i am just getting back into owning fieros after having had to sell my 87GT and my other 5 fieros in the early 90's.
glad to see there is still quite a following for these cars. What i am noticing and didnt expect to see was what use to be such a huge market for parts and kits for these cars going obsolete.
now hearing V8 Archie may be soon closing was another heartbreak
at my home shop, i own a small cnc lathe, cnc mill, i just bought and am perhaps 2/3 done upgrading a BP 4 axis, 5th axis later, vertical milling center. for myself i wasnt too concerned with what i can and cant find for adapters, mounts, kits or even nice custom dash plates.
back 88-90's for us older guys we know how many aftermarket kits parts items were avaialable. if there is a need beyond myself and if it helps keep these cars going once my vmc is up i would offer services to create and reintroduce some of these parts and kits.
I do want to say this before i get blasted by people. i am not offering this up to fatten my wallet. its to help out those who may soon find like in V8 archies case one more kit form is gone.
if any members feel there is a need for engine swap adapters, mounts etc leave a reply stating the items you would find appealing.
welcome back. I've only been an owner for 3 years and I've seen tremendous changes in vendors in just that short of time. there appears to be an acute shortage of vendors and especially vendors who don't need to sell the parts to make a living. I think if you're able to treat it as a hobby and not a full time business you'll do great with quality constructed parts. Seems to me the number of swaps is going down so the ability to support mutliple vendors is limited. But there is still a need for vendors. I'm guessing the next responses to follow me will be generally in the when can you ship and for how much and when will you have an F40 mount ready?
sincere good luck on your venture!
------------------ 1986 Fiero GT fastback SC3800 3.4 pulley, LS1 TB 1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee with "big boy" 5.9 motor 1983 Honda Goldwing 1100 Interstate
[This message has been edited by Grantman (edited 08-22-2014).]
when i began my fiero exprience there were so many venders, parts, conversions available. most were short lived from the beginning. some just didnt catch on.
my main goal is to help maintain options for people.
as far as how long for this that part etc? thats what this poll will be for. i need to know what members will for the most part be wanting, needing. that is where i will have to put my time into besides my own needs. i dont see any reason to lose time second guessing every mount, plate or option. mainly the ones people know now they will need, those that may become obsolete. i wont rule out the guys who want to be different and need one offs. myself one of my own cars will have the V8, manual. having my own machines i dont see nor feel the need to buy an adapter plate.
the answer to the when, this is somewhat premature for bigger items as my VMC is still waiting for servo/encoder wiring and about 200 hrs of programming for the main pc, plc and motion controller.
i sold off my other bigger cnc mill to make a home for this one. i do have a smaller one thats very capable of making smaller parts.
also, those who have a part that is broken, maybe it is cast alum and want it to be billet cnc will have the options to ship it to me along with details of any changes they need made to it.
my shop is more than busy enough now. this isnt planned a business venture, i have no intent or desire to become a parts manufacturing shop. i dont want to see all this die off as it has been. as each year passes by fewer and fewer kits parts are being bought, those parts wont generate revenue enough to cover costs so they will disappear, and those that havent i feel at times are over priced
Flywheels for the F40 6 speed that will work with a common clutch... That would be huge. I have the 1st Archie proto-type F40 to 2.8 clutch + adapter that mounts to a Fiero flywheel. That adapter adds a lot of weight to the system.
I think Fieroguru made a flywheel that uses a Ford Ranger 10" clutch so you might what to see him for details. He wasn't offering it in V6/60 bolt pattern last time I looked.
back 88-90's for us older guys we know how many aftermarket kits parts items were avaialable. if there is a need beyond myself and if it helps keep these cars going once my vmc is up i would offer services to create and reintroduce some of these parts and kits.
Do you still have the prototypes or plans for some of those early 1988-1990 swap parts? Could you dust off those old plans/prototypes and easily make parts for those old school swaps, like the 2.0L OHC Turbo, Quad 4, 4T60, 3.4L DOHC, etc.? Or would you be starting from scratch again?
at this moment i am trying to get you all to let me know what you believe will be the items most people will need. my idea is to see if there is enough potential to warrant making up these items. if so my idea was to make a batch of x amount of item1 have us all settle on a reasonable purchase price. my thinking is it should help those needing such kits or parts that either have gone by the way side already or will be soon. i and probably other members have the ability to bring some of these items back. there has to be a market for it for me to take the time to design develope parts beyond what i will personally make for myself or members that are close by who stop by the shop.
i may not have been clear enough on the fact that i do not have any of the past designs drawings prints etc for anything other than those i have made for myself.
i would have to as i stated, draw these parts out in cad, prototype test fit and run a part.
however. i have guys bring me this mount they cut that way, another they cut this way, templates, they may bolt the pieces together knowing they fit i use that as my design pattern. its not possible for me to have every design for every mount bracket for every possible swap combination.
there will be 3 different engine combinations between my own cars going on soon. first is likely to be the v8. i will then have a complete set of drawings, parts a member can inform me he needs an adapter plate to in my case 5 spd to v8. totally billet alumnium front engine mounting plate, larger throttle body, another one will be a 3800 sc. not sure on the other. my point being once i am done, or at least have made my own set of parts i can offer those to those who need and cant find them.'
today i was actually drawing up a larger throttle body, intake plenum spacers. while doing that it ocurred to me im lucky to have the machines to make as i need.
please remember i am just getting back into these cars since the early 90's it will take me time to accumulate mock ups that will greatly assist this process.
i have not taken time to research what you all are using the F40 behind for the most part? here we have a mention of the F40 to the 2.8 knowing obviously the 2.8 is one i can look into what can be done there.
rotating parts like flywheels that are premade and balanced sold off, then redrilled to suit a different bolt pattern isnt that drastic. providing the OD, depth, etc can handle it. the unit all ready being balanced wont be effected by machining another set of holes equally spaced. however if i was to machine a new flywheel i done have anyway to balance it. that would be then up to the end user to send it out have it balanced
i do have plans to built an electronic dynamic balancer for other reasons but thats too far away and not a sure bet
Not for nothing guys, I met up with Mitch earlier today... This dude is legit! He could CNC an aluminum space frame for you if you gave him the chance!
