The tow truck driver had some special attention yesterday while towing #020. I briefly followed the truck just pass Trends body shop to thank Joe for the fine work while Jesse kept on going. He needed some diesel for the truck, but from what he told me plenty of drivers were sticking right next to him as he rode down the streets. When he did stop to get gas a family or group inside a motor home came out and started asking questions as to what type of car was on his tow truck.
He mentioned that somebody turned around and came back to the gas station and as he got out of the truck they started asking questions. Jesse has towed the Redux so he has some knowledge of the car on board. He told it was a 1987 Pontiac Fiero. The people didn't believe him and insisted that a Fiero doesn't look like that, so it can't be. The people insisted that it can't be a Fiero, because it has Corvette lights and markers! His reply, "Yeah, I know it has Corvette lights, but it has lots of other parts from various cars.
Well, I'm not sure he convinces them, but he encountered the same questions at the gas station attendant. He too said it could not be a Fiero. Anyway, he got his gas while people were taking pictures of the car. LOL. I got the whole story once he arrived at my home. Jessie had been paying close attention to #020 over several months and he too couldn't believe has it turned out. At first he was skeptical and was wondering how in the world this car is going to turn out. He said it's really, really nice especially with the "Victory Red" paint.
Jessie now wants a Fiero fastback and three weeks ago he almost got him one, but Pick-a-Part had 1st dibs on it. The car was complete and didn't have any outside damage but didn't run, so if you're in Bakersfield CA-check out Pick-a-Part. The address is: 1945 S. Union Ave. (661) 831-1800
[This message has been edited by madcurl (edited 11-22-2012).]
On the 25th I got a chance to take a few pics. A young boy noticed me as I started up #020 inside the garage. He waited until I back it up as I drove the chopper along side the house for pics; the look on his face was priceless.
[This message has been edited by madcurl (edited 12-26-2012).]
Working in the yard when i hear two young kids (about 8 or 9 yrs old) riding by on a bike, and having a friendly arguement.
Boy 1 on front of bike : That's a ferrari !
Boy 2 on back of bike: No it isn't that's a lamborghini !!
Boy 2: Hey mister, is that a lamborghini !??
Me: No,...i wish it was !
Boy 2: I still like it though,..that is bad !!
I laugh and say thanks, and continue about my business.
About 20 minutes later, i see two women, whom i had never seen before approaching and talking to boy 2 and he points in my direction !
Well apparently these were the moms of the boys who apparently went home and told the women there was a guy in the nieghborhood with a lamborghini or something, hehehehe.
They must have seen dollar signs and a new sugar daddy cause they were making a beeline for me and my house. Well it was at that moment i wised up and decided i needed to go inside for a cold drink !
They kind of slowed down, hoping i would come back out, but i was just watching thru the peep hole as they passed by, then turned around and came back going the other direction that they came from.
Sorry ladies, but it is just a fiero, and i am not the one !
I was out of town today and while I was there a friend of one of the worker's husband was in the office. I buzzed him over to show him my pics of #020 for he had seen me driving it when I first got it back from V8Archie in primer. Anyway, he was shocked to see that the car was painted (2yrs in primer LOL). His wife over heard our conversation and said, "Did you finally paint the car?" As she walked over she saw the pictures as her husband was scrolling threw the pics and she too was shocked. Next time I think it's best to wait 6-months and not nearly two years to paint a car. LOL.
[This message has been edited by madcurl (edited 01-09-2013).]
That basically the feeling of a former factory worker who got the chance to see a choptop fiero for the first time.
The man in question worked on the Fiero assembly line from the beginning up until 1986. He was part of the team that put the body panels on the cars. He was in town (Orlando) visiting his son who happens to live across the street from Central Florida choptop owner Pedro.
The son had seen Pedro's car and been telling his father about it, but he apparently was not ready for what he saw ! Pedro basically saying the guy was blown away and stated that if designers had seen this version of the fiero, it would still be in production today !
