Every time I try to get one out I break the darn thing! What is the stinkin secret to this operation????

[This message has been edited by johnyrottin (edited 02-21-2011).]

Hey. You need to open it and slip it thru the bottom. Does that make sense? If you try to pry them off in the closed position,the tab snaps. If you look on one ear of the door,there is a slot where the nipple can push by. drop it out the bottom(you must remove the shifter plate first) install the same way.
Good luck!!!

Heat them up first too, I use a heat gun to get the brittle plastic somewhat flexible before trying.

plastic? ash tray door?

I have broken 4 d a m n ashtray doors today!!! So freakin mad!!! I cant get the d a m n things out! I have the shifter plates out and I have gone through the bottom but no luck....I would have gone flippin sideways if i could have!!!

[This message has been edited by johnyrottin (edited 02-21-2011).]

Johnny. My car is in storage so I can't remember exactly how it is...but I thought my ash tray doors were metal...zinc maybe. do you have plastic ones?

all ash tray doors in the Fieros were plastic.
The pivot tabs that the door pivots on can break very easily, especially now that they are old and brittle...

The issues I have are the pins that hold the springs. Those break off every time.

I wonder where my metal ones came from.....I'll have to go out to the barn and get the cover off....etc etc.

quote Originally posted by Gall757: I wonder where my metal ones came from.....I'll have to go out to the barn and get the cover off....etc etc.

Are you sure they are metal?

I mean, there is the possibility that I am wrong, I will admit that... But mine are plastic.

quote Originally posted by Synthesis: Are you sure they are metal? I mean, there is the possibility that I am wrong, I will admit that... But mine are plastic.

Ha! No, I am not sure......that's why I go and look! I give myself 80% confidence..... I will let you know. Maybe they changed the doors during production.

quote Originally posted by Gall757: Ha! No, I am not sure......that's why I go and look! I give myself 80% confidence..... I will let you know. Maybe they changed the doors during production.

I think you might be mixing it up with the actual ashtrays. The ashtray doors were always plastic.

johnyrottin, I know the ash tray doors are a huge PITA! I too broke the tabs on mine when i repainted them. I used some really thick "gel" like crazy glue for plastics to re-attach the tabs. If you decide to glue the tabs, you will have to be super careful when re-installing because the glue takes all of the flex out of the plastic. But once in place they have held up fine for two years. (Granted i dont smoke or use the doors that often.) Reistalling them is almost easier to do then removing for some reason.

good luck with the rest of your project!

------------------
1984 Base Coupe Red Stock MY8
1984 SE Black Stock

2002 Grand Prix GTP 40th Anniv. Stock

I glued them back together after placing the pieces in their "installed" position. This way, I didn't have to worry about breaking the glue bond.

Well, I've got a Formula...and the ash tray doors are definitely not plastic...they look like die cast metal...maybe zinc because they are pretty heavy....perhaps it was a running change or a change for 88, I dunno....but they are not new, and they don't look like aftermarket, although that sounds like a good idea.....maybe I will start making them.

quote Originally posted by Gall757: Well, I've got a Formula...and the ash tray doors are definitely not plastic...they look like die cast metal...maybe zinc because they are pretty heavy....perhaps it was a running change or a change for 88, I dunno....but they are not new, and they don't look like aftermarket, although that sounds like a good idea.....maybe I will start making them.

Can you provide pictures of these?

quote Originally posted by mattwa: Can you provide pictures of these?

Well, I could....but they look like all the other pictures I have seen of Fiero Consoles. Maybe we should ask somebody with a formula what they have?

quote Originally posted by jaskispyder: I glued them back together after placing the pieces in their "installed" position. This way, I didn't have to worry about breaking the glue bond.

DITTO

quote Originally posted by Synthesis: Are you sure they are metal? I mean, there is the possibility that I am wrong, I will admit that... But mine are plastic.

no, mine are metal too..

[This message has been edited by Jonesy (edited 02-21-2011).]

Ok, can anyone provide pictures of these metal ashtray doors?? I have never seen or heard of these. I own a late VIN number 88 base coupe, and those doors are as plastic as can be. I'm not going say your all wrong, but I really need to see proof of this. I have seen every year Fiero and not once did I see metal ashtray doors.

[This message has been edited by mattwa (edited 02-21-2011).]

quote Originally posted by mattwa: .........I have seen every year Fiero and not once did I see metal ashtray doors.

+1

My gt had metal doors.......Are you putting the actual treys in backwards?

quote Originally posted by mattwa: Ok, can anyone provide pictures of these metal ashtray doors?? I have never seen or heard of these. I own a late VIN number 88 base coupe, and those doors are as plastic as can be. I'm not going say your all wrong, but I really need to see proof of this. I have seen every year Fiero and not once did I see metal ashtray doors.

