I haven't been following this build. What engine trans combo you running? By the way. Beautiful car.


Vinny

It's an LS3 crate engine & a 6 speed G6 Transmission.

Archie

Absolutely stunning! Beautiful work Archie. I would honestly rather have this than an original Miura.

Just out of curiosity, has the finished car been weighed?

Archie,

You know what would be really cool? Archie, contact the owner and see if he can take a video from inside the car at speed (any speed ) I think all would enjoy that.

Cordially,

Kevin

i was in walmart and purchased a matchbox car. a lamborghini miura p400s, 1968. yellow. 1:60. i love the car you built.

quote Originally posted by kevin: Archie, You know what would be really cool? Archie, contact the owner and see if he can take a video from inside the car at speed (any speed ) I think all would enjoy that. Cordially, Kevin

Well, I'm pretty sure we'll be seeing some new pictures & maybe some video in the next week or 2.

Archie

[This message has been edited by Archie (edited 04-17-2011).]

I got to see this car in person today at the new shop and all I can say is this is a masterpiece. Flawless and great job well done by Archir and the crew

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1985 Fiero GT 4speed 1986 Fiero GT
1994 BMW 530 V8 1997 BMW 328 85 300ZX

FieroNews~Boots~Bag's~Walle ts~Headliner~Spare Cover~
Visors~Sunshads and T-Top Sunshades~Download the Fieronews Catalog HERE~

Ok over two hours later i finally got done reading everything lol. This is one hell of a build! But then again its Archie so its going to be this good

Since the Miura left here last July, Jim (the owner) has had the car painted & changed out the wheels. He also has driven the car a couple of K miles around his home area.

One of the reasons he built a Replica rather than buying a real Miura is that he wants to be free to drive the car on long road trips without the problems he might have with an original rare car from the '60's. He's a exotic car guy & much of his family is scattered around CO & UT & he wanted to be able to jump in the car & be able to take road trips to visit family.

In June, his grandson is graduating & even though his family has seen pictures of the car, he wants to take it out to show them.

He also wanted to install some additional A/C vents inside the car. The big windshield is like a magnifying glass & when sitting outside in sunny hot weather, the car gets very warm inside. He wants to be able to cool the interior quicker when he fires it up & turns on the A/C.

Sure, anyone could have installed the additional A/C vents but he wanted us to do it because we are more familliar with how the car is put together.
To this end & as a 1st leg of his trip out west, a few weeks ago he drove the car up here & left it & flew home. The plan is that we would check things out, take lots of pictures, some video etc. & he would return at the end of May to continue his trip out West.

So, over the last few weeks, we have been working on adding the A/C vents & checking out everything else on the car. We also are enjoying our chance to see this car after paint & actually finished.

IN addition to installing the additional A/C vents, he also wanted to raise the car about 3/4" to keep it from dragging on some speed bumps that he has to drive over daily. The car has RCC tubular "A" arms & coil-overs thatr were on it before we started this conversion. To smooth out the ride (it was a bit harsh in the front) We changed out the front springs from 8" long 350# to 9" long 450#. This smoothed it out a lot & also allowed enough adjustment to raise the car.

We also found a problem with the RSS front coil-over top mount that was making a noise & we think we've corrected it because the noise is gone now. We also found a few loose fasteners from when the paint shop put the car back together after they painted it.

While we were installing the additional A/C vents, we also increased the diameter of all of the A/C & defroster feed tubes from 1.5" to 2" to increase the air flow thru them. We also designed & built a cold air intake box for the outside air coming into the A/C heater air intake.

So here are a few pics of the car. If anyone is interested I can post pics of the things we did.









The last several weeks have been a lot cooler than normal & it's rained about 6 days a week. So, except for the last couple of days, we really haven't been able take it out much. In fact we had it stored in the back garage at my house for a week. I can tell you that this car looks beautiful driving down the road. We'll try to get some video next week.

Archie

[This message has been edited by Archie (edited 05-07-2011).]

quote Originally posted by Archie: One of the reasons he built a Replica rather than buying a real Miura is that he wants to be free to drive the car on long road trips without the problems he might have with an original rare car from the '60's. He's a exotic car guy & much of his family is scattered around CO & UT & he wanted to be able to jump in the car & be able to take road trips to visit family. In June, his grandson is graduating & even though his family has seen pictures of the car, he wants to take it out to show them. So here are a few pics of the car. If anyone is interested I can post pics of the things we did. Archie

After reading that part i thought for sure that he was going to give it to his grandson lol.

