My fabricator friend. (builds off road 4WD Trucks.) Gave me the mount back with 3.8 plate braces welded in. I then started tweaking process. I re-drilled the holes in the upper bracket so the motor would sit a little higher and move it back about an inch. I drilled the hole in the lower 'foot" to match up with the GM tranny mount. I ground the front cradle support for a bit more play room for the mount.
I then attacked the starter area that had to be cut to mount the starter. Man that was nightmare. If I ever have to do it again, it will be done with the engine and trans off of the cradle. And I will have a LARGER grinder and Zip Disks. I was using an angle grinder with a 4" disk and there were just places it would not go. So I had to swap out to my Roto Zip and then to the Drill when the other 2 would not get into that little spot.
I am not done for the day, just stopping for lunch.
So here is the mid day shots.
------------------ 85GT 5spd MSD Everything,4.9 With Nitrous. Comming Soon! www.captfiero.com
There one that I know of, but it is a Ferrari 308 Rebody. To be honest I think a 4.9 Fiero will wax a real Ferrari in performnace. Well back to work for me.
Originally posted by Capt Fiero: I then attacked the starter area that had to be cut to mount the starter. Man that was nightmare. If I ever have to do it again, it will be done with the engine and trans off of the cradle.
Gee..... now where EVER would you have heard someone say that exact same thing??? Possibly 2 days ago??? Hmmmm?????
Well lance will be here at 8pm with another 3"w x 3"h x 5"l piece of angle iron. So That I can finish the other mount for the 4.9 I think when I am done, it will bend the cradle before it bends the mounts. I may still add a torque strap/strut/bar at the top of the motor and fix it to where the dogbone would normally go.
So I get my next motor mount at 8pm, then Fire451 will be back here a 2nd time at 11pm with my other trans mount and more Gatorade I hope. So that will make all 4 mounts installed. At that point it will be just setting up the belt and putting the valve covers on and rolling this bad boy under the car.
Tomorrow we have an open tech session at my place for everyone to bring there cars over and do tune ups and all that good stuff to prepare for the run to Arlington Washington. Oh I can't to hear this bad boy fire up.
About the mounts I make... I have been using the same quality mounts I make on my stick 4.9 for almost a year. Everything else has broken except for any of the mounts. My welds may look a little ugly at times but I doubt they could ever possible break.
I need to pick up some shielding gas.... The flux core welding wire is quite messy.
I also don't drive my car like a normal car, Burnouts, clutch drops you name it
Your back mount is extra strong now, But It wouldn't broke if you used it like it was. Kento's 4.9 have them... Mine has them and jeffs has them.
But anyway sorry about any problems, I was just trying to help and still will continue to help you through any questions. Thanks for not giving me heck about the mounts and I appreciate your honesty.
Here's another note.... When your engine is mounted take a tape messure and messure the space between the harmonic balancer and cradle, If it is more then 1 1/2 inches, Your engine will hit the decklid hinge and possibly your alt hitting the decklid itself.
[This message has been edited by 86fieroEarl (edited 05-28-2005).]
I have added a 2nd coulomb for what my estimated prices are. I am at over $3100 cdn so far. I wish we had a car quest in Canada however I guess Lordco and the Dealer will have to be my next best bet.
David,
Are you sure that there are no CarQuest stores out your way? We have a couple here in Newfoundland. I would have thought that this would be one of the last places in the country they'd expand to.
Great thread on your swap. Best of luck with it. I'm jealous of all you 4.9 guys
Andrew
------------------ Proud owner of an 85 coupe with 40k miles
i dont believe there is carquest in bc... i wish there was, the idiots at lordco always have to make the token smart ass comment such as "gonna take alot more than this heator core to fix a fiero!" then they laugh and give each other high fives. then probably exchange blowjobs in the back after i leave.
I hate to say it but I have almost had it with Lordco. The only people that I got along with at Lordco have quit or left. For the same reason I don't shop there that often any more. Most of the staff have really arrogant attitudes. Don't get me wrong not all of the Lordco staff is bad, but there is enough of them that I don't know when I am getting a good deal, or being screwed over.
There is a new Napa store in Port Kells, it just happens to be the Napa Warehouse with a store front on it. It is HUGE. So far there has not been a part I have asked for that they cant A. Hand to me B. Beat Lordco's price on.
