The Beep

Ok, lets see how much you guys REALLY know.

I've heard the Vette and Fiero share some of the same parts. The side view mirror glass looks the same, the body side molding looks similar, and I've heard some of the steering parts are shared.

As you can see in the photo's, the Vette's headlamp motor relays appear to be better.

What other parts/assemblies are the same???????

RWD_tech

doubt it...

btw GM used that style of side mirror on so many cars in the 80's...

Rapid Fred

I believe the inside and outside door handle assemblies are identical.

champs65

I think I agree; do they share the same trim plate as well for the inner handle? Seen a couple junkyard fieros, and they look close just walking by.

VtVette

mirrors are the same. Inside door handle pulls I *believe* are the same. Inside door lock slides are the same. Outer door handles are different. Outside rub strips are similar size but completely different. Headlight systems are the same, Fiero changed from three relays to the control module the same time as the 'vette. Headlight motors themselves are the same but I *believe* the mechanical/gear part of the motor assembly is different. Rear deck lid, hood, doors and rear quarter/sail panels and roof panel are all SMC fiberglass.

Headlights are the biggest similarity. I've stripped Fiero's down to the space frames and not much else is the same. Still a cool little car though. The space frame was an incredible structure for a car in it's category and price range. If GM would have given it proper suspension and skipped the Iron Duke all together it would have been better received by the press. The Fiero in the picture above looks to be an '84.

kize

The front wheel spindle/ knuckle came from a Chevy Chevette. I collapsed a spindle on my Fiero GT and found this out. Car was a great idea and an engineered nightmare. I passed it on to some other psb.

VtVette

The entire front suspension is from the T platform (Chevette). The rear suspension is a front X car (citation) platform mounted in the back of the fiero. Where the tie rods would normally mount to the strut in a Citation there are adjuster links that mount to the rear engine cradle in the Fiero to adjust rear toe. When the media caught wind of the fact that under the beautiful body work was an assortment of parts from the GM economy parts bin the press ridiculed the car. The suspension of the '88 Fiero was changed and greatly improved but by then the damage was done.

Ibuyvettes

I think they used the same 2.8 liter V-6

Calderone

I was amazed at how my Firebird 82 shared a lot with my 87 Vette i got last week. same mirrors,same lock slides too ! same radio same same same ...anyway i liked it because im familiar with the Vette more than i thought,i have my Bird since '96,So it wasn't a complete new world to me,its good because of the replacement parts availability but its bad from the point of view that the Vettes are not so super exclusive

Jonnymac

A Vette would be so lucky to have the power of the 6-60.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JQ-UiRV_4M

cv67

They both have a habit of catching fire.

ARMAN72

Both are 2 seater

The Beep

Not meaning to get off-topic here but how the He!! can you tell an 84 from an 85 by these pictures. As I recall, the only things they changed were the valve cover gskt and the thermostat because the 84's were catching fire and killing people (not that the 85's were much better).

toptechx6

I saw a Fiero at a local car show with an LT1 installed, does that count? According to the owner it is not the only one, supposedly done by a GM engineer.

VtVette

If you look at the picture from the rear below the rear window there are two black vents behind the driver/passenger. The area of the deck lid between these vents is black on an '84, then body color on '85 to '88.

BTW the fire issue was caused by a batch of faulty connecting rods coupled with the 3 quart oil capacity of the 1984 cars. When oil levels ran low connecting rod bearings could seize and snap the poorly cast rods, punching a hole in the block and blowing oil all over the hot exhaust. The connecting rod issue accounted for less than 1% of fiero's made in 1984 but the cars were quickly known as "death traps". GM claims that every Fiero susceptible to engine fires were recalled and corrected by adding shields to protect the exhaust from leaking oil and increasing the oil capacity to 4 quarts.

ejscarfo

I had a Firebird too, an 87, and I also noticed many parts were the same as in my 85 C4. Then I realized it was GM and engineers always raid the parts bin to save on development costs. Its no different than any other automaker that seeks to make maximum profit. The interior door handle's were shared with the F-bodies. Mirrors, lock *****, and radio's were standard GM fair as well I believe.

Anyway, the Fiero was a great idea, just not executed the way it should of been. They did sell alot of them and they make a great basis for the many kits that are sold. If you remember the Mera, that was a sweet looking repro 308 without the $5000 tune up. You can get used Fiero's relatively cheap and convert them into Lambo's or Ferrari repro's quickly. I've actually seen a Fiero GT with a Northstar engine in it.

GACELT4

The 3.8L GN V6 is a 90 degree engine - not in the same family as the 60 degree 2.8/3.1/3.4 V6's.

RWD_tech

i cant believe they cut that car in 1988 right after making all those revisions...

The Beep

No, it doesn't count but it sounds like fun. I read of a guy putting Grand National turbo V6's in them. I saw one locally here with a blower mounted sideways sticking up in the back. Pretty insane.

pnsher17

I heard recently but dont remember where, that the Fiero was built to compete with the Corvette. When I heard that I thought it was strange because the Fiero's biggest engin was a v-6. However, a while back I saw Fieros competing against Corvettes at a gimcanna and they really handled well.