This year has been a year designated towards getting all the stuff I need to do the engine swap. I plan on tackling it next year. We will see what happens and what fate has to say about it...
I went to Comicon and commissioned some cool stuff from artists that I adore, for example Andy Price, he is the lead guy that illustrates one of my favorite comic book series. I commissioned the guy that illustrates the official comic book series to do a sketch of my car, Discord, with Discord. How cool is that!? I would have had it done in full color instead of a quick sketch, but he was swamped with work and so this was what he drew up for me in literally about an hour! I couldn't be happier! By the way, in case you were wondering, I named my car Discord after a character in, from all things, My Little Pony. He is a Draconequus. The lore in the show is that Discord is a being mixed of various animal parts, horse head, lion's paw, dragon's tail, etc. Since I planned on doing an engine swap of an engine from another car (that is not from a Fiero); Cadillac engine in a Pontiac... the name fits nicely!
I also had another work commissioned by Jennifer Hernandez Jennifer is one of the people that are the illustrators for the Sonic The Hedgehog comic book series. This drawing is going to be a full colored commission with Sonic and Tails next to a Fiero. I'll post that one up when it's finished.
Stay tuned for more updates as they come along!
------------------ "Discord" Red 1988 GT under restoration!
Let's Go Mets!
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[This message has been edited by Shho13 (edited 10-20-2018).]
That's awesome! Hope you post the next piece when you get it. My kids just went berserk when they saw fiero with discord. They love the ponies, therefore I do too.
Polyurethane bushings... Everywhere! Also installed zerk fittings into the poly bushing sleeves through to the center sleeves for EZ-PZ anti-squeek re-greasing in the future
Removed surface rust on all suspension components and painted with POR15.
Installed Rodney's 1 inch lowering ball joints
Completely overhauled steering rack; replaced input shaft bearings, brass sleeve, inner and outer tie rods, and re-packed the unit with Mobil 1 synthetic grease
Wire wheeled frame rails from the fenderwells to remove surface rust
Removed as much of the old undercoating as I could (saved my car from rusting out... So happy!)
POR15 everywhere I could reach
"Stage 4" 3M undercoating
REAL cold air intake install (one of the previous owners installed some wierd setup that always had me... ummm... weirded out... ever since I've bought it
Well, it's time for a massive picture dump! Enjoy!
Before, complete with the classic extremely high 88 front end:
Continued...
------------------ "Discord" Red 1988 GT under restoration!
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[This message has been edited by Shho13 (edited 05-06-2018).]
Everything look all shiny and new now! The only things I didn't replace was the springs, they were in good shape. (I forgot to clean the rear springs up, they still look cruddy and covered in the old undercoating. Oops!)
Final result of the lowering ball joints. I may cut a coil off on the rear in the future... It's higher than I would like...
The car drives SO MUCH BETTER it's almost silly. I love the sporty ride that the poly provides!
I got the wheel alignment done at Firestone. They have a package for lifetime alignments for $150! Great deal, and if I ever decide to change the suspension around again, I can drop it off there and it will be free. I plan on having this car forever, so this was a deal I couldn't pass up!
Oh, might as well show you guys the true cold air intake now.
Next is LED lighting upgrades. Nothing else major planned this year.
------------------ "Discord" Red 1988 GT under restoration!
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[This message has been edited by Shho13 (edited 05-06-2018).]
Just went thru this thread, nice work man your car looks awesome. looks like youre running out of stuff to do! Whered u get those ss brake lines? I just got a set from tfs and theyre 3 piece lines I hate em.
Thanks for the compliments, Shem! Yep! The number of big projects left to do are winding down now, that's for sure... The major thing left to tackle are the 4.9 swap! Oh... and the paint, though I'm not going to end up doing that myself -- minus some sanding and minor prep work, to save on the labor... Bodywork is not my forte; no patience...
Those brake lines aren't stainless hoses, they are just replacement rubber hoses from AC Delco. I got them on Ebay of all places, and they work really really well. Inexpensive, too. On that note, I put SS lines on my uncle's Fiero when we got his brakes back to spec -- I don't really feel that big of a difference between the feel of his pedal to mine. His stops a bit more rapidly, however, he went with the very aggressive Yellowstuff pads on his car... I went with Wagner Thermoquiets. My brakes still feel great.
