted by fieroboom: HA! I will die before this does *knocks on wood* I have never wanted anything more than this... it's an absolute dream. It IS going to take a loong time, but the best builds always do, right dean, curly, exoticse, jscott, and fierocious? (to name a few...)

i feel ya, hehehehe

Maybe I missed it in the pictures, but you did brace the frame before cutting the roof off right? ... just a precaution to keep it from collapsing in on itself even a little bit...

quote Originally posted by doublec4: Maybe I missed it in the pictures, but you did brace the frame before cutting the roof off right? ... just a precaution to keep it from collapsing in on itself even a little bit...

Braced with blocks underneath on the floor, just to keep it from sagging. However, everything is out of it except the drivetrain, so I'm 99% sure it wouldn't sag even if it sat unsupported for a couple weeks. The doors alone weight a crap-ton! The main concern for bracing (from the research I've done) is to keep it from buckling and/or torquing under the stress of the engine and uneven road surfaces. Since it's immobile, I'm pretty sure I don't really have any huge issues to worry about, and it didn't sag at all when I made my cuts. I was half expecting it to pinch the saw just a little, but it didn't.

I understand what you mean about your car. I have one right now that I am in the middle of a complete rehab. Originally was going to just put a new 2.8 in it but now have completely rebuilt the back half of the car and will soon be headed for the front half. I look forward to your posts as you resurect this Fiero. Hats off to you for sticking with it even with the rust issues.

Pat

Yeah i had noticed the rust early on and it just kept getting worse as you pulled the panels off, and i even made a comment on the other thread.

i understand about the sentimental value, but i really, really think it would be way faster, cheaper, and easier just to get another fiero on cheap.

Don't feel defeated, just feel empowered to do it easier and better.

Best of luck whichever direction you choose.

quote Originally posted by exoticse: Yeah i had noticed the rust early on and it just kept getting worse as you pulled the panels off, and i even made a comment on the other thread. i understand about the sentimental value, but i really, really think it would be way faster, cheaper, and easier just to get another fiero on cheap. Don't feel defeated, just feel empowered to do it easier and better. Best of luck whichever direction you choose.

I understand, and if it were any other car or any other person, I would agree 100%, and probably would even give the same advice myself... But for me, it's not about cheap, or easy; it's about a dream I had for this specific car, and I'm a hard-headed bastard... I knew it was gonna be bad too, I just didn't think it would be quite that bad, and I hope you didn't think I ignored you, I didn't, I'm just determined to move forward...

Anyway, I went back downstairs and decided to play with my new welder and see what I can do with it. They claim it can do 1/8" steel in one pass... eh, kinda iffy on that, but it does weld exhaust pipes together quite well!
Cheese!

[This message has been edited by fieroboom (edited 12-05-2008).]

This thread is going to be GREAT.

In case you're looking for a great condition rear half, I was talking to a guy in Iowa a few days ago that has a 4K or 5K mile 85 (or 86) chassis. He has it all stripped down & the back 2/3 rds of it is in perfect condition. He's looking to get rid of it because he's getting ready to move.

If you're interested, let me know.

Otherwise keep up the good work.

Archie

quote Originally posted by Archie: This thread is going to be GREAT. In case you're looking for a great condition rear half, I was talking to a guy in Iowa a few days ago that has a 4K or 5K mile 85 (or 86) chassis. He has it all stripped down & the back 2/3 rds of it is in perfect condition. He's looking to get rid of it because he's getting ready to move. If you're interested, let me know. Otherwise keep up the good work. Archie

Thanks so much Archie. That means a lot to me, especially coming from someone like you. It's you guys that keep my drive alive, and the comments like that make me even more determined than ever. Thanks!

As for the rear clip:
#1, Iowa is a pretty long ass way from me,
#2, I'm of the opinion: "If you have to fix it, make it better", and that's exactly what I intend to do.
But thanks for letting me know about it..

Since I'm building a new rear clip, I think I'd like to go ahead and add maybe 1" or 2" of stretch to it and bring the cradle back with it, so that my engine won't be 2mm from the firewall.
Archie, could you (or even someone else) post a couple of pics of how close one of your V8 conversions is to the firewall? If you could, I'd greatly appreciate it, so I can judge if a small stretch would be worth the extra effort and designing. Thanks again!

oh man rust sucks!
I hate to hear it. the first car I got when I built my kitcar was worse than that. I was glad it only cost me 300 bucks and I was able to sell enough parts off it to pay for the next one. don't get down just rember that these cars are 20+ years old and need a lot of TLC to live longer.
PM me if I can help.
D.

