Friz- HELP!!

[five-oh]

Originally Posted by Wathen1955

Exon or Mobile?

I would say Exxon, of mixed vintage, early 2013, ol' chap....

If you were to look at a spreadsheet of my fuel usage, the Corvette is obviously the more economical of my fleet. I bet I haven't spent $500 on fuel for it in the past year and a half.

Of course, the down side is that it hasn't been further than thirty miles from the house in that amount of time- and the last time it was that far, it hitched a ride home with a Dodge 3500.

[Frizlefrak]

Glad to hear it's fixed.....now at least you won't have to drive this on the weekends....

[DukeAllen]

Originally Posted by Frizlefrak

Glad to hear it's fixed.....now at least you won't have to drive this on the weekends....

At least that one has coffee instead of gas in the filter.

[five-oh]

Man- I'd have a flat everytime I went out to that car..

And Friz, this has caught my eye...good or bad?
1987 Pontiac Fiero GT

[Frizlefrak]

Originally Posted by five-oh

Man- I'd have a flat everytime I went out to that car..

And Friz, this has caught my eye...good or bad?
1987 Pontiac Fiero GT

Looks like a damn nice little fastback. Low mile examples are getting harder to find. Open the trunk and peel back the carpet in the corners and look for any signs of rust. Rust hides on these cars, and this is the first place it would pop up. Other than the normal due diligence on an old car, that's all you really need to look for. I'm betting an even $3K would drive it home. The 5 speed specimens are the best of the breed.

[five-oh]

Originally Posted by Frizlefrak

Looks like a damn nice little fastback. Low mile examples are getting harder to find. Open the trunk and peel back the carpet in the corners and look for any signs of rust. Rust hides on these cars, and this is the first place it would pop up. Other than the normal due diligence on an old car, that's all you really need to look for. I'm betting an even $3K would drive it home. The 5 speed specimens are the best of the breed.

I'm tempted....wife isn't as sure, she's afraid it'll be another moneypit. But I know absolutley zero about these cars. Only one I know that I ever saw in my small town was owned by a local lawyer who died a couple of years ago.
And I'm kinda hesitant to buy it because I will be putting it into rotation as a driver and I hate to do that to a low mile example like this...
May go look at it this week, it's been on craigslist a while.

[DukeAllen]

I like the looks of the GTs, and seriously considered getting one as a fun driver. But the one I test drove was uncomfortable, and a slug (stock V6/auto, 88 Formula). I looked at a GT/5 speed but couldn't get the damn thing past 2nd gear, and not looking for any tranny projects.

I swear the C4 is more comfortable

I'd think parts would be harder to come by (anything to that, Friz?).

Price looks in line with what I see in my 'hood. Let us know if you get it so we can rag you on it

[WW7]

I was going to buy a fiero when they first came out but I couldn't get in the thing...I tried everything, including sitting on the ground and sliding in...6.3 230 lbs just wouldn't go into a Fiero no matter how hard I tried.......WW

[Frizlefrak]

Originally Posted by DukeAllen

I'd think parts would be harder to come by (anything to that, Friz?).

Nope.

There were nearly 400,000 of them built. There is nothing that you can't source save for some of the Indy Pace Car specific trim. The car essentially has a Chevette front end (84-87) and a Citation front end adapted to the middle of the car (hence shocks up front, struts in the rear). The 88's had their own Fiero specific suspension and steering. The Fiero Store stocks most Fiero specific stuff just like Ecklers does for Corvettes.

The engines were the 2.5 Pontiac "iron duke" and the 2.8 Chevy V6. Nothing exotic or mysterious in any of the car. It was essentially built with off the shelf GM parts. The mirrors were purloined from....you guessed it...the C4 Corvette. The transmissions were TH125 3 speed auto, 4 speed Muncie, 5 speed Isuzu (4 cyl) and 5 speed Getrag (V6). 5 speeds were introduced mid year 1986, as was the fastback body style.

Are they hard to work on? Yes and no. Some stuff is very simple compared to a C4....I can swap a Fiero heater core easily in under an hour. Try THAT on a C4. On the other hand, dropping the tank to swap a fuel pump can be a bear to get the fuel hoses off/on. If you have to do a clutch, the engine cradle comes down. That SOUNDS bad...but once you've done it, a couple of guys can have the whole drivetrain on the floor in under 3 hours. We've had a motor out of the car, replaced, and back in and running in the same day.