Speaking of which, I still have to fix the damn parking brake... I have all the parts, I've just been putting it off. Story of my life, I guess... It's a habit to just leave it in first when I park anywhere at this point, so it's not been on my mind! :P ------------------ "Discord" Red 1988 GT under restoration!
Let's Go Mets!
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[This message has been edited by Shho13 (edited 05-06-2018).]
💡💡💡 Lighting upgrades ahead, as promised earlier! 💡💡💡
I was reading through the forum a few weeks ago and found a thread by Rsvl-Rider talking up the lights he used to upgrade to LED headlights here. I followed his lead with them, since they claim to be DOT complient and very affordable compaired to other options out there... I'm really happy with the results; here is some pics of the units, as well as the other LEDS installed all around to match after they were installed. The new headlights light up the entire area really well; I'm especially impressed with how wide the beam is compared to conventional headlights! Note: I did need to re-aim my lights so you get the light is in the right spot, as well as not to blind oncoming traffic.
Headlight assemblies look like this. They seem solid and built really well. The lens is made of plastic.
Marker lights.
These are in the PONTIAC tail light lights.
Switchbacks in the front! I was sure to order the same color temperature as the new headlights to match.
Reverse lights and licence plate lights (the licence plate LEDs were a tight fit in the plastic housings), again matched to the same temperature as the headlights; they look good with the LED taillight kit and sequential blinker kit I installed a few years ago now.
Interior lighting was installed, as well all around. I HEAVILY MODIFIED the assembly and surrounded the area where the bulbs mount with some... wait for it... tin foil (the high technology lightweight anti stick kind!) so that all the light output from the LEDs would reflect and point downwards. THIS WAS ALMOST AS HARD AS OVERHAULING THE SUSPENSION!!! 🤣
End result of how the headlights look and light output on the road. Very nice!
EDIT 2020: Over the years, some of the bulbs have been replaced. I have since changed some of the bulbs, new products installed are as follows:
Products I used: Headlights: Genssi 7x6 Projector headlights 6000K: https://genssi.com/7-6-5-7-...headlight-black-set/ "PONTIAC" tail lights: Brishine T10 300 Lumen LED Bulbs Brilliant Red Licence plate and floor interior lights: Philips 194WLED Ultinon LED Reverse lights: Syneticusa 1156 1200 Lumen 6000K LED Switchback blinker bulbs (front): Syneticusa 1157 Dual Color Switchback 5630 6000K White/Amber LED Turn Signal Light Bulbs Dome and map lights: Philips 912WLED Ultinon LED Amber marker lights: Generic T10 Yellow silicone shell Wedge COB LED Red marker lights: Generic T10 Red silicone shell Wedge COB LED
------------------ "Discord" Red 1988 GT under restoration!
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[This message has been edited by Shho13 (edited 11-29-2020).]
After a summer of crazy overtime and general having no time to do anything else but work, I managed to sneak in a few other things this summer on the weekends, all while still enjoying the car whenever I could. Ugh. So busy!
Replaced crushed coolant pipes. When I was doing the suspension, I noticed that every single corner was crushed. I'm guessing that it didn't overheat because I had a low temp coolant fan switch and thermostat in there
After replacing the pipes, car was running slightly rich because the car wasn't getting up to temp; the gauge was barely moving past even the first line on the gauge! I ordered a 195 degree thermostat and a 200/210 coolant fan switch from Rodney. Temp is perfect now, running solid at just a bit higher than a 1/4 when warmed up, and the car is running amazing
Fuel filter was replaced with an ACDelco GF652
Installed new, larger door latch striker thingies on both doors with the recommended Dorman 38421; modified as outlined in the thread to cut the "plastic sleeve" off. The doors rattle a lot less now than they did before over bumps!
Clutch pedal was starting to feel spongy; like air was getting in the system. I replaced both the clutch master and slave cylinders with super groovy new ones from Rodney.
Rebuilt the driver side headlight motor
Installed Fiero Store door ABS door panels with Focal Integration ISS 165 speakers. The imaging and all around quality of the music sounds so much better now without those outdated and terribly designed 4x10s! Only things I wish I did was buy the interior paint so that I could paint the door panels to match the rest of the interior better... The ABS plastic is SUPER SHINEY and they don't match the rest of the interior too well right out of the box. I'll end up buying some paint and spraying them eventually because I also need to *buy* and install speaker covers... I've installed quite a few stereos throughout my life and I have *never* even heard or thought a set of speakers would not come with speaker covers!
