Well I've owned my car for a little over a year now and have been an "active" member since. I have gotten alotof help from many members along the way, posted a bit but I dont think I have ever

formally introduce my self or my car. My name is Ray and I live in New Hampshire, my car is an 84 four speed
w/ a 350 sbc that I bought in Wisc. and drove back to N.H. with my 14 year old daughter.


me posing for my daughter in Wisc.


and my daughter posing for me. It was my daughter who named my car .


The heart beat

The car I was told was a new swap with a motor with no more than 1200 miles. It looked good with it's $300.00 Maaco paint job with the typical overspray in spots and did run real well. We made the trek home and it ran great minus 1 belt being thrown in a rain storm in Ohio. I got it home in Jan.of 08 so did'nt get much driving time before Iparked it in the garage and decided it was a good time to tackle the suspension. Now though the swap was done right and the motor and tranny worked great the susp. had been ignored. Weather being what it was i decided it was a good time to come up with a plan and put my own blood and sweat into the old girl.
THE PLAN:

1, New susp. front to back, EVERYTHING New.
2. Work the ignition system: New dist., coil plugs, wires.
3. Clean-up wiring and engine bay
4. Do something to clean-up the look of my interior
So that was the original plan, ambitous but basic. Well as we all know plans change and projects get bigger
but we'll get more into that as we go.

The patient prepped and ready for surgery
So onto the susp., I do a thousand searches see what people are using, liking and whats working and whats not.
Make my list and start shopping.Nothing to fancy Eibach springs, Koni shocks and struts, Rodney and
the Fiero Store hook me up with all my bushings(rubber), ball jointsetc. etc. like I said everything New.

The old







My thought exactly it's got to go.

Original ride height

27 and 3/4" front


27 and 1/4 rear


Daddy's little helper


cant wait around all day for you dad lets go!!!!

So now down to the business of out with the old and in with the new on this 24 year old car. P.B Blaster
and a whole lot of patience is what it takes to remove bolts that have been in for 24 years (Oh and this)


sometimes you got to go in hot

I did notice I had to be extremely careful or I was going to melt my inner fender wells. Hind sight being 20/20
I would have removed them first they melt easy.


Some good progress but like I said we were going deep on this one, so the cross member,steering rack, it all had to go.


a little more friendly fire (lol)


Chiltons book and a splitting mall and we have success


crossmember out and steering rack next


we now have a gutted out front end not bad for a few hours of work. Well I have a ton more pics. and a bunch more
boring dribble that you have all heard before but if your interested i'll update every day or so with a little bit of both
Thanks for watching Ray

looking good

you should check my build

couple pics to keep out of archive, man I need to update this.





Rear successfully dismantled, it's a little scarie when you tear the complete

suspension out of your brand new car and you are only a shade tree mechanic.
More later, thanks Ray

At this point suspension was stripped and new parts were on there way thanks to the fiero store,
Rodney, Eibach and Koni.




I notice quite a bit of surface rust on everything but all pretty solid except for the cradle it was in tough

shape. I did'nt notice the cradle till late so I went ahead with the susp. and added the cradle to the list.

I'm a bit anal and at the time didn't have my powder coat system so spent a sh*& ton off money on fiero stores

powder coated stuff, it did look good though.









Looking better now, I also pull the inner fenders and cleaned them up and hit them with armor all.

I wasn't all that happy with my brake up, pedal was solid but stopping power did'nt increase by much.

That was my winter project and I had a Blast and am quite happy with the shocks and springs. The ride is

firm but quite responsive. The Eibach springs dropped my car alot more than an 1 1/2. In the rear it dropped 2 1/4

and the front was 2 1/2. When I bought the car the p.o used a stock clutch lol, that will be my next update.
Thanks for looking, Ray

[This message has been edited by rcp builders (edited 04-11-2010).]

So spring finally came and it was time to put some miles on my new car with my new
suspension. Like I mentioned before the p.o used a stock clutch behind this s.b.c.
It didnt take long with the abuse I was dishing out to it to give up the ghost.



It was still hold but just barely and was hindering putting power to the wheels. So after lots of

searching I decided to go with a Spec stage 4+ which is the springless hub with a full face (that's where the + comes in).