I would be very interested but i am broke for now. Do you take trades? i have 3 kids and one more on the way!! Heck ill give two for one? three for one would be pushing it though :P Ill even toss in the wife at no additional cost.

quote Originally posted by Archie: I can tell you that this car looks beautiful driving down the road. We'll try to get some video next week. Archie

Yes. Please do.

quote Originally posted by madcurl: Yes. Please do.

X2

http://youtu.be/5JKrBdE5P_A

Archie

wow, the view out of that windshield is not one I would ever get tired of! Great work, beautiful car.

OK. I will just say it now.... This car is my favorite Fiero. Yes, it is not a real Muira, but it has to be more reliable, and you can drive it. The lines just make me think of a woman lying on a grey beach towel, blinking seductively at you, as you walk on by tripping over your tongue.

Tony

quote Originally posted by Tony Kania: OK. I will just say it now.... This car is my favorite Fiero. Yes, it is not a real Muira, but it has to be more reliable, and you can drive it. The lines just make me think of a woman lying on a grey beach towel, blinking seductively at you, as you walk on by tripping over your tongue. Tony

tony,
are these some of those trick pics that when you stare at them long enough you will see that girl on the beach towel?
cause after two hours i still don't see it ....but after, when i close my eyes i did see elvis...lol
thank you very much

[This message has been edited by ace5514 (edited 05-22-2011).]

Beautiful car - thanks for sharing the vids!

Jim

Archie,

Did you, out of curiosity, ever weigh the Miura and get the front and rear distributions? Just curious. Beautifully crafted and executed. Formidable work.

Ken

This is one of my top 3 favorite all time cars. I've followed a coule of restorations of the real thing very closely and they don't put more work into those than went into this one. With the rarity of these cars, even if you could afford it, you might have trouble finding one. This car came out great. I loved the build and all of the explanation that you gave especially for the interior parts.

One question: What car did the transmission come out of? Any concerns with it handling the power of the engine?

Thanks for sharing the build.

quote Originally posted by jhunter: This is one of my top 3 favorite all time cars. I've followed a coule of restorations of the real thing very closely and they don't put more work into those than went into this one. With the rarity of these cars, even if you could afford it, you might have trouble finding one. This car came out great. I loved the build and all of the explanation that you gave especially for the interior parts. One question: What car did the transmission come out of? Any concerns with it handling the power of the engine? Thanks for sharing the build.

Thanks very much & Welcome to the Forum.

This customer told me that he had always wanted a Miura & that he could afford to buy a real one. However, he didn't want a real one because he wanted to be able to drive it on short & long trips without problems.

As you may know the real cars had engine fire problems with the carbs, handling problems with the amount of fuel in the tank & other problems that made it difficult to shove off on a cross country trip.

This car is powered by an LS3 Chevy Crate engine & the transmission is the 6 speed manual (F40) from the FWD Pontiac G6. It seems to be holding up fine. He's had this car on the road for more than a year now & he's had it on at least 3 1000+mile trips. I can't imagine being able to do that with one of the original cars.

Several days ago, I posted what I call a video tour of the Miura on YouTube.

You can see that here http://youtu.be/05aG1yQBWjQ

Archie

[This message has been edited by Archie (edited 11-05-2011).]

WOW Thats about all i can say. You should contact the owner and find out the name of that blue paint because i think i just decided thats the color i want to paint my fiero when i get around to that.

Great work man.

quote Originally posted by ShaneSAW: WOW Thats about all i can say. You should contact the owner and find out the name of that blue paint because i think i just decided thats the color i want to paint my fiero when i get around to that. Great work man.

Back a few pages for you:

quote Originally posted by Archie: Got these pics & note from the owner today. Well it is finally painted and back home . Here are a few pics and I will send some better ones when I figure out how to frame the pictures right with this digital camera. It is done in Toyota Blue Streak Metallic with Mercedes silver for the rocker panel. Archie

Congratulations on the great review Kit Car Builder gave this car... the article mentions the build thread here on Pennocks so I'll bump this to page 1 so it will be easier for people to find

quote Originally posted by DL10: Congratulations on the great review Kit Car Builder gave this car... the article mentions the build thread here on Pennocks so I'll bump this to page 1 so it will be easier for people to find

I gotta find someplace I can buy that Magazine.