Oh, I also forgot to post this... Awhile ago I mentioned I got a commission from Comicon of my car with Sonic and Tales from Jennifer Hernandez, who is one of the artists for Sonic's comic book series. Well... I got the piece... and it's amazing!!! Check it out!
It came out so well! I grew up playing Sonic games... This means so much to me! I doubt you'll ever see my build thread for my car, but if you do, thanks again for doing this Jennifer!
------------------ "Discord" Red 1988 GT under restoration!
Let's Go Mets!
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[This message has been edited by Shho13 (edited 10-20-2018).]
Awesome that you thought to get those drawings done. Grew up playing Sonic on the Sega Genesis, brings back a lot of memories! Hows the POR 15 holding up so far? Tempted to do that myself but looks like a ton of work. Can't believe you got that engine in your basement... doing head gaskets? studs? or just the easier gaskets? tearing it down to check bearings?
Thanks! Yeah! Honestly working and having this car has saved my life... It's like therapy to be honest, it keeps me sane.
quote
Originally posted by BadNewsBrendan:
Awesome that you thought to get those drawings done. Grew up playing Sonic on the Sega Genesis, brings back a lot of memories! Hows the POR 15 holding up so far? Tempted to do that myself but looks like a ton of work. Can't believe you got that engine in your basement... doing head gaskets? studs? or just the easier gaskets? tearing it down to check bearings?
Yeah! Sonic (and also Mario of course) was a huge part of my childhood and I couldn't resist getting something commissioned like this. I remember playing those now old games as far back as I can remember!
The POR15 is holding up perfectly! still looks as good as the day I put the suspension back together, I was just under the car a few weeks ago to grease up all the fittings for the winter. I should mention that I don't drive the car every day, so it wouldn't wear as fast as a daily driver would... It has seen rain a such though, don't get me wrong! I am still really am happy with how it all came out.
I am not going to do anything major to the engine... It's still sitting in my basement on an engine stand! Was a dog to get down there for sure, but a hand truck and a bunch of muscle from myself and my buddy willed it down there! Getting it back up will be another challenge, but we'll worry about that when the time comes!
I have a complete Felpro gasket kit to do all the seals and gaskets, as well as a new water pump... Not going to do head gaskets or even check the bearings though... I hear that head studs like to strip upon removal of the heads so I want to avoid an issue coming up there... The engine allegedly ran fine (I bought the engine off a reputable PFF member) when it was removed. Upon investigation, the plugs look perfect, no concerns by the look of them; no random new plugs, they all look the same age, no signs of running rich or lean, they weren't "wet", and not "steam cleaned" so no sign of coolant getting into the combustion chamber; the plugs look normal... Oil was a normal black color when I drained it, no smell of fuel, or any signs of coolant in the oil at all, again, I'm not really all that worried as the car was driven and maintained very well by some old man from what I remember being told about the car it was pulled from... If the thing blows in the future I'll just end up getting another engine from somewhere that has less miles, as rebuilding is so much more expensive and troublesome than it's worth... Can get a low miles engine for not too much money TBH...
------------------ "Discord" Red 1988 GT under restoration!
Let's Go Mets!
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[This message has been edited by Shho13 (edited 12-25-2018).]
Spring is here in 2019, and it's time to start doing stuff on the car again! Yay!
First thing I did was remove the old purpled window tints to fix the rear defroster. A few lines weren't working, so I fixed them!
After it dried, I brought it to my buddy's new shop to re-tint the windows. I got 55% in the front (light enough so that the police can still "see" in the car), and 18% on the rear. Shoutout to my buddy Ron in his new shop, Strictly Auto Sport in Green Brook NJ!
After that, I removed the door panels painted them to match the interior. Fiero Store stopped stocking the color matching paint, so I had to call them and special order it. Expensive, but worth it. Check it out!
Before I painted them:
First coat:
Done and installed:
Looks great!
I also installed a new rear view mirror with auto-dim, compass, and exterior temperature reading. Bishop144 in The Mall is selling them; has a thread going here, check it out if you want to buy one off of him!