Next was trying to decide do I drop the whole cradle or do the tilt and pull. I wasn't ready, especially being a 1 man show

most times I wasn't ready to drop the whole cradle. So with the car up on stands I removed the (2) rear bolts and lowered the cradle

as far as I could.



It took some muscling and a little cussing but it slid out the side alot easier than I thought. I had to remove the linkage on top and

spin the tranny a bit on the way out but it was out and didn't have to fight with lowering the whole cradle. Going in was a bit trickier

with lining up trany and clutch while trying to catch the alignment pins (did I mention I'm a one man show most times). I got it back in and with

in 3 hours was out breaking in the new spec clutch. This thing grabs hard and high, took some getting use to but Iam very happy with it.



More later on my supposed 1200 mile motors cam not lasting more than 3200 miles, Thanks for looking Ray

The frst two times I did the clutch in mine (90s) I used the cradle tilt way because I was afraid of dropping the whole thing and didn't have a cherry picker. Easier to handle the cradle alone but PITA to handle the trany in and out. Dropping the whole cradle is ok to do alone but to put it back is good to have help to get the two front bolts on. Never the less last week I was able to do a trany swap in five evenings all alone. But then I have done it many times by now. I think any serious Fiero owner needs to learn the cradle removal ritual.

------------------

Red: TPI V8 + 6-Speed Yellow: Nitrous 3.4 + 5 speed
304rwHP/366rwTQ

I don't think there is enough room in my car to rock the back of the cradle and drop the trans out. Good job if you got it to work.

I will go into more detail in a later update but I recently had to change the tranny again.

I was able to do it via cradle swing with inner fender well out in about 4 1/2 hours by myself.

I have also had the cradle out by myself but again that will be another update, defenately prefer

cradle swing. Alex4mula I hope to see you and your car at the punta gorda show next weekend.

Jake I don't know if it was an old show or not but I see my classic car is heading to lakeland next weekend for some big show?
Thanks all Ray

[This message has been edited by rcp builders (edited 04-11-2010).]

quote Originally posted by rcp builders: Jake I don't know if it was an old show or not but I see my classic car is heading to lakeland next weekend for some big show? Thanks all Ray

I haven't heard anything about it but I have been under a rock called work and sick at the same time. If you find out any more information let me know, it would be nice to get out in the fresh air.

I spy Cair auto in Menasha my house is 5 blocks from there

quote Originally posted by rcp builders: Well I've owned my car for a little over a year now and have been an "active" member since. I have gotten alotof help from many members along the way, posted a bit but I dont think I have ever formally introduce my self or my car. My name is Ray and I live in New Hampshire, my car is an 84 four speed w/ a 350 sbc that I bought in Wisc. and drove back to N.H. with my 14 year old daughter. me posing for my daughter in Wisc. and my daughter posing for me. It was my daughter who named my car . The heart beat The car I was told was a new swap with a motor with no more than 1200 miles. It looked good with it's $300.00 Maaco paint job with the typical overspray in spots and did run real well. We made the trek home and it ran great minus 1 belt being thrown in a rain storm in Ohio. I got it home in Jan.of 08 so did'nt get much driving time before Iparked it in the garage and decided it was a good time to tackle the suspension. Now though the swap was done right and the motor and tranny worked great the susp. had been ignored. Weather being what it was i decided it was a good time to come up with a plan and put my own blood and sweat into the old girl. THE PLAN: 1, New susp. front to back, EVERYTHING New. 2. Work the ignition system: New dist., coil plugs, wires. 3. Clean-up wiring and engine bay 4. Do something to clean-up the look of my interior So that was the original plan, ambitous but basic. Well as we all know plans change and projects get bigger but we'll get more into that as we go. The patient prepped and ready for surgery So onto the susp., I do a thousand searches see what people are using, liking and whats working and whats not. Make my list and start shopping.Nothing to fancy Eibach springs, Koni shocks and struts, Rodney and the Fiero Store hook me up with all my bushings(rubber), ball jointsetc. etc. like I said everything New. The old My thought exactly it's got to go. Original ride height 27 and 3/4" front 27 and 1/4 rear Daddy's little helper cant wait around all day for you dad lets go!!!! So now down to the business of out with the old and in with the new on this 24 year old car. P.B Blaster and a whole lot of patience is what it takes to remove bolts that have been in for 24 years (Oh and this) sometimes you got to go in hot I did notice I had to be extremely careful or I was going to melt my inner fender wells. Hind sight being 20/20 I would have removed them first they melt easy. Some good progress but like I said we were going deep on this one, so the cross member,steering rack, it all had to go. a little more friendly fire (lol) Chiltons book and a splitting mall and we have success crossmember out and steering rack next we now have a gutted out front end not bad for a few hours of work. Well I have a ton more pics. and a bunch more boring dribble that you have all heard before but if your interested i'll update every day or so with a little bit of both Thanks for watching Ray

