I think the install looks good, especialy since all my gages now match!
Now on to the NEXT upgrade!...What will it be????
Just a humble opinion, but I think your silver/purple head unit looks out of place in this perfect interior
I think a simple black head unit would look great in its place, something like this?
Just throwing .02 into your build thread, can't wait to see that 355 bumper in the pearl orange!
edit: Just read about the smoked turn signals on the new nose, that with your 'top-secret' tail lights is really gonna give this car a new and improved look. Page 7 OWNAGE!
[This message has been edited by 1988holleyformula (edited 09-17-2010).]
Originally posted by exoticse: Bumping one of my favorite threads.
Randye how is the nose job coming along ?
No progress to speak of lately. I hope I haven't lost interest in the car Lots of personal and family things going on the past few months that have not allowed me to spend much time on it...
After a VERY long "vacation" from this car, I have *finally* regained some interest in it!! I was honestly at the point where I was seriously considering selling it and moving on to something else.
Yesterday my Amida 355 nose was delivered back from the paint booth, and there's nothing like the smell of fresh fiberglass and paint to pique my interest in the car again.
I was a bit worried that this bumper would look strange in Lambo orange with the rest of the car, but so far it looks like it will be great.
I purchased a pair of "smoked" lens turn signals on Ebay to replace the amber lights that came with the nose because I was afraid that the amber lights would just "disappear" into the orange pearl paint and might look odd. I think I made the right choice
I checked the amber lights to be sure of my suspicion: The amber lights do get lost a bit, but it's not that bad. I still think I like the dark smoked lenses better though and they fit better with the rest of the color scheme of the car anyway.
Next step is to remove the stock nose, cut a small amount of steel from the front bumper corners per Amida's instructions and *carefully* mount the new nose. Luckily I already have the wiring in place for the fog lights in the new nose, so that will save some work.
Once the nose is mounted we can cut & buff the new paint to a mirror finish
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[This message has been edited by randye (edited 04-10-2011).]
Good to see you haven't lost interest in it. I've always thought this was one of the cleanest cars on the forum here. The paint is stunning as well. I definitely like the smoked turn signals better. Good choice.
Good to see you haven't lost interest in it. I've always thought this was one of the cleanest cars on the forum here. The paint is stunning as well. I definitely like the smoked turn signals better. Good choice.
Thanks for the compliments!
The poor car isn't so *clean* right now. It has about 5mm of dust all over it from just sitting in the garage without the car cover on it. Nothing a good bath and some polishing won't fix quickly though.
Randye, good to see you back in action. There is always something to do to improve these cars, although yours is pretty darn good already.
The nose is going to look awesome, can't wait to see it.
Thanks Tony. I'm anxious to see your chop top too. I don't know that I could ever get the courage up to chop Tangerine Dream, but THAT would be "interesting" wouldn't it?
Looks great to me too (although I may be biased towards anything looking like a 355). Tell me, what are those turn signal lights from originally? I'm looking for some for my project car since the ones that came with the kit were amateurishly poured with too much color and lots of bubbles in the acrylic. Oh, and didn't come with reflectors either.
Looks great to me too (although I may be biased towards anything looking like a 355). Tell me, what are those turn signal lights from originally? I'm looking for some for my project car since the ones that came with the kit were amateurishly poured with too much color and lots of bubbles in the acrylic. Oh, and didn't come with reflectors either.
Randye, Just a heads up, my signal lights fit into the libery light sockets with no modification, takes a bit of fussing, but they fit and lock in good and solid. Looks familiar. Glad to see you back in the garage!
Randye, Just a heads up, my signal lights fit into the libery light sockets with no modification, takes a bit of fussing, but they fit and lock in good and solid. Looks familiar. Glad to see you back in the garage!
What a beauiful GT!! It looks almost like an "albino twin" to my car.
Thank you for the heads-up on the front signal lights. I had noticed that the openings in the new light housings looked like they might accept the Fiero sockets, but had not tried them yet. I'm only left wondering what you might have done for the smaller socket and bulb in the Jeep Liberty light housing? It looks to be the same or similar to the original Fiero side marker light socket.... Did you leave it empty or did you wire in another light somehow?
I'm sure I'll have a few more questions for you before I finally get this nose mounted on the car. While Rob Amida's products are fantastic quality, I've unfortunately found his instructions he included to be lacking in clarity
[This message has been edited by randye (edited 04-11-2011).]
