I had some extra time and brought my car out of storage. Last time had it out was around 2010.
Overall it wasn't to dirty, was expecting much worse.
Wow! That's even worse than me. My Fiero has been in storage since 2011... except that I've been paying for storage the entire time (I know, don't judge).
Was the tank full before you stored it? It looked like it... have you tried to start it?
Wow! That's even worse than me. My Fiero has been in storage since 2011... except that I've been paying for storage the entire time (I know, don't judge).
Was the tank full before you stored it? It looked like it... have you tried to start it?
Pretty sure I filled it up, trip odometer shows 20 miles since filled. Did use sta-bil.
Have not tried to fire it up yet, that's going to be a problem, the battery is dead, should have hooked up a maintainer or unhooked it. duh
With the car in the trailer, don't think I'll be able to rase the trunk high enough to swap or jump battery. Going to throw a battery maintainer in the 12V socket to see if the battery would take a charge. I don't think it will, but I'll give it a shot.
Going to throw a battery maintainer in the 12V socket to see if the battery would take a charge.
Even if it was brand new when put into storage with the car, that battery is at least 15 years old. A battery "maintainer" (trickle charger) won't do a thing with that battery. I doubt even a heavy-duty battery charger (with a desulfation mode) would resurrect that lump of lead.
Pretty sure I filled it up, trip odometer shows 20 miles since filled. Did use sta-bil.
Have not tried to fire it up yet, that's going to be a problem, the battery is dead, should have hooked up a maintainer or unhooked it. duh
With the car in the trailer, don't think I'll be able to rase the trunk high enough to swap or jump battery. Going to throw a battery maintainer in the 12V socket to see if the battery would take a charge. I don't think it will, but I'll give it a shot.
No chance you're going to get that battery to recharge with it being 14+ years old now.
You'll likely have to drag it off the trailer with a come-along, and then replace the battery.
Well, let me ask, you can still get the decklid up just enough to remove the grill, correct? You should be able to get the battery out with the decklid down, and the grill removed.
No chance you're going to get that battery to recharge with it being 14+ years old now.
You'll likely have to drag it off the trailer with a come-along, and then replace the battery.
Well, let me ask, you can still get the decklid up just enough to remove the grill, correct? You should be able to get the battery out with the decklid down, and the grill removed.
I was only able to get decklid open a bit, not enough to get the grill out. The side tab won't clear the hood.
quote
Originally posted by Patrick:
Even if it was brand new when put into storage with the car, that battery is at least 15 years old. A battery "maintainer" (trickle charger) won't do a thing with that battery. I doubt even a heavy-duty battery charger (with a desulfation mode) would resurrect that lump of lead.
I know your right. I did find my dads old charger (from the 70's?), It doesn't have the desulfation mode.
[This message has been edited by CoolBlue87GT (edited 12-02-2024).]
I was only able to get decklid open a bit, not enough to get the grill out. The side tab won't clear the hood.
Either deflate your rear tires, or take your rear wheels off and lower the back end. That should give you enough clearance to get the grill out of there (and then full access to your dead as a doornail battery).
[This message has been edited by Patrick (edited 12-02-2024).]
As an FYI, assuming everything is still good to go on the car, and the gas isn't turned to varnish, you may have to get a jump-starter. I don't really know what they're called, but when the truck driver delivered my 84 Corvette, he had this thing in his hand that he quick hooked up to the car, allowed it to start, and then the alternator took over. That'll be enough for you to get the car out of the trailer.
BUT... my honest opinion... there are some issues:
- Even with Sta-bil, the gasoline after 10 years has got to have degraded. Any moisture in the air in the tank will have turned to water droplets and likely gone to the bottom of the tank and possibly damaged the fuel pump. - With the tires totally flat, it's going to be "crazy" trying to get those wheels rolling. Try filling them up, and it they won't pump up, it'll be an issue on that trailer bed. - Hopefully the rotors aren't seized to the brake pads from any humidity in the air over the past several years.
You may be better off trying to pull it (with a come-along) out of the trailer first.
Either deflate your rear tires, or take your rear wheels off and lower the back end. That should give you enough clearance to get the grill out of there (and then full access to your dead as a doornail battery).