[This message has been edited by jetsnvettes2000 (edited 05-21-2011).]

quote Originally posted by Jake_Dragon: I haven't heard anything about it but I have been under a rock called work and sick at the same time. If you find out any more information let me know, it would be nice to get out in the fresh air.

The lake mier (sp?) classic is what they called it. Looks like it was pre-recorded

So like I said spring was here and it was time to puts some miles on the new car. I know

the debate will be ever lasting as to what shocks and struts to use but I love the ride the

Koni's and Eibachs give. I have them set at the stiffest settings both front and back and even

on the pothole infested streets of N.H I liked them (stiff but responsive). I did notice that while powering

through a turn that, hitting one of those potholes would cause the front to go loose for a brief second. Little

scary at first but again I love the feel. The Spec clutch needs to be revved to about 1800 rpm then released

but it has been quite impressive also. I had some great fun until I started having problems with the car stalling,

other times would start hard after say running into the store. Unless it sat for 20 or so minutes it would always

give me troubles. I had plans to upgrade the ignition system and rebuild the carb. I figured my car was telling me "there

was no time like the present." I get Summit on the phone order up my new dist., MSD 6al box, Blaster 2 coil, 8mm wires

and rebuild kit for my Edelbrock 750.

The blaster 2 coil I mounted behind the drivers seat, figuring it would keep it away from the intense heat of the and keep the engine bay

a little cleaner also. Remember to always mount your coils in an upright position!!!


The Msd 6al I'm runninig a 6000 rev limiter and it is mounted behind the passanger seat (for the same reasons as coil)


When using the MSD system it's said "you should increase your gap on your plug by ten thousands"!!!! I ran mine at 52 thoasands and they worked

like a charm. The rebuild kit for the carb I kept stock on the jets and with the rods and springs I can tune it in pretty well.

So all that work and all that money did not fix my starting problem. A closer look at the rocker arms and than a closer look at the

lifters would reveal the true problem. I'll save that for tomorrow along with a cradle swap and plenty more pics. Thanks Ray

[This message has been edited by rcp builders (edited 04-12-2010).]

So I pulled my intake and started checking lifters. I wish I had gotten pics but I was

so shocked I didn't even think too. I had (4) lifters sheered right off some as much as 3/4"

Figured it was a good time to drop the cradle completely, swap cam and replace that rusted cradle.

So I got too looking around and found an 86 SE on craigslist for $800. I figured to get a cradle locally

I was going to pay $100, so I splurged and bought the whole "parts" car. Now this Parts car was in damn fine

shape but no title, so I stripped it. Sorry I had to do it, if I had the room I probably would have kept it intacted and started

3.8 swap, any how it's done lol.



(2) hours into stripping the 86 I couldnt find a picture of it when I drove it home from vermont.



Mini me wanted too drive it to Wal-mart lol

Any how I stripped everything I could think of off the 86 and sent it off to the salvage yard. Later I will

swap the 86 panels onto my 84. With my new cradle in hand it was time to weld some brackets on it before

paint. The brackets are for support struts for the engine, I also had plates made for the ends of my passenger side

head that bolts to the head.



Plus test fitting Rodneys solid mounts, work great Rodney

Time to get some paint on these parts.


