I have been thinking a lot about what kind of fiero I will be building here once I purchase the car. I have been kinda stuck on the idea that I wanted a GT fastback car again and had been looking at different ways to customize it to my liking. However in that search for what I like I kept finding myself going back to a few different cars I have seen here and on the net elsewhere. Some of the most interesting cars I have found were actually not fastbacks but rather were notchbacks with certain customizations. The one I keep coming back to that appeals to my own personal tastes the most is the black notchback built by Kurt Mylar. I do not know what it is about that car but I simply love the way it looks and the stance of the car seems to be going fast just sitting still. The other car is the amazing red Notchback that wears the Archie widebody kit and has the turbo vette motor in it. That car is simply stunning... Now I do not know if I will be able to afford to go that route due to the cost of that kit and the preparations necessary to make it look right. There are other notchbacks here that also make me seriously reconsider getting a fastback GT. I love what joe did with his t-top notchie and the color scheme. In that direction I have been boggling my mind with different combinations of mods and colors and styles that I have seen and I have come to the realization that I need to be able to see these ideas to be able to decide what I really would like to to.
That is why I have decided to make this posting in hopes that I could get some of your photoshop help to make this car in my mind come to life. Here is what I am thinking....
First again I think I will start with Kurtmylars car. That black notchie, here is a video of the car....
Now what I am thinking is that I LOVE the look of that saleen wing on the car and the ground effects obviously make it look even lower than it is. That would need to be all in the new car. However I think that the arced side scoop vents in front of the rear wheels like those made by Fierofiberglass and others on here would also add to the style. I would also add the negative hood scoop made by Paul angel which is the deep single hole vent. I might also add the front fender vents Paul makes possibly if it does not get too busy. Finally I would want to add the front lip spoiler that many have done here that is created from a stock nosepiece upside down and creates a small U shape in the front of the car underneath at the bottom. You will forgive my ignorance of the names of these items but I hope my descriptions are clear enough.
Okay now here is the major change I want. I am seriously considering making this car all bright white in color. Dark black tinted windows and black decklid vents and I would also add some black screens in the side scoops on the car.
Now I am considering making another change to my possible dream car here. I recently watched an episode of american chopper in which Paul Junior Designs made a bike for a medical company who does some sort of gene testing work. The company was called cephied or something like that. Here is a picture link to that bike....
That bike was really striking and what I liked about it was the stark gloss white color scheme tempered by a sort of matte grey looking color tastefully sprinkled on the bike. I have been thinking that if I could get that Paul angel hood scoop installed and then as some race cars have a black flat hood paint to cut down on glare I was thinking of making a sort of matte grey color inside the vent hole on the hood and this would be in a pattern that goes in blocks that are the width of the slot in the hood parallel with the windshield and as they go back on the hood towards the windshield they get narrower and narrower until they apear like little lines. I do not know if that is clear but basically a bunch of stripes parallel with the windshield getting narrower as they get closer to the windshield side of the hood. This is something that I think tastefully done could look really cool. One of the best paint jobs I personally have seen on a fiero was the one on Fierojohn's notchie that looked like a kinda mustard colored car with a matte black hood stripe setup. Very nicely done and it did a lot for the looks of the car IMHO.
Now I realize that some of these ideas are not for everyone here and I am quite sure that my idea of a cool fiero differs greatly from many pennocks fiero folk but this is gonna be MY car so I was just hoping someone here with serious photoshop skills would help me realize this car so that I can see it and get a better picture in my minds eye to help me decide if I really want to build a cool notchie or go back to a fastback car. I actually had the same wheels on my last 86GT as those on Kurt Mylars car and they looked great but I am actually thinking I might look at getting some more of a wide lipped mesh style wheel as seen on that sick red notchie and others on here. That style of wheels seems to put some class into the car. Also I want the beltline all white as well as the lower trim. The only black or actually matte grey on the car would be the decklid vents and inside the vents and the hood detail I described earlier.
Anyways, that is it, that is my crazy idea for my sweet new fiero.... anyone out there care to help me with my dream?!! haha peace
Pete
[This message has been edited by Pete Matos (edited 02-22-2012).]
