I want to keep the progress I make on my Fiero in one spot.
My first Fiero is on the ground. The one I got last weekend is on the trailer. Not sure what will become of that one yet.
I first found out the Fiero was a thing when I watched How I Met Your Mother. That was around the time I started drivers training. I also had a thing for the hidden headlights, so mega bonus. It's a really fun thing to be able to work on with my dad. I really hope to become more handy in the garage.
Index for the daily stock Fiero: - Fix headlights - New Tires. Dry rotted Page 1 - New brakes Page 1 - New front calipers. They're frozen Page 1 - Driver rear caliper leaking - Pass. Muffler clip Page 1 - Dew wipes. They're fracker and scratch windows Page 1 - Locks are sticky. They work better now but a wire came loose so the driver side doesn't have electronic locking Page 1 -First car show Page1 -Floppy sun visor Page 1 - Replace windshield washer fluid relay Page 1 - Cracked radio frame thing. I have the part just have to switch -Replace ICM Page 2 -Center console clean up/ fix cig. lighter Page 2 -Clean engine bay Page 2 -Spoiler delete Page 2 -Fiero and I on TV Page 2 - Paint. The sides looks okay but the top is faded Page 3 -Fixed EGR hose, stopped code 32 Page 3 -Oil and transmission fluid Page 3 - Paint dash Page 4 -Dash LED lights Page 4 -- Fix cassette player Fixed 11/2/17 Page 4 -Welded catalytic converter Page 4 -Fiero broke down. Bad pickup coil Page 5 - New headliner? Has a rip - New windshield. Cracked along top
Index for Spare Fiero: -Repair headlights Page 3 -New tires Page 5 -Brake lines Page 5
And other things of course...
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------------------ Tim Bay City, MI '87 GT original 2.8 V6 All Poly suspension, Eibach springs Aussie Stage 2 side scoops Deck scoop, Fiero Warehouse lip spoiler
4/25/17 The past weekend, my dad and I looked at a red 87 GT. It needed some work and was a bit rusty. My dad was a bit leery and felt bad about me not getting that one. I had my hopes up in my Fiero search that had lasted months. So, on Craigslist, my dad saw this one I looked over because it was over the price range I was looking for. We went to go look at it that Tuesday. It was pretty stressful to decide if I wanted a Fiero as my first car. But man, this one was in good shape. It had been in storage for 20 years. Well, the guy dropped his price a lot, because he needed it gone as the house it was in had sold and the new owners wanted it gone.
My dad was worried it wouldn't be able to get on the trailer, least it wasn't an issue. Well, here she is on the trailer. Needs some paint, obviously.
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4/28/17 Parked the Fiero in the garage so it's easier to work on.
Some armorall and some time made the front compartment look like new. There were so many leaves. Definitely glad that my dad and I cleaned the HVAC
The air filter for the engine was trashed. Replaced it, and repainted the canister it was in. Had to readjust the tube(ahh I'm bad with terms) that connected it to the engine because it was not on all the way actually.
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4/29/17 Yesterday I cleaned the interior some more. You have to be careful with armorall though, I accidentally wiped off some of the lettering for the cruise control.
I have been touching up the paint. I think it looks a lot better. I used a a razor blade like tool to take off the peeling top coat, and then waxed the whole car. The sides cleaned up nice.
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5/5/17 I got some more goodies in the mail. My dad accidental broke one of the headlight retainers, so gotta replace that. I also received a muffler clamp because the one on the passenger side was broken.
When I tried turning on the headlights, the lights fluttered and wouldn't go up all the way. So, that had to be fixed. Taking out the headlight assembly was difficult. It was hard to get to that bottom bolt, but I got it eventually. I cleaned the compartment where the headlights are as it was dirty and hard to reach with the headlights in. The motors in the headlights were fine luckily. We just had to replace the pins because they were basically non existent and falling apart. We put everything back together and put the headlights back in. Turned them on and they work! Some time in the future, I think I will want to invest in some nice LED lights.
