How'd you get hooked, was the first car an adventure? Mine I found for sale in a guy's yard, an 86 2m4 base coupe 5 speed. No AC, nothing power. I didnt mind, less thatll need fixing. The seats werent really very bad, the paint was pretty good and it ran well even though it had around 200k miles on it. It still had 14 inch steel wheels with factory wheelcovers on it. The clutch hydraulics had air in them making it tough to shift. Luckily the trip home was almost all freeway so I wouldnt have to shift much. One terrible thing about this car though was someone had put on one of those erector set looking spoilers on the back of its originally spoilerless decklid. I removed that as soon as I got home and sold it for $20. I changed the clutch master cylinder and bled it and was pretty much good to go. I originally got the bug when I rode with a friend in a Fiero and realized how unique they are, and I also liked how they cornered. When I needed a car that got good mileage and was fun, and the Fiero just basically fell in my lap.
My first Fiero was an 85 2M6 that I bought when I was 15. I had started saving my money to buy a car way before I was old enough to drive. My dad and I had started looking through the classified ads to see what was out there and somewhat within my budget. We came across a couple Fieros that were listed for sale and my dad got hooked on them before I did, after calling the first listing and finding out that the guy had 2 cars that could be made into one, we decided that those would be too much work for my first car and the neighbors wouldn't be happy, and neither of us knew anything about Fieros at the time but my dad pretty much had made up his mind that I was going to have a Fiero for my first car. I thought they were cool cars, but I was mainly a fan of the fastbacks, and was under the impression that they were the only GT's. We found a listing for a 85 Fiero that was an auto with a v6. When I called they guy, he had told me it was a GT, so we went out to look at it. Immediately I was disappointed to find that it was not the fastback style, but my dad insisted that it was a good deal for the money and I should compromise.
To a person that didn't know anything about Fieros and what to look for the car looked to be a decent car for the money. It had power windows and locks, a sunroof, and the 14" wheels. The paint was decent, the interior looked alright. Just small things to fix here and there, and the transmission needed to be rebuilt because it took a long time to shift into gear. I drove it all through high school saving money fixing it up, and all through college. After college I was still saving because by that point the paint had faded and the the bottom of the passenger door skin had a corner missing when we bought it. So I had been saving for paint. Well at some point in the middle there we discovered that the frame rails had seen better days and the car would need extensive frame repair, so I put my paint job money towards buying another Fiero.
This is what it looked like in it's prime (well almost, it looked even better, I lowered it with eibachs and had Koni's all around after that but didn't take any good pictures after that) after I sunk a bunch of money into it and put powdercoated 88 lace wheels on it. https://www.fiero.nl/forum/A...070315-1-061463.html It was a clean looking bumper-pad for having a rusted out frame.
[This message has been edited by zmcdonal (edited 03-30-2015).]
Funny story about why I bought it. I wanted to get a "project" car, a hobby or weekend car. I didn't want a Mustang or Camaro like everyone else. Something off the beaten path, but preferably a GM product. I kept coming back to the Turbo Grand Prix and even looked at a few which turned out to be rustbuckets. This was back in 2002. I considered a few others such as the Beretta Indy pace car. I'd kind of forgotten Fieros even though I'm old enough to have seen tons of them when they were first introduced. Then one night a bunch of us met for dinner in Chicago and a friend of a friend whom I'd never met showed up with a silver 87 GT. I had an epiphany. I knew the car I was looking for was the Fiero.
My first Fiero was purchased in the mid to late 90's, it was a basic 1984. I purchased it as at the time I was young and needed some inexpensive wheels, as I had just moved back to Florida after getting my mother settled in Arizona. I was out there for a year and HATED it.
Anyhow, I found it in the local classifieds about an hours drive away. It was in decent shape, and it drove well on the test drive. I handed the guy something like $800 cash and headed home. It only had a 1/4 of a tank of gas, so I stopped to fill it up. For the life of me I could not find the gas door popper. I was under the dash, in the center console, all over the floor by the e-brake (It was then I realized there was not even a glove box in this car!). Another guy at the gas station asked if I was having problems, and I explained I could not figure out how to open the gas door. He looked at me kinda like "Really... let me show you". He pressed and pulled on the gas door, and then moved inside and dug around inside just as I had done. While he was in my way on the drivers side for about 5 minutes, digging and prodding around like I had done, I walked over to the other side and knelt down. It was then that I could see it on the "B" pillar!