Interesting, I was just searching notchback fiero's and I forgot one of the cars I always thought looked nice. Lil' Devil's car.... Basically what I am thinking is that car, in white, with the saleen wing and the hood scoop. I know this is kinda hard to imagine but that is kinda what I am considering. The wheels on his car are also similar to what I am thinking....here is another link..
I have seen a couple DECENT looking notchbacks for sale locally that I am investigating gonna go look at one this weekend. Anyone here with some mad photoshop skills want to take a crack at this for me? I am anxious to see what this car might look like. Peace
I do have a few pics but its not done yet! The car is black, windows are tinted, its lowered, it has 17" chrome Pt cruise rims on it..I still am in the process of having the rear decklid done. It will have the Saleen rear spoiler along with a mustang hood scoop glassed in to..But under the decklid is going to wow a few people..Or so I hope...Just ask RULOOKIN..He has seen a sneak peek of whats going on under there..The wait will be worth it..Tim
Sweet man we talkin' turbo here.....? Inquiring minds wanna know haha I just got my tax return here today FINALLY and now I am ready to pick up my next fiero and I am so totally excited about it. Anyone care to tackle this photoshop for me so I can get started? Peace
Hey thanks man, actually what I was looking for was a WHITE fiero, not a fastback either, just basically that same car with maybe the side scoops like from Fierofiberglass or Paul Angel or others here and a hood scoop in front. I honestly do not think that saleen wing looks any good on a fastback, too much going on out back for that to work. The angles are not right on it either somehow. It sure as hell looks just right on the notchie tho.... at least in my opinion. I SUCK at photoshop so I was hoping someone would take this and run with it. I really do not know how hard it is to redo it in white but that is what I am considering.... peace
I agree that is a neat aspect but quite honestly if I wanted a fastback, then I would just buy one. I really cannot see building a fastback from a notchback when there are so many decent fastbacks for sale out there. Personally I think that the notchback cars have their own appeal and as in kurt mylar's car as well as others on here when customized properly they can really look amazing. My wife says I should just let fate decide, in other words, find the BEST fiero I can get for my money and don't worry about what body style it is, then whichever one I get do it up the way I want it. I think that is good advice so we shall see what I come up with. If I do wind up with a notchback, then Kurt Mylar's car is gonna be a BIG styling source for it. That is why I posted this thread to help me visualize what it will look like when I get it modded up and painted all white like I am considering. Peace
OOOOOHHHHH Yes yes thank you Yes!! Man I was beginning to wonder if I was gonna have to try it myself, Coulda been a disaster!! Only change I would make would be the wing needs to be white too... That is perfect man and exactly what I needed to see. Most appreciated!!! Thank you thank you Thank you.....haha peace
OOOOOHHHHH Yes yes thank you Yes!! Man I was beginning to wonder if I was gonna have to try it myself, Coulda been a disaster!! Only change I would make would be the wing needs to be white too... That is perfect man and exactly what I needed to see. Most appreciated!!! Thank you thank you Thank you.....haha peace
Pete
Here you go how is this? If you would like to have other things photo chopped just click on the link below and let me know.
85SE.... Man that is absofreakin'tastic!! That is my next car man.... now i just gotta build the damn thing. The only thing I might change is the wheels but that is such a broad subject I dunno where to start. Very nice work man, you even managed to put shadows and reflections in it. Awesome work man...peace
Well guys I think I MIGHT have found my next fiero. I met a fellow locally here who has several cars for sale. Unfortunately the one he does have that has the four speed v6 that I want is an 86GT Fastback like my last car. I have decided that I do not want the fastback body on this car and fully intend to build the car as in these photoshopped pictures. The car needs some work but the price is right so I am seriously thinking about getting it and building this dream car of mine off the fastback body. He does have several notchback cars there that he said if I wanted I can take the notchback body for my car. I HAD not wanted to mess with this kinda stuff but since I intend to do a body off paint job anyways I am probably going to buy the fastback car and everything needed to swap out to the notchback car body. SO my question is if I decide to do this what would a complete fastback conversion from the fastback car be worth to someone on here? The car is black and the paint is not that great but I did not see any real damage on the bodywork of the fastback car when I saw it? If there is anyone in the East Tennessee area that might want this setup for their project car maybe give me a ring and we can discuss it. I do not need to make a killing off it but it would make me getting the car I want easier that is for sure. Is there any problems with swapping back to a notchback car this way that I am unaware of?
