Kathryn- Now you're an internet sensation, but wait until Powerblock gives you a call to come onto their show as a guest to show off your ride when you're done
Enjoy the spotlight!
PS- I'm really happy that Fieros and this forum are getting all this good publicity, who knows maybe the market for our cars will pick up a bit. Then again it sucks not owning one for the moment!
An hour long. Interview starts about 26 minutes or so into it. Download from here and play it on your own system to be able to skip ahead. Interview and then some
Thanks! Just listened to it. Funny how at the end when she hung up, they were talking about how Fieros are deathtraps
FWIW- I felt safer in my Fiero than any other car I've ever been in structurally speaking. Granted I did hurt my back from my accident when I was t-boned and struck a parked SUV, but it was a 30mph impact and all the airbags in the world wouldn't have prevented it.
hey everybody the radio out of Detroit will be on in like 30 mins. so about 5:10 to 5:15 is when it will come on!! so just fyi that's what's going on, thank you for all of your support and interest and offers!!! oh and suggestions are always great as well!! -kathryn
hey everybody the radio out of Detroit will be on in like 30 mins. so about 5:10 to 5:15 is when it will come on!! so just fyi that's what's going on, thank you for all of your support and interest and offers!!! oh and suggestions are always great as well!! -kathryn
okay our mistake the time needs to change to 5:45 my dad just got the e-mail!! sorry for the inconvenience!! sorry i just found out! -kathryn thanks everybody!!! especially for all your patience!
A co-worker stopped me in the parking lot this afternoon to tell me about a story he'd seen on msn.com about a girl rebuilding her own Fiero. He knows about my oft-delayed Quad 4/Fiero swap and wanted to know if I'd seen the story. I told him it sounded familiar and once I found the story on jalopnik I knew why.
I wish my kids would have shown this much initiative, about ANYTHING. Keep up the great work, Kathryn. On the other hand, as a soccer referee, I hope your Fiero project doesn't interrupt your playing career too often. ; )
Coincidence they are playing the song "Sexual Healing" right before the interview Kathryn?(Mind out of the gutters, sickos) Its a song, I believe, that our own Doni Hagan collects royalties on?
Did I miss it?! I've been tuned into this oldies station for 40 minutes, & this crazy guy comes into my shop jittering & talking in circles for like fifteen minutes. Grrr!!!
Technical Drafting is fun! I'm old enough I've done pencil and paper drafting and computer aided drafting. My senior project in high school was a 3D Fiero
One fun thing I learned from an Autodesk representative when I was in college, you can download Autodesk drafting software like AutoCAD and Inventor for free from their website if you have an edu email address. Otherwise, they also have 30 day free trials, which are great to learn with.
yes i just went on thank you for all the good feedback!!! It was longer but i think they cut it down leaving out the correction on it being an 86' not an 88' and me mentioning that it was Pennock's not Jalopnik that the story has been on since the beginning...grrr. they cut out the two most important parts in my mind. anyway i think you might have missed it...sorry. but i'm sure you can find it somewhere.... Thanks again, I did try to save your reputation...lol -kathryn
So I thought you all might like to see what occupied Kathryn's time this evening. This is of course a sight that many in the fiero community are familiar with, and one that Kathryn is learning. When we pulled apart the headlight motor to see why her fiero kept 'winking" at her we realized that the bushings inside all all turned to gooey green grit.......some of you might remember a photo like this one
so before anything can get fixed we need to clean up all the gears.....ick!
A fun night...sometimes it is the little things out of the way that enable you to accomplish the next item.
If I might make the suggestion: One of the upgrades that you can make to your car Kathryn, is to replace the front harness and headlamp motors with the harness/module/motors from an 87 or 88 Fiero.
You'll get the quieter, faster motors that were MUCH easier to rebuild. Three small dowels from Rodney Dickman, and all of your headlight woes are gone.
Found this thread through my r/c heli forum (helifreak). This is one of the best threads I have ever read. Kathryn, you are truly an inspiration. This sort of hits home with me as I have a 2 y/o daughter that goes crazy for my truck and helps her daddy with various things on it haha. Hopefully she will have similar determination, dedication, and drive that you have. Dad, I'm sure saying that you are a proud papa is an understatement. My wife and I will enjoy watching your progress!
Just had to join this forum and make a reply post after seeing the article on MSN.
Kathryn and MH - Keep up the AWESOME work! This thread is very inspiring. I recently became a dad at age 48, and I can only hope that my 9 month old daugher takes a liking to cars as you have. I've been a car guy all my life, and still own the second car I ever bought (the Mustang there in my sig). I've owned it for 32 years.
I'm now building the Barracuda - I can hope that she takes a liking to it, and will help dad out in the Garage at some point.
Oh - and I forgot to mention, that the VERY FIRST NEW CAR I owned was a 1986 Fiero GT. The first year for the fastback style GT. I loved that car. 2.8L with a 4 speed. That car would Get up and Go! I finally had to give it up after having replaced the clutch once, then the transmission.
