Relocated the fuel filler to the engine compartment, near where the stock Fiero Air Cleaner and charcoal canister go. Got the body to sit all the way down. I probably won't mount it quite this low in the front.
I have the body sitting on and tack welded at all four corners. The wheelbase of the Fiero is 1 inch shorter and with the big 18 inch wheels I had to cut the front fenders a little. More cutting on those to come for sure. I'm sure I'll need to cut the rear also. Right now my plan is to move the suspension out 3 inches on the driver's side to recenter the body over the wheels.
Relocated the battery to the front trunk and went for a really short drive. <iframe width="420" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/x6QlzJV4tww" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Originally posted by carwhisperer: Right now my plan is to move the suspension out 3 inches on the driver's side to recenter the body over the wheels.
Thought about cutting car un half and stretching it wide? Too much sheetmetal work, or too hard to get a windshield? Could give you a chance to adjust the fender wells that inch or so too.
[This message has been edited by 2.5 (edited 05-04-2015).]
Thought about cutting car un half and stretching it wide? Too much sheetmetal work, or too hard to get a windshield? Could give you a chance to adjust the fender wells that inch or so too.
Yes I did think about that. I tried that once on another build and it looked stupid. I'm not saying it can't be done well. But I just don't think I can do it well
The dash fits fine on the driver's side, as planned. There will be a gap between the dash and the windshield. I'll probably put some short carpeting there. I have already welded in a panel there, not shown in this picture.
Good question. Right now the working title is MER, for mid engine Rabbit.
My latest idea is to have the turbo sitting up where you can see it, behind the driver's head. I think it would be cool to see it glowing when the car is going down the road. Not sure about that though. For now I'm going to finish the perimeter welding, put the dash in and put the doors back on.
Yes, but centering the body was the initial problem I think, since it would cause many things to not line up?
Agreed, but I think that all these alignment issues can be dealt with. If it's worth doing, then it's worth taking the extra time to do it correctly. I'm just not a fan of asymmetrical cars.
Agreed, but I think that all these alignment issues can be dealt with. If it's worth doing, then it's worth taking the extra time to do it correctly. I'm just not a fan of asymmetrical cars.
Originally posted by Neils88: If it's worth doing, then it's worth taking the extra time to do it correctly.
That's a nice sounding statement but what does it really mean in this context? Is there a guide book for putting a Cabriolet body on a Fiero chassis?
It would be hard for me to argue that asymmetrical would look better to most people. I will probably widen the track on the driver's side some day, but not right away. First I want to get it on the street and see how it looks. I plan to make similar looking flares for both sides, but wider on the passenger side. I might put a kind of nerf bar on that side too. Or maybe both sides.
That's a nice sounding statement but what does it really mean in this context? Is there a guide book for putting a Cabriolet body on a Fiero chassis?
You are right that there is no "rule book" for working on something like this, but if you break it down to the sub-tasks that are required you will find there is a right way and a wrong less right way to do them. The symmetry obviously is personal preference, but I don't think you should use the excuse of it being easier to align certain parts (you've proven you have the skills to handle these issues). Of course it's always much easier to be the "armchair quarterback". Either way, I'm enjoying the build.
I didn't care for the idea at first, but it seems to be coming along and looking good! What was the reason you couldn't center the body on the chassis? Sorry, I can't remember and I think it may have had to do A/C or something??
The reasons are going to sound kind of silly I'm sure. This is my 13th major custom car. In many of them I never got around to making the parking brake or AC work. That is not to say all of them. However, these are two things that I think make a car less fun to own and drive. I have learned about myself what I will do and what I won't. I'm sure I'm like a lot of you guys. You start something with sky high enthusiasm and then the reality of the difficulty of the build sets in. You run out of steam. All 13 of the above mentioned cars were "finished", in the sense that they were running, driving and registered. But I did drive around without a parking brake and/or AC for a while in some of them.
So as time has gone on I've made those two features a big priority. That meant preserving the vent on the driver's side of the dash, and keeping the parking brake on the left of the driver's seat. I couldn't center the body and achieve those two goals.
Obviously there are trade offs with any project like this. Mine are different than those of many other builders. I've learned to focus on my priorities while accepting my limitations.
No problem. I would think rebuilding a vent and moving an ebrake would be easier than modding the suspension (at least for me), but I understand. Thanks for clarifying.
quote
Originally posted by carwhisperer:
The reasons are going to sound kind of silly I'm sure. This is my 13th major custom car. In many of them I never got around to making the parking brake or AC work. That is not to say all of them. However, these are two things that I think make a car less fun to own and drive. I have learned about myself what I will do and what I won't. I'm sure I'm like a lot of you guys. You start something with sky high enthusiasm and then the reality of the difficulty of the build sets in. You run out of steam. All 13 of the above mentioned cars were "finished", in the sense that they were running, driving and registered. But I did drive around without a parking brake and/or AC for a while in some of them.