I am quite excited about getting the car here and getting started on my transformation of the car to this beautiful white wicked ride that you guys photoshopped for me. The fellow that has the cars also said he wanted to part some of them out so I may check into that for him so If there is anything you guys really need lemme know. I have been looking at the notchback cars and I am a little unsure about what the differences are between the aero notchie like Kurtmylars car and the GT fastback OTHER than the rear end. Does the side skirting look the same on these two models or are there differences? The rest of the GT at least APPEARS to be the same bodywork. Anyways, Wish me luck with the build/body swap I have never done it before and I am looking forward to the challenge. Thanks and peace
Just found out I will be traveling to Sacramento Ca. this coming week for a possible business opportunity. I have some family out there so probably gonna visit them while I am out. Been many years since I was in Sacramento and all I remember is going down to San Fransisco and cruising the pacific coast highway on my old FZR100 sportbike with friends. I remember visiting Fisherman's wharf and enjoying some delicious clam chowder bowls and then going into China town and eating some AMAZING fried calamari.... Riding down Lombard street on our bikes, screaming across the bay bridge like madmen. Stopping on the beach and taking a dip. Really enjoyed one trip we made up to Stinson beach where we stayed the night in a neat condo right near the beach and ate dinner at a cool little diner right on the water. When I am not meeting with the business folks I plan to head out there maybe renting a car to be able to see all that again. I might try to head down to Bodega bay or something too... Gotta see how time plays out. Anyways, Just thought I would post this here to see if there is any nice Pennock's Fiero Folks out there who want to get together and have dinner or something and talk fiero's.... Gonna be flying out Monday morning and coming back probably on friday depending on how it goes.
I remember when I lived out there I really enjoyed riding up the highways into the mountains and up into Lake Tahoe area with the sportybike guys going stupid crazy fast thru the canyons. Met my lovely wife out there too so I have a lot of fond memories of Sacto area. Used to ride jetski's on Folsom lake and on lake ensinore....
Anyways, supposed to go see that fiero again this afternoon. May make the deal on it today if we can agree and I will probably have to pick up the car after I get back from Cali. Peace
Here you go how is this? If you would like to have other things photo chopped just click on the link below and let me know.
Terry
Hehe just bumping this thread. I made this photoshop picture my new wallpaper.... Getting the car for this project this weekend if all goes well and I am thinking I will make this my build thread. Since the end goal is here anyways it just makes sense. Wish me luck guys!! It will take a LONG time to do this but that's okay I am in no hurry here. I can't wait to get started. I will update this with pics when I go get the car and along the way of course. Here is the plan anyways, as you can see from the photoshop the aesthetics are already in mind. It will basically look like that picture with maybe a few subtle changes and possibly a different set of wheels depending on my funds and what I can find for the best deal.
Initially I will be getting the car here and kinda going thru the engine and drivetrain to make the car drivable. It is already a running driving car apparently but it is not running well and needs some tweaking I guess. So I will be doing that first in the hopes that I can make the car usable while I customize it. The car will be a driver altho I have two other cars now that will be the daily drivers so it will only get driven on nice sunny days in the Great Smoky Mountains National park and around the nicer roads of East Tennessee. Once the car is running decent and drivable I will then be concentrating on cleaning up the interior so that it is comfortable to drive and clean inside. The next step will be to start doing the various body mods I plan for the car which you can see in the photoshop. I will try to see if I can recreate the ground effects that Kurtmylar did on his car because they are a big part of what make this car look so good. I hope to be able to get information from him or maybe even get him to make them again for me depending on price. Following that I will be tearing the body off for a full panel off paint job I will do here in my home shop. It will of course be white but I MAY try to use some paint that matches my old Yamaha FZR white which had some kinda flake in it. Not cream colored but a nice white. Finally I wil acquire another 85-87 cradle and redo it prepping it for the 3800 motor I am going to be using. Not sure yet if I will use the l67 or l26 but whichever I use I plan to build my own turbo system for the car. I will be doing all my own fabrication and welding here in my shop. This is gonna be a huge project for me but as I said this WILL be my dream car and I intend to make it so. The rest of the details will be in this thread. I hope to update the pictures with the original car as I get it here soon so I will be looking to several of you for ideas and information about my build specifically the turbo 3800 part as this will be my