I thought it was about time to change the topic name from my old thread as it was not really applicable anymore. A bit of history about my experiences with the Fiero from the bad to the good. The original Fiero I owned ended up going to the scrap yard as I was one of the first people to be conned by Loyde from FastFieros in Texas. Back in July 2005 before there was any problems with him I paid him to build me a series 3 3800sc with extras, but we all know how that turned out just like it is happening all again with Whodeanie customs. My heart goes out to all involved as it has taken me a long time to get back to the point where I believe I will one day actually drive a Fiero again. Back in May 2009 I picked up a 1988 Fiero Apart from fitting eps power steering and a few body mods not a lot more happened till middle of 2011 when we moved to a different part of the country. From then there has been periodic progress on the car.
The car minus body panels ready to perform the chop
Nice rust free floor plan
Got all the cuts done will start to get it aligned up and welded up over the weekend
Got the last of the welding done at the weekend, now time to move onto the next stage of the build.
Some more progress pics managed to get the engine removed ready for the next stage also ordered a new steering rack to weigh up the possibilities of converting to a RHD.
Out with the old
Quick shot of what is going to happen this evening more cutting.
The stretch is 13" and not for any kit that I am going to modify the existing body panels
My car fell in half
Finally got to do some work on the car tonight see if you can see whats different.
Got the rack fitted just waiting on an order from the Fiero store to rebuild suspension and brakes.
Cleared the fron trunk and removed the steering wheel.
Got a bit more done this afternoon
Cut a piece of 1.2mm steel to shape then welded the two pieces together
Still got to make up the bracket to hold the top in place
Got a couple of updates on the right hand drive conversion. Got all the steel framework all welded up all nice and solid now. The steering cloum is connected to the rack and turns freely going to work on getting the heater box to fit back next.
This pic shows the new pedal assembly need to tweak the angle of the pedals a little bit though, also the clearance for the colum uv joints and a bit of the bracing.
Here you can see the steeel framework to hold the steering colum in place
A shot showing the relocated master cylinder and the steering rack
Got the heating / air con unit roughly fitted still have to do all the steel work to make it fit properly though.
First post of the year 2012, finally got something to fill the engine bay a 44,000 mile 5.4 bmw v12. Waiting on the adapter plate and a few other bits wont be ready for another 3 - 4 weeks this will be mated to an audi gearbox.
Started to strip the engine down to clean and spray it
Got 2 sets of headers in today aswell as the new engine management. I am busy modifying the headers as the bolt holes do not match up properly.
Got the first of the two turbo exhaust manifolds made today. It is made from an exhaust manifold from an e30 325i and the exhaust flange from the v12
Today I sprayed the engine fools gold candy it had 3 coats of primer 3 coats of silver base 5 coats of gold candy and four coats of clear coat.
Put a few bits back together today starting to look like an engine now.
Some pics of the parts
First time this year 2013 I have had some spare time to actually do some work. I have built a new sub frame that now gets the axles inline and also increases the track by 3 inches per side. Just tack welded at the moment let me know your thoughts.
Got the sub frame welded up tonight just needs a few bits to finish it off. Cut off the back end of the car ready to build up the new chassis rails.
Got quite a bit done today, Created the new rear framework of the car and test fitted the engine to see how it all fits together.
Plenty of space around the engine
Axles now line up a lot better than before.
Working on the new suspension setup so only a pic of the new wheels and tyres for now.
That brings things up to date waiting on some suspension parts should be here this week.
When i first started reading through the thread I thought "Dang I hope he has some patience with the LH to RH Swap" Then saw the other mods and thought "Yep he does"
Nice work it looks like the cat helped out. The cat looks like a Savannah? I own 6 Savannahs including a Melinistic and a snow and they are into everthing that I do. Just got to love the extra help.
The standard engine puts out 320bhp and 360lb-ft of torque with the turbos running somewhere between 6 - 10 psi, I think it should be somewhere near 410 - 450bhp and around 480lb of torque will not really know until I get it dyno tuned.
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Originally posted by Kurtmylar702:
Nice work it looks like the cat helped out. The cat looks like a Savannah? I own 6 Savannahs including a Melinistic and a snow and they are into everthing that I do. Just got to love the extra help.
Yes it is a Savannah we have two, the other has silver markings and they do like to get into everything loves water as well.
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Originally posted by deezil:
Real nice! What's the specs on the paint.
Here is a link to their site I have the fools gold candy paint.
