I stumbled upon this forum about 3 years ago when my search started. I was looking for a unmolested Fiero, Not only did I find the car but I also found a bunch of good guys. I never knew that New Jersey was such a Fiero state. Through the internet I hooked up with Fiero Jon (CuestickJive) who happen to have a real nice un touched 1 owner white 87 gt, It had a clean carfax, only 40K miles and every part on the car had matching numbers including the front and rear bumpers. (Not the car but it looked like this) I wanted an 88 but this was to clean to pass up. Jon let me in on the differences between the 87 and 88 and I made the decision to buy the car and have him do what he could to bring the suspension and brakes up to par with the 88. He upgraded the brakes with the Grand am kit and made the suspension upgrades with front and rear sway bars. He also removed all the grey parts and had them sprayed white to match. I had my new 18" wheels and tires shipped straight to him and he added them as well. Jon did a great job on the car and I thank him and his dad I would reccomend them to all.
I came back to the forum to make the finishing touches, I found the dot matrix dash trim at a great price from (Darren's 87 coupe) and found a nice Pontiac windsheild decal at FieroSails.com. Then to the stereo, I wanted the stock look but not the stock sound. (FieroSound) has a perfect step by step guide for doing this, I took his advice and went for the 2002 Monsoon head unit. For the speakers I went with 5.25 JBL compnents in the dash using the template he provided on his post and I used JBL 4x6 plates in the rear. I must say the sound is 1000 times better, The JBL's give a nice mid punch . I have 2 Boss 1500's powered 10" slim subs that will be installed behind the seats. Im aware that Boss is not the greatest or the cleanest sounding equipment but 2 of these with the gains kept down will add a nice low end to a Fiero, I just hope they dont break down. Ok back to the car.... After only a few thousand miles my 2.8 developed the ever so dreaded rod or bearing knock. The car only had about 45k miles on it so I was really disapointed, The knock was slight and only heard when the car was very hot and RPM's were high but I wanted it fixed. Time to start reading the forum again.... I found out fast that this is a common issue with the 2.8 and not easily fixed but usaully swapped, My search for a new motor begins. After talking to Fiero Jon and spending about an hour on the phone with another local Fiero guy Dave (BMWguru) I deceided the 3.4 was the best option for me. I put up a wanted ad in the mall and was quickly contacted by a really nice guy, Steve Hayward (stevekh) not only did he have a like new nicely modded 3.4 that was built by Mark Hoaglan (Foxgapfiero) but the price was right and he was willing to load it up and meet me in the middle, That was about a 3 hour drive for both of us. During my search for the engine I started emailing back and forth with Dennis LaGrua, If you ever read one of his posts you know he is not only a mechanic but more like an engineer of sort. He offered to do my swap at a great price and his shop is only 20 miles from my house. Long story short... Perfect clean install. He waited for me to arrive before adding the fluids so I can be the first to turn the key. After only one crank she purred to a perfect idle. I still find it hard to believe he tore this whole car apart and then reassembled it like new without a single issue (except 1 starter shim) in about a week. Since then I had a Spintech exhaust installed and ran it about 1500 miles including a Pete (Pete2m4) Fall cruise where me and my son spent the day with about 20 other very nice Fiero owners and forum members. The car runs and feels solid as a rock. Not a rattle nor a shimmy or a drip or a stall, Dennis you are the man! Im aware that its still a Fiero so its only a matter of time before somthing else goes wrong but as long as I have AAA and this forum is around I aint worried a bit. I still keep in touch with just about everyone I have met on the forum thru Email/PM/Text/Phone and glad after more then 20 years I finally have the Fiero I always wanted, It spends most of its life waxed up and parked in the garage but I got it and I thank all who helped me out.
[This message has been edited by JCircs (edited 08-09-2017).]
Just a FYI, instead of the Boss subwoofer and the amp in the Monsoon radio that I planed on using I decided to go with the 5 channel Kenwood XR-5s amp and a Rockford P3L-S10 subwoofer. All I can say is WOW, this Rockford pounds. If your looking to add bass without changing your console or cutting holes in your firewall this is a great option, As a matter of fact it sounds better then both in the ones I've heard. The bad part is I lost about 3 inches of travel in the passenger seat but because its shape it doesn't need to be mounted so it can be easily removed if you have a 7 foot passenger. I have it crossed over at 150hz and it handles it well, The mid bass is clean and pops nicely and the lows rumble in the small cabin like two twelves in a trunk. I am very satisfied with the completely stock look and amazing sound I thought would never be possible in a Fiero without gutting the car. The whole package including replacing the stock radio with the Monsoon and all stock speakers with JBL components, all adaptors including the iSimple iPod adapter the subwoofer and Kenwood amp was a total of $1300. I think that was cheap for the quality of sound and years of reliability I hope to get.
[This message has been edited by JCircs (edited 01-16-2014).]