Good to see you getting back into the game Randy. We need to get together to get some photos of our cars, I am curious to see how close our oranges are. I know yours is a pearl and mines just base/clear but colorwise I think they are fairly close.
Its funny, before I ever knew of your car I wanted to paint mine yellow. Now I fell in love with the bright orange but didn't want to "copy" yours and Im very pleased with the way mine turned out.
Good to see you getting back into the game Randy. We need to get together to get some photos of our cars, I am curious to see how close our oranges are. I know yours is a pearl and mines just base/clear but colorwise I think they are fairly close.
Its funny, before I ever knew of your car I wanted to paint mine yellow. Now I fell in love with the bright orange but didn't want to "copy" yours and Im very pleased with the way mine turned out.
-Joe
Lets do it! A nice photo session might be good.
We also need to discuss a much needed swap for my car. If i can swing the funds, i am ready to copy YOUR car
What a beauiful GT!! It looks almost like an "albino twin" to my car.
Thank you for the heads-up on the front signal lights. I had noticed that the openings in the new light housings looked like they might accept the Fiero sockets, but had not tried them yet. I'm only left wondering what you might have done for the smaller socket and bulb in the Jeep Liberty light housing? It looks to be the same or similar to the original Fiero side marker light socket.... Did you leave it empty or did you wire in another light somehow?
I'm sure I'll have a few more questions for you before I finally get this nose mounted on the car. While Rob Amida's products are fantastic quality, I've unfortunately found his instructions he included to be lacking in clarity
My second socket is blank, I just taped over the hole. I like thtat idea of a running light though. It's been over a year since I installed mine, but I'll do my best to answer any questions you have. BTW I love that paint on your car!
We also need to discuss a much needed swap for my car. If i can swing the funds, i am ready to copy YOUR car
Im ready to lend a hand. I have the powrtuner so we can even live tune your car if you get a 3800 in it. BTW hows Andrew's car coming? He said he wanted me to come help with the harness but never called to set a date.
Seems like I just built the 3.4 and got it all working with the 7730 ECU swap, but after about 1,500 miles with it, (and that awful 125C automatic), I knew I would never be *really* happy with this car until it had the GO to match the SHOW
My son had this setup to go in his Lambo Mercialago kit car, but he has changed direction, so it's going into Dad's car now. He was even good enough to paint the SC and some other parts a nice orange pearl high temp for me ....what a good son
With the new Fi355 Amida nose and the new "heart transplant" this is shaping up to be a car I think I can live with now....
Thats great news You'll love the 3800SC. What transmission do you plan on going with?
The engine paint is unique too!
Entire drivetrain came out of a 02' Grand Prix GTP with automatic, (< 80k miles), so I'll simply be staying auto except I'll have the 4T65eHD now. The engine checked out great, but now has all new gaskets, SC coupler and new SC oil and a few other odds & ends that I don't recall right now. My son even has a set of Fiero X mounts for this thing that he just bought, so it looks like all I need is axles, exhaust, fuel pump, some minor A/C hose lengthening, some harness work and a few other miscellaneous parts and this will be on the road fairly quickly.
[This message has been edited by randye (edited 04-21-2011).]
Another direction with his engine choice, or another direction with the car in general, like selling it?
Either way, definitely let me know if you want help with the swap. Your welcome to come down to my place anytime and ride in my car if you ever need more motivation too.
Im thinking that car should make it to Daytona next year with the new engine no?
Just to repost some misc. stuff here to gather up a lot of work done on this car that I showed in other threads. It probably should have been captured here, but much of it wound up in either "general" or "tech" sections, so I'm attempting to catalog all of the history of this car here as well.
I really, really hope to Doc. Talking to someone like you about *my* lack of ambition and enthusiasm for my Fiero right now does make me feel silly. Where I can't seem to find the motivation to even spend 5 minutes in my garage right now, *you* go and beat back the dreaded "C" and motor on with your Fiero like nothing ever happened. I have nothing like the health troubles you have faced and yet I'm honestly afraid that I have lost all interest in my Fiero. The gloom is so deep that I even told JimmyS the other day that I might be inclined to just sell the car if I can't get excited about it again soon.
I wasn't about to nearly kill myself from heat stroke in the garage again this summer like I did for the previous 4 summers , but now that cooler weather is here in FL I've lost another excuse for not doing *something* out there.
The deal with my son for the 3800SC fell through and he sold the motor and trans along with the Lambo kit car. He needed the $ for his upcoming wedding to his lovely fiance, so I agree with his decision. The buyer of the kit car wanted the whole package, and my son got a good price for everything, so Old Dad lost out on the deal I had thought that the 3800SC swap from my 3.4 would have brought a renewed interest in the car to me, but alas that is not to be for now.