Cradle


Tranny




Money shots (taken on cell phone poor quality)

I forgot to mention I also put new sanderson headers on. The yellow on the motor is powder coating that

I did. I also started coating other parts as well.






some spareparts I had, trying a different color.

Doing all this painting and powder coating went a long way to prettying things up in the engine bay.

Got the motor dropped back in and headed off to the muffler shop to get a true dual 2 1/2" exhaust

with magna flow bullet style mufflers. I think it sounds great, officers sometimes have a different

opinion. lol Alright I'm sure no one is actually reading what I'm righting so I'm signing off. I will document

the body swap next, thanks for looking Ray

well I am reading/listening, please continue

------------------
84SE, aero body, 4 speed and an injected 355 V8

Ditto. We can't post if we are reading .

Brad

I love taking rusted ugly parts and painting or powder coating them. It gives you that nice feeling

I have never seen the cradle tilt method before. I would imaging I could do that in my 87 Duke if I took the Filter housing off. Also, those pics look really good man. Keep em coming!

So everything was slid back in, again as a one man show but had it in in less than 2hours.

ATTENTION: Now if I can offer any words of "wisdom" it is this. When you go this deep into a

project I would advice that you make a check list of things to check before rolling out with your new goods.

I put everything back together and pushed my clutch pedal for it to depress than nothing, hard as a ROCK!!!

I had no pressure the pedal wouldn,t go any further so I get out and inspect. I spent the next 1 1/2 sliding the

the tranny back off the motor while still in place thinking my pressure plate was seized up. Yeah scratching all

my nice new powder and paint to finally bump my clutch arm and see it spin on the shaft because I forgot too

tighten the D@%m thing. lol Problem solved so the next day I trailer it to the muffler shop cause cant drive it with open

headers. the 2 1/2 " true duel goes flawless, the guy did a great job with his bends and my car now sounds mean as Hell.

Of course I have to drive it home to only get 3 miles down the road and realize I never tightened my bleeder valves (dumb@%s)

So make a list triple check EVERYTHING never be in to much of a rush. Any how lets get to the int. and some pics. The int.

of my little 84 is in pretty tired shape and it was time to get it cleaned up, OH and some cupholders. lol So I started designing a

new middle console with some cup holders of course.

I was trying to keep it simple, didnt want to change things up to much. Cupholders change tray and be done. I was hoping to fiberglass

a mold and then pull a part but chickened out so VINYL it is.

and the a pillars must be covered to.

The black is whisper soft from Joan Fabrics closest thing to leather, really nice stuff. As you can see I got a bit colorful with the yellow

vinyl. The b-pillars were quite tricky and had a small issue by where the door closes but all in all came out nice. So on to the door panels

next. Again trying to keep it simple not change it up to much, I like the fiero interior look for the most part. Anyhow here's what I came up with.

Maybe a little to simple (wheels start turning)

Double gauge pillar pod and o yeah did I mention I also covered the headliner in vinyl.



Well it's coming still more too do and that will be my next update, thank you for looking Ray

lovin the rims o nthe first set of pictures. would look great on my yet-to-be-started project :P. also, that center console..... i wish you had made a mold of it because im tired of not having cupholders or a place to set my phone lol. im not paying over $20 for tiny piece of plastic from the Fiero Store... :P

great work btw

quote Originally posted by faaaaq: i wish you had made a mold of it because im tired of not having cupholders or a place to set my phone lol. great work btw

Stay tuned for the updated lol

Finally with this post I should be able to bring this build into the here and now. So the vinyl

was looking nice but I soon realized that to cover everything in vinyl I was going to have to

get an upholstery shop involved. Well besides the cost I really like doing this stuff on my own but

I really can't sew. Not to mention the yellow vinyl didn't take long to become to much for me lol. My solution

suck it up and try my hand at some fiberglassing. Before I jump head first into it I thought I would

start with something I knew I could do. I grab all my spare trim pieces and my orbital sander, some

150grit and started sanding my A & B pillars, lower trimpieces. This would also give me the oppurtunity

to blend my gauge pod into my A-pillar. NothingI hate worst than the look of the pods just screwed on.
So after some sanding I hit with primer, (3) coats of color and (4) coats of clear and lots off wet sanding (2000 grit).