It was a bit of work to get it up on the jackstands, but we were able to get the jacks under the front once we drove it on some wood blocks.
Now to replace the brakes and brake rotors, and while the wheels are off, it's time to replace the tires.
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I believe you have taken care of the problem, but I wanted to emphasize the leaves in the HVAC system...The blower motor speed control is a set of exposed resistors that, at low speed get very hot.....Leaves still in there around them will....catch fire!
You and you Father should note- Except for airbags, the Fiero is probably the safest vehicle you can buy- The roll over and side impact protection still meets the extreme modern standards we have now...And I view the lack of airbag as a plus; If you wear your seatbelts, the airbag makes very little difference....If the situation calls for it, it's better if you are not slapped in the face while an accident is on-going...(Think of a glancing blow from a car across the center line...airbag hits you in the face but you are still rolling...airbag deflates to give you a view of the tree you are about to hit....It has happened...>Wear your seatbelts!!!< )
I believe you have taken care of the problem, but I wanted to emphasize the leaves in the HVAC system...The blower motor speed control is a set of exposed resistors that, at low speed get very hot.....Leaves still in there around them will....catch fire!
You and you Father should note- Except for airbags, the Fiero is probably the safest vehicle you can buy- The roll over and side impact protection still meets the extreme modern standards we have now...And I view the lack of airbag as a plus; If you wear your seatbelts, the airbag makes very little difference....If the situation calls for it, it's better if you are not slapped in the face while an accident is on-going...(Think of a glancing blow from a car across the center line...airbag hits you in the face but you are still rolling...airbag deflates to give you a view of the tree you are about to hit....It has happened...>Wear your seatbelts!!!< )
Thanks! The HVAC is clean right now. The amount of leaves everywhere is too darn much. That's good to hear. I wouldn't even dream of not wearing a seatbelt. Some of those big trucks make me leery though.
5/6/17 I'm gonna work on trying to clean the rims. I like the original ones so I'm keeping these and just replacing the tires since they're dry rotted. I later found out, the scrubbing bubbles sink cleaner works really well on cleaning the insides of these rims.
The old brake pads:
The old rotors:
Cleaned up the area and repainted. Also, a Fiero needs to have red calipers lol.
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5/7/17 Working on putting it all together on the back brakes. The brake pads kept falling off, which was really frustrating for my dad and I. Then one of the clips broke, so we had to wait till the next day to get another.
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5/11/17 Repacking the bearings on the front brakes. My dad accidental cracked the dust cap on the passenger side a little, but no auto store had them in stock so it'll have to do. The new tires are on so I'm excited to finish the brakes and maybe get to drive the car more. It's only been driven to the auto store once, but that's all since it had bad tires and brakes. On the first drive to the auto after the Fiero was parked, the employees noticed the Fiero. They all started talking about how one of their friend's Fiero caught on fire lol.
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5/12/17 This car needs new dew wipes(what a silly name), and bad. The ones on the driver side already scratched up the window.
My dad and I were looking up how to do this. Now there is that special tool you can get to get into the window. Though we did it another way. We took off the inside of the door with this flat tool as to not break the plastic clips. The original paper was still there, so we cut it out carefully so we could tape it back on when we were done. We marked the spots we would undo the window tracks so we would be able to move it. After some finagling, we got the old dew wipe out and put in the new one. Just the outside one needed to be replaced.
We also worked on fixing the locks as they were sticky. Spayed some WD-40 and cleaned them up some and they worked better. Put the driver side door back together and the driver side dew wipe was done!
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5/13/17 My dad locked the keys in. Least they're on a lanyard. I got a clothes hanger and got it between the window and the car, and almost dropped them a few times but hooked the keys and fished them out.
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5/14/17 Up till midnight screwing around with the Fiero. One of the wires for the driver side door came loose so we had to glue it back on so the electronic locks would work. It was really confusing when I clicked the locks. When I clicked unlock, the car locked, and when I locked it, it unlocked??? We didn't glue the wire wrong, so what could it be? Well, when it was assembled, someone put the passenger side buttons on the driver's side. So my Fiero has two passenger side door buttons, how funny and unique! I'm not gonna change that.