Can you reach the battery terminals? If you can, try disconnecting both from the battery. Put the new battery on the floor of the trunk. Using GOOD QUALITY jumper cables, connect the positive lead from the starter to the positive post of the new battery and connect the negative post of the new battery to the frame of the car. You should be able to spin the engine and get it started IF the fuel pump is not dead. You may want to pull the coil wire and spin the engine for 20-30 seconds to get some oil flowing and check the oil pressure. I expect things are pretty dry after 15 years in a box. Don't forget to replace the coil wire when you're ready to start.
When starting, you may want to use starting fluid (ether). We have a product called, "Start, Ya Bastard!" in Australia that I've used on my one of my '86 GTs that had been setting for a couple of years. I went to the auto parts store and found a small plastic plug with a 1/8" spike. I drilled a 1/16" hole in the intake pipe just before the throttle body and inserted the plastic pipette that comes with the starting fluid (like the plastic straw that comes with a can of WD-40). I had my buddy crank the car while I gave the car a SMALL shot of starting fluid. It fired right up.
After the car was running on its own, I removed the pipette and inserted the plug I had bought. A bit of silicone spray let me force the larger plug in the smaller hole for a tight fit, eliminating the possibility of air leaks.
[This message has been edited by Mike in Sydney (edited 12-02-2024).]
I was able to air up the tires. I know I'll need another battery, have this one on a charger that has the repair mode, just want to see what this charger can to. The rotors should be okay, has been stored in an air conditioned garage for all those years.
[This message has been edited by CoolBlue87GT (edited 12-02-2024).]
I had some extra time and brought my car out of storage. Last time had it out was around 2010.
quote
Originally posted by CoolBlue87GT:
I was able to get the grill off. The battery had date code 12/12
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Originally posted by Patrick: Something doesn't jive here.
Easy explanation: I replaced the battery sometime in early 2013 here at the garage, technically I removed it from the trailer for an hour to install it, returned to it's trailer. I was planning to take it to a local show, but my work schedule didn't allow. When I started this post, I'd forgotten about the last time I replaced the battery. So the last time I drove it around was still 2010.
Ha, I found the video from when I was putting the trailer back into the garage at our old address, it was 01-13-2013
[This message has been edited by CoolBlue87GT (edited 12-11-2024).]
Easy explanation: I replaced the battery sometime in early 2013 here at the garage, technically I removed it from the trailer for an hour to install it, returned to it's trailer. I was planning to take it to a local show, but my work schedule didn't allow. When I started this post, I'd forgotten about the last time I replace the battery. So the last time I drove it around was still 2010.
We'll need to have your records notarized. I wasn't trying to give you a bad time. Your first post implied that in 2010 this Fiero had been put in a sealed time capsule... and it then seemed otherworldly that somehow your battery mysteriously had a date stamp of 2012. I was going to suggest that we bring The Amazing Kreskin in to investigate!
[This message has been edited by Patrick (edited 12-03-2024).]
Originally posted by CoolBlue87GT: Ha, I found the video from when I was putting the trailer back into the garage at our old address, it was 01-13-2013
Seeing you back that enormous trailer into a "garage" ... I think back to my home in Fort Lauderdale. Don't get me wrong, I love my house in Fort Lauderdale, but it was built in 1987 when cars were decidedly smaller. It has a two-car garage... and at one point my buddy had a 78 Cadillac Eldorado that we cut the roof off of, and I tried to park it in the garage, and even with the front touching the back wall, it stuck out a foot and a half from where the garage door would close (so that was a no go).
When we upgraded to hurricane-resistant garage doors, it added 5" steel girders onto the back of the garage door in several places... which literally then decreased my overall available garage space by another 4 inches.
When I'd put my grandfather's 2002 Crown Victoria in there, I had to put a foam pad on the wall, drive until the car touched the wall, and then, and only then, could I close the garage door... which left 1" between the car and the garage door.
The owner prior to me (before 2003) had a trailer that held two jet-skis on it. It was too long for the garage... so I **** you not... he made a hole in the back wall, which went through the wall in the bedroom directly behind the garage, and THEN put a dresser in front of that where he removed the back and gutted one of the drawers. So you'd open the drawer and see a trailer mount in there... LOL!!!
Eventually, I'll move back there, and I have 7 cars... so no idea what I'll end up doing.