first turbo car. I have been working on cars and motors my whole life and feel confident about everything but the turbo and tuning so I will be hopefully leaning on you guys who have already been there and done that. My goal is a very quick notchback fiero that looks nice enough to take to some car shows and can hold it's own with most of the cars I might run across on the street. No lofty goals right...hehe No horsepower or quarter mile goals yet either as it will be the last part of the build. Before you ask why would anyone want to paint the car and fix it all up BEFORE I build the drivetrain I could not agree more that it is kinda bass akwards but the reality is that the motor build will undoubtedly be the most expensive part of this build and with my cashflow it will take me awhile to acquire parts. That is why I will do what I can afford and make the car look sweet before I make it fast. I will just have to be real careful about installing the engine and whatnot. The nice thing about the fiero is that I can remove the whole cradle and and even body panels while I work on it to try to keep from damaging the paint and whatnot. It sucks to do it that way but I have thought a lot about it and it is really the ONLY way I will be able to get this done. Also I plan to do a LOT of work on the cradle and drivetrain assembly before I install it in the car so it will not only be fast but also look good. This way I can enjoy the car all while I am building what will hopefull become a badass motor for the fiero. I seriously doubt anyone here with turbo cars will have anything to worry about as far as speed competitions because I cannot afford the heavy duty transmission parts that some of you guys have used. I will probably have to build my own axles and I intend to machine my own cradle bushings and everything. It will be as I said before A LOT OF WORK!! hehe
SO there it is in a nutshell. I know it is kind of a lofty goal but I knew when I watched my last fiero drive away with the new owner when I sold it that I would be getting another one at some point and this time I would do it right to the best of my ability and wallet so that I can really enjoy it for a long time. Wish me luck guys!! hehehe peace
Matt, hehe well I am right with ya on the 3800 turbo but the f23 part not so sure.... gonna see what gives on that one. I had originally wanted a four speed car but since I intend to go with at least a relatively high HP 3800 motor this particular car is actually an auto. Now I STILL want a manual tranny so I may wind up swapping it over but as I intend to drag race it at least a little It may be better with the auto actually for what I want to do here from what I read about the 3800 builds. Still not sure yet as that is kinda up in the air. I will listen to opinions either way about this for sure. All I really want is a pretty damn quick fiero regardless of tranny. Oh yeah and It has got to look good too....hehe peace
If you want a manual, then go manual. It's about what you want, not what others tell you you want because "it's the best way". Automatic is good for daily driving around the city to work and back, manual is for the fun days, IMO.
Matt, Yeah man I agree with you but there is also the "will it hold up to the power" issue. Most of the fastest fieros with this engine combo seem to be auto cars. Quite honestly I do not know yet what I will do here. Doing a manual would be awesome but it is also a bunch more work and parts to acquire. I may still do it just gotta see what I really decide down the road a bit. When I pull the cradle to do the swap I will have decided to do it by then and that is when it would be taken apart for that kind of thing. The 4t65E tranny tho is a proven entity and if the car is fast that will be exciting enough I want to say but I will admit I am a manual tranny guy at heart. Who knows..... Sure wish the four speed was the tranny of choice for high power applications but hey that is not what I have heard. It would be fine I am sure for an sc car with mild mods as there are quite a few guys here running that. Does anyone here have a turbo 3800 mated to a four speed that runs it hard? It is gonna be a damn fun car either way tho and I think I will put another Alpine stereo in it like the last one I put in my other fiero. That was a very nice stereo with bluetooth and smartphone interconnnectibility as well as some damn nice sound. Basically since I sold my last car I have been unable to sleep because all I have been thinking about is what I would do to my NEXT fiero once I get it hehehe.. It really is a sickness I think. Don't expect some fast high buck build here tho as it is not in the cards but I fully intend to make up for my lack of cash with some cool custom fabrication and utilizing my shop to create what I typically cannot afford to buy. The CNC mill and my Lathes, tig welders, everything and my pro quality paint gear will all be put to use for once for MY project. This stuff usually gets used for customers stuff so it will be nice to finally use it for my own designs. Ever since I first saw Kurt Mylars car I have been thinking about this build. Maybe I am crazy, maybe I am taking on more than I can actually do, but hey man a guy has to have something to shoot for right. Peace
I have heard conflicting stories between different people, but JustinBart went though 3 4-speeds before his Getrag 282 with just a 3.4 pulley on a supercharged motor.