We had a hurricane here one year while I had the car, and many parts of West Palm Beach were flooded! I was trying to get back to the house and was going through water so deep it was literally came up into my lap! The car sounded like a boat with the exhaust completely under water. The deepest part was about a 1/2 block from my house, and I was able to make it through it. When I got home a couple people were out front when I pulled up, and opened the drivers door. Water literally spilled out onto the ground! The only thing missing from what you see in the movies was the fish. This sounds to made up to be true, but I swear, I am not making this up in any way! I washed out the seats and carpets with fresh water from the hose. I never took it apart, just a few fans and let it sit in the sun. It took a few days to dry out but I never had any issues over the next year of owning it due to the water.
I drove the car for a couple years before selling it to a friend, who was going to fix it up. It sat in his backyard for a year or so, and he then sold it to someone else. From there I have no clue what ever happened to my first Fiero.
My first was an '86 SE auto with 129K miles on the clock. I bought it by Chicago. The guy fixing it couldn't figure out the electrical problems, or solve the oil leak. The headlight motors weren't working. The brakes were horrible, and none of the lights worked properly. I pulled the blue dingy thingy and the wiper fuse to stop those things. I drove it home with no backup. It quit on me a few times along the way. It leaked oil EVERYWHERE, and I went through many quarts of oil. Lots of smoke, but no fire. I had to drive uphill to stop it. When I got it home, there was almost nothing of the rear brakes, which were siezed up, anyway. After replacing the brake lines, fluid, calipers, pads, and putting in e-brake cables, the brakes worked. Then I replaced all the engine seals and gaskets, secured a few things, and the oil leaks mostly stopped. After rebuilding the ground below the left rear tail light, rebuilding the ground in the right rear wheel well, replacing a bunch of bulbs, and replacing a few wires/screws, the lights worked. I then replaced the ICM, the rotor, plugs, wires, distributor cap, ignition coil, and MAP sensor, it ran much better. I replaced the shocks, installed end links, and replaced the bad wheel bearings, and then the car drove OK. Then I handled the exhaust. I replaced the headlight motors. There was no trunk, so I rebuilt that with aluminum, rebar, angle iron, and fiberglass. The tires were higher profile than stock, but I never fixed them. I removed the broken sail panels, and installed a nice set from Fiero Sails. Thr car was gold, so I had someone mill the black ground effects out with ”BANDIT” on them. It got a 4.9 with a 4-speed auto tranny. The driver's seat was a bit torn on the side bolster, and I'd only started the interior repair. That one sold for $8K.
Then, i got an '86 GT with 121K on it. Gold, auto. Came with an odd engine. VERY FAST. When it sold, they told me the engine was from a '90 or '91 trans am, I think. Anyway. It was the only GM car I've ever owned with a turbo. Apparently, only a few of those cars/engines were made, as it came right after the Grand National. Or so the story was told to me. I wish I'd kept both of those Fieros. That thing outperformed my Firehawk with 487HP across the board. Simply amazing. Considering the Firehawk beat just about everything else, that Fiero was awesome!
[This message has been edited by tshark (edited 03-30-2015).]
My first Fiero was a 86 SE, had the v6, the cool aero body, and lame 3 speed haha. I bought it when I was 15, I got all the money for it from flipping things on Craigslist, I scored it for only 500 bucks! Wasn't running, but I leanred how to fix myself . I always liked them just never new I could afford one, thought they were sports cars! I loved mine, and got it already to roll for when I got my license. Drove it for a couple years, it was slowly dying... So I started collecting 3800sc parts . One day it finally died, so I did the swap at got it done when I was 17. It was killer!!! Since then it turned into a parts car sadly . And I built up the 3800 into my nicer 87 GT. I'm finishing up a turbo setup now . Should rip!!!! Pretty cool building your own car before you can legally buy a beer!
Mine was a 1984SE that someone in Chicago butchered to put a KelmarkGT body on, then let sit in a warehouse for 10yrs. Took three years but it's a driver now and should be in full paint by the end of this year.
86 SE with a nice F308 rebody. I was new at the game and paid far to much for this car but it is what got me started on Meras once I knew they existed.
Nelson
[This message has been edited by hnthomps (edited 04-06-2015).]
My first Fiero was the first car I had after moving stateside in 2000. A burgundy 85 GT automatic. I was impressed with the handling and the V6 was spritely. Reminded me of a TR-7V8 I owned back when. I knew of the Fiero from the 80s when I lived in the states. Test drove an iron duke automatic car brand new in 1984. Sorry duke folks (no offence intended) but I thought the 4 cylinder automatic car was far too powerless. I had trouble merging onto a motorway! This clouded my view on the Fiero until I drove that 85 GT and fell in love. Eventually traded it off for a Blazer once we moved to the hinterland in Ohio (needed the 4x4 for muddy and wintery driving). Came across my current 86 GT 5 speed some years later and am intent on keeping it.
