Howdy everyone! My name is Shawn, I live in North Jersey, and I just bought my first Fiero! I got it about a month ago from a friendly fellow named Vinny!
It's a 1988 Fiero GT. I think I'm going to name it Discord...... There are now a couple reasons why, but I will start getting into that a little later! :P
Vin number is: 1G2PG1199JP207545 Build date according to the door jam is 11/1987... I wasn't even born yet, It's four years older than me!
I used to be a mechanic for Ford, Mercury, Lincoln, Subaru, as well as Porsche! I'm no expert at mechanics by any means, I have 5 years of professional experience in wrenching, and I still do it, but only as a hobby!! (I hate flat rate). I originally fell in love with the Fiero when a guy I used to work with had an 86 GT. It was a blast to drive, and I knew I would eventually get one to tinker on but I just didn't quite know when at the time. After a year or two I got promoted in my company to work on Porsche... Long story short, I got to work on and drive many different exotic cars including countless 911 GT3, GT2, Turbo S, Carrera GT, the Nissan GTR, Maserati GranTurismo MC, Mercedes AMG SLS, SL65AMG, as well as more but my favorite of them all for some reason was a simple Cayman S. The mid engine and the 46/54 weight distribution made it the most predictable, best handling car I have ever had the opportunity to drive. I was close to buying one, but I didn't want to trade in my daily driver (2006 Impreza) to make it affordable and besides, I remembered a car from the past I enjoyed driving...
Ah, the Fiero!!! Mid engine just like the Cayman, weight distribution somewhat close to the Cayman's, Awesome looking in it's own way, YET not $80,000+ like the Cayman, American made, and DIFFERENT. I like being different than everyone else, especially if I were to go to the track and blow some upper tier cars away not only for a fraction of the price, but for a car that I would rebuild with my own two hands... Not bought like a new Corvette or 911, BUILT!
I narrowed it down to an 88 Fiero GT or a Trans Am. I saw the Fiero on Craigslist and I went to take a look. There is little rust, the trunk has no rust holes and it looks pretty clean from what I can see so far under the car. It's had five owners according to the Carfax, clock says it has 148,000 miles, it was originally from PA, and it has some quirks that need to be fixed before it can really be driven. The car has TONS of potential, so I am super excited!
At any rate, here it is!
My mission is to do fairly basic restoration on it; get rid of rust where I can, redo suspension, blah blah blah as well as a few tasteful mods to make it my own. I want to have this car for a long time so I want to do everything RIGHT.
Eventually, when I have the means and the space, maybe I'll do the 3800SC swap, obviously allowing a greater amount of power for a few laughs on the track every once in a while if I choose...
It's definitely not quite road worthy yet... I have been working on it non stop for the last few weeks just to kinda get it up to speed mechanically before I really start taking it out for long rides. Next project now that I got the electrical side not in dire shape is the brakes. The brakes go to all the way to the floor before they even start to apply! At any rate, Ill show you the chaos, err... Discord that I have dealt with so far on this poor thing. I honestly feel bad for this poor car... just check out how the previous owners tried very feebly to rig this thing together....
There are blade connectors EVERYWHERE, including ghetto house wire nuts and horrible electrical taped together junctions and connections. They are all gone now, and wired more professionally. All those wires fell down after I removed that plastic cover from under the steering wheel.
When I got it it had a 2.9 Amp draw. The battery was replaced recently according to the previous owner, but due to the constant dying and jump starting, no surprise, the battery took a dump. It smelled like pure sulfur when driving it down the road.
The jumble of garbage you see above was the alarm system, if I remember correctly that was a 1.9 amp draw (no surprise there). The AC system was leaking out and it was sitting in a small pool of water and was shorting out and corroding at the rather ghetto splices and connections. The other draw at 1 amp was the aftermarket rear view mirror hooked into the always hot map light circuit. I hate powered mirrors since they always seem to break and not transition from light to dark after a few years (no surprise this one is always in it's dark setting) Since I didn't feel like dropping the headliner quite yet, I simply disconnected it... Ill fix that when I replace the headliner.
My next repair will be the brakes... it may need a master, the fluid is GROSS and the seals may be shot... Ill bleed them first to see what's up, but if I'm gonna do it right may as well put a new one in for safety reasons if I track it eventually. My biggest problem right now is that my floor jack doesn't fit under the car far enough to reach the jack up point haha. Ill go to Harbor freight next paycheck and get the low profile "race" jack that I used at my old shop. Speaking of which the clutch master fluid is the same color.....
