but I'd like to see how a MERA was done in the trunk. The trunk opening on the Stinger comes quite a bit farther back than the rear Fiero trunk weather strip. When I modified my rear trunk metal, I just extended the trunk wall backwards. So on the MERA, is there a filler panel in the area between the rear Fiero trunk seal and the rear fascia, or is the car shorter in this area?
if y'all dont mind.....i have mine tore apart.....so i just snapped these.... Rick just closed his up, right? hows the 3.4 treating you Rick?? got a 0-60 mph yet? no pressure, friend
later Daniel
[This message has been edited by batousai666 (edited 10-25-2010).]
I have been following this thread with interest. Great job on the Stinger. By far the best looking 308 replica out there.
I was tired of the never ending 355 project so I went out and bought myself a Mera clone. I am pretty sure it is a knockoff of a Mera. It was very well done back in the early '90's when it was built but it needed refreshing so I am going through that now. I have wanted a Stinger for many years but I have never found one reasonably priced for the condition it is in. I opted for the Mera clone as it was very cheap and local. I searched for Mario a couple years ago with another fellow out in Toronto and I talked to Mario and he still had the moulds but it was no longer his main business. I have since tried to get back in touch with him but he had sold his HVAC business and I haven't been able to track him down since. I did see an obituary notice in the Drummondville areas for a Mario Cournoyer that passed from cancer last year but I wasn't able to determine if it was this Mario or another one. I wasn't about to go phoning around asking either...... I know the moulds are still around but I don't know where any more.
For my project, I am now going through a reconfiguration of the front clip as I took the fender tops that are normally part of the hood and glassed them into the fenders so I can make a slightly more oem look on the front end.
The differences between Stingers and Mera and Mera clones I have found so far in the making of the front clip are:
- Mera fender tops are wider than Stinger and oem. About 1-1.5" on each side from the look of it. My centre trunk lid comes in further than the windshield wipers as you have up near the screen so I was not able to make the side fender tops the same as yours where they come down and touch the windshield for a seal. I still have to seal the front trunk area under the fender tops. - The front trunk hinges the same spot as the oem Fiero. This is a pull over from the Mera where the Fiero front lid was used. - I don't have to lower the radiator at all but it is VERY close to the trunk lid under side now so I may angle it forward a couple degrees just to get the clearance. The radiator doesn't need to be angled on the Meras or Mera clones normally. - Side scoops are not the same. Mera side scoops just end at a flat piece where the scoop normally enters the side body panels. This should be corrected as well in my opinion to have the scoop angle in more like oem. - Meras do not have the sail panel separation that oem Ferraris and Stingers have. Sail panels are all solid. - Mera rear thunk areas are the same as the Stinger where the rear light panel comes about 6" past the back of oem Fiero trunk lip. Mine has been cut out at the back so harder to see in mine that normal Meras and clones.
Items I plan to change on my kit. - Sail panel separation (I may do this but I may not depending on time and ambition this winter) - I am currently making new headlight buckets that remove the Fiero oem ones. I have to make the buckets a bit larger than oem and Stinger size though to keep the proportions correct for the wider Mera fender tops.
I would really appreciate any detail pics you have of the following areas.
Headlights mounting and positioning you went through. I can make the headlight buckets easily but I want to know the distance down and behind the back lip of the headlight bucket for the pivot location. I want to get close to the same upward movement as oem Ferrari so I need to know the location of the pivot point relative to the back of the headlight top. Sail panel detail shots open and closed around the areas that open with the rear deck lid. I would like to see how Stinger closed the joints of the two pieces. I have an idea but details would be great.
If you could post them here or email them to me, that would be outstanding. and thanks in advance.
Thanks for the pics Batousai. Yours looks a lot like mine did before I extended the trunk sheet metal rearward. I'm rather glad someone rear-ended me now because I probably wouldn't have gone through the trouble. At least now if I get a flat tire, I won't have to hide the tire in the ditch and come back for it later, I made sure my rear 245//45R16's on the rear would fit in the trunk.
For Don (355Fiero): Thanks for contributing to the history! You know, I wouldn't doubt if the obit was for Mario. As I recall, he spent a lot of time working fibreglass... can't be good for your health especially if you don't wear protective gear. It sounds like you're doing some radical work to your kit. If you think your kit was made in Canada, I believe the manufacturer of most of the MERA knock-offs up here was a company called Fejer, though I'm not certain. I'll see what I can do about emailing you some detailed photos and measurements of the areas you wanted (unless somebody else expresses an interest in seeing some of these pictures to, in which case I'll post them in this thread). Stay tuned.