Ok, I might have just lied... I found something that makes me want to put a rear clip back on...
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymot...em&item=260312384085

First, let me say that it's pretty rare to find a Fiero anywhere within a decent distance from me.
The car is about 20 minutes from me, and if the price is right, I might just buy up everything he has left. He said he had three, sold two, and is parting this one out. He said it ran, so I asked him why he was parting it out, and he said no one bought it, and he was tired of it sitting in the yard... ?!?!?!?!? Say what? I told him I'd be out there as soon as I'm off work to look at it, and if he ever comes across any more, to let me know.

If I do buy what he has left, I'll be selling pretty much everything I can off of it to fund my project, as well as what I'm already selling from my project car, and it'll all be at rock-bottom prices. I'll let you know what I decide.

w00t!!

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Journal of a concept: http://southeastfieros.com >>> Build Thread >>> Parts thread (for project funding)

Any chance you can take a pic of the b-pillar, top view looking down into the b-pillar where you made the cut? Just curious what it looks like in there before I cut into mine in spring.

Dave

quote Originally posted by Daredevil05: Any chance you can take a pic of the b-pillar, top view looking down into the b-pillar where you made the cut? Just curious what it looks like in there before I cut into mine in spring. Dave

Yeah sure, but keep in mind, mine isn't a regular chop at all... So you most likely won't do what I did with a straight cut across the bottom. Since I shrunk my roof, my B pillars will now lean forward a little, kinda like the fiberglass on a notchie rear clip behind the sail panel, but I'll take some pics when I get home.

quote

Well I guess that's one way to get the motor out and it sure addresses the issue of the car sagging in the middle since there 'ain't no middle any mo!

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Dave

www.ltlfrari.com

That sure seems like a lot of work to pull the motor………
Your concept looks great. .It looks like you have everything you need to succeed. Keep your faith, keep your vision, make your dream…………….How’s that for a pep talk?? Keep us posted on your success.

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quote Originally posted by DL10: That sure seems like a lot of work to pull the motor……… Your concept looks great. .It looks like you have everything you need to succeed. Keep your faith, keep your vision, make your dream…………….How’s that for a pep talk?? Keep us posted on your success.

Hey thanks! And actually, it's the easiest "drop" I've ever done... I was done cutting in about 5 minutes.

Thanks for the pics. You're the best.

Dave

Well, Friday was shop cleanup day, and I wanted to be able to park my Caddy in the garage again, so I was able to squeeze everything in and park it! I'm kinda surprised at how light the frame is once the clip is cut off and nothing's on it. With the front tires on, I was able to pick up the back end (where the firewall is), and move it around.

Today was really cool.
First, I got up at 7 and went to meet with the guy that has the '88 Formula I mentioned earlier. Looks like I'm probably going to be able to get it just by trading some programming & web development services for the guy. After talking a while with him, I found out that all he does is buy low dollar cars, and he either strips, parts-out, & scraps them, or fixes them up a little & sells them. He makes enough from this to not need an 8-5 job, but the kicker is, he's splitting his profits 50/50 with a guy just to list his parts on eBay, because he's not very good with computers.... Yeah, so I opened the door to him for possibility, because he said he comes across Fieros all the time, and this was the third one he's had this month... Told him I'd be happy to hook him up on a barter basis, since I have my own server & such. Anyway, he left me a msg while I was in Huntsville, so I gotta call him tomorrow and nail down the specifics. If any of you want to see the pics I took of the Formula, let me know, and I'll post them.

When I got back my fiance & I took a trip up to Huntsville and saw The Fiero Factory. I met with the owner, and we hung out a while. It was very exciting and very depressing at the same time to see 300+ Fieros sitting there, just waiting... for nothing in particular... I saw at least 4 Indy replicas, which was cool, because until then I had only seen one in passing on the interstate.
Shelves were just packed FULL of pulled parts, 4.9s everywhere, swaps in progress, 2.8s everywhere, wrecked Caddys outside, waiting to have their engines pulled.
I guess I should have expected the "junkyard aura", but it kinda hit me weird. I wanted to save them all, or at least get to work saving as many as I could from parts of others. Just wanted to keep them from wasting away. It was pure excitement and pure depression at the same time... weird. Anyway, here are some pics from the visit:











Um............ Can you say WTF??