[This message has been edited by mattwa (edited 04-26-2012).]
If you want a manual, then go manual. It's about what you want, not what others tell you you want because "it's the best way". Automatic is good for daily driving around the city to work and back, manual is for the fun days, IMO.
My thoughts exactly. I was going to go auto for the relative reliability of it, but ended up staying with the 4spd as that's what I wanted in the end. I'm hoping the 4spd will hold up, from the reading I've done it is the strongest stock manual trans that came in a Fiero.
It's really un-usual, I hear all kinds of bad things about the 4T65e from Grand prix, and Buick owners, but it works just fine without much issues in a Fiero?
Like I said in the thread going with the auto is NOT a foregone conclusion. I really would probably prefer to use the four speed. The only difference being that I have not heard of many being used and surviving for long under the load of a built 3800 motor. I guess I will probably drive the car as an auto while I am customizing it and cleaning it up and decide if I can live with the auto or not. Then when I go do the swap if I STILL want the four speed I will pull the parts and swap them. Peace
That's alot of extra work for yourself. I really liked the ratio's of the 4-speed myself when I had it, but not enough to use it on something like a 3800 Turbo. On anything with that much power. I'd use the F23, because it's strong enough to take the torque, even if the ratios aren't ideal, they are good enough for me.
Well guys....gonna be leaving early in the am to go rent the tow Dolly and head out to pick up the fiero's. Got a whole bunch of tools and assorted recovery gear loaded into the van ready for what have you. Gonna be nice that I will be able to use my smart phone and GPS turn by turn directions for the first time I got all of my favorite music loaded into it so there will be no shortage of great tunes for the three hour one way trip. Really excited to be finally getting another Fiero to play with and enjoy. It is gonna be a lot of work so I consider this to be the beginning of the journey to my dream car. I will be sure to take some nice pics of the car and the trip. This LG G2X actually has an 8mp camera onboard so I do not think I need to take my really good camera since it will be internet pics anyways...oh well wish me luck guys and ill post here when I get back and we start working on the cars....peace
Well guys I made the three hour trip today there and back we were able to safely get both cars to my home here in Maryville and unloaded the non running 86gt. The car was really dirty so we cleaned it up and then rolled it into the shop and started working on getting it running. We will be putting in a new battery a new alternator and a new master and slave cylinder for the clutch. We will also be making a short shifter and fixing the cigarette lighter as well as doing some Welding and repair on the passenger side door. Striker If we have time we will also be repairing the battery tray a bit. Now my car is also here and I am happy to say it made the trip under its own power safely. It is not running that great but it is running and driving. I am really looking forward to starting this project once I get this other car ready for the road. I did take some pictures of the cars that I will try to post tomorrow since I am too tired to mess with downloading them from my phone. It sure is nice to see another Fiero in the driveway again...hehehe peace
Whew I am tired guys. I spent basically the entire weekend working on the NON-RUNNING fiero for my friend. We did a ton of work on that car and had some challenges with the door striker that was so severely damaged and rusted out. I basically rebuilt the whole side of the car around the striker with new steel cutting and welding in sheetmetal pieces. It was a major pain in the butt and took many hours but it came out okay and most importantly we got the door to close right and securely. Both doors on both of these cars have terrible hinge problems and are in dire need of some new bushings and pins as well as the rollers for the cams. My car also has an issue where the front edge of the door interferes with the back of the passenger front fender. It is so bad and has gone unadressed that it actually cracked the fender so now the fender will need to be replaced with a new one and properly aligned. My friend was finally able to drive his Fiero GT around and enjoy it today. He seemed to be pretty damn happy about it. The car made it safely back the three hours to his home. It was very nice to work with you Wes. Looking forward to cruising around in our fiero's soon.