The mirror is out of a 2006-2009 Chevy Equinox.
Alright, here's pictures of the install!
Harness coming out from mirror
Power: I used an "add a fuse" kit and tapped off the "turn signal" circuit; which is ignition activated. Ground is through a self-tapper through the sheet-metal of the steering column. No pics of this, kinda self explanatory!
Drilled a small hole through the plastic above the bulkhead for ambient temperature sensor wire
Ran wire through where the factory harness is
Taped it back up good as new
Here's the ambient temp sensor and the harness by the way... Part number is SU8235. Wiring on harness is; if looking at connector face clip side up, the right side gets wired to ground, left goes to mirror. To mirror(-T-)To ground (tape is on the side that gets grounded)
Drilled hole and installed sensor in front headlight bucket area (I may move it, I don't know if it is reading the temperature correctly yet)
Overall, I'm super happy with the painted door panels and the mirror. The shiny black that the panels have out of the box was terrible looking in my new interior, and my old rear view mirror NEEDED TO GO. Enough was enough I could never see out the back it's been over four years, if you remember all the way back in my very first post, the car had a draw on the battery. One of the five previous owners incorrectly installed (tapped into an always hot circuit an EZtap right into the interior lights). I originally just cut the wire out and never re-ran the wire to wire former mirror correctly because the mirror was always stuck in "dimmed mode" 100% of the time and wasn't worth it.
------------------ "Discord" Red 1988 GT under restoration!
Let's Go Mets!
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[This message has been edited by Shho13 (edited 03-30-2019).]
How much have you driven the car with those door panels? I am curious if the speakers get in the way of you legs?
Additionally, ate you going to Carlise this year?
The door panels are no hindrance, not in the way of my legs at all, even when using the clutch! The stereo sounds soooo much better with 6.5 component speakers... Completely worth it.
As for Fieros at Carlisle with my car this year, most likely not... However If the weather is exceptional that day I'll probably make the trip for a the day on impulse with my daily driver. While it would be really, really nice to see everyone again and bring my car to show it off, it's a long drive for what would be only a single day showing it, (six hours round trip). I really want to go to Fall Carlisle this year for the entire weekend, I've been to Chevy and Ford Nationals at Carlisle, I find myself not as "into it" with manufacturer specific shows, Not enough diversity to last an entire weekend to justify a hotel cost.
------------------ "Discord" Red 1988 GT under restoration!
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[This message has been edited by Shho13 (edited 03-30-2019).]
Hmmm, when I was playing with the sensor, the only part that brought the temp reading up and down was when I would hold the very 'tip' in my palm. Because of that I was figuring only the very tip of the sensor that clips into the hole I drilled into the front bumper cavity directly in front of the headlight assembly was the only part that needed to be in front of the rad and not affected by the fan... I honestly haven't driven the car too much since I put it in to even see how it's reading. Thankfully I left slack on the wire to move it if needed. Thanks for the feedback!
Edit 2020: Yeah I have to relocate the sensor, putting the sensor there does cause the thermometer to pick up some radiant heat from the radiator.
------------------ "Discord" Red 1988 GT under restoration!
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[This message has been edited by Shho13 (edited 12-06-2020).]
It's been over a year since I posted anything in this thread, though that doesn't mean I stopped working and making plans for my car!
First off, and coolest of all... my swap. It's happening finally. If you've been keeping up with this thread over the last few years you'll know that I have a 4.9 and accumulated almost all the swap-parts needed to install in this thing. WELL.... like most things in life, plans change. As nice as the 4.9 would be together with the Allante intake, and other supporting mods, I thought long and hard about where that would leave me at the end of the day, and I began to question it heavily. At this point and where I'm at in my life, I want to make this car not only "good enough", but INSANE. It didn't take long to come to a decision and so made a few phone calls, since what I decided upon is well above my skill level...
I put a deposit down a few weeks ago to have Gary from Pickardt Performance to do an LS4/F40 swap!!! He's already building my engine and has the transmission. I will get into what's going into the LS4 build when it starts coming together.