When I told the wife that I *might* sell the Fiero, her response was: "Like HELL you are!!, Not after all that money you put into the damn thing and all the crap we went through to get it just to what it is now.!!" wow...who knew? I thought she would be thrilled to see it go...
Perhaps what I really need is an *Intervention* to get me out of this.
Maybe you could get Jimmy and Joe and a few others to drop by and physically drag my sorry depressed keister out of my office and into the garage and put a wrench in my hand and shove me under the car.
Honestly, I wish I knew how to break out of this. I remember not that long ago when I had FUN with that car.
Will, Great to hear your progress on colon cancer. I too have had a regular colonoscopies, which fortunately have been normal. However, cancer hits you in other more insidious ways. Last November, I was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia. This baby does not have the high cure rate of colon cancer. One day you seem normal and the next, perhaps a few weeks later you are fatigued and feverish. I went through four rounds of chemo prior to a bone marrow transplant. Chemo for leukemia is quite different: one week of in hospital IV drip which knocks your immune system to zero, followed by a month of in hospital stay to recover a semblance of an immune system. As I am die hard Fiero nut, I bought a wrecked 4.9 95 Deville via Internet auction two weeks after transplant and conned my son in law to drive me the 40 miles to the scrap yard, where I drove that 54K mile baby home. If my doctors knew what I had done with a compromised immune system only 2 weeks after transplant, they would have gone nuts. Unfortunately, I had a relapse of leukemia after two months and have gone through three more rounds of chemo since. That has not stopped me, as I also bought all the essentials for the F40 six speed and managed to remove the 4.9 from the Caddy between hospital stays. And by the way, I am in remission now.
So I guess the message to you and Randy is keep on trucking; Fiero work never stops. Jim (a.k.a Dr. J).
Will we meet at Daytona this year? Hope so! You know my Fiero from years back and I guess you may like to see it again with the newest mods by Whodeanie!
BTW, what ever happened to the SS HVAC knobs that you wanted to get for me at some point? Still interested...
I'm reposting it here to say that sometimes life, health and fortune have direct effects on any "build" and that despite all the encouragement in the world from friends, you sometimes just have to work through the bad times and pray for the good times to come again.
That said, the day after I posted the following, I did go get a new battery for the car, and I'm trying hard to get that old spark back again, (pun intended)
These have not been good times for Tangerine Dream or me.
Reflecting my mood and present state of affairs, her image is appropriately out of focus and absent of natural light. She sits alone in the unkempt, darkened garage, her only company is a still unistalled Fi 355 nose whose constant grin seems to mock her sad state. She has a dead battery, a tank full of stale fuel and to add insult to injury, a forgotten bulk package of toilet paper resting on her nose. Piles of storage boxes, hastily used and forgotten tools, appliances and other detrius of life encircle her like a shabby prison. .
These have not been good times for Tangerine Dream or me. It has been well over a year since she and I last felt the wind of the open road and the taste of freedom away from daily worries. Her beautiful color now dulled by a layer of dust she looks forlorn and faded and yet she never fails to smile at me every time I happen into the garage. She looks eagerly at me and says, "Today?, Will today be the day you once again show me the love and care you once did? Will today be the day we fly along the roads again in a blaze of color and noise and laughter? Today?"
I stop for a moment, look at her, and think, "No, not today. Maybe tomorrow. Maybe this weekend, Maybe when......" I hit the light switch, close the door and walk away and she is soon once again forgotten.
These have not been good times for Tangerine Dream or me.
It is hard to see one of the most innovative, and inspirational guys on the forum fall into a funk. That beautiful car of yours needs you !
Do you know how many people would love to have a car like yours ?? You sir are truly blessed.
Whatever it is you are going thru, let the car be your release, your escape. You will be amazed at what you get done and how much your stress or gloom gets relieved. Best wishes
Tony
[This message has been edited by exoticse (edited 05-05-2012).]
Anyone up for a roadtrip to his house? Maybe we can "gang up" on both Randye and TD...dump the stale fuel, clear the dust, rip out her perfectly good beating heart while offering her a new one???? Just sayin it might be fun. Of course, there would need to be a BBQ and some frosty malted beverages....
Who knows....maybe today is the day!!!!
[This message has been edited by johnyrottin (edited 05-04-2012).]