Fun with a Cadillac bumper...



You can bar hop... or you can Fiero hop!

Instead of great foam you can go to a badger utility or some other over the road trailer builder and buy boxes of expanding foam. It's a 2 part mix and works really well. It's actually structural on trailers and holds up to fiberglass resin.

quote Originally posted by fieroboom: Um............ Can you say WTF??

Thats Ms Lori's Fiero, she works there.

quote Originally posted by Back On Holiday: Thats Ms Lori's Fiero, she works there.

Yeah. I know, it just sux that a little more time wasn't spent on it. It actually has the potential to look somewhat cool, at least IMO.

quote Originally posted by fieroboom: Yeah. I know, it just sux that a little more time wasn't spent on it. It actually has the potential to look somewhat cool, at least IMO.

It's a shame she doesn't spend more time on ANYTHING. Must be A.D.D

Progress looks great on your car by the way

quote Originally posted by joshua riedl: Instead of great foam you can go to a badger utility or some other over the road trailer builder and buy boxes of expanding foam. It's a 2 part mix and works really well. It's actually structural on trailers and holds up to fiberglass resin.

Awesome, thanks so much for the tip! I think it'll cut down a lot on road noise, and I know it'll cost a lot less than Dynamat, and it'll fill pre-existing space instead of a mat lining the steel inside.

w00t!!! Looks like I'm getting that '88 Formula with no cash out of pocket!! I am soooo excited! He's also supposed to get another Fiero either this coming week or the next. I'm doing a lot of computer & web work for him on a long term basis, and as a result, I get dibbs on all Fieros... This is going to be sooo sweet! This is definitely what I call a hook-up. It's also just the break I need to get things rolling better on my concept.

Oh, and today I had to replace a water pump on my '88 DeVille. What a poor engineering concept on behalf of GM. It was without doubt the most frustrating PITA I have ever experienced. Two of the larger bolts are #40 Torx head bolts, and wouldn't ya know it, one of them was so tight it stripped the head out. The only way I had to get it out was to weld a piece of an old ratchet extension onto it so I could turn it. But it worked, and all's well now. With all of that, needless to say I didn't get anything done on my concept today, but I did get some new welding rods that are three world's of difference from the crappy ones that came with the welder.

I probably won't be able to get much done tomorrow either, because I have to go meet with the guy that has the Formula so we can get the ball rolling on our barter stuff, but I will keep you posted!

quote Originally posted by fieroboom: Yeah. I know, it just sux that a little more time wasn't spent on it. It actually has the potential to look somewhat cool, at least IMO.

now now lets be fair even though she did fail to deliver on the quarterwindows it is an interesting design.

Well, thanks to a very generous member here(not sure if it's cool to advertise his name), I finally got a CARFAX report on my concept donor, and you guys are spot-on with it's former location:

Last owned in the following state/province: Illinois

Well, at least now I have a valid explanation for all that rust! But there is a good side to it... It's never been wrecked, salvaged, flooded, or had any frame damage (other than the rust monster's gourmet meal).

Totally off-topic, but in the first picture of the wall, I can see my name!

quote Originally posted by IROCTAFIERO: Totally off-topic, but in the first picture of the wall, I can see my name!

Yeah, I was told that was the "original" wall, so that's where I wanted to sign it.

Hey there. I have to agree with you on wanting to revive what is yours. I will definately keep an eye on your posts. Good luck with her. That is easily the most extensive revival I will probably ever see in my life. Damn! I have built up more than one car in my time. It looks like you could have cut her in half with a butter knife. Good luck. Keep up the work.

She's looking kind of UGLY!

give her some TLC and put some lipstick on her and she will be good to go. LOL.

realy, looks like a long road ahead. keep us posted

?Mrs.FieroBoom? alter ego?? LOL
got the wife in on it........ Nice!

[This message has been edited by whodeanie (edited 12-11-2008).]

quote Originally posted by whodeanie: She's looking kind of UGLY! give her some TLC and put some lipstick on her and she will be good to go. LOL. realy, looks like a long road ahead. keep us posted ?Mrs.FieroBoom? alter ego?? LOL got the wife in on it........ Nice!