So as time has gone on I've made those two features a big priority. That meant preserving the vent on the driver's side of the dash, and keeping the parking brake on the left of the driver's seat. I couldn't center the body and achieve those two goals.
Obviously there are trade offs with any project like this. Mine are different than those of many other builders. I've learned to focus on my priorities while accepting my limitations.
Another thing that ends some projects I think is perfectionism. A builder focuses too intensely on making everything perfect. This makes the build drag on and on. For years in some cases. And then the project dies and is sold off.
I'm not a perfectionist. I'm a project finisher. Not perfect, but drivable on a daily basis.
There is some really nice work being done out there. There are some amazing builds on this site, and VWVortex. I can do weird, but I can't do show quality.
I cut the dash just inboard of the passenger air vent. I plugged up the vent with expanding foam. Then made this cap to cover that end. I painted the cap black after the pictures were taken.
[This message has been edited by carwhisperer (edited 05-11-2015).]
Thanks for taking an interest in my project. I have been using 12 and 14" chop saw blades on angle grinders for 7 or 8 years now. Yes, I do have a few scars but you can't really cut your finger off with one of these abrasive blades. I mean, you'd have to be really determined to do that. It's not like it's a 14 inch wood cutting blade. When you want to cut straight through 3-4 layers of steel that total 6 inches thick in a unibody car all at once I don't think there is much of an alternative. Of course you can go through layer by layer with an acetylene torch or maybe a plasma cutter but you don't end up with a very straight cut.
Cool that you're an engineer. What discipline? Are you a designer? I have a B.S. in mechanical engineering. My dream was to design sports car suspension system. But I'm a high school/community college math teacher. Those who can, do, those who can't, teach. Right?
Yah I've pretty much abandoned the spacer idea. I don't think the 1 inch spacer is going to do much aesthetically so I'm going the opposite direction of trying to emphasize the offset body. Probably put a big scoop/fender flare on the right rear for the intercooler. Do you think the offset body in and of itself will be a problem? I suppose I will weigh all 4 corners when I get the car together. I don't think I'll have a huge left bias. The engine is offset to the passenger side and I'll keep my relocated battery on that side too. My GF is pretty light so she won't help much. Plus, I might have difficulty getting her to ride in it anyway.
Super modifides, used to have an offset body, and offset drivetrain.. but they only had to turn left... made them faster than nascar cup cars on the track.. for a street car. I'd center the body, you can cut the dash and add the few inches to the middle and still have the gauges in the stock spot of the body, I like the idea,, but I think I'd cut the body down the middle as it's a soft top, and widen it 4" and then also add the fender flares, so you can run a wheel with a dish, for the even meaner look, and wider wheel/tire package, you'd have to add metal to the cowl, and use two hoods/decks to make it simple to get the 4" . then add 2" to the A pillars, so the stock windshield fits.. you already cut most of the car, and with no metal roof, making it 4" wider would be cake.. DO IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks for the suggestions but it's not going to happen. I am already done welding about 30% of the perimeter. I'm not going to center the body or widen it. I probably will widen the suspension on the driver's side. After a cursory look at it I think I'll cut the front cross member just outboard of where it bolts to the unibody. I'll put a spacer in there. That will move the upper control arm, spring perch and shock mount. Then lengthen the bottom control arm mounts. For the rear, I think I'll move the lower control arm inner mounts out and either add a spacer to the lower strut mount or move the strut outboard. I was thinking about switching to rod ends for the top strut mount anyway and make it adjustable for camber. However, if the parking brake cable isn't long enough I might rethink that.
Finished all welding on the floor of the driver's side. Mounted the all important parking brake. Also test fitted the seat to see how far forward I can move the top of the firewall. It looks like I can move it 6 inches or more. I probably won't do quite that far but it will be a lot easier to work on the front of the engine than a stock Fiero.
Front clip is on. I made the flares for both sides of the front. I used a fairly simple approach. I might add a vertical inset to each flare at some point to reduce the fender gap, which kills as we know. I have driven it around a few more times to check tire clearance. My next plan is to finish the welding by the passenger seat then put the dash back in and then install the doors. Getting the front clip on was a milestone! BTW, those cabby bumpers are heavy! I spent about three hours lightening the structure of it. I drilled out the spotwelds for the reinforcing beam then cut a bunch of holes in it with a torch. I wish I would have weighed it before and after. I'll bet I lightened it by 15 pounds though.
Put the doors on. As anticipated the window crank wouldn't fit but there is some additional interference on the driver's side. It would appear that the whole body twisted/deformed a bit. The opening at the top is now farther apart than it should be. I was able to shim the door latch stop and get it the door to close so so. The gap is definitely large, kinda hard to tell in the pictures. I might get ambitious and try to straighten the body. Maybe make a cut down by the back of the driver's door and try to pull it at the top. I might just try to get the doors to work well enough and leave it as is. I don't think it will be that noticeable.
Either way, I'm enjoying the build. 