Check out Gary and his son's operation and all their builds on Facebook by the way, here
At any rate, since April of 2019 I have done/installed the following:
Champion three core radiator (Champion CC828), new coolant hoses
A TON of AC work (black death 😖)
Steering column blinker cam and cancel springs replacement
Brakes refresher, parking brake
Replaced a bunch of failed LED light bulbs
Here's some pics and stuff of the shenanigans I've been up to:
Champion radiator:
The plastic part of my radiator decided to crack, so I decided to upgrade to a three core Champion unit with new radiator hoses from Rodney while I was there. Works great.
You can see how much FATTER the three core radiator is!
Air cooled Fiero? Would never work!
Some light modifications were needed to be made to the rubber feet and the top support to fit the wider radiator.
Like a glove!
AC STUFF:
I wound up getting black death. Great. I went through the entire system; what a nightmare, I removed and flushed every pipe out individually with AC flush in both directions until no more crap was coming out, I changed the O rings everywhere to the green ones (whoever did the conversion before me didn't do this), also I replaced the evaporator, condensor since they aren't very flushable and didn't want to take any chances. Installed with a fresh, factory oriface tube too, of course!
Blinker fix:
Random things tend to brake on old cars, the left blinker stopped canceling, so I took the column down to the blinker mechanisim and replaced a broken spring (replaced both springs) and threw a new cancel cam in while I was there. Nothing crazy to see here, honestly.
Brakes refresh:
On a sunday cruise, the car started pulling hard to the right, so after a some troubleshooting I found the driver side rear caliper had a frozen piston, as well as frozen front caliper slider pins also on the driver side. Since rear calipers for 88s are made of unobtainium, and I had a passenger side rear sitting in my shed from when I did the brakes origionally (I never sent the core back, oops) I decided I might as well send a pair calipers out to get rebuilt (Phoenix Caliper, highly reccommended, they are awesome to deal with) at the same time... One to install, and one as a spare for passenger side to have hanging around (wound up being a good idea). Since by this point the swap was put into motion. I figured it would also be good time to put Yellowstuff pads in the front, as well to be able to have some better stopping power to handle the massive horsepower upgrade that is coming. I also installed a new master cylinder for good measure. DOT 4 brake fluid by Pentosin.
I took care the trouble in the front left caliiper myself, gave some love and greased up the sliders on the passenger side front too of course, no pics of that... but here are some pics of the rears before and after the rebuild. Don't mind the dirty caliper bridges, those weren't the red ones I had on the car I put gross spare ones on that I had in my shed. Red bridges re-installed before going back on the car. They are going to need to be re-painted next year, the red paint is starting to show it's age.
Old:
Rebuilt:
It was a good thing I had a passenger side rebuilt too. It wound up that after I removed the parking brake lever and clamped down the piston on old the passenger side rear, it didn't want to re-adjust anymore. No harm done, installed the fresh one.
Yellowstuff pads in the box. New set of slotted rotors too. These are quite literally race spec pads to be ready for the more horsepower that comes with the LS... The car has SO MUCH BETTER braking distance with these, and they get better with more heat in them. Worlds of a difference to the improvement with these pads.
New master cylinder installed too, here it is looking pretty before I installed it with Pentosin DOT4 flushed through the entire system:
Parking brake:
It's been seven years and countless projects at this point; after all this I never had a working parking brake! I decided with the rears getting overhauled, I would finally change that. I got a new equilizer since the adjusting bolt was missing, as well as a new driver side cable, which never existed since I bought this thing. New springs from the Fiero Store too. It's amazing to have a parking brake, (no more leaving it in 1st or reverse!) I adjusted it according to the TSB, and it holds strong with five clicks of the mechanism.
That's all for now! Thanks for reading so far, I know it's kind of a boring thread, as this is honestly more of a work performed log than a build at this point; there will be more to come as things happen, including the swap, even though it turns out I won't be doing it myself, I told Gary I want a lot of pictures of the build! I will definately post them here.
I love this thing so much... I'm having so much fun wrenching on this thing. 😁
------------------ "Discord" Red 1988 GT under restoration!
Let's Go Mets!
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[This message has been edited by Shho13 (edited 12-06-2020).]
Are the Philips LEDs a direct replacement for the factory bulbs? Or did you have to do anything to make the LEDs work? Thanks!
Edit: Forgot to mention, I just read through pretty much your entire thread. Love watching the progress of your Fiero!
Thank you!!! I apprecaite it!!!