Gauge pod with 2 coats

third coat ready for some finish sanding and spot puddy and paint

Done and looking factory

Now for my middle console and my first attempt at fiberglassing. I had to pull the vinyl off and

in doing so screwed up my plug a bit and when I was fixing it I thought it looked a little plain.

I like my music but not real into big bass but I thought a sub would look good.


Plug prepped andready to pull a mold. With the way I designed it I can only use an 8" sub but I

think that will be plenty. So lets get to glassing.

Mold pulled was easier than I thought and now a little wet sand, some wax and plenty of PVA and we're ready to

try and pull a part.

We have a part, I can't tell you how relieved I am to have pulled this off. So relieved I had to start designing

my radio surround.



Again keeping it simple just a little flair added, rounded things a bit and added yet another change tray. When I make

the face plate I will shrink the radio area to 1 1/2 dimm.

Here's my mold cooking

and my part now cooking I will demold it tomorrow, my plug didn't survive the demolding, I think my part will release a lot easier.

Alright I'm doing some big things here atleast for me lol so I expect some responses J/K I have three kids I'm use to talking to myself lol
Thanks for following along, Ray

not interested in a center-console sub, but i still love your design..could really use some cupholders and a change/phone tray in my Fiero... :P


great work, would only be better if it was all in black and blue

That center console is exactly what I plan to do this summer! I have never done much with fiberglass, but hoping mine will turn out half as nice as yours. I will definitely be watching this thread, and asking plenty of questions when I start my build. Oh, have you figured out which sub you will be putting in there? I really like the design of this Kenwood 8", but would prefer the 10" if it would fit...

http://www.kenwoodusa.com/C...ubwoofers/KFC-XW800F

The pics of your daughter workig on a Fiero puts a smile on my face. Two thumbs up for her, she's doing a great job.

Dave

I've got to learn to make a two part mold next time. After working on pulling my part out of the

mold for more than 1 1/2 hours the mold finally cracked under the pressure. lol. I made it thin on

purpose cause I had concerns about being able to pull my part. So good news is I have a new radio

surround, bad news is I don't have a mold any more. Doesn't matter I only have one fiero any how lol.



Shift surround is next but I need a little help. My thought is when I build the face plate for the radio surround

I would leave a space behind it. So my thought is I could back lite it with some led (color to match my gauges)

that way it would glow around the outside of the plate. What do you think dumb?? On the shift surround I was going

to do a gated shift but the throw on the shifter from 1st to 2nd and so on is only 2" that would look wrong lol. So I

got to figure something different. Alright it's dinner time I'll check in later see if anyone has any ideas. Thanks Ray

A small update, I wish I could show you painted finished pieces but with the humidity
thats not going to happen. I do have some new parts though.



pieces for my radio face plate



The two pieces bonded together ready for a little sanding.



Radio surround with two coats of paint and ready for clear coat, when humidity goes away.



Dash covered in fiberglass and sanded ready for some filler to finish the smoothing process.

Working on a design for the shift surround could use some ideas? Thanks for looking Ray

Finally time for an update, computer crashed down for awhile. We had a post awhile back

that made me giggle ( How do you stay modivated to finish a project) or something like that, lol.

It's hard to stay modivated when I can't paint a part to see the finished product ( humidity still an issue)

Been working on a few things though, Got alot of the smoothing done on the dash, little more sanding and it will

be ready for paint


Got some ideas for the pocket area that I'm working on. Was thinking I would make a cover and use a device

like the hiding license plate to make it open and drop down. I would mount my ipod and maybe a nav. system

on it. Started my plug for my shifter surround and realized 2 things, 1. patience is a virtue when fiberglassing and

b. I will never try and pull a mold or a part without PVA, thought enough wax and I would be fine, well I was wrong!

My plug
Tried doing it as a one piece mold with no PVA and destroyed both my mold and plug. Next attempt was my first

two piece mold and worked out alright (remember patience is important)



Not sure if it's clear in this picture but some of the support returns I put in the part to make it sturdy was the reason I could'nt

pull it as a one piece. I have the part pulled but forgot the pics (will add tomorrow). I had 85SEnochie photo chop some designs

for my shifter plate and will probably go with something like this one


Decided to test fit my radio surround and face plate and learned I had to do some modifying lol.