They look very nice(have to touch up some paint though).
Both front calipers were frozen so they had to be replaced. The bearings were repacked on both.
The best part! My dad and I took her out for a drive to the auto parts store, then that evening got to drive the Fiero around a bit. It was dusk so I got to use the new headlights. It's so much fun to drive.
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5/15/17 It's too bad it's a two seater car. My brother wanted to ride in it, so he and my dad went and I missed 52222.2 miles. Oh well. When I did get to drive it today, I saw another Fiero. I was turning right, I looked left and I saw a red notchback with two white stripes driving away. Another drive at dusk. It's a fun car. My dad drove it a little again. It was shifting weird. Well it was low on trans(I think that's what it was) fluid and that fixed the issue.
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5/20/17 My mom was with me this time, though she doesn't like the Fiero much. It's too small. She rolled her eyes when I told her to watch her shoes when she gets in. There's already a coffee stain on the floor and some stain on the driver's seat, I don't want any more in it.
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The rear driver side caliper was leaking, so we had to replace it. The car bit my dad and it was just a really frustrating process for both of us. Getting the emergency brake back on was a pain. The new caliper came with a new emergency brake spring, but the old spring was far to difficult to take off so we didn't bother.
Photo time. I also replaced the door striker on the passenger side. My dad replaced the driver side one weeks ago because the shaking it did annoyed him.
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5/31/17 My grandma used to own a red '84 notchie back in the day. She got rid of it a couple years after having it as it over heated a lot. Well, after seeing my Fiero, she wanted one. Somehow, my gabdpa who is a car guy and knows a lot of people, found an 87 GT for $500. Gonna go look at it on Saturday with her. My dad said we may get it for parts if she doesn't. We'll see.
The dew wipes; There is a possibility that the window was scratched by the window support tabs inside the door....They are fuzz covered and adjustable; A) Is the fuzz relatively intact?...and B) Is the fuzz clean(I hate dealing with the fuzz when they're not clean....)
The dew wipes; There is a possibility that the window was scratched by the window support tabs inside the door....They are fuzz covered and adjustable; A) Is the fuzz relatively intact?...and B) Is the fuzz clean(I hate dealing with the fuzz when they're not clean....)
That could be. The scratches were right where the dew wipes were cracked, and there was a bunch of dirt nonsense in there. The fuzz was relatively clean if I recall, not sure though. I'm glad they were replaced as they definitely needed it. Thanks!
6/3/17 Another Fiero?! I didn't think I'd have one Fiero, let alone two. I am not sure if I'm keeping this one though, my dad will probably want to sell it.
Some more pictures: It's a little beat up, but for only a few hundred bucks it's alright.
I think it was in some sort of accident. There is spider webbing on the paint and cracks on the front.
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Now does anyone have any ideas why the engine is not running right? I'll see if I can get a video later. I'm not sure how to describe it, but my dad says it's missing and lacking an immediate snap. My other Fiero had its engine rebuilt less than five hundred miles ago. Definitely a difference in how they both sound.
My dad and I replaced the distributor cap, rotor and spark plugs. The ones in back were awful to get to and had corroded so it was a pain. Also replaced the fuel filter yesterday.
Welcome. I like what you are doing. Keeping a log of everything really helps later down the road and for learning purposes. I never did that before and learned the hard way. Now I try and make note of everything I do along with taking pictures.
Great thread! This is what Fiero ownership is all about.
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Originally posted by notwohorns:
Nice write up. Keep it up
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Originally posted by Spadesluck:
Welcome. I like what you are doing. Keeping a log of everything really helps later down the road and for learning purposes. I never did that before and learned the hard way. Now I try and make note of everything I do along with taking pictures.
Keep it up!
Thanks everyone!
I've been keeping my receipts too. I think it's super cool to look back at the receipts the previous owner had and see dates from the '90s.