No waiting, no hastle and when I told the guy what I was building he was genuinely happy about it and asked me to bring the car over when it was done to take him for a boot in it. (he is not a kid either, probably early 40's)
They said no problem, they will give our club a good discount on parts.
Oh P.S. if you ever need another heater core or Rad, please come talk to me. $39 for a Heatercore $199 for a Rad. Performance Radiator in Coq. Just tell them you are a friend of Capt's and you are in West Coast Fiero's.
------------------ 85GT 5spd MSD Everything,4.9 With Nitrous. Comming Soon! www.captfiero.com
We had a Tech session at my place today, (see West Coast Fiero's Tech Day" in the general section in about 10min. We had lots of people over and we all played cars. I did some running around, showed everyone my new fav auto parts store. Did lots of work to the cars.
Fire451 helped me a lot on the mounts. Man that is a lot of work drilling all those holes. But that mount should be strong enough to anchor a sherman tank now. 1/4 plate steel for the one that goes to the cradle and 3 grade 8 bolts holding it to the cradle, 2 grade 8 bolts holding the mount to the bracket on either side. There is a total of 10 bolts holding that mount together.
Well here is todays progress, we finished up on all the custom mounts and put the exhaust manifolds on. (not in pics) Put valve covers on, attached everything that could be set up outside of car. I have a few bolts to torque down and after that, she is going in the car. So hopefully with any luck she will be installed tomorrow at this time. Not running of course but at least she will be in the car. YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA.
Ryan aka Sheep Killa Randy and KathyEasterbrook Brian Browne and Kirsten Lisa AKA FieroChick and everyone that came over yesterday to help me with the mounts and such.
I need help on coolant hose routing, and how many other people had to notch there passenger side deck hinge area to clear the valve covers. I had to remove about 1 inch of hinge mount area to clear it.
After I got done with supper I went back out and worked till 9pm when it started to get dark, I got the shift cables hooked up, the throttle linkage hooked up, put the rear brakes back on. Got the struts all put into place and bolted in firmly.
Got the clutch hydraulics bolted down and bled out. Oh it is so nice to reach down and shift the gates through 5 gears. (this is my first 5spd Fiero) I cant wait to drive this.
------------------ 85GT 5spd MSD Everything,4.9 With Nitrous. Comming Soon! www.captfiero.com
Wednesday Finish it up and fire it off. If she fires she gets loaded onto a truck for Thursday Morning to the exhaust shop hand then car and credit car and tell them to call me when the car is done. Friday Drive car all day and test everything. Take it out Friday night to Port Kells and Java Hut and show off the new ride. If all goes well, and there are no major problems. Saturday make a run for the boarder. Drive to Arlington Washington for the Huge event.
For those of you keeping score, I have less than 72hrs to get this car running and ready for exhaust shop and
my chip is not even here yet. No coolant hoses are hooked up Wiring still looks like a rats nest on steroids.
------------------ 85GT 5spd MSD Everything,4.9 With Nitrous. Comming Soon! www.captfiero.com
Those valve covers are amazing. I don't know how much of a PITA they were to make, but you could probably sell dozens of set to current 4.9 owners or the Ed Parks. OTOH, there is something to be said when you have the only pair in existence!
Good job, and I hope you enjoy it and it lasts longer than your tricked up 2.8L.
Originally posted by Capt Fiero: It took John about 4-6hrs to {do} them totally.
If I had a bunch of them, I could assembly line them quicker - I'd also go rent some time with a commercial blast cabinet instead of my small one I have in the shop here.
Painting in batches goes MUCH faster!
Could probably knock it down to 3hrs for a pair. I'd need a WHACK (10-12?) of cores to be able to do it though.
I know where there are about 15-20 Caddys sitting in a yard in town... How much should I offer them for a set..?? Maybe I could get a BUNCH and send them yor way... Lets see what happens when I talk to tyhem this week sometime!