The former worker knew the car cold and was able to tell Pedro virtually every thing about his car.
Both men left feeling they had just experienced a very cool encounter
CFF member Pedro unknowingly rolled into a local JDM car show, this weekend thinking it was just a regular car show.
Surprisingly the car was welcomed, well received, and pretty much stole the show. In addition to his car being constantly surrounded, and photographed, Pedro himself was peppered with questions about the car from drooling onlookers.
Among the droolers was a write/photographer from a car magazine, The writer asking for Pedro's contact information so that he may do a piece on the car in the very near future,
So, sometime in the future (probably 4 years once I finish college) I want in on the Chop top community. Right now as funds are thin due to paying for school, I am mostly doing planning/ drawing board for the future of my car. I currently have a stock Formula and am saving for a vertical door hinge kit. I know I want to do wide body, and chop top. Although I am concerned about fitting with a chop. I'm about 6'1" but I installed some 12"s behind my seats which lost me several inches due to my enclosures. I fit fine now, (about 1-2 inches above head) how does a chop affect the roof to head area? If I understand correctly it moves the roof back? this is where problem would come, since seats are already quite forward for the subs. Any ideas? Thanks guys.
So, sometime in the future (probably 4 years once I finish college) I want in on the Chop top community. Right now as funds are thin due to paying for school, I am mostly doing planning/ drawing board for the future of my car. I currently have a stock Formula and am saving for a vertical door hinge kit. I know I want to do wide body, and chop top. Although I am concerned about fitting with a chop. I'm about 6'1" but I installed some 12"s behind my seats which lost me several inches due to my enclosures. I fit fine now, (about 1-2 inches above head) how does a chop affect the roof to head area? If I understand correctly it moves the roof back? this is where problem would come, since seats are already quite forward for the subs. Any ideas? Thanks guys.
This is my opinion and it is coming from experience. You have a notchie and you are tall so go with the wide body kit from Archie. Do not Chop it. Spend the money you would spend on the chop and put a 3800 SC in the car and enjoy a fun car that will look as good as it is fast.
Completely agree.... The notchie with the Archie widebody kit looks amazing when properly done and there really is no need to chop the top. My notchie may never get to that point but you can be sure that if I EVER could afford such a thing that is the direction I would be going. Peace
Pete
------------------ "May the grins begin when you turn the key and hear the engine roar over your shoulder" ......Gall57 (slightly modified LOL)
Thanks for the input! I definately have the 3800 sc in the plans Here is my car so far. The previous owner replaced the original nose, and I will keep it this way because I think it looks more agressive.
And this is sort of the style I am wanting to go towards. The notchie in the background that is. I has Archie's wide body kit as far as I can tell.
That car is just freakin' ridiculously cool looking. I'd love to see that bad boy in person. Honestly the fellow who wants the choptop widebody after college needs to see motorTv's notchie first tho. I LOVE that damn car. It is like what my POS stock 85GT dreams about at night. Peace
Pete
------------------ "May the grins begin when you turn the key and hear the engine roar over your shoulder" ......Gall57 (slightly modified LOL)
Honestly the fellow who wants the choptop widebody after college needs to see motorTv's notchie first tho. I LOVE that damn car. It is like what my POS stock 85GT dreams about at night. Peace
motorTv's notchie is top notch! (Pardon the pun) Thanks for letting me know, I'll keep it in mind . The more nice notchies I see makes it easier to see what I like and don't. Then I can take the things I like and tweak them to fit my style and my car.
[This message has been edited by liv4God (edited 06-04-2013).]
My Refurbished HRE's arrived Thursday and look 100% brand new ! If you have never owned a set of HRE wheels before it is hard to describe the feeling, but these wheels totally transform a ride.
I have to thank Madcurl for the nudge in the right direction as i was about to balk at these "diamonds in the ruff " when he encouraged me to go for them. It wasn't until i had the seller drop by my house to see them in person that i got hooked.