[This message has been edited by Bloozberry (edited 10-27-2010).]
Here's a view of one of the door scoops. I recall having seen a MERA knock-off in Ottawa about ten years ago and remember noticing that the door scoops weren't as fully D-shaped as on the Stinger. That is probably because Corporate Concepts avoided structural modifications as much as possible. To get the Stinger body to fit on the Fiero, I had to notch some of the sheet metal in the large air chamber behind the rear door post/B pillar area, and then re-form the area so it wouldn't interfere with the back-side of the fiberglass scoop.
Although I don't have a true CAI intake on the car, the passenger door scoop directs cool air through a large-diameter aluminium flexible duct, through a hole in the engine bay side wall where the battery used to be, to the air filter when rolling. I preferred the look of the K&N air filter on the throttle body over CAI plumbing on this car. On the driver's side, I used to direct the air from the scoop through an oil cooler, until the cooler lines fatigued, broke, and caused an engine fire which nearly consumed the car back in '98. Now the airflow from the driver's side is just pumped into the engine bay for additional air circulation.
Although I don't have a true CAI intake on the car, the passenger door scoop directs cool air through a large-diameter aluminium flexible duct, through a hole in the engine bay side wall where the battery used to be, to the air filter when rolling. I preferred the look of the K&N air filter on the throttle body over CAI plumbing on this car. On the driver's side.......... Now the airflow from the driver's side is just pumped into the engine bay for additional air circulation.
*STOLEN*
i like this idea.....even just for the forced air removal of all the hot air created at any given monent, whilest in flight, as such..... wonder what would happen with a Turbo or 2 inline somewhere??
Mera X loves these cold Autum mornings. just feels faster. held my own with a 80's Vette just this morning i must say.....
the good times shall end soon so i gotta'......till the first snow. GO,GO,GO!!!!
Daniel
*edit*
did'nt Tommy in Paradise do some thing similar?? me likey!!
[This message has been edited by batousai666 (edited 10-27-2010).]
That side scoop is so much better than the Mera version where it just stops with a flat surface you cut the hole out of and put a screen in. I may well have to make these in my replica sides just to get that better shape.
Thanks very much for the photo.
Did you need to move the driver's side windshield wiper in to line up with the 308 front trunk lid? I looked at my replica and the stock Fiero windshield wiper is way over toward the fender whereas yours looks like it is much closer to the centre.
Don, I sent you an email to your personal address with some of the information you asked for. I'll send more within the next few days. As I mentioned earlier in this thread, I did move the driver's wiper over towards the center of the car. I cut 4" from the two pushrods in the cowl and then rewelded them back together. They work just fine this way too.
Here's today's picture to bump this back to page 1. It shows how the Stinger bumper is shaped as opposed to the Mera bumper which, as Rick 88's wife so quaintly put it "...looks like a drooping tongue". I originally installed mine several inches further out like the US spec 308's but later recessed it to get the European-spec look. I like it much better this way. The only thing I'm missing is the Euro-spec front bumper turn signal/marker light. The US version is the one I have that's all amber in color whereas on the Euro spec light, the marker light portion of the lens is clear instead of amber.
I got your email. Thanks very much for the info and pics. It will really help me get my project closer to oem shapes and dimensions. I tried to reply to your email address but it keeps coming back as undeliverable. I think it is due to the fact of where I currently am. 875 Miles NE of Yellowknife up in Nunavut at a mine site....... I think they are blocking to and from hotmail....Please keep the pics coming of what you discussed in your email as they will really help me with the project. When I get out of here next weekend, I will send the email reply as I added in a few more items and ideas into it. Maybe I'll try personal messenger on here and see if that will work.
Keep the pics and info coming though please as it is excellent and gives me lots to think about while up here with not much to do in the evening.....
Welcome to the forum! You know you're not going to be able to get away with a simple question without explaining why you're interested in a side shot... especially as a Newbie. Whatcha' up to? Have you got a Stinger? Strangely, I only have one picture of the car from a straight-on side view... and that was taken 15 years ago fresh out of the paint shop. At that point the rockers weren't black, and the quarter window louvers weren't made yet. Oh, and digital photography wasn't quite what it is today, so with that said, here's the only true side shot I have:
And here's the next closest thing (taken this summer)...