Anyhow, I have read through the first 5 pages of your build, and at times, have almost been brought to tears - it's a really great father daughter build.
Keep it going - and look forward to the end product and watching as you continue to build and grow!
I have a yellow and black 85 MR2 and the color scheme Kat would probably like......... here are some pics: (Full slideshow HERE and find more of the MR2 community on www.mr2oc.com)
When we pulled apart the headlight motor to see why her fiero kept 'winking" at her we realized that the bushings inside all all turned to gooey green grit.......some of you might remember a photo like this one
-MH
I remember dealing with that! It's why I named my Fiero "Winky". You can go to the fiero store site and get replacement nylon gears or upgrade to aluminum (? some metal) gears cheap enough. I got the nylon ones, no problems with the headlights since. Now it's the alternator...
If I might make the suggestion: One of the upgrades that you can make to your car Kathryn, is to replace the front harness and headlamp motors with the harness/module/motors from an 87 or 88 Fiero.
You'll get the quieter, faster motors that were MUCH easier to rebuild. Three small dowels from Rodney Dickman, and all of your headlight woes are gone.
I agree, one of the best mods I made to my 84, really easy, too. Cliff did a writeup:
I'd like to thank you for a very enjoyable read and it didn't take that long. You've reached a certain status on the net so be prepaired to be PM'd with some really strange questions.The reason I can say that is because of what I've been working on now for several years. I'm a Buick turbo guy (GN's and T types) and in the time I've been involved with them I went from a NOOB to a mod on 3 sites as well as a tech guy now on 6 of them. I've also joind a few other sites to look stuff up that I was trying to do and get guys PMing me on the other sites even though I'm just looking around. It does wear you out sometimes but I like to help others to understand how the systems work.
Now onto some simple tech advise that might help you out. The 3.4 is pretty much a direct swap for your engine so it would be simple and the easiest thing to do. If you want to go with a 3400 it's OBD II so you'd need all the electronice to go with it. You could also go with the 3800 and it's OBD I so most of the harness ect would be the same but it's wider so things will be a little tight, but it's a good engine.
The 3800 Series II or III are great engines and have a huge potential for power. It's based off the Buick Series II racing engine and I know of 1 GN that's had a Series II transplanted in it so far and 1 is being built to run in the races at the Buick Nats this year. Potential power for one is these with the right parts and a turbo is 900 HP easily. The GN that was converted is using a 4L60E tranny and other than pulling the engine out of a junk yard and basic rebuld with a mild cam and the addition of the turbo is basically stock. This car has been in the mid 9's in the quarter so far and is looking at kissing the 8's this year. The one that's being built for racing is in a class where mid 8's isn't unheard of.
Not sure your dad wants to hear that but the flexability of this engine would work great in NA form for you just begining and as you got older you could change things around a little and make it a serious screamer. You really could spank your folks Vettes and I'm sure they've been spanked by a GN once in a while so they know what they can do.
As far as what you're doing I have to tell you that it's wonderful to see someone your age doing this much and learning how to take care of something that most people take for granted. You will learn more doing this car and understanding how a vehicle works which will translate into other things in your life as you get older. The one thing you need to understand though is thatit's just a car. Don't get upset if something doesn't work right or if you run into problems. My 83 T had ventelated (sp) rears and after I fixed that issue the car fell on me due to the stands shifting as I was putting the rear back under it. I've been a professional Tech for 30 years now and never had this happen so keep that in mind. I was very lucky and all that happened was a broken rib and finding out that the frame was rotten so the car has become a full frame off now.
Take your time and if you have a question do some searching to see if there's an answer out there. If you can't find one I'm sure one of these others can help you with it. This site reminds me very much of turbobuick when it comes to helping each other out with issues. What you might try finding is the Fiero magazine that Hot Rod put out in the 80's. I had one and sent it to a freind that was building a super duty for racing. If I still had it I'd offer it to you so you could see what GM did back "in the day" with these neat little cars. It also had the part numbers for the getrag tranny for the super duty and full cage blue prints for the tube chasis race car. Very cool thing to read through if you can find one. I hope to see more of your buld in the future and would love to see and the family bring it on the power tour this year even though I know that's not gonna happen.
------------------ Just a visitor from turbobuick. Hopefully the first stock appearing 83 T type draw through carb turbo car to ever make it in the 10's and no nitrous used.
So I thought you all might like to see what occupied Kathryn's time this evening. This is of course a sight that many in the fiero community are familiar with, and one that Kathryn is learning. When we pulled apart the headlight motor to see why her fiero kept 'winking" at her we realized that the bushings inside all all turned to gooey green grit.......some of you might remember a photo like this one -MH
FLASHBACKS! GAAHHH!