Kinda hard to tell in the picture, but you can see where the paint is coming off on the edges.

quote Originally posted by Jonesy: Kinda hard to tell in the picture, but you can see where the paint is coming off on the edges.

That is plastic. The paint does come off the plastic ashtray doors, with both wear from use, and from the sun fading them. You should see some of the faded ones in the southern cars, they are totally Grey and ugly.

[This message has been edited by mattwa (edited 02-21-2011).]

quote Originally posted by Indyellowgt: Hey. You need to open it and slip it thru the bottom. Does that make sense? If you try to pry them off in the closed position,the tab snaps. If you look on one ear of the door,there is a slot where the nipple can push by. drop it out the bottom(you must remove the shifter plate first) install the same way. Good luck!!!

To Indyellowgt you listen

They also have a small spring on one end

quote Originally posted by mattwa: That is plastic. The paint does come off the plastic ashtray doors, with both wear from use, and from the sun fading them. You should see some of the faded ones in the southern cars, they are totally Grey and ugly.

How about if you hit it with a hammer and it pings like a wine glass...? then will you say it's metal?

If I remember correctly, one nipple stuck out on one end more than the other. That nipple has to go in first. I also broke a few.

Gosh I thought mine were metal too. I have an 86.

quote Originally posted by Gall757: How about if you hit it with a hammer and it pings like a wine glass...? then will you say it's metal?

Yes. If someone takes a video of that, I will eat my words. If anyone wants, i'll make a video of me hitting my ash-tray door with a hammer and see what sound it makes. or if it just plain breaks.

I just verified with a spare set that they are plastic.
They are very hard plastic, but plastic nonetheless...
They are meant to be heat resistant in the event that a cigarette ash or butt makes contact they don't melt.. But they are plastic.

Ha!

This is getting good. All this time we thought Fiero owners were divided into 2 groups....GT people and Notchie people.... but now we find the REAL difference between us is ....

plastic doors or metal doors....

Okay I walked away for while and calmed down before I killed something or put a 22lb sledge through my windshield. (LOL) I took a bit more time and took the advice of going slowly out the underside. It worked like a champ. I did four, removed and painted, and reinstalled. They look brand new again!!! Mine were all plastic.

[This message has been edited by johnyrottin (edited 02-21-2011).]

^ now that's funny. BTW mine are metal also. lol

Are you guys talking the metal ashtray? I am talking about the plastic opening and closing doors.

Yeah Johny......we are all talking Doors. The little guys in the picture that flip open and closed....I think what I should do is dis-assemble mine and look on the bottoms for some kind of marking, and weigh them.... they are too heavy to be plastic. and they make too much noise when I flip them shut....I use mine for spare change that I always find under the driver's seat.

All 6 of my Fieros, and all the ones I have ever worked on were plastic. I can see how it could be mistaken for metal, it is an odd cast plastic, very dense and heavy. But I have seen plenty with melted cig burns on them.

quote Originally posted by Gall757: Yeah Johny......we are all talking Doors. The little guys in the picture that flip open and closed....I think what I should do is dis-assemble mine and look on the bottoms for some kind of marking, and weigh them.... they are too heavy to be plastic. and they make too much noise when I flip them shut....I use mine for spare change that I always find under the driver's seat.

Yea that "snap!" noise they make when you close them? That is a sound of plastic closing.

and that is pretty funny. Plastic Vs. Metal. Someone should take a spare one and put a flame to it, see what happens. if it melts and smells like plastic..its plastic.

[This message has been edited by mattwa (edited 02-21-2011).]

Yep, then we are talking the same part. If you take your bezel off and look below you will see that it is plastic. Mine make a good clunk as well when you close them but they are all plastic. Don't break your tabs though!!!!

'87 and '88s here are plastic... in fact, I have never seen a metal one in all my years of working on and owning Fieros. The plastic feels like metal, but it is a very stiff/brittle plastic.

what kind of plastic did they use? I spent most of my career building plastic car parts and I have never seen a plastic like that.

Yep. They are all Plastic. The look like a white cast metal. Even weigh and break like white metal. I have stripped out over 100 fieros,either owned here or in countless junkyards,and they are all plastic. Not sure if some company back in the day made metal replacements that some guys here may have?? Interesting!!
A new paradox for the Fiero owners!!

BTW,glad you got your ashtray doors out and back in one piece,Johnniyrottin.. I have been there before when I wanted to burn the garage down over a stupid thing like that....