More to come eventually... I've been luring the forums for awhile now, and I hope to meet some of you guys at some meets or something one day! I'm pretty excited to finally get a project going!
------------------ "Discord" Red 1988 GT under restoration!
At lease get rid of the imgur [url] tags and just use the [img] tags... it jumps anyone who clicks on pics to show or hide them to the imgur website.
Welcome to the forum! And yeah, sometimes I wish some people wouldn't touch wiring, but inevitably, Jimbo will still get a handful of wire nuts and go to town.
When you bleed the brakes just make sure to not push the pedal to the floor... if there is crap in the back of the master, it will ruin the seals and you'll never get a firm pedal again.
Thanks guys much appreciated!!! I fixed the photos for easier viewing... My camera lens on my phone cracked so that is why the photos are all blurry and gross, sorry guys! Ill get that fixed soon too...
Thanks for the tip on the brake bleeding, I may replace the master anyway since I bet the fluid that is sitting in there is probably older than me... I can only image what all the seals and junk look like in there... EWWWW! :P
------------------ "Discord" Red 1988 GT under restoration!
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[This message has been edited by Shho13 (edited 04-05-2015).]
Congratulations on your purchase and welcome to the Fiero disease. Your description of what attracted you to these cars is spot on ... American, mid engine, sports car and, uh, "different". Lot's of info available on this forum and many expert forum members who will share their experience with you. Also, expect a variety of opinions on various topics. Do your research and pick the ones that you feel work best for you. If you haven't already done so, you can click on the "Search" tab that is just below and to the right of the "New Topic" link. Try using different combinations of search words and you will probably find anything that has ever been posted. At the very top of the page on the horizontal line you will see several links ... try the one titled "Ogres Cave". The Ogre share's many different repair procedures as well as operational theory in a very easy to understand manner ... lot's better than the factory service manual. Enjoy the car. With your mechanical background you will have a better than average capability of working on these cars. They aren't very complex ... just "different".
Great looking GT!! good job of getting rid of that wire nest! check out "the Ogres Cave" at the bottom of every page---he has a a great write up on the brakes, bleeding and everything else, the 88 brakes are only common to the 88, so is the suspension--but this forum will help you get through any issues you have---currently I am on a restore/replace parts on my 88---good luck!
Slight update on some small stuff I noted while working on the ol' beast today... Phew it was hot out today!
First off I want to thank you guys for your interest and help so far! You guys all rock!
I read the Ogre's cave brake stuff... (Awesome advice man, very well written) I'm gonna check out the parking brake system before I perform the bleeding of the system! I see that I may get a low pedal and a brake light from a faulty e-brake self adjuster along with caliper issues. No surprise the parking brake isn't releasing correctly, I can feel it when I try to engage and disengage it. Ill start there and see whats going on and let you guys what's going on!
I also found some coolant on the passenger side rug this morning. What a shame... It's looking like its coming from the heater core, so no biggie... I just ordered a new one.
Also, a quickie question; Looked at the fuse panel under dash to see if there is any misplaced/incorrect fuses, the big shiny circuit breakers are missing and were replaced with random amp rated fuses! (Not even rated at 30A, 10A ones are jammed in there!) by any chance, does anyone have a part number that I can order for new ones or are they generic 30A that I can pick up at the parts store?
------------------ "Discord" Red 1988 GT under restoration!
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[This message has been edited by Shho13 (edited 04-05-2015).]
Some small updates since things have gone to a crawl recently...
1) Got two flat tires in one day over the weekend. All patched up and holding air... AUGH, they were sheetrock screws, I wonder where I could have picked those up!? 2) Not making any progress of late, the weather has been way too hot, HUMID, and rainy. 3) I have been waiting for my new heater core to show up in the mail for about a week already so that isn't done yet. When it's here Ill post pictures of the procedure. 3) I ordered a new gas, brake and clutch petal pads. I found old gas petal is currently being held on with a zip tie and the brake and clutch petals are gone after 26 years and 150K miles! 4) Cleaned up the engine bay! 26 years of grime and dirt are gone now, found more zip ties, except this one is holding the distributer cap on. Just great! Also more hokey wiring repairs, its got those blue blade splice connector things coming off a couple senors...
