After spending a year looking for a good TAN seat I gave up. I picked up a gray Sunfire/Cavalier seat. I couldn't find a TAN seat that wasn't stained or smelled of cigarette smoke so I purchased only the drivers seat to see if I could live with the color clash.
What do you guys think? Should I go ahead and buy the gray passenger seat OR wait for a set of Tan Sunfire seats?
Not a bad looking seat, but it needs to be recovered to some tan/brown shade
I'll wait for a set of tan sunfire seats. I just couldn't stand that ripped seat anymore so it will do for now until I can make it out to the yard again in a few weeks.
As much as I love Mr.Mike's seats I simply cannot justify the cost. I paid less for the car last year than what the seats sell for once I pay taxes and convert it to Canadian dollars.
If only Iggee was still selling their $60 seat covers on ebay I would of gotten a set of those!
Replaced a crushed passenger side coolant pipe with one that was less crushed (especially after I hammered it back into shape a bit.) With that out of the way, and the cooling system refilled, I took the severely crushed pipe that came off the car, straightened it back out using my bench vice, and then hammered the "wide/flat" section back into shape a bit. Worked way better than I would have expected. I wouldn't be afraid to put it back on a car.
I did a "kite string" alignment, and then took the car for the longest ride it's been on, since I've owned it. The good news is that it handles about as well as my modded-to-hell Formula, and the A/C works nicely as well, after being charged. The bad news is that it still leaks oil like a sieve, even after replacing the valve cover gasket. Time for a crank seal, timing cover gasket, and a harmonic balancer upgrade, instead of the stock pulley. Bah.
I looked under the front end to figure out why it was riding so rough over pot holes. I had installed new shocks & struts prior to driving it to Iowa this past weekend and was disappointed in how it handled. I discovered that both front shocks were loose at the top. It seems I installed the new shocks when I had the car up on jackstands and I failed to double check them when I dropped it back down....the result was almost an inch gap between the rubber bushing and the upper perch (this is an '88 Formula, so one nut at the top). Felt like an idiot, but at least it handles beautifully now.
I also decided to dive into the engine compartment to see where my exhaust leak was coming from. I suspected a cracked front manifold, but found out the there are no cracks anywhere. Good news! Almost. It seems the leak is due to a broken bolt and blown out gasket near the AC compressor so I still have to remove the manifold, but at least no welding will be involved.
Last but not least, I installed a new set of brake pads on the rear to go with the rebuilt calipers.
I'm mid way thru the process of replacing the rear cradle after mine broke at the rear drivers side control arm mount and adding rodney solid mounts that I've had kickin around for the last 3 yrs, new rear lower balljoints and out tie rods, rotors and pads...then once all that is done I'm moving up front and putting a new steering rack in and inner/outer tie rods......
I really can't wait to get the hell outta NYC area so these roads will stop abusing this damn car and breaking everything
Originally posted by spcearle: I really can't wait to get the hell outta NYC area so these roads will stop abusing this damn car and breaking everything
There are grooves on Baltimore street where it crosses Charles. When cars fly over them & the tires chirp as they regain traction. I have to slow down to about 10/15mph to cross , it's worse than any rail road tracks I've ever seen.
[This message has been edited by no2pencil (edited 09-10-2016).]
New front wheel bearings and seals. First project on the Fiero in a long time that was as easy and smooth as I thought it would be. Even getting the old races out and the new races in was pretty easy. Of course electrical gremlins manifest themselves just to make sure that I didn't start to think that this car actually likes me or something.
Fixed the Fiero Valdez. Not only was the crank pully grooved, the tensioner pulley had worn a groove through the timing cover. So... timing cover replaced. Damper installed. New tensioner installed. Runs good now. Quietest Duke I've ever heard. Especially for 140K on the odo. Next are fieroguru's camber correction kit, rear sway bar, and the 12" Corvette rotors on the back. (Front is done.)
This is noteworthy because a couple of years ago, I had this problem "fixed" by a local shop. They said that the problem was the relay, which they replaced. I think they replaced it with a used relay. So when it stopped working again, I figured that it was not the relay. I hadn't been motivated to dig into it until recently. Then I found that it was a bad replacement relay. I took it on a drive, and let it idle while stopped to get the temp up... and the fan works perfectly now. I was surprised at how quickly it brought down the engine temp. It only ran for about one minute. It comes on when the needle is pointing straight down at 220. That's good to know, as I now know that if the needle ever gets past 220, I have a problem.
So now, even though it looks like a junker (clearcoat peeling), it is suitable for driving to work if needed.
And THIS is notable because I have a 16 yr old who will be getting her license soon, and we'll be needing another vehicle. A drivable Fiero takes the time pressure off that purchase.
I got a box of goodies from Rodney yesterday and today I installed a select arm rebuilt kit, a short/quick shifter arm on the transmission and a new select cable. I haven't driven it yet, but I can tell that the shift throw is shorter and I also don't have to force the shifter over when I shift gears....it's nice and smooth again.
Finally got around to installing sardonyx247's modified S-10 brake booster and TFS's sunroof hold down pads on my daily driver along with straighten/adjusted my rear deck lid and replaced the wire connectors to the ignition module and throttle body sensor. Still need to replace my old rubber brake lines with the set of stainless steel ones I bought from TFS but I guess that will have to wait until next week.
Investigated my coolant leak and determined that my timing cover is leaking by the coolant hose. From what I've read it was caused by changing my water pump 2 weeks ago and not using the cover holding tool. Debating on pulling the cover or just topping the coolant off every week since I'm building a 3.4 dohc that is going in this summer.
Also picked out my tax return gift to myself, buying these 17" Eagle multi spoke rims from my friend for $450 including four brand new Kuhmo Escta x4 tires. I was a little disappointed that all four are 215/45r17, so I'm not gaining on footprint and my speedometer will read 68 at 70 but I couldn't pass them up. Plus I like the rim style, you don't see this style everywhere and I can't even find these exact ones on google also they are very lightweight.
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[This message has been edited by 88cryan (edited 12-12-2016).]
Removed and painted the thermostat housing. Replaced thermostat. Ordered a remote inline coolant fill tee. http://www.siliconeintakes....ller-cap-p-1598.html Also removed the cap and rotor. I wish this motor had coil packs and a digital egr...
Modified my center console skeleton and radio bezel to accept a double din stereo I got for free. I felt a little bad cutting my dot matrix bezel but it has a couple cracks so it's not worth anything anyway. My stereo is a Kenwood 502bt and has Bluetooth and settings galore. I like that it had the option to select any background color so I chose Amber and red to look factory.
Removed the Accel coil and added a new HEI coil. Added the 4.5 dust cover and round black cover. Looks cleaner. Removed old Gatorback belt. "It was squealing like a stuck pig." Removed the battery and found a major vacuum leak from a 1/2 inch hose strewn loosely from the lower trunk to the firewall / floor pan. The AC pulley is eating a hole through it. Next weekend.
It's stored in my grandmother's garage until I'm done with my enlistment, so my parents and I went over and I got to see it for the first time since September 2015. I also got to drive it around the block a few times. It's a lot louder than I remember, I had a blast!
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