Early headlight motors (AKA Gen 1 84-86) can be problematic....I can rebuild one in my sleep. The 87-88 are much more reliable, but it's the same design as the C4 headlight motor, so you do the math.

Buying a Fiero warrants the same advice as a C4....if you can do your own wrenching, it can be kept running forever for reasonable money. If you have to farm it out every time it hiccups (and it WILL hiccup), it will bankrupt you....if you can find someone who will even touch it. If they are maintained correctly, they are as reliable as any 80's GM car. I still drive mine on road trips on a regular basis without incident. There are a ton of 200,000 mile plus Fieros still on the road.

The fire thing....some of the 84's left the factory with defective rods. Through the block, oil exits on hot exhaust, and up it goes....a spectacular sight watching a plastic bodied car burn by the side of the road. It was less than 2% affected....and only the 84 model year....but if you ask John Q Public...."Fieros Catch Fire". The 85-88 are no more fire prone than any old car. Any affected 84's have long since had the engines replaced, or they burned decades ago. But it's a mid engined car that runs hot....you MUST do the maintenance. Fix leaks immediately.

Things to look for....rust, like I mentioned above. Crushed cooling tubes...look under the car and you'll see the cooling tubes...run under the car from radiator to the engine. Many have been crushed by idiots with floor jacks. This is THE NUMBER ONE cause of overheating Fieros. And they are hard to come by....you can, of course, section in and weld a new piece of pipe...or just replace the damaged section with hose. But look before you buy. I have a spare set of perfect ones I will never part with.

The Fiero is cheap, unique, and fun to drive. Tall and portly folks may have issues fitting and being comfortable. Anyone 6' and under should have no trouble. And if you want more power, drop in a 3800SC and go torture Mustang and C4 owners.

[DukeAllen]

You're just trying to sweet talk us all into getting one.

[C4fan]

Damn fine work Bobby. And don't let the coffee and donut jokes bother you. It's not really your fault if you're addicted. It kinda come with the job.

[five-oh]

Originally Posted by DukeAllen

You're just trying to sweet talk us all into getting one.

And he's doing a good job of it...

[Frizlefrak]

Mine...I bought in spring of 2011 with just 21,000 miles. Just a tick under 30K right now.....









Car show in Gunnison, Colorado....fun road trip....



Road block.....near Colorado state line....with a Mera and a Formula

[Frizlefrak]

Lake near Gunnison, Colorado with my travelling companions....

[Frizlefrak]

What the hell....one more. Road trip to Fredericksburg, Tx Oct 2012.



Post road trip blues....

[five-oh]

You are KILLING me!

[Sweet 90]

Damn Friz, seems like you won't miss Marco too much, will you

[Frizlefrak]

Honestly, the Fiero saw more road time than Marco. Fiero owners are a tight knit group, and going to a meet is a lot of fun. I will miss Marco, but paring down the fleet was a necessity. Now if I can get my old F250 sold, I'll go new truck shopping.

It was a tough decision which to sell, but it came down to this....low mile C4's are abundant should I ever want another. Nice low mile Fieros are getting very hard to find.

[PLRX]

Originally Posted by Sweet 90

Damn Friz, seems like you won't miss Marco too much, will you

We always have our favorites. The Ghost maybe a little beast, but Betty Boop remains my favorite.

My point of view may not be Friz's, but the Fiero is a pure mid 80s car. I bet many people have no idea what they are or were.

I hoping for Friz to do another V8 conversion. I'd love to see that thread in the future

[Sweet 90]

Originally Posted by PLRX

My point of view may not be Friz's, but the Fiero is a pure mid 80s car. I bet many people have no idea what they are or were.

It was always disappointing that they never put a real bad-ass engine in them. GM has made some cool looking cars over the years, just too bad that's all they ever were, cool looking.

Originally Posted by PLRX

I hoping for Friz to do another V8 conversion. I'd love to see that thread in the future

Don't worry about getting divorced Friz, I know a good lawyer