Sikkens polyurethane. I too am surprised at how well the paint held up. The car never sees rain though, and is always garaged so the sun and weather don't really have an impact on it.
What's my story? Well, I've been a longtime admirer of the F308 - ever since my neighbor pull up in one back '78. It's the car that got me into cars and I've always thought of owning one one day. But I came to the realization that I probably can't afford to maintain a Ferrari 308, especially if I was to use it as a daily driver. So, a while back I did a little research and found out that their was a car that was made to look similar to the 308 and was produced and sold from the Pontiac dealerships years ago...the Fiero Mera. I knew of kit car replicas of the 308 already but had know idea of the Mera. The Mera led me to this forum and the Mera in Paradise postings. After reading several dozen pages of postings I was led to another site "Madmechanics" and that's when I found write ups and images of the Stinger. I knew from the accuracy of the Stinger if I was going to own a replica of the F308 that would be it.
After some detective work I was able to find a few Stingers and their owners. The first one I found was for sale on kitcars.com back in '07, surprisingly the ad was still up, images of it can be seen here http://www.customcarblogs.c...in.php?g2_itemId=643 The next one was a yellow Stinger but nothing more then a shell. It was for sale on lespac.com, the Quebec version of buy and sell last summer. I emailed the owner but never heard back from them. Another one from eBay, which someone has already posted images of... and the last one, which I believe to be the only one ever made the convertible Stinger which is currently in southern Ontario. If I could find one for sale I'd love to buy it but if not I'm contemplating buying a f355 replica.
The reason I asked for the side image is I've never seen a true side view of one and wanted to compare the roof line and the angle of the louvers to the real 308.
It's a great looking car you have - take fantastic care of it.
Thanks for starting the Stinger 308 registry!
[This message has been edited by baggs (edited 11-22-2010).]
Thanks Mera7. Since you bumped this back up from the depths, I'll see if I can't dredge up a few more photos, starting with this one I call Grill City:
Just checked with my paint shop guy and he said the way it was painted was with a polyurethane basecoat black and a semigloss clear. He said that if you wanted to do it inexpensively with materials you can buy without a license (in Canada), he would recommend Krylon because of its durability, ease of application, and good appearance.
Here's today's pic. I call it "Scuderia Bloozberry" with Heidi-Ho (aka Squeaky) our horse in the background. She rarely rears up like Ferrari's "Cavallino Rampante", but then again, she's missing certain parts of his anatomy too.
A few of us "regular 308" owners have been making some "needed" mods to our cars. I'm on my 3rd V8 swap and AUto to Getrag Conversion. My body is already completed so I'll have to wait to tear into my hood again. Right now, I'm just finishing up my real Hood Vents and updated headlight vents and pop up headlight covers. I'm also modifying my B Pillar to do a GTB style Side / Sail Panel Window instead of the fake louver,
Don's work is great. In fact, he made me a set of "dummy" side louvers so I could avoid hacking up mine to do a "little R&D"
Keep going Don . . . Keep Going... (I'll be over to steal the front end ! )
In 2006 I began my search for what I knew to be the most accurate 308 replica. I was looking for what I remembered was advertised as a "Stinger". This car was designed & built by Luc Chartran (who is still making specialty cars - google to see his current projects) in Montreal. Fiero Plus out of Windsor, Canada advertised it as the "308 Stinger", available as a kit or turn key. It's life on the market was shortlived because of legalities (I'm sure you're familiar with), which then made it a rare find. I was fortunate enough to be able to find & purchase this gem...I've never seen one up close prior to that. On May 6th, 2006, I bought my car from the original owner in Quebec who provided Luc with his 1985 Fiero GT donor, and commisioned him to build it in 1991. The process of importing and registering the built replica from Canada to the US was an adventure to say the least.
While in my possession, I had great fun entering it in some local car shows, including the Michigan Fiero Club's "Fieros at the Hall - 2007" in Dearborn where it won 1st place in the Specialty/Replica category. Through this and other shows I was able to meet and talk with many other 308 replica and Mera owners like Rodney Dickman. http://www.michiganfieroclub.com/images/31.JPG
I ended up selling my car to a gentleman in the Los Angeles, California area. Perhaps he may see the invitation to the registry and post any new pictures. Thanks for inviting me to post on the Stinger Registry.