Yeah, those Philips LEDs are a direct replacement, they plug right in and work perfectly. As a note though, LEDs are polarized with energy flow, and will only work one way when plugged in, so if you install it in the socket and it doesn't light in that orientation, unplug it, flip it over and reinstall and it will then light. I bought all of my Philips LEDs from Rock Auto, the rest of the LEDS on Ebay.
------------------ "Discord" Red 1988 GT under restoration!
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[This message has been edited by Shho13 (edited 12-06-2020).]
Great job. You are really upgrading and modernizing your car and as you know the driving fun increases accordingly. All you need to do is complete the engine swap and you'll enjoy driving your Fiero even more. The 4.9L swap that you had planned isn't that hard to do. At almost twice the torque of the 2.8L , every time you slam that pedal down you'll smile
------------------ " THE BLACK PARALYZER" -87GT 3800SC Series III engine, custom ZZP /Frozen Boost Intercooler setup, 3.4" Pulley, Northstar TB, LS1 MAF, 3" Spintech/Hedman Exhaust, P-log Manifold, Autolite 104's, MSD wires, Custom CAI, 4T65eHD w. custom axles, Champion Radiator, S10 Brake Booster, HP Tuners VCM Suite. "THE COLUSSUS" 87GT - ALL OUT 3.4L Turbocharged engine, Garrett Hybrid Turbo, MSD ign., modified TH125H " ON THE LOOSE WITHOUT THE JUICE "
Great job. You are really upgrading and modernizing your car and as you know the driving fun increases accordingly. All you need to do is complete the engine swap and you'll enjoy driving your Fiero even more. The 4.9L swap that you had planned isn't that hard to do. At almost twice the torque of the 2.8L , every time you slam that pedal down you'll smile
Hey Dennis! Thanks man!!!
Yeah man! You're right I did have the 4.9 planned, although I wound up making a decision and switched my swap plans to do an LS4 instead after I decided that I didn't want to do the swap myself due to a logistical nightmare from where I'm currently living... Since we talked last, and from your reccommendation I got in touch with Gary at Pickardt Performance and after origionally planning on him doing my 4.9 swap for me, in the end I decided to have him go all out with and do an LS swap instead.
I'm very excited!
------------------ "Discord" Red 1988 GT under restoration!
Yeah man! You're right I did have the 4.9 planned, although I wound up making a decision and switched my swap plans to do an LS4 instead after I decided that I didn't want to do the swap myself due to a logistical nightmare from where I'm currently living... Since we talked last, and from your recommendation I got in touch with Gary at Pickardt Performance and after originally planning on him doing my 4.9 swap for me, in the end I decided to have him go all out with and do an LS swap instead.
I'm very excited!
I've seen Gary's work and it is excellent. Just to fork down $8-$10 K for a swap is a big decision. If you can afford that, and if that's what makes you happy, then go for it. Last I heard Gary is pretty backed up so I'd get your name in the queue now. Seems like quite a few Fiero owners want the LS4.
------------------ " THE BLACK PARALYZER" -87GT 3800SC Series III engine, custom ZZP /Frozen Boost Intercooler setup, 3.4" Pulley, Northstar TB, LS1 MAF, 3" Spintech/Hedman Exhaust, P-log Manifold, Autolite 104's, MSD wires, Custom CAI, 4T65eHD w. custom axles, Champion Radiator, S10 Brake Booster, HP Tuners VCM Suite. "THE COLUSSUS" 87GT - ALL OUT 3.4L Turbocharged engine, Garrett Hybrid Turbo, MSD ign., modified TH125H " ON THE LOOSE WITHOUT THE JUICE "
I've seen Gary's work and it is excellent. Just to fork down $8-$10 K for a swap is a big decision. If you can afford that, and if that's what makes you happy, then go for it. Last I heard Gary is pretty backed up so I'd get your name in the queue now. Seems like quite a few Fiero owners want the LS4.
At this point, this car has become the only thing that brings me joy... I look at it, drive it, work on it, and smile every time from ear to ear, lol. The decision to make it the best version of itself (she deserves it) was a no brainier. The cost really it isn't important for my happiness as this is my biggest hobby, I'm single, I paid off my student loans, my savings goals have been achieved, and best of all, I'm getting promoted at my job... So it's time.