Ordered the '84 SE 4 spd on the right in Sep'83, rec'd in May'84. Now has 368,000 kilometers (228,500 miles). It's a daily driver excluding wet salty winter weather. When I was a kid, I'd go places with my dad and see guys looking at older cars, lamenting that they used to have one of whatever they were looking at & wished they'd kept it. I decided I'd keep something I liked a lot. And so I have. Fun to drive because it still works.
The '88 Formula 5 spd was purchased in Mar 2008 from the original owner with 5,200 kilometers on it. Showroom condition. Never thought I'd find a 'new' Fiero... 26,000 kilometers (16,000 miles) on it now. Fun to drive because it's like new.
The red '86 2.5L 5spd was purchased in Jan 2011 needing lots of cosmetic improvements and after a couple of years, an '87 2.5L. It's a daily driver, alternating duties with the '84. 126,000 kilometers (88,000 miles). Fun to drive because I fixed it up.
[This message has been edited by David Hambleton (edited 03-30-2015).]
My first Fiero was a "well used" '85 SE. Didn't take long to blow up the Iron Duke but it got me into Fieros. Since then, I've owned an '85 GT (thanks and RIP WT III), an '86 SE and an '86 GT. I had to sell my '86 GT about 10 years ago so I could buy a truck. Now, I'm looking to buy another Fiero. Gotta get back in the game!
In 1994 I had been looking at Fiero's for some time, but finally found one that wasn't a pile. Still have it :
This is the earliest photo that I have. Mine is the silver one in the back. My best friend picked up a black one a month before me. Neither of us knew the other was interested in them.
Mine was an '85 automatic, we've since swapped it to a 3.4L w/ an Isuzu 5 speed.
[This message has been edited by no2pencil (edited 03-30-2015).]
I got my first Fiero in 1995. An '88 Formula with 98,xxx miles for $2,300. I was originally intending to make a kit car, but I ended up loving the Fiero so much. Fiero's were all I talked about for a solid 5 years. I would still love to have another Formula some day.
Later I went on to purchase a V8Archie converted '86GT (it is the white one he used in the V8 instructions on his website).
Finally, with inspiration from a magazine article I read in 1997 about the Lotus Elise S1, I swapped a Quad4 race engine (225hp, 7500RPM redline) into an '88 Coupe. It only weighed around 2,400 pounds and had lower gears in the 5-spd plus a nice coilover suspension. Out of my 3 Fieros, I liked the way it drove the best.
[This message has been edited by fierojp (edited 03-31-2015).]
I saw a brand new GT on a dealership lot when I was a kid at an impressionable age, and was impressed...forgot about it until I was old enough to drive, then kept finding other cars looked boring next to it. Didn't buy one until I was in my mid/late 20s though.
[This message has been edited by Stubby79 (edited 03-31-2015).]
Bought mine NEW in 1986. It is a86 GT, gold with all options. Now has a 4.9 and couple of Dietmar's panels and reupholstered,AR wheels, vented hood and deck, alum 4 core radiator, wood grain dash and goes like hell. 28MPG. Love it.
I bought my first Fiero a Black 5 Speed 85 2m4 - in 89 with my signup bonus. Although I was in the Army we were stationed on a Air force base. Hence to photo.
Originally posted by tshark: Then, i got an '86 GT with 121K on it. Gold, auto. Came with an odd engine. VERY FAST. When it sold, they told me the engine was from a '90 or '91 trans am, I think. Anyway. It was the only GM car I've ever owned with a turbo.
I'm a long-term commitment kinda guy...I bought my blue 87 GT in early summer of 1991 in Saline, Michigan from my brother's girlfriend's sister. It's still my one and only Fiero (I've added a 2008 Sky Redline and a 1959 Austin Healey Mk. 1 Sprite to the garage).
My buddy and I, summer 1991, with our Fieros nose to nose.
My first Fiero was a 86 SE, had the v6, the cool aero body, and lame 3 speed haha. I bought it when I was 15, I got all the money for it from flipping things on Craigslist, I scored it for only 500 bucks! Wasn't running, but I leanred how to fix myself . I always liked them just never new I could afford one, thought they were sports cars! I loved mine, and got it already to roll for when I got my license. Drove it for a couple years, it was slowly dying... So I started collecting 3800sc parts . One day it finally died, so I did the swap at got it done when I was 17. It was killer!!! Since then it turned into a parts car sadly . And I built up the 3800 into my nicer 87 GT. I'm finishing up a turbo setup now . Should rip!!!! Pretty cool building your own car before you can legally buy a beer!
