Hello, I'm new to the forum and have done the customary introduction thread, and now here is my thread to document the progress on my very first car. It's been a month or so since I joined the forum, and I haven't posted anything because nothing has happened, but now things are starting to progress and here is what I've done, and/or plan to do.
First of all, a photo of the day I brought her home.
The first thing I got was some scion rims. 205's on the front and 225's on the rear. Thanks to AlanD on the forum for cutting out the centers another 1/16 of an inch, so they would fit on the stock rotors. I currently have the 225's on the front, and the 205's on the rear until I make some coilovers. Which BTW, jimbolaya, my Dad, picked up some coils at the junkyard today.
Rion
[This message has been edited by Gumbo (edited 07-03-2013).]
The engine is toast on this car but thanks to Masospaghetti here on the forum, I will have a working one very shortly. AlanD on the forum is making a run to Florida next week, and he is going by Masospaghetti's shop, in Charlotte, N. Carolina. He is picking me up a 2.8 motor that Masospaghetti is selling me. It will be back here on the 14th, and my Dad is taking the weekend of July 26, 27, and 28, to install it. Once the new/old motor is in, I am sure I will discover some new problems, but that comes with the territory. I am still very excited about my first car.
They came off a Chevy Cavalier. Don't know exact year, but probably late 90's or early 2000's. Just switch the Fiero seat rails on to the Cavalier seats.
Just got word from AlanD that he has picked up my new/old engine from Masospaghetti in Charlotte, NC. and is headed back tomorrow. If everything goes as planned, ie: weather, and no other unknown issues, I will have a running car in 2 weeks.
They came off a Chevy Cavalier. Don't know exact year, but probably late 90's or early 2000's. Just switch the Fiero seat rails on to the Cavalier seats.
Do they bolt right up? They look really good in there.
Looking forward to seeing my engine live a second life!
Do they bolt right up? They look really good in there.
Looking forward to seeing my engine live a second life!
Just switch the fiero rails over, they bolt right onto the Cavalier seats. We just got done putting the engine on a stand. We will begin gasket replacement tomorrow. Thanks again.
Jim
[This message has been edited by jimbolaya (edited 07-13-2013).]
Now a week after getting the engine thanks to masospaghetti for giving me the chance to purchase it and aland for picking it up (thanks man means a lot) i have finally done some work on it. I replaced the valve cover gaskets and cleaned it up a bit. Unfortunately when I was removing the oil pan I broke a nut head off. Again thanks to aland the amazing car guy came over removed the broken bolt and saved me. I'm going to continue to do work because this weekend is the weekend I swap the engines. Thought I would just post some pictures of the actual engine.
[This message has been edited by Gumbo (edited 07-21-2013).]
Well the new engine is in the car. Picture will come later after we get them uploaded, including the customary engine bay shot.. It was a beautiful 2 days, perfect for work, but Gumbo and I are exhausted.
Jim
[This message has been edited by jimbolaya (edited 05-30-2014).]
So me and my dad have been rebuilding the fiero and today we decided to try and start it. It isn't the first time starting it because we had to let the computer catch up and the engine had to burn some bad gas.
So me and my dad have been rebuilding the fiero and today we decided to try and start it. It isn't the first time starting it because we had to let the computer catch up and the engine had to burn some bad gas.
The engine loped for a bit. There was some smoke that disappeared after about 30 minutes. There was a ton of engine cleaner residue, and I'm sure the gas was bad, but all in all not bad. There are some gauges not working, and we are not sure if the oil sending unit is hooked up properly. The oil pressure gauge is pegged at the moment. We did not run the engine for any amount of time that would have done any damage. A very good day.
Got his oil pressure sending unit replaced with an 88 unit. Gauge works, and oil pressure is fine. Car is coming along. Here's a list of things that we still have to do, in order to get the car inspected and titled.
* Tie rod ends. I will be ordering from Rodney. * New rear calipers, rotors, and possibly pads. Might be able to get away with turning rotors. I haven't measured and compared to tolerances yet. * Driver side CV axle * Tires * Alignment * Temperature gauge not working (I know that is not something that is inspected, but it needs to work before he drives it daily)
Here's a list of things that need done after it's on the road
* Ball joints. I will be ordering from Rodney. (not really sure if they need replacing, but it's fairly inexpensive, and replacing them will not affect the alignment) * Interior, in addition to a good cleaning, all the vinyl needs repair. Console, dash etc. The typical Fiero mess. * Radio. He has it, we just need to install it. * Front shocks, we've already replaced rears with KYB coil overs. * 88 headlight motors. * Sail panels. (We have fabricated some temporary ones until we find some stock ones.) * Rubber trunk seal. * Window switches. * Hinge pins all around. * 4T60 transmission for better MPG * Battery relocation. * Paint. This is a long term goal. Next year at the earliest.
That's all I can think of at the moment. All in all, we have made good progress. I'll strike things as I fix them.
Jim
[This message has been edited by jimbolaya (edited 10-28-2014).]
Jim, that's an 86, so you'll need the wiring harness from the firewall forward including the control module that mounts behind the fender to convert to Gen II headlights. If you can do it, they are really worth it. Replacing the lower front ball joints is really a safety issue. I love that Rodney's solution lets you lower the front without borking the geometry, but I had no problems taking a coil out of my 85 after rotating the upper balljoint 180 degrees. His rear suspension links are nice too. I never got around to cleaning the fire trap heater blower or checking the heater core.
Glad to see its being worked on!
[This message has been edited by USFiero (edited 09-18-2013).]
Jim, that's an 86, so you'll need the wiring harness from the firewall forward including the control module that mounts behind the fender to convert to Gen II headlights. If you can do it, they are really worth it. Replacing the lower front ball joints is really a safety issue. I love that Rodney's solution lets you lower the front without borking the geometry, but I had no problems taking a coil out of my 85 after rotating the upper balljoint 180 degrees. His rear suspension links are nice too. I never got around to cleaning the fire trap heater blower or checking the heater core.
Glad to see its being worked on!
I have the tie rod ends and the axle. I just need to install them. I switched the headlight motors over to the new 88's on my last car, so I plan on doing it again. I need to make a junkyard run at some point.
Well another issued surfaced, but it is minor. His passenger side coolant hose developed a leak due to age, and those God awful hose clamps digging into the hose. Easy fix, and the leak is minor enough that I can still get it inspected Thursday.
I got the hoses ordered from NAPA, and I am taking the car to get inspected tomorrow, and then an alignment. If things go fine, she will be up and running tomorrow evening. I don't know who is more excited, me or my son.
After failing inspection for a brake hose that the inspector felt was dry rotted, I replaced said hose and then went back and it passed. The car is at the alignment shop now, and then tomorrow I have to replace coolant hoses. The car had what appeared to be a small coolant leak, but after having it on the road all day, the leak became bigger, and now I must get it fixed sooner rather than later. I'm dying to take her up on the interstate.
How in the hell?