My oldest daughter felt sorry for me yesterday when she came over hehehe... She knew I had LOTS of work to do to the other car to get it running and fixed up that I could not even touch my new to me fiero. I think she sensed how much that was killing me so she took it upon herself to take the car and not only wash it for me but also brought over her carpet shampooer and totally cleaned up the interior of the car. She showed me the water after she was done and it looked so damn dark brown and nasty I could not believe it. She said that it still could probably use anther wash in the floor carpet but that she ran out of the special soap for it.
Today I got some time to mess with my personal car finally. BOTH headlight motors are smoked and need to be rebuilt. I actually got tired of looking at the headlights stuck in the up position so I just went ahead and removed them so I can take them apart and work on them soon. The front compartment under the hood is actually in quite good condition and everything is there. It was quite dirty tho and there was a ton of leaves and tree crap stuck under there. I vacuumed it all out and started the long process of cleaning it all up and wiping everything down. It was actually not as bad as my last fiero but still lots of crap under there. Next I turned my attention to the engine bay. I am VERY pleased to announce that this engine bay is in GREAT shape with no rust to be seen anywhere but on the very top of the battery tray. The tray is intact unlike my last fiero so I will take the wire wheel to it and clean the living crap out of it and get it ready for a shot of paint. Someone must have left the decklid off for awhile because there was a large pile of leaves in the bottom of the trunk along with a bunch of used parts, spark plugs, wires, nuts, bolts, etc.... I vacuumed out all the old leaves and removed the crap out of there and then I decided to remove the carpet holding my breath thinking that surely there must be some rust under all that garbage. I was stunned to find that not only was there no rust at all in the trunk but it looked like freakin' new in there. This car has black seam filler as opposed to the white seam filler I found under the carpet on my 86GT. There is no damage anywhere and not a single speck of rust. In fact I inspected the car all over and underneath today quite a bit looking for some horror but I found none anywhere. The only thing that is slightly rusted is a spot on the cradle that looks like very new surface rust. It is only very slight and appears that I can knock it off quickly with my wire wheel and shoot some paint on it. At some point the whole cradle will be out and this car will be getting an engine swap so no biggie. Overall while far from perfect the car is in amazing condition for being 27 years old I guess. Now for the bad parts. The fiberglass around the sunroof and windshield is cracking and pulling up in a few spots similar to my other 86 GT altho there is a spot on the drivers side windshield pillar that has a pretty deep crack and may possibly be cracked thru. The car is all red and actually looks pretty good from a few feet away but whoever painted the car did not know a thing about prepping as the paint is peeling off on some edges and my friend said that the car was towed and the tow driver managed to bump the nose into something knocking off several spots of paint around the bottom. The car is also missing the trim piece above the drivers side scoop panel. Again the front right fender is cracked pretty good. Inside there is some good news and some bad news. The good news is that the seats and in pretty nice shape with no rips or tears and it appears that they have been recovered professionally as they are embroidered with FIERO on each seat in red letters. The carpet is in good shape and the headliner is in great shape.
The bad news inside the car is that the dashboard has chunks out of both sides where someone hit the corners with their knees getting in and out and they are chunked pretty bad. This car did not come equipped with the aux gauges which is not really a bother to me but the typical peeling up of the rubber on the ac/radio area surround is there and also on the shifter surround. The auto shifter knob is kinda scratched up and will need recovered or replaced and someone put some larger screws on the ac/radio bezels which I have not removed yet but I suspect some cracked bosses where those screws go into. The center console and door are all intact altho again there is some peeling around the edges away from the plastic as usual on these cars. The passenger side door panel has a couple scratches and a small cut or two in the top of the armrest area near the window . The car has cruise control, power windows and locks, tilt wheel, etc., it does not have the performance sound but I am not sure when that option became available year wise. It has the rear defroster and remote trunk release altho not sure if those were options or not. Overall I am VERY pleased with the car and while it is nowhere near perfect the things that are bad are actually easy fixes. It is SO nice to look out in the garage and see a fiero sitting there again. This time I will be taking my time and slowly modding this car to be exactly what I want.