5) Most importantly, I got a set of GT tail lights on the way, Picked them up in The Mall off indyguy888! Thannks for being so awesome man! They are delaminating but Ill restore them when I get the car painted later this year.
My old passenger side has giant holes in them if I didn't mention it before:
And some usual delamination on the driver side:
My plan is if I ever take the car to the track ill use the old beat up tail lights so if anything stupid happens I wont be out a set of very rare tail lights...
------------------ "Discord" Red 1988 GT under restoration!
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[This message has been edited by Shho13 (edited 04-05-2015).]
Howdy all! Been super busy the last few weeks doing stupid stuff here and there... I had to get the timing belt done on my Subaru, and now that that is done and good for another 107,000 miles, I can focus more time on the HOT ROD a little bit more! Had to use the Fiero as the daily driver for the last few days! It is a blast to drive so I am not complaining about that!!!
Recently, I have been super active getting a bunch of odds and ends from The Mall, Ebay, Amazon, and of course the Fiero Store...
Ordered and not yet installed:
New brake hoses all around
New front left and right rear calipers + paint
New driver side E brake cable, adjuster, and clip
New trunk light assembly complete with NO BULB. I wish they said that it didn't come with one when I ordered it!
New oil pressure sender
New ash tray doors from Fiero Store (I need new return springs!!! Why wouldn't they come with new ones???)
Driver's door molding clips since it's loose and only held on by one clip right now
Passenger side door handle broke again. I should have bought a quality one to do right the first time...
HVAC controls! I am missing one of the buttons on the current one!
Radio and speedometer face plates. I am close to getting a new aux gauge and face plate...
Installed/repaired recently:
New Heater core is in!
A cup holder! GASP!
Radio wiring harness scotch locks and wire nuts removed and heatshink wrapped
Brake system bled
Clutch system bled
Greased up the passenger side window motor and tracks for faster operation
Oh and I got a new set of seats today! I am gonna re upholster them with some Mr. Mikes leather seat covers!
Here are some pics of stuff!
Some of the old brake fluid/clutch fluid. Probably the worst I have ever seen... I don't think it was ever flushed.
Radio harness butcher job fixed up a little bit. I HATE SCOTCH LOCKS AND WIRE NUTS BELONG IN HOUSES NOT CARS!!!: Much better!
New shiny cup holder installed where the old plastic one used to be. You can see the missing button on the HVAC controls here: As the interior comes together, the stainless steel cup holder will match a little better with what I plan on doing. I want some brushed aluminum in there! :P
Seats!
and another picture of my co-pilot, Peach!
Timing belt coming out of the Subaru for good measure:
I brought it to a show the other day just for fun!!! The pictures make the car look pretty nice. I can't wait until I paint it!
It actually got a decent amount of attention, didn't win any awards of course... I met a few Fiero guys when I was there! Everyone was so nice! I have to say, in the auto industry it is a SMALL world...
That's all for now, I am tired! More as it happens...
------------------ "Discord" Red 1988 GT under restoration!
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[This message has been edited by Shho13 (edited 04-05-2015).]
Where the HVAC controls was horrible. No securing screw holes were usable anymore...
I re-made the holes with the epoxy. It has the same consistency as modeling clay. After It was dry I painted it black really quick so it wouldn't look as bad. It's not a new one, but it holds everything nice and solid now.
Here are the gauges:
OLD: I had to replace my original ones, the volt gauge would only work intermittently, and after smacking it would come back to life.
NEW: Gauge illumination control module secured under dash
Brightness controls and color choice switch, (Blue and green)
Continued.......
------------------ "Discord" Red 1988 GT under restoration!
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[This message has been edited by Shho13 (edited 04-05-2015).]
I saw what Fierosound has done (wow, he is amazing), as well as what other people around here have done and decided I was going to put it all behind the passenger seat. I found the components I was going to install, Soundstream everything, ordered it up, and got to work.
Sanded and rust encapsulating paint applied
FATMAT SOUND DEADENING!!! If you plan on putting sound deadening in, you need more than 25 square feet if you plan on covering the entire floor!
Lets put in a system, shall we? Drilled hole in firewall and painted bare metal with black caliper paint. Motorcraft battery because discount from old job! Everyone gets red letters, so I got white! :P Color matching lighting in the headunit!