Seeing you back that enormous trailer into a "garage" ... I think back to my home in Fort Lauderdale. Don't get me wrong, I love my house in Fort Lauderdale... .. so I **** you not... he made a hole in the back wall, which went through the wall in the bedroom directly behind the garage, and THEN put a dresser in front of that where he removed the back and gutted one of the drawers. So you'd open the drawer and see a trailer mount in there... LOL!!!
Thats funny about the hole in the wall. I know about the 5" steel girders, at the old house I actually removed the bottom girder to make the trailer fit.
When I was shopping for a new home, I asked the builder, D.R. Horton, if they could modify one of the houses they were about to build, to extend the garage 1 foot back so I could fit the trailer in the garage. They flat out refused. It would not have cost them extra.
That video was from our old house, had a long curved driveway. It took quite awhile to get comfortable backing it in as it was tight fit.. The back up camera on the rear of the trailer helped alot.
The following photo shows one of the two current garages I have now. Has a nice extra long straight driveway.
[This message has been edited by CoolBlue87GT (edited 12-07-2024).]
Removing the battery while inside the trailer was very hard, not much room to pull the battery up and maneuver it around the car. Finally got it to the floor at the rear of the car. Had to slide the battery along the floor with my foot a little at a time around the car to get it out of the trailer. The height inside the trailer is limited, Having to crouch down while walking inside, was impossible to carry the battery in that posture. The battery would not fit between the body and wall of trailer, that's how tight it was.
As expected, the experiment to use the "repair" function on the charger to disulfate the battery did not work. It brought the voltage to 10.4 volts but very little amps. The battery did get very hot during the process. I checked the temp many times through the night, In the morning it measured 183 degrees which is much to high, I stopped the process at that point.
I'll be shopping for a replacement battery, I have the Optima red top battery in the TDI Fiero, has worked well.
If anyone has suggestions on what to use, please let me know. Thank you.
I'm having trouble posting these videos, can someone give me some help on how to post the video correctly ?
Do you mean how to embed the videos in your post? (A lot of members here don't know how to embed YouTube videos.) If so, copy the URL for the video from the browser, and then put [youtube] immediately before the address and [/youtube] immediately after the address. [EDIT] You got it!
I might also mention in regards to installing a battery for anyone who may be new at this... always disconnect the negative terminal first, and always re-connect the negative terminal last. Doing so will prevent the wrench from arc welding itself to a metal ground in the engine bay while loosening/tightening the connector on the battery's positive terminal.
[This message has been edited by Patrick (edited 12-11-2024).]
I might also mention in regards to installing a battery for anyone who may be new at this... always disconnect the negative terminal first, and always re-connect the negative terminal last. Doing so will prevent the wrench from arc welding itself to a metal ground in the engine bay while loosening/tightening the connector on the battery's positive terminal.
Good info, I always do it that way. Thanks for your help. - Sent you a PM
Wow! You look the same when I last saw you maybe 20 yrs ago. Not sure if that is good or bad :-D But I know I look a LOT older now. Amazing you still have that beauty. A Fiero just like that was the one that got me to order my 88 Formula back in 1987. Why you didn't get it out for so long? Hope you are doing great. ;-)
Wow! You look the same when I last saw you maybe 20 yrs ago. Not sure if that is good or bad :-D But I know I look a LOT older now. Amazing you still have that beauty. A Fiero just like that was the one that got me to order my 88 Formula back in 1987. Why you didn't get it out for so long? Hope you are doing great. ;-)
Well Howdy, Good to hear from you. Let see, 20 years ago, I was still a manager at RadioShack, rode that ship until 2017. I'm a pharmacy tech now, still working full time. I unofficially retired June 2024, collecting both SS & paychecks for now.
I left the GT stored over the years, as I had three other Fiero's during that time. Two Red 88 Formula's and a Blue 4 cyl coupe. Sold off two a few years ago. The GT has tags, registration and insurance all this time. Just didn't have the time to "play" with the GT. Was kind of a out of site, out of mind thing.
I rarely get two days in a row off, so starting a project to get the car up and running has been put aside over the years.
Did you get it started? Take it for a ride? Inquiring minds want to know. Good Luck
Good to hear from you. Not yet, did get the battery swapped out. The motor cranks over good. Hope I don't have to drop the tank, that's a project that I can not do while the car in inside the trailer.
Have starter fluid, tried spraying inside the body side intake, did not work. Going to have to try to loosen the rubber intake hose to spray closer to the throttle body.
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