Hoses are routed in a temp location just to get me on the road to Arlington and back. Oil Cooler will have a more firm mount, but for the run that is where it is going to be. From what I have been told, with 4.9 in the Fiero you can get away without one. I put it on there just because it cant hurt and john really felt it would be best to have it there. I have really high pressure line so I am not worried about failer and the cooler I am using has a 1000lb burst rating. John should be here soon to help me sort out the last of the wiring. The chip however is still not here, but I really did not expect it until tomorrow. I do have the bin file if worst comes to worst and we have to "make" our own. John has the ability to make chips. But did not have the program for the Caddy ECM's. It was just easier for me to buy an entire chip and install it plug and play.
Please ignore the rust on the brakes, it is a very very thin layer of flash rust. If I had more time there are a lot of other things I would have done to make it all look nice. I have 10 cans of Black and red paint just waiting to be used, and 30ft of Red Wire loom that probably wont make it onto the car. I cant wait to get this thing done and on the road.
All the cables and Nice MSD Wires.
Note the 4 banger filler neck
Belt Tensioner from Camaro. And you can see there is still lots of room from pulleys to frame rails.
Was even able to use the Fiero PCV and connector.
Nice shinny trans peaking out from dirty frame rails.
I know this is a crappy location for the oil cooler, but that is where she is going to sit for the next couple of days. It will be turned around 45 degree's to straighten the line out and attach the return line for the oil.
By the late night light of my trouble light, I rubbed my eyes and kept at it outside under a tarp till quarter till 11pm tonight.
But it was all worth it.
All Rad and Heater Lines are done All Oil Cooler Lines are Done All Linkage is done. All Vacuum lines are now done. All Mounts are done All Cables and Linkage are hooked up.
The only stuff still needing to be done is
Exhaust Shop Y-Pipe Wiring and Testing of wiring John Chip should be here tomorrow or Thursday.
I don't have all the lines tied off yet because I want to wait till John is done with the wiring and I start to loom it all up and tuck it away.
Well here are the night shots. It is 12:30 and I just got done updating my excel spread sheet. Spent close to $3000 to get the motor and car to where it is in the past 2 weeks.
[This message has been edited by Capt Fiero (edited 06-01-2005).]
What I was trying to show with the funky pipe above. Was that if you use the funky Caddy heater pipe, and a short piece of hose, you can make that damn Caddy heater outlet line from the block make a U-Turn and instead of going to the drivers side and hitting the exhaust, you can make it head for the big open passenger side and then hook into the stock rubber hose that the Fiero used.
Well here are a few more pics. It is now almost 1am and I have to be up in 5hrs. So good night all and talk to ya in the AM.
[This message has been edited by Capt Fiero (edited 06-01-2005).]
John just left, we got the main harness hooked up, the car will crank over, but we dont have the ignition hooked up or the alternator. There is still a lot to be done. I will update on what happens tomorrow.
And before he gets a chance to post the fire up video (should we use the word "fire"?) - here's a video of it MOVING under it's own power for the first time ever.
Please excuse the file format - I shot this on my camera phone! If you have Quicktime, it should play.
and how many other people had to notch there passenger side deck hinge area to clear the valve covers. I had to remove about 1 inch of hinge mount area to clear it.
I had to with mine but not Jeffs. Hint, if you use a 2nd Front (V8 PFI) cover on the back it will clear, other wise you have to trim the hinge support
Don’t have time to write much. Need to get it to Exhaust Shop.
BUT IT RUNS AND IT RUNS NICE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
David
P.S. We got video of the initial fire up. I will post it later on tonight.
I drove mine for the first time today also. I also headed for the nearest exhaust shop. Tomorrow it's a trip to the Alignment shop. Then see you at the picnic!
Well they need it at least overnight. So I left it with them. However it came off the tow truck and I had to drive it across the street to the exhaust shop. Man I wish I could run open like that for a short time. Oh she sounded so nice. I cant wait to be able to really get on her. Just the little blip of the throttle in 1st and you knew right then and there that this was no 2.8 behind you. The power right there instantly was such a nice feeling.
I am going to rip the fire up video here soon. Will post it up as soon as it is done.
------------------ 85GT 5spd MSD Everything,4.9 With Nitrous. Comming Soon! www.captfiero.com
I drove mine for the first time today also. I also headed for the nearest exhaust shop. Tomorrow it's a trip to the Alignment shop. Then see you at the picnic!
Congrats. It will be nice to compare the 2 cars side by side. Yours is so much nicer than mine though. Granted I had to do mine from start to finish in less than 3 weeks so it was a bit crazy.