Yeah, well, we both had one in Seattle. I bought her a black '86GT, and I had a silver '87GT. Since we sold them for the move, her desire kind of waned, but since bringing The Survivor home, and especially after the trip to The Fiero Factory, it's been significantly renewed. There, she saw an Indy replica in real life, and bout had to change her pants I think... She's a HUGE Jeff Gordon fan, so anything close to resembling Nascar gets her going, so the Indy is the perfect recipe for her. In fact, she's the reason the front end of my concept is shaped like it is. I was going to change it, but she wouldn't let me, because it resembles the front end of a stock car. Kinda grew on me too...

EDIT: I knew it was all over when she asked me to shrink an image for her sig...

[This message has been edited by fieroboom (edited 12-11-2008).]

Thanks for the compliments yesterday. Kinda jealous though. One thing my Fiance is not into, is my car passion. She just doesn't understand that cars are people too. When I say "Let's take a ride", she would rather stay home. She likes it when she gets to row the gears. But not too pleased with the rough suspension. I often tell her the alternative to all of those long nights in the garage would be long nights at the club. Then I am left alone for a while. But seriously, I showed her the pics of your girl "working" on your project, and she wasn't exactly joyful about it. I kinda, mighta grabbed the camera and tried to pursuade her into the garage. I love her, and am not willing to let her go. Just some of the concessions of life. Always good to have a good girl at home. I will be watching this project (looks like for a while). LOL. Oh yeah, what made you move from Seattle area? I bet the constant moisture. Or the moss that grows on cars. I have bought a couple vehicles out Seattle way, and most have a layer of moss on them. Here in Spokane it is usually quite dry most of the year. Check out this one... 66 SS 396/375. L78 roller motor. 4sp M21. Wakes up the neighbors. Heard an earful or two from one neighbor. So when he talks, I remind him that he has a late 40's son still living at home, and maybe he should wash his Buick LeSabre once in a while. He he he.

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Tony K

quote Originally posted by Tony Kania: Thanks for the compliments yesterday. Kinda jealous though. One thing my Fiance is not into, is my car passion. She just doesn't understand that cars are people too. When I say "Let's take a ride", she would rather stay home. She likes it when she gets to row the gears. But not too pleased with the rough suspension. I often tell her the alternative to all of those long nights in the garage would be long nights at the club. Then I am left alone for a while. But seriously, I showed her the pics of your girl "working" on your project, and she wasn't exactly joyful about it. I kinda, mighta grabbed the camera and tried to pursuade her into the garage. I love her, and am not willing to let her go. Just some of the concessions of life. Always good to have a good girl at home. I will be watching this project (looks like for a while). LOL. Oh yeah, what made you move from Seattle area? I bet the constant moisture. Or the moss that grows on cars. I have bought a couple vehicles out Seattle way, and most have a layer of moss on them. Here in Spokane it is usually quite dry most of the year. Check out this one... 66 SS 396/375. L78 roller motor. 4sp M21. Wakes up the neighbors. Heard an earful or two from one neighbor. So when he talks, I remind him that he has a late 40's son still living at home, and maybe he should wash his Buick LeSabre once in a while. He he he.

Yeah, I commented on this one in your 'new member' thread.
By NO means should you let her go if you love her...
If I can offer some advice (and if I can't, shut up and listen ), the best way to get her "into it" is to include her more. Staying out in your garage by yourself isn't going to help. Sometimes you gotta drag her down there, show her what you're doing, take the time to explain things to her, and make her feel included. And always, always ALWAYS make time to spend with her. This is the key, because in your 'spending time' with her, you can take her to shows, meet other Fiero fans, etc. But if she doesn't know a thing about them, then she'll always feel left out, and she'll never get into it. Some girls "just don't get it", but I've never dated a girl that didn't enjoy a nice ride in a hot car... especially after educating them about it. I'm a knowledge hog, a nerd, and geek, and sometimes labeled a know-it-all, and when it comes to Fieros, I know quite a bit about them, so when my girl first found out about my passion, she thought I was insane. But then I related it to her dream car, and then started bombarding her with everything I knew about the Fiero - it's history, safety, reputation, yada yada, and she started to understand because she became knowledgeable about them. Guess what her favorite/dream car is now?
Now when I work on my car, I drag her down every so often and point out the progress, how I did it, and why. She could probably actually answer a few questions here on PFF...
I don't know if you have any kids, but we actually bonded more after having one and becoming a family. Anyway, hope that helps!
Now, I'm going to work on my car tonight. I haven't been able to do much lately, but I am tonight... pics coming soon...

YooHooo...Don't forget about me.