The system design was simple, I wanted a sub and four channel amp, small as possible, with decent sound. You can't even tell there is a system in the car, it's covered by the passenger seat. It sounds great for the overall size of the system, I hate the speakers I bought for it though, They are those Performance Techniques that a lot of people seem to like... They sound like poop... especially the 4X10s, and they will be changed.
The system doesn't sound as good as the system I have in my Subaru, but then again I have a lot more room in that car for components...
Very nice. However, i couldn't help but notice you've got a redundant cup holder installed! The engineers at gm thought this out so well, that, unless you think like an engineer, you'll never see it..... there are actually two "factory" cup holders, one on either side of the Speedo conical. The space between it and the dash are perfect. I don't know how much coffee and drinks i spilled before i figured it out (I'm a truck driver....not an engineer....but i did stay at a holiday inn last night One other thing. The glove box has got to go. You should send it to me immediately
Very nice. However, i couldn't help but notice you've got a redundant cup holder installed! The engineers at gm thought this out so well, that, unless you think like an engineer, you'll never see it..... there are actually two "factory" cup holders, one on either side of the Speedo conical. The space between it and the dash are perfect. I don't know how much coffee and drinks i spilled before i figured it out (I'm a truck driver....not an engineer....but i did stay at a holiday inn last night One other thing. The glove box has got to go. You should send it to me immediately
Ron
Haha, as long it was a Holiday Inn express!
That's genius, never thought about sliding a cup in between the gauges... My uncle says the interior design looks like a UPS driver designed it because everything is designed around boxes! Some may hate the overall look of the excessively 1980's interior design, and the glove "box" is no exception; but since it was aftermarket, it must have been designed by FedEx!
Thank you by the way! I appreciate some feedback!
------------------ "Discord" Red 1988 GT under restoration!
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[This message has been edited by Shho13 (edited 04-05-2015).]
Might I ask where you purchased the cup holder? What is the brand? I have been looking for good folding cup holders and purchased about 5 different ones to try out. Most do not hold the cup very securely.
Does you cup holder hold a cup securely? Looks like it would. Would you mind measuring the distance from the base where the bottom of the cup sits to the upper arms? That height seems to be important in holding taller cups.
Yeah man, no problem Ill measure it tomorrow after I get home from work!!!
It holds the drinks very well. The only complaint I have is it shows a lot of fingerprints, but nothing a wipe from a napkin cant fix. I can definitely say a large (or as they call it, venti, or 24 ounce) iced coffee from Starbucks fits very nicely. The arms that clasp the cup are adjustable for more solid support if needed. Great quality since it is made from stainless steel, wayyyy better than the plastic versions! Slight modifications to the mounting screws are needed to mount it where I did though since the switches are there... Screws are too long when sunk all the way so I used a small drill bit for pilot holes into the cluster bezel. Once the holes were there i took a hack saw and cut the screws so that they wouldn't interfere with the switches or the harnesses. I can take a picture if you need to see!
Small progress as the warm weather is slowly returning!
First off, I had Lasik eye surgery last week, probably the best decision I have ever made in my life. I went to Dr. Norden in North Jersey for it... If you are thinking about getting it done for yourself, DO IT.
Anyways... If you are wondering why all my posts have edits, I went back and straitened up my posts to fix some errors and stuff.
I wanted to get rid of the goofy air horn installed by the previous owner... Boy did he hack up under the front hood installing some of this stuff... I Installed Hella Supertone Horns. I wanted to put them in my Subaru since I was younger since they are usually a mod everyone does to their Subaru WRX STI. This is what they sound like, not my video though
I also took this opportunity to remove the hood because I wanted to mill the mounting hinges open a little bit. I guess there was some frame damage in the past and the hood was sitting a little higher on the driver side. Came out great! You can kinda see the horns under the bumper... Doesn't matter though, they are LOUD compared to the factory horn, as well as the Harbor Freight air horn the PO had installed by the spare tire...
I also did the tune up; plugs, wires, cap, and rotor under the cap are now new. No pictures because there were really no ground breaking pictures to take!
More to come... next things I gotta get out of the way are the O-ring (and pickup coil while I am in there) on the distributor, and put a catalytic converter on the car before I re activate the insurance on it so I can drive it on the streets again for the warm weather. Long term goals this summer is to get the car painted in the coming months; I am waiting for the new sail panels to show up from Fiero Fiberglass... I went with style #1, as I like the idea of having more room when working on the engine... I also have that LED tail light kit to install as well as many other things... This is going to be a good season!