Thanks Gino and Bob for the updates. I had forgotten that the creator of the kit was actually Luc Chartrand, so now I'll have to go and edit the first page of this thread to correct the misinformation I posted there. Gino, you don't remember the name of the guy who you sold the car to do you? Please feel free to post a few pictures of when you owned it!
May 6, 2006, it was a cold, rainy Saturday morning in Gatineau, Canada. As you can see, the rain wasn't going to dampen my day, with a smile from ear to ear....I take delivery. The original owner told me that it was the first time the car had ever been in the rain.
Just read through this post for the first time. Bloozberry, my hats off to you! That is one fine looking automobile . Fantastic custom work, can't see where it could possibly be improved on.
Sure would like to get my hands on one of those stinger kits. Even with no modifications, it is impressive as a replica of the genuine 308, at least to me. One thing I noticed that sets it apart right off the bat is the separation in the rear sail section of the roof. All the other kits I've seen, (which really hasn't been all that many), do not have that in them and it certainly detracts from looking authentic, at least to me. Not to mention the custom work you've done. The headlights and hood mods, are spot on as far as I can tell, and the whole car just looks "right".
Wouldn't mind seeing pics of your 355 too, or maybe both of these replica's together.
You certainly have my respect as a builder, congrats on a job well done!
Just wanted to express my admiration for your efforts, thanks for posting and more pictures would be cool too!
If this post doesn't belong in the "registry", just let me know and I'll gladly delete it, but just wanted say how much I liked your work.
Just read through this post for the first time. Bloozberry, my hats off to you! That is one fine looking automobile . Fantastic custom work, can't see where it could possibly be improved on.
Sure would like to get my hands on one of those stinger kits. Even with no modifications, it is impressive as a replica of the genuine 308, at least to me.
Shame on you Batousai666! That ad is for a 412 Berlinetta Boxer kit (me thinks someone needs reading glasses...)
@Sage: Thanks for your very kind words and for bringing this thread back up from the dead. So far, it's a registry of 1 car, so I don't think I can be too choosey about what gets posted in here. Certainly no need to erase compliments!
I just did a quick scan and noticed I hadn't posted any pictures of the engine bay, so just for you here's a couple more pictures:
Something else about the Stinger kit that you may or may not have noticed is the width of the front hood. Like the real 308, the hood is only about 1/2 the width of the car:
Bloozberry: Thanks for the new pics, I'll take all you want to post! Yes, I did notice the hood. Maybe I missed it or got it confused with the build on madmechanics, but I thought the narrowing of the hood was something that was done to alter the kit. Is this the way the stinger kit comes stock? If so, that just makes it that much better than any of the others out there. If not, more kudos to you for making it so.
A question for you: Can't really tell from the pics, but the section of roof "butresses" that extend down to the rear, are they actually part of the decklid, or stationary as part of the sail panel? It looks like they are an extension of the decklid. I've never seen a real 308 up close, so don't have any idea what the real thing is like. Just going by pictures I have seen, the stinger kit is about as close as one can get without it actually being a Ferrari. I love your treatment of the roof, a very practical solution to an aesthetic problem, nice work again! That engine............my oh my........that engine. Can't imagine the Ferrari engine being any better than that, and certainly not near as easy and inexpensive to maintain. I really like your car....did I say that already?
Thanks again for the new pics, like I said, I'll appreciate any you want to post, never get tired of looking at that rolling work of art!
HAGO!
If anybody has info on the whereabouts of the moulds, or an existing non installed kit, I sure would like to know about it! Those moulds have to be somewhere, unless they've been destroyed, which needless to say, would be a real shame!
[This message has been edited by Sage (edited 07-21-2012).]
The sail panel is indeed split such that part of it stays with the body and the other half is integral to the decklid. That's the way it also is on the real 308.
I believe the primary reason that the Mera wasn't done this way is because it complicates the decklid hinges a fair bit. Custom hinges are needed and they have to be relocated from under the rear window to above it at the roofline.
This also means that the hinges need to be braced with a structure running up the rear window to support the weight of the decklid when it's open. The sheet metal roof alone would probably flex too much if the hinges were simply welded to it. In this picture, you can see a 1" x 1" vertical square tube (painted black) that braces the hinge. It's hidden inside the sail panel unless the decklid is opened.
As for the narrowed hood, the Stinger kit came that way so no fiberglass mods were needed, but it does mean that the driver's side windshield wiper has to be modified and relocated towards the center of the car. The Mera designers wanted to have body panels that bolted on the same way as the Fiero panels, so they came up with their own take on the decklid.