The style was not my favorite after viewing the pics, but once i saw them in the flesh they just jumped out at me. Curly told me to wait until i added wider lips to really prepare for the drool factor.
Boy was he right ! The wheels with the 4.5" lip are killer !
[This message has been edited by exoticse (edited 10-06-2013).]
Was finishing up with a client the other day and i notice a car and a flash of red on the wall paper of his phone.
Unable to see it clearly i ask, what kind of car is that on his phone. Ferrari he says, and turns his phone around so i can see it clearly.
Turns out to be a Ferrari 360. Seems he is just finalizing it's sale so that he can either buy an Italia or a Lamborghini. His son (about 30) , who was present, was pressing him to buy a gallardo.
"Do you have a sportscar, asked the dad, impressed that i knew a bit of specifics about his car. No,..uh not really, well at least nothing like yours, i kind of stammered around a bit, because i always get embarrased when someone with a real exotic asks about my car hehehe, second time it has happened,
Well just like last time i was surprised at how well it was recieved when i told them i had a fiero. Turns out the son used to have a fiero and knew a bit about them. He asked what year and if it was a GT and i said not originally, but i converted it to the GT body style.
The fun part was the look on their faces when i started to list the modifications, wide body, choptop, engine swap, and lambo doors,
Lambo doors, the dad said with a shocked and interested look on his face ! Wow you have scissor doors ? Call me crazy but It was at that point that i could clearly see a little envy in his eyes ! Seriously, c'mon man you have a real ferrari i thought to myself,... hehehe it was kind of cool.
The son then proceeds to tell me how his GT caught fire and burned up hehehe. At any rate they were excited and were pressing to see pictures, when i got bombarded with other clients.
Next time, they said, we want to see pictures. In the end i was amazed at how interested they were in my little car,
[This message has been edited by exoticse (edited 12-27-2013).]
Kicking butt and taking names,...congratulations to troyboy for another top award !!
The Perfect Union knocking off ALL the corvettes and camaros at a show sponsored by a big time corvette dealer in New York.
"The ROBERT CHEVROLET TROPHY goes to the Pontiac Fiero GT. Our favorite GM product at the show. All custom and unique. THANKS to NY Autofest and the Hicksville Fire Dept. for a great event! "
Great stuff Tony. And they haven't seen Lisa car yet.
what is funny is the car is destroying exotics, corvettes, camaros, cobras, and pretty much everything it faces in non fiero shows, but in fiero shows it does not get the same appreciation it seems ?
[This message has been edited by exoticse (edited 10-01-2014).]
Yea,I don't get that? Apparently the people at the open shows appreciates what Troy and Archie put together.Im looking forward to Troy and Lisa going to a show together.Who will win that one? Would love to be there!
Ordered up some new rubber for the Choptop (285/30r 19) and the guy on the phone at the end asks,..just curious what are these for and I say Pontiac Fiero,..and he says oh,...followed by about 10 seconds of puzzled dead silence. I eventually say umm hello and he responds uhhh ok. I say have a good day and hang up. Lol. I am sure he is wondering how the heck are they going to fit !
Not that active on the forum anymore but that goes for many Choptop owners? Not many posts in here since 2014... or is there other good treads going on instead?
thought i would post the chop top i am building . where the car started last october before i decided to chop the top and where I am trying to go and where it is right now. update 08/24/2019 added last 4 pictures
[This message has been edited by engine man (edited 08-24-2019).]
that is good to hear sourmash as i would hate to see this practice die as i know it sure has slowed down . the last picture before putting up for winter i still need to finish the rockers
There are sets of glass and plastic out there so there will be some others.
I have two sets of plastic windows yet and the fiberglass bits for the interior. Alan has a set of glass ones he has not used yet up the road from me. Hopefully, he sells them to me eventually. In a few years, I plan on building two more cars with what I have but for now, I am having fun with my Porsche yet and trying to get this Magazine company I started off the ground so time does not allow for me to start a chop for now.
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