Now for the other bad news. The car is not running that great. It did make the drive easily from where I bought it three hours away. I drove it around the neighborhood and it runs and drives but it appears to have no power sometimes and feels like it is missing consistently but curiously it actually drives not that bad. I suspect that if I can figure out what is wrong with the motor it will really run well after that. I am told the entire top end of the car including the heads are basically new and looking inside the engine bay I have no reason to doubt that. Everything is very clean and in good condition. Still the motor is not running right and interestingly there are no codes and no check engine light. I checked out underneath the car a bit and there are TWO mufflers in there one in front of the engine and one behind the engine in the usual location. The car is very quiet because of this and misses that deep growl that the GT's seem to have. I will have to fix that soon. The rear muffler appears to be the factory one with the spring loaded pieces all over it and the rest of the system appears to be in good shape. The car has the factory intake on it and it is all intact or appears to be so. I pulled the back three plugs and checked them just now and I am gonna pull the front three in a bit here. There was no issues with the plugs that I could see. I seriously think this is an electronics issue the way the car is driving. Either that or a stuck injector. It runs fine just not smooth and it struggles a bit to rev. If I find a plug that is bad on the rear bank that might tell me something. The car is running too good to be anything major I think but who the hell knows. I am gonna pull off the disty cap and inspect it because that gave me fits last time. I think if I can get the car running nicely it will be a really fun car to cruise around in.
The car has some really shitty tires on it and even worse they are mismatched. The fronts are 205/60/15's and the rears are 225/75/15 or something much larger and taller and also narrower. It looks really funky and makes the car sit much higher in the rear. To make matters worse the front is sitting very high for some odd reason. Basically the car looks like a 4x4 or something. The really tall and narrow tires also make the handling shitty at speed. I will have to get some 225/50's or something for them soon. I honestly do not want to spend any money on these stock wheels and tires because there will be 18 or 19 inch custom wheels on there soon. The car came with the 86 and up GT wheels with the honeycomb look. This would actually be nice if someone had not spraypainted them with flat black and did a pretty terrible job of it. I am going to strip the wheels, polish the lips out and then repaint them with some black wheel paint and make them look like new very soon. Then I will lower the car as soon as I can to make it ride like it should and fix the funky stance the car has right now.
There was some pretty crappy tint on the rear window that make it appear that the glass was all scratched up. Upon closer inspection it was a rather light or faded out sheet of tint. I took my heat gun and removed it quite easily and then cleaned the crap out of the whole window. There is some gunk trapped between the window and the inside wall panels on both sides that I could not get out but I will get it when I gut the interior to start repairing and repainting it.
The drivers side inside door handle is not working so you gotta roll down the window and open the door from the outside. This is a real pain in the ass and will be remedied quickly. The car has power mirrors and the doors appear to be setup for it but they do not work. I dunno if it is the button or the mirrors just yet have not gotten that far. The car came with a cheapo dual brand radio that while crappy is actually quite decent in that it has acceptable sound and accepts USB and SD cards and it does not have a CD player. The only problem is that it either does not have a constant power line or it is not hooked up right because when you turn off the car it forgets the presets. Kinda annoying but hey it is better than no radio. I will be ordering the new Alpine as soon as funds allow. Anyways here is my plan of attack.
1) Find out and repair whatever the hell is making the engine run funny. 2) repair the drivers side inside door handle 3)do something about the interference between the passenger door and the front fender 4) get some decent matching tires for it 5) lower the car so it sits like it should 6) fix the radio so I do not loose my presets everytime until I can get a better stereo. 7) start disassembling the interior and begin customizing it the way I want. 8) remove the factory wing and maybe sell it to help finance the new wing 9) when funds allow order the custom hood scoop from Thadriver and install it 10) try to get the ground effects built or bought to resemble Kurtmylars car 11) completely remove all the body panels and repaint them in my shop 12) order my new Alpine stereo 13) when funds allow order my custom wheels and new tires 14) enjoy the car in it's stock form until I can get the 3800 engine and turbo system built and on another cradle ready to install in the car 15 )do the engine swap and POSSIBLY convert to a manual tranny 16) enjoy the sweetest car I have ever owned for a very long time...heheh
Anyways, here are some pics I took of the car as it sits with my youngest daughter sitting in and on it today in the shop....cheers...
Pete
aah hell I cant seem to get PIP working for these pictures.....what is the max file size?
[This message has been edited by Pete Matos (edited 04-29-2012).]