Edit: Just replaced my clutch safety switch. Fiero part was discontinued, to see the write up about it go here if you want!
------------------ "Discord" Red 1988 GT under restoration!
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[This message has been edited by Shho13 (edited 07-18-2017).]
Got some odds and ends that popped up done over the last month or two... Got the tune up done, catalytic converter is on (for now) and passed inspection with FLYING COLORS. The distributer O ring was replaced too, I put the high temp one from Rodney in there and it works like a charm. Other than that, it's been all around too hot and mosquitoes are terrible!
Decided to put off the exterior this year. No biggie, I decided to start the interior instead. Goal is to have it done by winter. First step to motivate me I got the steering wheel and shifter knob recovered by Irrationable! He is the man!!! Very awesome to deal with. See his thread in The Mall!
Really makes the rest of the interior look old compared to the new clean looking wheel!
In other news;
Alternator died, was putting out 11 volts so I replaced it with an AC Delco reman unit. Works great. Installed Rodney's reinforcement bracket as well.
While I was installing the alternator, I got a chance to get a good look and feel at the frame rails and stuff when taking the fender splash covers down, they look great; just surface rust. I look forward to being able to sand it down and put some fresh paint and under coating to preserve the car for many years to come.
I also performed the starter upgrade! I bought a 3800 starter and replaced the old tired unit that was in there. The car now starts like a million bucks! No more embarrassment when someone asks questions and after talking up the car a little bit, when starting it up to start it sounds like a dying animal! Haha...
I hope to install the carpet in the fall once its not summer anymore, I hate hot weather! I also am going to order the seats from Mr. Mike pretty soon if everything goes according to plan. Oh and the headliner... The list never ends, but I'm sure you guys all know that already.
More to come as it happens!
------------------ "Discord" Red 1988 GT under restoration!
Let's Go Mets!
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[This message has been edited by Shho13 (edited 08-11-2015).]
Very Nice! and Welcome! Looks like a great car to start off with, You are making some great progress and I am subscribing to your thread. I am also doing a lot of the same things. see you here
------------------ "Because in a split second, It's gone" Ayrton Senna
Very Nice! and Welcome! Looks like a great car to start off with, You are making some great progress and I am subscribing to your thread. I am also doing a lot of the same things. see you here
Thanks man!!!
------------------ "Discord" Red 1988 GT under restoration!
Nice build! Question for you though, the starter upgrade, did you have to do anything special for the 3800 starter to fit? A search online shows those are plentiful and cheap around here at junkyards. Any special model the starter was for?
Nice build! Question for you though, the starter upgrade, did you have to do anything special for the 3800 starter to fit? A search online shows those are plentiful and cheap around here at junkyards. Any special model the starter was for?
Thanks for helping a newbie!
Thanks man!!!
To answer your question, there is absolutely nothing to getting the 3800 starter to fit; it lines right up with the factory holes. I didn't even need to use any shims! (The 20+ year old starter had two shims) The starter that I bought was one listed for a 2001 Buick Regal, I would assume they are all the same across all the years and cars the series 2 was in.
Very simple upgrade, and I would highly recommend it!
------------------ "Discord" Red 1988 GT under restoration!
Welcome to the forum where we take 30 yr old GM cars and update them to great performers and drivers. Nice work there in undoing years of incompetent wiring. I am located in Central NJ and have a good supply of parts. If you ever need anything, let me know. My prices are competitive and reasonable. FieroJon in Tuckerton has just about everything Fiero and he also treats people fairly
------------------ " 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, Autolite 104's, MSD wires, Custom CAI, 4T65eHD w. custom axles, 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 "
Welcome to the forum where we take 30 yr old GM cars and update them to great performers and drivers. Nice work there in undoing years of incompetent wiring. I am located in Central NJ and have a good supply of parts. If you ever need anything, let me know. My prices are competitive and reasonable. FieroJon in Tuckerton has just about everything Fiero and he also treats people fairly
I look forward to having you around if I ever need any parts! Thanks a lot man!
------------------ "Discord" Red 1988 GT under restoration!
New addition to the family today... My uncle likes to drive my Fiero so much he wanted to get one of his own apparently!