My first Fiero was a clean white '86 GT, which I bought around 1998 in South Dakota.
I still remember it sitting on the car lot before I bought it. I drove by it for a few days on the way to work, and finally I had to stop and look at it. I took it for a test drive and I was instantly hooked; I bought it a week later after rounding up the funds.
The suspension was lowered, which really set the car off... otherwise, it was a relatively stock and very clean Fiero.
7 Fiero's and 17 years later... I'm still having a lot of fun with this little 2-seater.
Gotta' love it.
[This message has been edited by ITALGT (edited 04-01-2015).]
I'm a long-term commitment kinda guy...I bought my blue 87 GT in early summer of 1991 in Saline, Michigan from my brother's girlfriend's sister. It's still my one and only Fiero (I've added a 2008 Sky Redline and a 1959 Austin Healey Mk. 1 Sprite to the garage).
My buddy and I, summer 1991, with our Fieros nose to nose.
You photo looks like an ad you'd find in a catalog. This is probably one of the coolest things I've seen cause the time period seems perfect:
------------------ Every fiero has a story, It's our job to keep that story alive.
My first Fiero was an '85 GT that I purchased new, in '85. It was also the first new car I had ever owned.
I traded it on a '88 Firebird Formula, in '88, two weeks before they announced the cancellation of the Fiero (my dumb ass...) Was Fieroless until '97 when I bought my red '88 coupe. I've owned at least one, ever since.
------------------ Raydar 88 Formula IMSA Fastback. 4.9, NVG T550 Praise the Lowered!
[This message has been edited by Raydar (edited 04-02-2015).]
I'm enjoying reading all these stories. I'll throw mine in too.
I bought mine six years ago when I was a poor, 22-year-old college student. You can see some of the tree damage in the photo from the great ice storm of '09.
I found it on Starshopper and I hadn't even heard of the Fiero before. It was only $1250. It was a 4-cylinder, 5-speed. It had the speakers in the headrests. AC didn't work. It wasn't very fast, but that didn't stop me from getting into races with it and usually losing. It was certainly more fun to drive than the '93 Mustang hatchback I had, which I sold a month later for $1500.
I had so many plans for it. I wanted to turn it into a Formula clone and put an L67 in it. All I ultimately did was put a nice stereo in and some sticky Yokohama tires. It ended up getting smashed in half by a trucker who wasn't looking where he was going. I was pushing it at the time, but I jumped out of the way before he hit it. Towed it to a junk yard for $150 and they gave me $75 for it. We couldn't even get the sub woofer out from behind the seat.
------------------
[This message has been edited by cptnoremac (edited 04-13-2015).]
Originally posted by zzzhuh: You photo looks like an ad you'd find in a catalog. This is probably one of the coolest things I've seen cause the time period seems perfect:
Hah! That's a brilliant edit. And yes, we were decidedly excited about our Pontiacs
Here is how my car looked today. Once I get it back, I'm going to restage my half of that picture from 1991. Turns out I still have that hat and sweatshirt!
In 1985 - I went to the local Pontiac Dealership in Pocatello Idaho to buy an 86 SE. They were "sold out"! I traveled a lot for work back then so after my 2 weeks off - back to work and I never looked at a Fiero again - until 2006. My son had a well built Mustang - was not paying attention and ran into the back of a stopped car - mustang totaled! A few days later - driving around El Paso looking for a replacement. He spotted it first. A lonely looking 86 SE sitting on a car lot. We stopped and checked it out - long story short - we bought it - he drove it all through high school - blew up the 2.8 just before he went off to college and Dad was stuck with a non running Yellow 86 SE! The first place I ran across while looking for a fix for the headlights was PFF - that was 13 Fieros ago - still have two - and every one of them has been a project. That Yellow 86 SE - got passed around the Southwest Fiero community. It was traded to Phil for an XTC, Phil gave it a 3.4, a chop and some fun, Phil traded it for a 4.9 conversion from Jeff, Jeff and I painted it and jeff sold it to Jordan, Jordan talked us into a 3800 SC swap then Jordan took it home to Central Texas - not sure where the Short Bus is now - but that car has a history!
Met a lot of really great folks through the Fiero community - had a lot of really great times with the West Texas Fiero bunch - I really miss our "Fiero" weekends.