Okay I finally figured out what was wrong with PIP for my computer here. I can now finally load some pics of my newest fiero project car. Here is the 1985 GT fiero I got to build into the white photoshop you see above. It is not perfect by any stretch of the imagination but it is a good solid car with what I can say after looking it over quite a bit is the least rusty fiero I have ever personally seen. The only rusty spots I could find and they are very very minor surface rust spots are one under the battery on the tray bottom and there is a very small spot on the cradle that appears to just be very newly formed and should wire brush right off. I cannot tell you how pleased I am to find this and that there will be very little cutting and welding and more getting it customized and swapped instead. Anyways, here she is right after I brought her home in the driveway.
you can clearly see the crappy paint job on the wheels and the funky sized tires she is currently wearing. I feel sorry for her. Kinda reminds me of a kid whose parents cannot afford to buy her nice shoes wearing old worn out hand me down sneakers hehee
This car is pretty decent but it sits terrible and looks like a 4x4 to me....gonna have to remedy that soon.
Now for the good news, the engine bay appears to be VERY VERY clean for a 27 year old car and everything appears to be in it's place. It does not run too well right now but I hope to remedy that so I can enjoy the car while I am fixing it up. Here is a shot of the engine bay....
Then I pulled her into the garage and started to try to clean her up. Here she is with the decklid open and the embarassing prop pole that is there because the springs are not working. Gonna have to remedy this pretty darn quick. Got some ideas for a dual gas strut setup.
Here's a side view in the shop
Seats seem to be in really good shape!!
A view from the rear....
and another
The front underhood area is pretty clean and I removed the headlight assemblies to be rebuilt. Might give Fierofool a shout here....
The interior is not too bad but it does need some work. It has a grant steering wheel that looks nice but also needs some cleaning.
Pulled the rather dirty trunk carpet out and was VERY pleased to find absolutely no rust not even any surface rust. The flash makes this picture look less impressive than it is in person but I could not get it to shoot right.
Not sure who painted these rims but they should not have quit their day job that is for sure.... Good news is there does not appear to be any damage anywhere so I will be stripping these and refinishing them soon.
Finally here is a shot of my youngest daughter enjoying Daddy's new car with me...!!
Oh and I have the little cigarette lighter black bezel for the console it is just off in that picture....
Anyways, the car is in very good shape physically and despite the engine issues appears to be in good shape mechanically too. It runs and drives and does not look half bad for what it is. This is the beginning of a long love story between me and this car. Hopefully it will be a happy one.... hehehe It needs a lot of work cosmetically tho and while the paint looks okay in the pictures it was not done well and will probably need to be stripped completely off for the repaint. In the mean time it looks fine for driving around while I tweak it out..... Stay tuned guys...peace
Pete
[This message has been edited by Pete Matos (edited 05-01-2012).]
hehe yeah man I know how you feel but remember your GT will smoke mine.... at least for awhile anyways....haha I just need to finish some jobs I got here so I can start really working on her. I am very happy to have a fiero again. Thanks man. Have you taken your wife for a nice cruise in that bad boy yet? Peace
Not yet, gotta wait for someone to watch the kid for about an hour. And ya it may smoke it but remember im still learning that speed lol. so i might lose XD
aw hell the way you were driving the thing when it was here I think you would be fine. Besides the way this baby is running right now a beat up yugo would smoke me and a kid on a 50cc scooter would give me a run for my money hehe... Not for long tho. Someday soon this thing will breathe fire man!! Peace
Got some work to do here today in the shop but I am HOPING to be able to have a look at the motor in this car and maybe see if I can get it to run right. Noticed it is leaking some fuel from somewhere when I backed it out of the garage yesterday so I am hoping it is something stupid that is easily fixed. It sure sounds like it wants to run.... Gonna be going thru it and trying to figure it out wish me luck guys I will need it!! This car looks real nice in the red despite the bad prep job and while I have always liked a red Fiero I am still wanting it to be white like my photoshop. I am also thinking I will want to install some of the side scoops available but I cannot decide which one I like the best. Usually I like the curved ones like on many of the GT fastbacks but on the notchie I am not sure they look right. The IMSA style scoops may be a better choice for this car with the other body mods I have in mind. Maybe I need another photoshop adjustment to see what it will look like with the IMSA's and the curved scoops... Anyways, have a nice day guys and good luck in all your Fiero endeavors. Peace
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