Previous owner is nice enough to drive it up to the house tomorrow afternoon! I love the Fiero community; we are all so nice to each other!
1988 GT as well! Can't believe another one showed up in as good of shape as it is in around here! Small amount of rust in usual spots, trunk is solid but has a quarter sized hole on the upper most part by frame rail.
I'm just saying... they really do multiply once you get one. BEWARE!!!
------------------ "Discord" Red 1988 GT under restoration!
Hey people! Here is an update. Ill let the pictures speak for themselves! Everything is getting installed in the car either on a random nice Fall day (doubt it), or in the Spring. We will see!
I finally ordered and installed Mr. Mike's seat upholstry! The colors/options I chose are real leather, dark grey centers, and black outers! See the pics in an earlier post for better pics of the old seats I bought to do this since the previous owner had swapped Camaro seats in... The Fiero seats were in pretty bad shape inside, I had a hard time making the covers fit and fill out right, especially the bottom coushin; good thing Mr. Mike puts cotton to fill out the voids!!! Found out the hard way that some parts were missing from the seats as well. It was a lot of "fun". I am glad I won't have to do this job again, thats for sure!
Oh yeah, and I also ordered some stuff from Russ!
Got the shifter boot, parking brake boot, suede sunvisors all done in the red stitching as well as a suede headliner kit to install as well! I also still need to install the new carpet.
Very excited to get this stuff installed!
------------------ "Discord" Red 1988 GT under restoration!
Let's Go Mets!
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[This message has been edited by Shho13 (edited 11-22-2015).]
Just found your thread, ans subscribed! Great work so far. I can't wait to see the interior when you get it all done. With Russ's and Mr. Mikes stuff, it is certainly going to look top notch!
You mentioned being excited about seeing two '88 GTs (Yours and your Uncles')in north Jersey at the same time... I have two in Pequannock, NJ... We should get together sometime and go for a drive... There'd be four!..
I like the project name, I'm sure Derpy approves. I'm more of a Vinyl person. Always liked the scoobys also but lived and bled DSM for a while.
Glad too see another 88 being restored vs. parted. Keep posting!
:P Love me some pon3! Thanks a lot!
quote
Originally posted by Prinz:
Hi There!..
You mentioned being excited about seeing two '88 GTs (Yours and your Uncles')in north Jersey at the same time... I have two in Pequannock, NJ... We should get together sometime and go for a drive... There'd be four!..
Prinz
'88 GT 2.8 Turbo '88 GT 3800SC
Heck yeah man we should! I go to shows all the time, Whisky Cafe, Bear Mountain, ect. I think I am gonna go to Carlisle this year too, a convoy sounds like a fun idea!
------------------ "Discord" Red 1988 GT under restoration!
Check out the factory rims and tires I got!!! They only have 30K on them and they look BRAND NEW!!! According to the RPO code under the hood, these are the ones that belong on the car. I like them wayyy more than the American Racing "astrella" or whatever the rims were called that the PO had installed on the car.
The car really looks great at 10 feet away. I can't wait until paint... Whenever that will be... More important stuff first... It runs great right now, got a slight exhaust leak at the joint of the cat off the down pipe that I need to weld up one of these days and most importantly I want to take the deck lid off soon and assess/remove the rust and put some thick undercoat on there it so I never have to worry about if it's got cancer ever again! In the coming weeks, the interior is FINALLY going in. Carlisle is coming up fast... Procrastinating is also one of my hobbies haha
I also ordered tail light lenses from Slammed, If they ever show up they will be installed ASAP. Got my Embrace Racing LED kit all soldered up, wired and ready to go...
------------------ "Discord" Red 1988 GT under restoration!
First off I did the temp gauge rewire to stop the needle from pegging. I cut the wires and spliced in extra wire so it looks pretty.
Second I replaced the driver side door handle; a black one, so it matches the passenger side (replaced it when I first got the car because it was broken!). It was a fiasco because I found out that the pins that mount the door handle were too skinny and short for the replacement self tapping nuts The Fiero Store sells. I called up Doorman and they say they mount to the car with 7mm self tapping nuts... NOPE! I had to improvise the mounting bolts and came up with this solution: I stacked four flat washers under a regular M6-100 nut and tightened it up, tight, but not too tight; just enough. Hopefully they hold up... well see! If they don't, the real solution is a size of self tapping nut that is SMALLER than 6.3mm. I ordered a box of them and even they are too big, so I at least have an idea of where to go next if the improvised solution fails.