New stuff this month. Blacked out windows, Added a nice Viper alarm, New sub and amp as mentioned above. Also bumped out rear wheels 1-1/4" to flush with rear fenders, Nice agressive look. Removed cat and installed Corvette C6 tips. Im trying to be DONE!!! But I cant stop searching this damn forum.... So many good ideas. Im hooked on Fiero and I think I may need help. Next thing just might be Frances T for a Trueleo intake. This is the Rockford sub, And this shows how far the seat can still go back.
[This message has been edited by JCircs (edited 08-09-2017).]
Kinda cleaned up my Turbo install today, got rid of the eBay blow off valve, boost controller and wastegate. It's really running nice since Dennis LaGrua programmed my chip in the fall. Also added Rodney Dickman rear hatch struts and cut out those tension bars and found a guy to make a braided stainless steel detent TV cable that won't melt from the turbo heat.
[This message has been edited by JCircs (edited 08-09-2017).]
@DanDamage yes the chrome pieces are over the exhaust tips, and to the others thanks for the compliments. The car feels great, took it for a nice cruise to Atlantic City this weekend (about 200 miles round trip) and it was a pleasure, I did have much safer and more comfortable options in the garage but this was more fun. I will be getting it on a dyno this month, not for anything more then to satisfy my curiosity, I would just like to see how many more ponies over the original 140 this setup is pumping out. I will post results......
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[This message has been edited by JCircs (edited 01-16-2014).]
On this 80 degree day in NJ I went for a nice 1 hour highway cruise, first ride after installing these, What a nice upgrade, the car feels and sounds even better then before. These really compliment the turbo and I'm very happy with the total package. Now I can get it on a dyno, my guess 225hp.
[This message has been edited by JCircs (edited 06-27-2016).]
The thirst for more horsepower can never be quenched-LOL. It is possible to make 350 HP with a 3.4L BUT you will need to change over to forged pistons, change cams, run much higher boost and add an intercooler. You might get away with just increasing the boost to 12 psi and adding alky/H2O injection for more power but if you are running stock 3.4L pistons it gets you into the unknown zone. The internal changes are all expensive mods. IMO the setup that you now have will be very competitive on the street. You might not win the "King of the Street Shootout" but you will smoke many of the rice burners. If your engine makes 225 HP on a chassis dyno that is very respectable. That translates to about what a factory series II 3800SC makes. From what I read the iPhone dyno app with its built in GPS and accelerometer is about as accurate as a chassis dyno. You might want to try that first. There is one for sale in the apps store for $1.99
------------------ " THE BLACK PARALYZER" -87GT 3800SC Series III engine, custom ZZP /Frozen Boost Intercooler setup, 3.4" Pulley, Powerlog manifold, Northstar TB, LS1 MAF, 3" Flotech Afterburner Exhaust, Autolite 104's, MSD wires, Custom CAI, 4T65eHD w. custom axles, HP Tuners VCM Suite. "THE COLUSSUS" 87GT - ALL OUT 3.4L Turbocharged engine, Garrett Hybrid Turbo, MSD ign., modified TH125H " ON THE LOOSE WITHOUT THE JUICE "
Nice car if I ever drive or go to Jersey to see family I will try to send you a pm. I have family in manalapan n.j. I lived in Jersey for 40yrs then moved to FL. Your car is real clean, enjoy.
My latest upgrade, A snow Performance Meth kit installed by AMS Autowerks in Linden NJ.
Pump and controller mounted up front using the wiper fluid tank for the Boost Juice. In the back all that can be seen is the jet on the intake. Also a quick pic of installed Sprint headers, And lastly my new sig.....
Presentation and detail look fantastic and well done. Car should really move with that setup. Just a suggestion. If you are using washer fluid for the meth injection it will work but summer blends of washer fluid can be 90% water. Might be best to buy methyl alcohol and do a custom 50/50 mix.
------------------ " THE BLACK PARALYZER" -87GT 3800SC Series III engine, custom ZZP /Frozen Boost Intercooler setup, 3.4" Pulley, Powerlog manifold, Northstar TB, LS1 MAF, 3" Flotech Afterburner Exhaust, Autolite 104's, MSD wires, Custom CAI, 4T65eHD w. custom axles, HP Tuners VCM Suite. "THE COLUSSUS" 87GT - ALL OUT 3.4L Turbocharged engine, Garrett Hybrid Turbo, MSD ign., modified TH125H " ON THE LOOSE WITHOUT THE JUICE "
Just to stay current, updated picture with new turbo and upgraded setup. I had the China turbo replaced with a Precision turbo and relocated the wastegate so it can dump into the new 3" stainless exhaust.
[This message has been edited by JCircs (edited 01-17-2014).]
Beautiful work! Did the Snow Performance unit make a noticable difference? I've been reading up on it for my 3800SC.
Thank you for the compliment. When the Snow kit was installed we also felt safe to raise the boost from 6 to 10 psi so I did notice a big difference, not sure if the meth kit without raising boost would have been noticeable.
A shot of the finished install of the A2W intercooler, pre cleanup. These were my 4T60 swap parts, also did the 7730 and DIS at that time My new gauge pod And lastly to get this up to date, the molded in and functional Mustang scoop
[This message has been edited by JCircs (edited 06-27-2016).]
Cars look better with the cat-throw gone.