Some pics of my Fieros and a few that spent some time in my garage getting "something" done to them. The short list = 4.9, 3800SC. 3.4, SBC, Stock 2.8, suspension, interiors, exteriors, complete rehabs, SE, XTC, Mera, Formula, GT, Bumper pad and the latest - LS4 Wide body Roadster.
The Bus
The Formula
The 3 Amigos - parts cars!
The XTC
Jan's Formula - Dan doing the dirty work!
Rick's Mera - Dan checking it out!
A Rottin Indy!
The Bus - Chopped!
My Stable - except for the Red GT - but I lost a lot of sweat and blood on that one!
Red Fieros
Freshly Painted - Chopped Bus!
Dan says goodbye to the 4.9!
West Texas Fieros at Katatak's garage - Typical Saturday Fiero thrashing.
The Formula gets a new coat!
The V8 Bumper Pad - SBC - The one I should have kept!
Mine was a silver 86SE, 4 speed, wing. My brother bought it for his first car in 1987 or 88. I ended up buying it from him in 1991. While he had it, he spun off the road and flew backwards through the woods. Then a friend of his "took" the car without permission and flew off the road and hit a concrete drain pipe (so he says, I think he did it). Anyway, after I let my cousin drive it and I followed in his truck, I could see it dog-tracking down the road. After looking things over, I found very shoddy repairs from the wrecks. I ended up parting it out and put the V6 in an 88 Coupe I bought to replace it. Still have the 88 Coupe and an 87GT.
quote
Originally posted by Falcon Fiero:
My first, 88GT....slightly modified. Found it on AUTOTRADER, flew to LA, drove it back to San Antonio....
My first was way back in 2001 when I was 17. It was a base '84, listed as 'in good condition, needs a clutch'. It sure did, but the Duke also had oval bearings and someone had put duct tape over the Check Engine light. At the time it was virtually impossible to get the parts for the motor in this country easily, so after doing a bunch of own research my dad and I undertook a 3.8 swap using the early LN3 Pre Series I variant from a Holden Commodore. I had just started an apprenticeship as an engineer, so I fabricated my own engine mounts, an adapter plate so I could reuse the stock externally balanced 3.8 flywheel, machined a new pulley for the stock tensioner since the power steering pump and air conditioning compressor were gone... it was a fair whump of work! That car was a riot to drive but alas, a couple of years later I lost control on black ice and hit a pole sideways. It separated the entire rear assembly from the rest of the frame. I only have a few pictures of the poor old girl.
I was looking to build a 355 replica, so my wife surprised me on my birthday by buying her cousin's car for me.
It's a base model '84 auto. It had power windows and locks. The engine seized while moving it out of the driveway. I think it has about 80K miles on it.
Many revisions, mods, and years later...
Bob
[This message has been edited by RCR (edited 04-14-2015).]
Bought the yellow 88 GT on June 19, 1993, and it is much the same today (although showing its age a bit) as it was then (have to look if we have a "then" picture).
[This message has been edited by Mickey_Moose (edited 04-14-2015).]
I got hooked on fiero's from a friend. We both were dumb teenagers working at taco bell. I needed a ride home and he lived 5 minutes from me. Well we go jump in his car and i'm like WTF is this little thing!?!?!? It was a black 85 2M4 automatic turd bomb, but as soon as I sat in it I was like "this thing is cool!" Liked them ever since. Almost picked up a nice maroon 87 GT from the Lemon lot on Quantico when I was in the Marines but didn't because it was only a 2 seater. So in rolls 2001, I'm out of the Corps and stumble upon a bright red 85 2M4 5spd for 500 bucks! SOLD! What a fun car to drive and then the madness was fueled like an out of control wildfire.
My first Fiero is the only one I have owned, and I still have it, I was looking for something different, and saw the Fiero, it meet all the criteria, it was different, looked cool, and already had some great updates, ie SBC, uprated brakes suspension and it was in great condition, so here I am 14 years later, still enjoying driving it and tweaking it, I still look around at other cars, but I have not come across anything that I would want to replace it with.
------------------ 84SE, aero body, 4 speed and an injected 355 V8
One terrible thing about this car though was someone had put on one of those erector set looking spoilers on the back of its originally spoilerless decklid. I removed that as soon as I got home and sold it for $20. I changed the clutch master cylinder and bled it and was pretty much good to go. 
. One day it finally died, so I did the swap at got it done when I was 17. It was killer!!! Since then it turned into a parts car sadly 
. And I built up the 3800 into my nicer 87 GT. I'm finishing up a turbo setup now 
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