Third, I lubed the crap out of the window motors and all the moving parts. They are like rocket ships now!!! I lubed every single moving part with HHS-K spray grease (the spray that we used at my old dealership for sunroof lubrication, fixed many a squeaks for me) Stand by for a video, Ill record one tomorrow or something.
Fourth, and most importantly, I received and installed Slammed's GT lens repair kit with the Embrace Racing LED Tail light kit...
OLD SET ALREADY ON CAR
OLD (origional) SET; RESTORED
FINISHED
For more information on the tail light lens installation, check out my install thread here!
I know I keep saying it, but I reallllllly have to get the interior done soon... It's all sitting patiently in my basement waiting!
My "to do" list before Carlisle this coming June: New interior installed, Finish sound deadening stereo mounted permanently Fix catalytic converter leak (defiantly not removing it and re installing my strait pipe, nope definitely not doing that!)
Stay tuned...
------------------ "Discord" Red 1988 GT under restoration!
So on Thursday as I was driving my 44 ounce iced coffee took a spill all over the place. I was NOT happy, but I knew what it was time for...
After a year of procrastinating and accumulating parts, the interior is finally going in. WOOO!
I drove up to my uncle's house, he said he would give me a hand. I did a lot of stuff to his Fiero, so he said it was the least he can do.
Here is what I did last night (Friday)
Preped new seats for install
Painted and lubed up seat tracks
Removed old seats
Removed carpets
Removed interior trim
Removed headliner
Removed stereo system
Separated bottom of carpet rubber stuff from old carpet
Today, we got an early start and got tons (did I mention tons) of stuff done today before the rain!!!
Replaced faulty subwoofer RCA cable
Re upholstered headliner with black suede. (AMAZING LOOKING)
Laid and duct taped carpet rubber stuff to the floor
Installed and trimmed to fit new carpet (PITA)
Cleaned up and Plasti-dipped all "surrounds"
Installed new shifter boot and parking brake boot from Russ
Permanently wired up and mounted the stereo system
Then it started raining.
Unfortunately, I didn't get an installed stereo shot since it was pouring by the time we got it all buttoned up. It didn't help the speaker wires all got mixed up and had to play around to make sure each speaker was plugged into the correct channel on the amp!
Have some some pictures!
Old:
Stuff: Doesn't everyone use a 2001 Mercedes CLK320 as a workbench? (It has a blown engine and is going to the junkyard)
That's all the pictures I got to take before it started raining. Stand by, tomorrow it's getting finished. I also am going to install the strait pipe if I'm feeling saucy!
------------------ "Discord" Red 1988 GT under restoration!
Let's Go Mets!
( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
[This message has been edited by Shho13 (edited 05-22-2016).]
Wow, a lot accomplished for just one day! Looks like you used micro fiber as your headliner material? I did in mine, and it looks really nice, and helps dampen sound a little bit.
Ugh. What an exhausting weekend... today was a long day too. The interior took longer than I though it would... Now I remember why I was putting it off for so long! It's finally done!!!!!
Mr. Mike's seat covers look STUNNING.
There is stuff here and there that are annoying me about how it went together. Aftermarket parts are funny sometimes...
The driver side carpet, the side that I thought would give me the hard time because I had to deal with the peddles went in flawlessly. Put it in, trimmed to fit, blah blah blah, and done.
Unfortunately, the carpet on the passenger side was not "molded' correctly it seems. It seemed like the curve of the back that goes up against the firewall to the inner most edge that goes under the center console didn't have the correct "shape" to it so I cut a slit all the way down the seam to make it look halfway decent... Not perfect by any means. Unfortunately due to the terrible fitment, there is a slight bump in the carpet under the subwoofer. Ironically, since I needed a little room to snake the wires for the stereo back there and through the carpet, it kinda worked out for the best anyway. It's really hard to see with the seat in anyway, even when showing off the stereo, which is now mounted permanently.
I installed the freshly Plasti-dipped trims, the new shifter boot, the new parking brake boot, and the sun visors. They all have red stitching to compliment the red stitching I had the steering wheel upholstered with, as well as the shifter knob itself.