Gary's work makes me drool, it's so good. The details are all set already, I've been on his list since earlier this year! I'm technically next, he's already tearing down my engine and has the F40. The engine is out of a 2007 Impala SS by the way! 😁
------------------ "Discord" Red 1988 GT under restoration!
Let's Go Mets!
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[This message has been edited by Shho13 (edited 12-08-2020).]
At this point, this car has become the only thing that brings me joy... I look at it, drive it, work on it, and smile every time from ear to ear, lol. The decision to make it the best version of itself (she deserves it) was a no brainier. The cost really it isn't important for my happiness as this is my biggest hobby, I'm single, I paid off my student loans, my savings goals have been achieved, and best of all, I'm getting promoted at my job... So it's time.
Gary's work makes me drool, it's so good. The details are all set already, I've been on his list since earlier this year! I'm technically next, he's already tearing down my engine and has the F40. The engine is out of a 2007 Impala SS by the way! 😁
At 303 HP stock with 343 ft lbs of torque, the all aluminum LS4 should make for a very nice driving experience. I might have considered that engine but when I did my 3800 it was only two years after the LS4 came out. Just for conversation sake; in the 2006 Impala SS, Car and Driver measured 0–60 in 5.6 seconds and the quarter-mile in 14.1 at 101 mph. It should do much better in the lighter Fiero. Looking forward to seeing your swap at Fieros at Carlisle 2021.
------------------ " THE BLACK PARALYZER" -87GT 3800SC Series III engine, custom ZZP /Frozen Boost Intercooler setup, 3.4" Pulley, Northstar TB, LS1 MAF, 3" Spintech/Hedman Exhaust, P-log Manifold, Autolite 104's, MSD wires, Custom CAI, 4T65eHD w. custom axles, Champion Radiator, S10 Brake Booster, HP Tuners VCM Suite. "THE COLUSSUS" 87GT - ALL OUT 3.4L Turbocharged engine, Garrett Hybrid Turbo, MSD ign., modified TH125H " ON THE LOOSE WITHOUT THE JUICE "
Thanks Dennis! I hope it will be done in time for Carlisle, I will be there if I can get the time off from work.
Gary is rebuilding the engine and doing some performance upgrades; like an LS3 cam out of a C6 Corvette, LS2 intake mod and swap, LS7 lifters, DOD delete... It's basically a Frankenstein of LS parts over different years to offset the restrictions and detuning GM did to the LS4 platform. It's going to be a beast, should be putting down about the numbers of an 2005-13 C6. Maybe around 400 HP? 🤔
In the meantime, with it almost being Christmas and with the Northeast getting slammed with a nor'easter, last night I took it out on what may be the last real ride of the season to go Christmas shopping.
------------------ "Discord" Red 1988 GT under restoration!
Made it out to Carlisle for the 27th Fieros At Carlisle! Jen really put on a great show as usual!!!
Oh yeah I forgot to post in here that I put new wheels on the car!
They are Drag wheels;17x7" 40mm in the front, 17x8" 35mm in the rear. The tires are 215/45R17 in the front, and 245/45R17 in the rear; with General GMAX RS summer tires on all corners.
The tire and wheel combo will be able to handle the power of the LS4 that Gary is going to be installing later this year a little better than the stocks... Even though I miss the look of them on the car, love the basket rims
Bonus picture at Cabela's on the way home... The best store in the world
[This message has been edited by Shho13 (edited 06-27-2021).]
Tired of the gross front license plate mount that scratched the hell out of my bumper up and imprinted holes when someone tapped me while parallel parking a few years ago so I installed a quick release front licence plate bracket! It's technically made for a 2015 Dodge Charger but will work with a slight modification to the mounting location. I love this, you can barely see the mounting bracket on the car when you're standing up and looking at the car from a normal height.
ALSO news on the swap, Gary from Pickardt Performance says he's going to be picking my car up soon for it's LS4 F40 swap. Excited beyond words tbh, been a long time coming; more to come!
------------------ "Discord" Red 1988 GT under restoration!
Let's Go Mets!
( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
[This message has been edited by Shho13 (edited 09-25-2021).]