First off I would like to thank Dave aka (Bloozberry) for allowing me to use his suspension setup and also keeping me right when I make silly mistakes. Check out his build here https://www.fiero.nl/forum/Forum3/HTML/000116.html Still got a lot of work to do but it works and the wheels clear
[This message has been edited by northeastfiero (edited 07-12-2013).]
Lookin' good there northeastfiero. You realize of course that you're the guinea pig eh?
Have you run into any fabrication problems of any of the rear suspension parts... such as the forward bracket that bolts to the top of the knuckle? How about the shock bell crank? Also, what source are you using for your control arm links? They look pretty heavy duty.
What steering column are you using? How will you control it?
BTW, nice build +
Bob
The steering colum is from a vauxhall corsa c it is a common swap over here used in all types of vehicles. I intend to either limit the feedback or turn it off as the speed increases the steering rack is from a ford granada it is within 10mm of the fiero rack.
Thanks
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Originally posted by Bloozberry:
Lookin' good there northeastfiero. You realize of course that you're the guinea pig eh?
Have you run into any fabrication problems of any of the rear suspension parts... such as the forward bracket that bolts to the top of the knuckle? How about the shock bell crank? Also, what source are you using for your control arm links? They look pretty heavy duty.
Hi Dave. Thus far the only part that did not work exactly as you designed was the forward trailing arm bracket. I had to move the bracket a little further forward I will send you a pm with the details later. The bracket at the top of the knucke works perfectly a bit tight getting the nuts in place but thats all.
Got the left hand side all tack welded in place today along with some other bits.
The end links are rated at just over 41000lbs
Shot from the rear
Just mocking up the position for the bell crank and the shocks
Great progress there northeastfiero! The suspension looks great (although I'm biased). I'm waiting for you to post photos with the springs in place as the "icing on the cake".
Can you also post a close up on how you mounted the bell crank, what parts and the source you used for the control links, and spill the beans on what bearing you used for the pivot in the bell crank?
Great progress there northeastfiero! The suspension looks great (although I'm biased). I'm waiting for you to post photos with the springs in place as the "icing on the cake".
Can you also post a close up on how you mounted the bell crank, what parts and the source you used for the control links, and spill the beans on what bearing you used for the pivot in the bell crank?
Thanks, I am waiting on the springs to arrive have ordered a couple of different rated ones will have to see what they are like when the car is sitting on its own. Off on holiday today so no progress for the next week but here are the pictures of the bell crank and the bearings I used.
Yes I did do you see a problem with that I checked for any distortion when I did them and they are all ok.
The welding destroyed the heat treatment.
Also, it's difficult to replace them. I wouldn't be surprised if those bearings wear quickly, as they will be used in a limited range of motion and subject to "impact-like" loading. I would expect them to have the same failure mode as a u-joint that never sees significant angle change. The rollers will both brinnell the races and become a bit flattened. Also difficult to adjust the preload, which is essential to correct setup of a tapered roller pair.
Jaguar S1, S2 and S3 XJ-6 cars have needle bearings in the suspension pivots that wear prematurely in EXACTLY that way.
[This message has been edited by Will (edited 07-28-2013).]
Also, it's difficult to replace them. I wouldn't be surprised if those bearings wear quickly, as they will be used in a limited range of motion and subject to "impact-like" loading. I would expect them to have the same failure mode as a u-joint that never sees significant angle change. The rollers will both brinnell the races and become a bit flattened. Also difficult to adjust the preload, which is essential to correct setup of a tapered roller pair.
Jaguar S1, S2 and S3 XJ-6 cars have needle bearings in the suspension pivots that wear prematurely in EXACTLY that way.
Thanks for the heads up on that Will. I was thinking of getting some suitably sized aluminum and using my mill to create it which will allow me to use a suitable bearing.
That's a Brilliant job mate, a real labour of love. I was wondering if you need any more bracing btween the upper and lower frame rails with all that power on tap. Keep up the good work. Norwich is nowhere near the NE, but I suppose you could be a Geordie!
That's a Brilliant job mate, a real labour of love. I was wondering if you need any more bracing btween the upper and lower frame rails with all that power on tap. Keep up the good work. Norwich is nowhere near the NE, but I suppose you could be a Geordie!
Thanks, I still have a bit more bracing work still to do. I only moved to Norwich in early 2011 but I am from Sunderland originally.
Got it back down on four wheels for the first time in ages. The springs are not the right width or length just what I had lying around. I have made some new bell cranks with the right type of spherical bearings as Wills pointed out the flaws of the previous version.