He's a cool dude with skills. Gonna be an asset around here! And I get the advantage of dropping in on him to get custom stuff made : P
He's the Doc Brown of fieros... pretty much sums it up
Here is one for you to think about. How about an updated 88 rear subframe set up to just bolt in an ecotec. This could be used in earlier cars also and I think it would make a lot of people consider that swap.
Aluminum front and rear uprights for the 88's would be nice. Especially if they were designed to accept larger/more common bearings and a 1 1/2" drop in the front
Here is one for you to think about. How about an updated 88 rear subframe set up to just bolt in an ecotec. This could be used in earlier cars also and I think it would make a lot of people consider that swap.
still a lot of people who'd like to use a old style SB Chevy with a 4t65e trans ! most people wanting t do this want to do it relatively cheap if possible. Looking forward to seeing what you end up offering.
X 10000000000000 on the Aluminum uprights for the REAR for the 88'. Anybody who has done a engine swap would want these as the factory is week and factory bearings are nonexistent. Im contemplating doing a c6 rear end upgrade just because I know the Fiero bearing will not hold my swap. This is a huge job, but Rear uprights with c6 bearings or equivalent would be the end of this problem and a amazing way to bring this car up to date easily. Just the parts alone for that swap are upwards of 1000$ . Driveshafts are not a problem . I would love to work with you on maybe building such a kit. So if you could make these uprights then it would be a no brainer ! PM me if its possible and im your customer / guinepig
F23 Trans mounts that use stock fiero rubber/poly would be a really nice thing to have since that is what keeps most people from doing the swap. The rest of what you need can already be bought.
Another thing that could even be sold outside the fiero community is a throttle body adapter for the pre 2000 Northstar throttle body on a 3800sc. I know I would like one for my gen v charger swap and probably others as well. Nobody ever made them in any quantity for sale. From what I read you won't need to program for a new style MAP sensor using that one which makes it easier to get right
I will throw in another call for the F23 mounts. Like others said...if we could get a set of brackets that would allow us to use stock rubber or poly mounts and put the bell housing in the stock location, it would make this swap SOOO much easier, and I think very few people would bother with the stock transmissions any more.
F23 Trans mounts that use stock fiero rubber/poly would be a really nice thing to have since that is what keeps most people from doing the swap. The rest of what you need can already be bought.
Another thing that could even be sold outside the fiero community is a throttle body adapter for the pre 2000 Northstar throttle body on a 3800sc. I know I would like one for my gen v charger swap and probably others as well. Nobody ever made them in any quantity for sale. From what I read you won't need to program for a new style MAP sensor using that one which makes it easier to get right
this one is drawn up and soon to be machined, as I myself need one.
no issues to make your f23 f40 mounts. atm I don't have an f23 or f40 case or trans to mock up. my original build would have had either but I went 4t65eHD. somewhere back I posted looking for either one. was a few in the Mall for sale, PM the person who posted never heard back. id accept even a bad case, that's complete enough to use for mock ups. it just has to be worth the cost of shipping in and make business sense.
local yards here want far more than its worth for a trans I wont use. more than I see them on sale here for. so selling them off after isnt going to be cost effective, increasing the cost to R&D, then overall costs of kits. not saying I wont buy one pay the cost, depends on how many kits it sells after.
I take each post, add it to a list. as the lists add up we add it to our lists.
business wise whats made and offered has to be what will sell enough to get the time and investment back.
that said, yesterday a yard local to me notified they may have an f23 with a cracked case available in next few weeks.
questions I have, is what year cradle is this wanted for? probably both styles. atm the 88 cradle is jigged up. those cradles are weak, crack and rust too easy. box tubing thick enough adds weight, stamped formed steel thicker than stock adds less but adds more work. aluminum is on the table. pros and cons to that as well.
the 87 down cradle, I have calls into the company who stamped the parts for it, to see if they may still have the dies and are either willing to do a batch run of a complete cradle, or at least the individual parts that will allow us to reman units or assemble new. the proprietary issues are being looked into. this cradle except for the front cross member being shoved to far back for a 60 degree engine, exhaust clearances that most aren't being using is one factor that really should be taken into consideration and moved further forward. the rear cross member, for those not using the cross under exhaust pipe, can be boxed in a pocket formed to allow a front corner engine mount, the rear trans mount pocket, reworked to allow a much better mount to be used.
the factory locations of mounts, was great for a low power 60 degree engine. even those broke the mounts, stressed the front cross member. wider heavier more powerful engines ideally this should be addressed. one option is an add on front cross member. pre made ready to go. owners locate it weld it in and after they can remove the factory one.
as far as kits for rubber/poly. any kit we will offer will allow owners to choose the material they wish to use. I have never been sold on poly or solid mounting engines. its too abusive and will cause stress cracks somewhere.
[This message has been edited by raptor_vrscx (edited 07-25-2015).]
