3. Today I picked up the hub bearing assemblies to use in the 88 front suspension swap. These units will be modded to fit the 1988 Fiero spindles and will also accept the Corvette rotors and bolt pattern. They are AC Delco Hub Bearings from an 85 S10 4X4 - Special thanks to Bubbajoe who is engineering this custom mod.
I would love to know more details about this mod and curious if it would work for the rear of an 88 as well.
I've been looking at different options for modifying/improving my front suspension, brake upgrade, etc. My biggest motivation is the brake upgrade with a larger bolt pattern. The 84-87 rotor will not support anything much larger than the 5x100 and I really didn't want to go through the process Bubbajoexxx did with yours. Replacing it with an 88 might be an option, so I am curious as to how you go about it and what may be involved.
Bob
[This message has been edited by RCR (edited 12-08-2009).]
So how much larger was the S10 wheel bearing than the 88 upright hole?
The new bearing uses a rectangular flange vs. the triangle and looks to have a much greated distance from the wheel flange to bearing mounting surface, so I am curious about what modifications will be done to bolt it up. I have spent hrs upon hrs researching wheel bearing application for something with a 3 bolt flange. If there was one that could be pressed apart (like the bearings for the drive wheels), then you might be able to disassemble the bearing and mount it on the back side of the upright and then reassemble - this will help offset the extra distance between the bearing flanges.
I've been looking at different options for modifying/improving my front suspension, brake upgrade, etc. My biggest motivation is the brake upgrade with a larger bolt pattern. The 84-87 rotor will not support anything much larger than the 5x100 and I really didn't want to go through the process Bubbajoexxx did with yours. Replacing it with an 88 might be an option, so I am curious as to how you go about it and what may be involved.
Bob
Why don't you just buy my old setup and bolt it on your control arms? You'd be done the upgrade in an hour...
[This message has been edited by Fiero2m8 (edited 12-09-2009).]
So how much larger was the S10 wheel bearing than the 88 upright hole?
The new bearing uses a rectangular flange vs. the triangle and looks to have a much greated distance from the wheel flange to bearing mounting surface, so I am curious about what modifications will be done to bolt it up. I have spent hrs upon hrs researching wheel bearing application for something with a 3 bolt flange. If there was one that could be pressed apart (like the bearings for the drive wheels), then you might be able to disassemble the bearing and mount it on the back side of the upright and then reassemble - this will help offset the extra distance between the bearing flanges.
It was over 3 inches - It can be made to work on 84's (Bubbajoe's done it before) but not 88's as the spindle hole is smaller.
Yes making a new flange to adapt to the 88 spindle will be required, but that's relatively easy to do out of 1/2" plate steel. We are going that direction as you stated above unless... It's possible to make a hybrid out of the new Cadillac hubs and the old 88 Fiero hubs as they do come apart.
Ryan
[This message has been edited by Fiero2m8 (edited 12-09-2009).]
unless... It's possible to make a hybrid out of the new Cadillac hubs and the old 88 Fiero hubs as they do come apart.
That would be so cool if it happened to work out!
I scored a new set of the S10 wheel bearings from an ebay liquidator for $25 + shipping to do a closer check and satisfy my curiousity... I have a couple of sets of 88 uprights front/rear and would love to upgrade to the 4 3/4 pattern.
Hey Ryan, I think I'll take you up on your offer. let me know when you'll be intstalling the 88 front subframe and I'll gladly make the trip so see the car. Maybe while I'm there, hopefully you'll be able to tell me how to bleed my brakes....took my car in for service a few weeks back (before the snow hit) to have my clutch hyraulic system flushed and ended up with spongy brakes...feels like there's air in the lines now and I'd like to fix this myself.
lets see some pictures!! how have you had a chance to move with the new cradle in yet? or is the motor still in rebuild?? ps. hows the trans holding up??
lets see some pictures!! how have you had a chance to move with the new cradle in yet? or is the motor still in rebuild?? ps. hows the trans holding up??
Yes new cradle was in prior to engine / trans rebuild.
Here are some pics of the latest project parts:
New Kevlar clutch:
Modified Pressure plate to handle torque of the Northstar:
Machined Flywheel to correct clutch clearance and flywheel ring refreshed:
All this custom work/parts are from EuroDrive Clutches in Burlington Ontario. http://www.euro-drive.com/
[This message has been edited by Fiero2m8 (edited 02-23-2010).]
Today I got some time to work on the spaceframe...
The glass was masked off:
I removed the headlamps and the rest of the hardware I wanted prior to paint:
Since the front compartment is my only luggage area, I decided to enlarge the area:
Next I used engine degreaser to clean the whole frame. Since there is hardly any rust, I'm going to use etching primer instead of my POR-15 as it won't stick well:
Now I'm ready for my three steps:
1) spray etching primer 2) brush on gloss black rust paint 3) spray final coat of gloss rust paint
Originally posted by motoracer838: Wow, Its been a while since I've checked in on this project, I had no idea that you had gone this deep into the car. Keep up the good work. Joe
Thanks Joe, after proving last year that the the engineering is near completion I decided to restore everything to higher standards since I plan to keep this one awhile. Here are a few more pictures from the weekend of the front half of the space frame painted:
Question for Bubbajoe, do you still have the modified Pontiac 6000 uprights? I have a project that needs the 5 on 4.75 bolt pattern that setup allows, I figured that it would be easier to buy the parts you have than doing it over.
On the weekend I received the elusive 88 intermediate steering shaft I've been looking for the past year. Now I have most of what I need to install the 88 front suspension into the 84 indy chassis