I had a lot of fun at the spring dust-off car show in Michigan today! It was awesome to meet the other Fiero owners. Everyone was super nice and I'm excited for the next car show I can attend.
My Fiero and another young boy's Fiero in the survivors class(cars 25 years and older).
Nine Fieros were there today. There were six Fieros in the Fiero class. One Fiero was in the car corral and was for sale. My Fiero and another Fiero were in the survivors class. My dad and I were a bit confused so we didn't sign up for the Fiero class lol. Maybe next time. I also won a little goody bag from a raffle.
My Fiero won third place for its class! The old car next to the red Fiero placed and also a GTO I believe. Mine is the black one with gray trim. I wasn't really anticipating placing because there were a lot of nice old cars in that class and mine is still definitely a work in progress. You can kind of see the other cars in my photos.
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The sun visor on the passenger side would just not stay up. It's been something I've been getting around to fixing. My spare Fiero has a sun visor that stays up. So I took that off, and took off the one in my Fiero.
I really want to keep as many original pieces in my car as possible. I didn't really want to put on the new sun visor. So, I looked up how to fix the one that wouldn't stay up. I screwed the screw on the visor and tapped the pin back into the mount. Well that fixed it. Now to put it back on... this proved difficult. For whatever reason, I had my drill set to loosen a screw not tighten one. After I realizing that mistake, I got the sun visor up. I was trying to adjust the visor so it looked okay. Yeah well I messed this up and put in a couple tears. There's a nice rip right under the sun visor too. Now to fix the headliner because it looks kind of tacky and it's still a bit saggy. There were tears in the visor which did fix that's good. The rest is a project for tomorrow.
I fix one problem, and create another. So, that is it for me for Fiero time today.
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I am not crazy I swear my spoilers are different. My Fiero's rear deck lid will just not stay up. We have this metal hood holder we took from one of the other cars that works okay unless it's windy. One of these days I will get the struts to hold that darn thing up. On the spare Fiero, it has a spoiler too but that decklid stays up. I suppose on my Fiero it could just be worn and it faulty and not stay up. My theory is that my Fiero has an aftermarket spoiler, where the spare Fiero came with one. If my Fiero had not come with a spoiler, it would make sense as to why it does not stay up. They look the same from the back, but on the side they're different. Fiero 2 is the spare Fiero with a deck lid that stays up. Well, that's just a theory on that.
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The windshield wiper fluid doesn't work on my Fiero.
The motor on the spare Fiero looks a lot better. Time for a swap.
No wonder why it didn't work! It fell apart from the rust. The wiper fluid was just replaced last month, but the rust probably got in so I ended up dumping it.
It was a light orange when I got it. Yucky fluid.
I replaced the motor and put it back in my Fiero. So everything should work. The fluid worked at first. Then it didn't. Well that sucks. The fluid check valve broke in half. Spare Fiero to the rescue! I swapped that part too.
Now my windshield wiper fluid works.
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An 87 gt was my first car two years ago. Weeks later i had to get my first tool set. A few months later i had to pull my first engine and change the clutch on it. Now im doing my first swap on it. Youre going to have alot of fun and learn alot if you dont know about it already. Looks really nice so far what youre doing
They look the same from the back, but on the side they're different. Fiero 2 is the spare Fiero with a deck lid that stays up. Well, that's just one of my theories on that.
The one on the right isn't factory its aftermarket. It has stands that are molded in, and cant unbolt from the wing correct?
Now does anyone have any ideas why the engine is not running right? I'll see if I can get a video later. I'm not sure how to describe it, but my dad says it's missing and lacking an immediate snap. My other Fiero had its engine rebuilt less than five hundred miles ago. Definitely a difference in how they both sound.
My dad and I replaced the distributor cap, rotor and spark plugs. The ones in back were awful to get to and had corroded so it was a pain. Also replaced the fuel filter yesterday.
I'm not sure what you are defining as "lacking an immediate snap". Cranks a while before starting, or runs odd after started.?
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