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This thread shows up at the top of the list, talking about Fieros and shared items between them and Corvettes. So .. I tracked down pictures and replied .. and when I hit post, I found it was closed and locked!
So .. here's my reply anyhow.
It's not a five year old post anymore, mister moderator!
I had a Fiero with a small block Chevy engine putting out around 350hp - I bought it in Baltimore and drove it to Washington State.
I agree with them being an engineering nightmare, although a lot of that is that they're "different" and require special thinking to work on. Most shops that I have gotten to work on my Fieros ask me to never bring it back.
I've had around a dozen Fieros in the past 15 years - it's a fun little car. I finally bought my first Vette, and it was financed mostly by selling all my Fieros.
Every five years Fiero enthusiasts have a convention - it was in Indianapolis last time, in Pontiac MI for the previous meets. At one of them, they had the original designer and the original builder as keynote speakers. GM fought the Fiero all the way, but these guys actually designed the ability to put a V8 into the car - that's why it's such a successful transplant.\
I've attached a couple pics of my V8 Fiero for you that might be curious. My website has quite a few radical Fiero pictures you might be interested in looking at, including the very first Fiero off the assembly line, and the prototype 1989 car being driven around the lot. Good stuff if you have interest in Fieros.
My buddy has owned a late 80's Toyota MR-2 or something like that for a year now, I always thought it was a Fierro like my other buddy has, I would always call it a Fierro till a couple months ago he said to stop calling it a Fierro and finally told me it was a Toyota it was embarrassing hahaha
I had to LOL at the TPI/C4 engine with the C5 emblem.
I s'pose it's already bastardized enough being in a Fiero that it doesn't matter what generation the badge is from!
Come to that, it wasn't until I started hanging out with Vette people that I even realized there WERE differences between the badges...maybe he just picked the one he thought was prettiest?
I s'pose it's already bastardized enough being in a Fiero that it doesn't matter what generation the badge is from!
Come to that, it wasn't until I started hanging out with Vette people that I even realized there WERE differences between the badges...maybe he just picked the one he thought was prettiest?
Well if it makes you feel any better I have a 91 with 90 emblems. I hadn't noticed till my buddy pointed it out.... 91-96 used diff emblems.
I gave serious thought doing a SBC Fiero. I like the concept. Decided I am too old for such a project. Sort of complex to do it right.
I understand you can put the Caddy 4.9 in pretty easy - a lot of stuff "just bolts up". It's less HP, but truthfully, the V8 I had in it was pretty much too much. Plus, the car is only about 2600lb, so it's nearly a thousand off the Corvette right away.
There's a guy in Toney, Alabama that will put in a Cadillac NS 4.9, turnkey for less than 10grand. That includes everything, engine, parts, o-rings .. and even a place to stay for the several days it takes to do the conversion.
Fieros are bad *** with a swap job.
4.9s go pretty much right in and there.
Northstars go in with a little more work.
Of course there's the SBC swap.
the 3.8 V6 swap (SC/turbo/NA) which is the easiest of the swaps to do, and can get some serious payoffs with it.
My dad's got one that he did the 4.6 Northstar in. 300horses and V8 torque in a 2700lb car...even with a stock unmodified 4.6 that's pretty bad ***.
I keep trying to get him to at least sell me his other Fiero, so I can do a 3.8 swap or maybe a northstar of my own since I have one of my own in a shed from a previous project that never got done.
I keep trying to get him to at least sell me his other Fiero, so I can do a 3.8 swap or maybe a northstar of my own since I have one of my own in a shed from a previous project that never got done.
Here's your chance - I'll sell you the perfect donor car for $1800.
I’ve owned four Fieros over the past 15 years; every year made except 1985. I actually sold my ’86 GT to make way for my C5.
The Fiero community has done a good job of keeping the car alive, but with over a third of total production being in 1984 and 1984 cars having all the problems they do a good many examples have been eliminated from the secondary market. It’s not fully known how many are left, but realistically between one-third to half of production is probably “gone”. That also takes into account kit cars and those bastardizations of three-wheel trikes that people seem to love using Fieros for.
I’ve been around a lot of engine swaps and worked on some myself. The LS4 will be the go-to swap in the near future, since it uses the GM FWD bolt pattern and doesn’t require the 90 degree adapters that the classic GM small blocks need. Even V8 Archie is realizing this, and he is retiring soon; probably aforemost due to old age, but also that with the prices of donor LS4-equipped cars coming down you’re going to be able to throw an LS4 into a Fiero soon for under five figures including price of car and donor. It’s going to put using the classic GM small block completely in the history books so to say.
The 3800 V6 remains an incredibly popular swap too and will continue to do so. In custom turbocharger application it’s very easy to get into the 10s, and you can do so for virtually chump change. Not too many custom builds exists where you can say you’re running 10s and spent at the most maybe $6,000, including price of the car. Maybe an old-school DSM (Eclipse/Talon) falls in that category, but not many other cars do.
The guy you're talking about in Alabama is now ran by Jeremy. It used to be ran by Ed and Rose Parks. I had a local friend that had Ed throw a 3.4L V6 from a fourth-gen F-body into his '88 Fiero. Those engines are near exactly the same as the L44 2.8L V6 put into V6 Fieros, and other than starter relocation for GM FWD trans layout (flip it to the other side) and a few minor issues of having to re-use some of the older Fiero components it's a good "beginner" swap.
The biggest issue with the Fiero community is that most of the aftermarket support is virtually gone. Other than The Fiero Store, Rodney Dickman (who sells Corvette parts as well), and a few specific fiberglass vendors there’s not much in the way of buying parts for Fieros other than taking your chances with questionable individuals on forums. The community is also heavily hell-bent on modifications, rather than keep any sort of originality which has near virtually wiped out most original examples. Also, a ton of young people - most not even born when the car was made - are buying the cars. Then they realize that it’s hey-day is long gone and most of the vendors or people that really know the car have moved on, retired, or - not to sugar coat the issue - died.
Otherwise though yeah I'd buy another. I still need to eventually buy an '85 model so I can say I owned every year made. I've owned a base '84, a '86 GT, a base '87, and an '88 Formula.
My son had a Silver 88 Fiero GT which looked Awesome Lowered with 17" wheels and a lowered rear wing!...
The only problem was here in California, No engine or 4speed auto transplant is permitted due to emission regulations!...My son finally sold his 88 GT since he couldn't modify the stock V6 3 speed auto...
12-10-2014, 12:13 PM
Fieros - now that's funny!
it was embarrassing hahaha