Still, I love my noisey 86 headlight motors. You guys did the right thing, clunky noisey motors rule.
quote
Originally posted by carnut122:
Time for a Speed Ban! Just kidding!
No you weren't.
[This message has been edited by tbone42 (edited 04-20-2012).]
I came across your forum yesterday via a link from MSN.com, I must say reading over everything has been my pleasure.
I wish you the best in your project and will be following to see how it is coming along. Your determination is definitely refreshing.
To the Dad: I haven't seen where anyone has asked this, so I guess I will. Have you thought of setting up a paypal account for Kathryn? I would love to send a small donation to help her realize her dream
------------------ Here to support Kathryn's Fiero, You inspire us all
This is awesome. My daughter turned one last week and I pray to God she takes to cars (especially Fieros) when she is that age. You must be super proud. Best of luck to you and yours!
I will be the first to donate $20.00 to you Kat. I feel that it is a worthwhile cause. You will never be able to get the experience you are accumulating from any school, I guarantee it. Dad, please setup an account so anyone who wants to can help out you daughter. There are people out there who believe in making other people's dreams come true.
I will be the first to donate $20.00 to you Kat. I feel that it is a worthwhile cause. You will never be able to get the experience you are accumulating from any school, I guarantee it. Dad, please setup an account so anyone who wants to can help out you daughter. There are people out there who believe in making other people's dreams come true.
I will be the first to donate $20.00 to you Kat. I feel that it is a worthwhile cause. You will never be able to get the experience you are accumulating from any school, I guarantee it. Dad, please setup an account so anyone who wants to can help out you daughter. There are people out there who believe in making other people's dreams come true.
Ice
Cliff's got an account you should donate to.. see top of General Fiero Chat forum page: "Buy Cliff a Beer", after all, without him, none of you would even know about this. Click here to donate to Pennock's Fiero Forum: https://www.fiero.nl/cgi-bin...Session=2456038.1502
Give generously.. even small amounts help... and keep this website running, please! You can say "I love checking on Kathryn's prgress, and I helped make that possible."
'nuff said.
[This message has been edited by tbone42 (edited 04-20-2012).]
Even with that said, i still wish to give to kat...I will gladly donate a few buck to the forum as well.
Ice
quote
Originally posted by tbone42:
Cliff's got an account you should donate to.. see top of General Fiero Chat forum page: "Buy Cliff a Beer", after all, without him, none of you would even know about this. Click here to donate to Pennock's Fiero Forum: https://www.fiero.nl/cgi-bin...Session=2456038.1502
Give generously.. even small amounts help... and keep this website running, please! You can say "I love checking on Kathryn's prgress, and I helped make that possible."
'nuff said.
[This message has been edited by icemanfiveoh (edited 04-20-2012).]
What an absolutely great night. We got to spend some time together getting our hands dirty, cleaning up some of the rusty mess, and just plain having fun. Those of you that have been following for a while know that Kathryn really enjoyed doing her interior work, has liked sand blasting and powder coating, and has HATED SANDING! So tonight we decided to start something new....metal fabrication. So one of the first things we needed to do was to assess the problem Ummm, yep! That is a problem. A hole in the trunk large enough to fit a volleyball through it, or close enough. So of course in order to make the problem all better we need to start by making the hole bigger!
Cutting is fun!
Then of course you have to wrestle the "ucky" (Kathryn's word) piece out!
Hmmm, this tool looks like fun!
Very fun indeed!
Then we used the peices we cut out to make a template. Unfortunately dad got to busy with other things to get any pictures of laying out the pattern or cutting the piece, but with a little guidance Kathryn did just fine with this. Once she realized it was the same as creating the templates like she did for the carpeting on her doors she was good to go. After the test fit there was still a bit of clean up to do, so a little work with the grinder and the vice and we were all set
With the piece in place it's now time to tack weld it. So on goes the helmet. If you are wondering if she is having fun yet, I think the smile gives it away...lol!
And with that piece in place Mom says it is time to wrap it up for the night.
Awesome! That's a skill most people, even car guys, don't have. May want to wear a dust mask or respirator while doing the cutting, grinding, and flap wheeling, I was surprised how much I inhaled after I started sneezing later.
I started reading this at around 8 o'clock tonight and I am absolutely stunned by the work you are putting into your car, It inspires me to no end. If My son has half of the love for cars that you have I will feel like I succeeded as a father, I myself an rebuilding a fiero and I hope that my looks half as good as yours does when its done. Your friendly neighbor to the south, Drew
I followed a link to this forum from a friend's post on Facebook. Congratulations, you've gone viral!
Absolutely amazing work. I wish I had the dedication and attention to detail you have. What you are doing is reminiscent of my own work on my '90 RX-7, but I've been at it for 2 years, made less progress, and it doesn't look nearly as professional as what you've accomplished. You are an inspiration to us all!
------------------ Failure is not an option. It comes bundled with Windows.
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