Man, DC is a dump. Pun intended, as I saw a homeless guy talking one right outside the Capitol Building; very embarrassing that the capital of our country is that gross right now. It was really nice to see the capital again though since I haven't been there since a field trip back in middle school.
This trip south wasn't just for pleasure though, I had important business to attend to; FINALLY handing the car off at Pickard Performance for it's LS swap! 😈
HYPE. Jestin took me for a ride in the red LS4 Fiero that was featured at Carlisle last summer, unreal. I can't even tell you how excited I am for what this car will become under the knife of Gary and Jestin. They are also REALLY cool guys!
Pics to come! 😁
------------------ "Discord" Red 1988 GT under restoration!
Let's Go Mets!
( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
[This message has been edited by Shho13 (edited 03-08-2022).]
Man, DC is a dump. Pun intended, as I saw a homeless guy talking one right outside the Capitol Building; very embarrassing that the capital of our country is that gross right now. It was really nice to see the capital again though since I haven't been there since a field trip back in middle school.
This trip south wasn't just for pleasure though, I had important business to attend to; FINALLY handing the car off at Pickard Performance for it's LS swap! 😈
HYPE. Jestin took me for a ride in the red LS4 Fiero that was featured at Carlisle last summer, unreal. I can't even tell you how excited I am for what this car will become under the knife of Gary and Jestin. They are also REALLY cool guys!
Pics to come! 😁
Pickard does really good work is honest and reputable but if they get busy lead times on swaps could go out. It would be nice if the car is completed and ready to show at the Fieros at Carlisle 2022 event. .
------------------ " THE BLACK PARALYZER" -87GT 3800SC Series III engine, custom ZZP /Frozen Boost Intercooler setup, 3.4" Pulley, Northstar TB, LS1 MAF, 3" Spintech/Hedman Exhaust, P-log Manifold, Autolite 104's, MSD wires, Custom CAI, 4T65eHD w. custom axles, Champion Radiator, S10 Brake Booster, HP Tuners VCM Suite. "THE COLUSSUS" 87GT - ALL OUT 3.4L Turbocharged engine, Garrett Hybrid Turbo, MSD ign., modified TH125H " ON THE LOOSE WITHOUT THE JUICE "
Behold, my new engine. It's a low milage LS4 out of a 2007 Impala SS.
A staple LS upgrade is to put C clip retainers on the trunions. The little roller bearing pins tend to fly out at higher revs and since everything is getting taken apart and refreshed I figured it was worth the ~100$ for peace of mind.
I decided to go with a Texas Speed Cleetus McFarland Bald Eagle; NA variant camshaft. It's going to sound like a beast.
Gold, baby!
It's all coming together and I couldn't be any more excited. I love my intake, which is a polished aluminum JEGGGGGGS unit for an LS2. The ICT coil brackets will hopefully be there Monday and sit right on top of the valve covers.
Gary is kicking ass.
WAYYYYY more to come
------------------ "Discord" Red 1988 GT under restoration!
Let's Go Mets!
( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
[This message has been edited by Shho13 (edited 03-25-2022).]
Looking excellent so far. Must say that's a mighty big race camshaft for today's times. Should produce plenty of horsepower.
------------------ " THE BLACK PARALYZER" -87GT 3800SC Series III engine, custom ZZP /Frozen Boost Intercooler setup, 3.4" Pulley, Northstar TB, LS1 MAF, 3" Spintech/Hedman Exhaust, P-log Manifold, Autolite 104's, MSD wires, Custom CAI, 4T65eHD w. custom axles, Champion Radiator, S10 Brake Booster, HP Tuners VCM Suite. "THE COLUSSUS" 87GT - ALL OUT 3.4L Turbocharged engine, Garrett Hybrid Turbo, MSD ign., modified TH125H " ON THE LOOSE WITHOUT THE JUICE "
The aluminum ICT Billet coil pack brackets showed up. This thing is gonna look like a solid gold bar sitting under the decklid when it's all said and done... and like Dennis said, with the cam and supporting mods I'm going with, this LS4 will definitely have the "bite" to back up its "bark". Have a listen to the cam running in this G8:
Gary said the clutch should be there soon to start on the transmission; an F40, which is going to be painted black.
------------------ "Discord" Red 1988 GT under restoration!
Let's Go Mets!
( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
[This message has been edited by Shho13 (edited 03-27-2022).]