Archie....I've been into kit cars since 1990 and bulilt my car in '93. Your name of V8Archie and your innovations with engine swaps and the like have always been at the front of the genre, because you were making 'kits' and their drivetrains respectable and worthy of admiration..........but THIS car.........words fail me right now.........but........WOW!!!

I just think you should be referred to as 'Awesome Archie' from now on!

[This message has been edited by I FAR I (edited 02-14-2012).]

quote Originally posted by I FAR I: Archie....I've been into kit cars since 1990 and bulilt my car in '93. Your name of V8Archie and your innovations with engine swaps and the like have always been at the front of the genre, because you were making 'kits' and their drivetrains respectable and worthy of admiration..........but THIS car.........words fail me right now.........but........WOW!!! I just think you should be referred to as 'Awesome Archie' from now on!

LOL, Thanks

Archie

quote Originally posted by Archie: I gotta find someplace I can buy that Magazine.

I'm suprised that Jim Youngs, hasn't sent you one.

kudos on the artical.

Joe

quote Originally posted by Archie: I gotta find someplace I can buy that Magazine.

Just picked it up... If I find another copy, would you want me to mail it out?

A bump for a Miura onEBay.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymot...&hash=item4abbd19817

quote Originally posted by Archie: A bump for a Miura onEBay. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymot...&hash=item4abbd19817

Wow! That is some serious $$$ for a very rare car. It sure makes me appreciate the build you did even more Archie You gotta a dream job

Dr. W.

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Is your Fastback GT's trunk seal shot? My Gen III replacement GT trunk seals with solid molded corners are now in production. $95 + $15 flat rate shipping to the US (contact me for international shipping rates) or buy two and pay only a single shipping rate! More info can be found here GT Trunk Seal Project

Just joined up to say what a great write up and an even better project. I restore classic cars for a living also so appreciate the amount of work and thought gone into the car. If I'd found the thread earlier I would have offered you a set of Borani Wires (9" rear and 7.5" front) that would have looked nice on the car too. Great build thread again!

quote Originally posted by lance1a: Just joined up to say what a great write up and an even better project. I restore classic cars for a living also so appreciate the amount of work and thought gone into the car. If I'd found the thread earlier I would have offered you a set of Borani Wires (9" rear and 7.5" front) that would have looked nice on the car too. Great build thread again!

Thank You very much.

Archie

Archie,

How do i get ahold of the owner ?

We want to invite him out for Daytona next year !

quote Originally posted by Archie: ... To smooth out the ride (it was a bit harsh in the front) We changed out the front springs from 8" long 350# to 9" long 450#. This smoothed it out a lot ... Archie

Would these springs lower a stock height fiero and give a ride smoother than stock ?

If yes, can you PM me a price for front and matching rears ?

thank you.

quote Originally posted by PaulJK: Would these springs lower a stock height fiero and give a ride smoother than stock ? If yes, can you PM me a price for front and matching rears ? thank you.

I'd be happy to look up the springs pn's for you but......

Are you aware that this car had the RCC front & rear suspension tubular "A" arms & Coil-overs?

The springs used with this stuff would not fit a stock Fiero suspension.

Let me know.

Archie

quote Originally posted by Archie: I'd be happy to look up the springs pn's for you but...... Are you aware that this car had the RCC front & rear suspension tubular "A" arms & Coil-overs? The springs used with this stuff would not fit a stock Fiero suspension. Let me know. Archie

No, i didn't know that. Are there 450 # springs (front and rear) that lower the car and give a soft ride that fit a stock 1986 fiero suspension ?

thank you.

From this.....


To this.......


It is with great sadness that I have to inform my friends that Dr. James Buell has passed on.

I made a new friend & learned a lot about cars & life from Jim.



Archie

[This message has been edited by Archie (edited 08-06-2013).]

What a loss, from what you told and showed me when I visited earlier this year, he was a man with a true passion for cars.

R.I.P. Dr. Buell

Dr. Will Hammond

[This message has been edited by infinitewill (edited 08-06-2013).]

Thanks Will....

Archie

[This message has been edited by Archie (edited 08-06-2013).]