Old vs. new:
And, no, those old floor mats are NOT permanent. I have a pair of Lloyd floor mats on order with the Pontiac emblem embroidered into them! I also plan on getting new inner door panels from The Fiero Store in the future, so I didn't re upholster the bottoms of them. They will be getting a fresh coat of fabric paint to look decent until then.
That's all for now...
------------------ "Discord" Red 1988 GT under restoration!
Let's Go Mets!
( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
[This message has been edited by Shho13 (edited 05-22-2016).]
Went to Carlisle with my uncle in both our Fieros. Wow, what a great show. It's the best car show I have ever attended... Can't wait till next year...
Hit traffic on the way home and nearly overheated. Good thing I fixed the wiring on the coolant temp gauge, the light came on just as it should have from the factory when it started getting a little too toasty! Pulled over and noticed the rad fan was spinning SLOWWW; I punched the sucker and it came back to life to get me through the traffic. The rad fan motor took a dump, the next morning I started it up and the same thing happened. My buddy has a parts car nearby and he was gracious enough to give me the one off it. I fixed a few wiring things that have been driving me nuts since I got it, and a few things I found when looking through the fan circuit for any faults. While I was at it, I threw in a brand new Rodney 180° thermostat and low temp fan switch for good measure, because I like things running cooler, gives me peace of mind.
ECM coolant temp sensor was wired like this for a while. It worked, so I left it alone... until now! :P
YEP THAT IS HOW THE COOLANT FAN WAS WIRED. ONE OF THE FIVE PREVIOUS OWNERS I HATE YOU SO MUCH. MUCH BETTER!!!
I drove it in the local parade, my dad DJ'ed the fireworks show so I parked it right next to him, and got some nice shots of the fireworks! Use them for desktop backgrounds if you want, I really like how they came out, considering the lighting was terrible...
One step at a time, and two years later, I am diggin' just driving it around right now... I love having a "driver" show car, it looks great from 10 feet away. Once paint happens, I have a feeling Ill worry about taking it out for the random drives I enjoy so much right now. All in all, It's been a productive year with repairs and mods if I do say so myself...
Next year for sure, suspension overhaul. I have Rodney's one inch lowering ball joints waiting to go in.......
------------------ "Discord" Red 1988 GT under restoration!
Got a 4.9 Cadillac engine out of a 93 Deville, An Allante Intake setup, steel rocker supports, as well as a set of LT1 Camaro valve springs from a 96 Z28.
Loaded in the back of the truck! My buddy Jerry was a lifesaver and helped me wayyy more than he needed to...
Got it home
And since I don't have a garage, I put it in the basement of my house. It was a fiasco, but we did it!
I originally wanted to do the 3.8 SC swap in my car, but with a mixture of a deal I couldn't refuse, the relative ease (as well as lower cost) of doing this swap, and the fact that I LOVE the sound of a V8, I had no choice! I am not looking for a rocket ship, I think that the rumble of the V8, the added torque, and the 50 extra horsepower over stock will be fine for the cruses that I love taking the car on now.
There is NO RUSH to do this swap... I don't plan on doing it for at least a year or two. it was an offer I couldn't refuse. The engine has a lot of miles on it, 148,087 to be exact. I know, not optimal... I want to refresh it... No matter how hard it may be with the steel sleeves and what not. I used to work on Porsches, I think I will be able to figure this 20 year old beast out... I don't feel comfortable putting in a mystery engine in my car! Bad news would be inevitable down the road!
Worst case scenario if it doesn't turn out well, I can always go get another one with a lot less miles. I got this engine, with all the upgrades I mentioned earlier for it for only 400$! I basically got the engine for free for buying the Allante intake!!!
I am very excited! :3
------------------ "Discord" Red 1988 GT under restoration!
(I hate flat rate). I originally fell in love with the Fiero when a guy I used to work with had an 86 GT. It was a blast to drive, and I knew I would eventually get one to tinker on but I just didn't quite know when at the time. After a year or two I got promoted in my company to work on Porsche... Long story short, I got to work on and drive many different exotic cars including countless 911 GT3, GT2, Turbo S, Carrera GT, the Nissan GTR, Maserati GranTurismo MC, Mercedes AMG SLS, SL65AMG, as well as more but my favorite of them all for some reason was a simple Cayman S. The mid engine and the 46/54 weight distribution made it the most predictable, best handling car I have ever had the opportunity to drive. I was close to buying one, but I didn't want to trade in my daily driver (