Had to cut up the skeleton and well the heater vent. The vent is going to be deleted because of the storage compartment I

put in the radio face plate. I also realized my radio was going to fit the way I had hope so I had to modify the opening. Because

I cut up the skeleto I had to find a way to attach my heater controls, this is what I came up with.


Will work out well and you can see I filled in the radio hole. Iv'e since recut it and will post pics later. I've got some more that

I will update with tomorrow maybe. thanxs for looking Ray

Ready for paint


Needs some trimming and a little filler. Will start shifter plate soon, just got to get the buttons I'll use for sizing.


package tray


how it will look when done.


How I'm going to attach my emblems.

Thanks for looking Ray

Edit: To thank Blacktree and Tha driver for there info on fiberglassing + to the both of you

[This message has been edited by rcp builders (edited 07-16-2010).]

Bump Not much progress but wanted to bump it up in hopes of motivating me to paint some interior pieces

this weekend. I changed my mind on my piece behind my seats, I fiberglassed it and will paint it instead of

vinyl. I had to make a mold of the piece that are going to outline my v8 symbols and then bond it to my rear panel.





The v8 is in there upside down and the holes in it are were I will epoxy screws to them so they can be bolted on.

I also have been working on fiberglassing my dash and decided to delete my dash speakers and add them to my

door panel design. In place of where my speakers were I am creating 2 gloveboxes with lids and hinges. I have the

boxes glassed in and the lids in plug form, I just have to make molds and then pull some parts. I forgot to take pics, I

will tomorrow and post. This next picture is what happen to my weak 84 four speed when I took my car to the track last

year. I have since replaced it with a new v6 4 speed.





Hopefully I'll get some parts painted and dash done this weekend. Thanks for looking, Ray

I must say thus far i'm very impressed. keep up the good work.

Nice work! I'll be interested to see your progress.

Nolan

quote Originally posted by pontiackid86: I must say thus far i'm very impressed. keep up the good work.

Impressed about the trans carnage or my work LOL.

quote Originally posted by Sourmug: Nice work! I'll be interested to see your progress. Nolan

Thank You

Well I didn't get anything painted or even worked on anything. I did how ever make it

to the local pick and pull to do some shopping!!! I had been scoutting it for weeks with

templates trying to find some interesting stuff. Finally found some mirrors off a Honda.


Preliminary fitting looks like they are going to work great, a little fiberglassing and drilling.

The profile of the two doors are almost identical in that area.

Also found a front bumper off of the same Honda, that I hope to chop up and marry it to

my 84 bumper or my se bumper.



Have to figure which one is the closest fitting and I am hoping maybe FOURPOINT9 or

FIE RO will jump in and give some tips on the process.

Also I found this



I think it's an IMSA kit that has seen better days.

I got some vacation coming up and am hoping to get some old projects finished and new ones started.

Ray

[This message has been edited by rcp builders (edited 12-06-2010).]

Ray,

check your pm.

quote Originally posted by exoticse: Ray, check your pm.

Replied

hey where is that yard? pm me as i am looking for some different parts that i need.

Oh I love my local pick and pull. I went and got me some new black carpet.




The pics dont do this carpet justice, with a good vacuuming these things will

look new. They are pre -formed and have the insulation on the bottom. $10 per half, that

is $20 for new carpet!!!! Yeah

Also while poking around I found me a nice fiberglass headliner, not sure from who (Archie

or F.S) but it is in perfect shape.



$20 out the door.

So I got, what, like $300 dollars worth of parts for $40, I thought it was a good day. Ray

[This message has been edited by rcp builders (edited 12-27-2010).]

I used to date Fiona



- Scotty

scotty doesnt know, that fiona and me, did it in my van every sunday..

love that movie and song. so funny.

rcp builders, youve got some great glassing talent! its inspiring. good... no, great job!

nice car, hope to see you in a fl. car show one day. in florida humidity sure is tough to work with, paint does not like to dry either. all the work you did, my back hurts just reading.