It is time for the blue lady to be reintroduced. She is on to the fourth chapter in her life.

Chapter One

I am not sure about any details from chapter one from her life which I would define as her OEM Fiero GT life cycle. I have never heard the stories or legends as to where she came from, who owned her, or how she came to fall into the hands of V8 Archie. Maybe Archie could fill in some details on that side of things or the chapter one owner could chime in here. I am just glad she found her way to mad Fierokanstinian mechanic. This is how she fell into her second chapter in life, the Great Blue Chop Top, or GBCT.

Chapter Two

It was a dark stormy night…no wait…. A cold snowy white day…or maybe it was a sunny summer afternoon. I am not quite sure but regardless a man named C. Archambault, or as we lovingly know him V8 Archie (screename Archie) got his hands on what would soon be a legend in the Fiero community: the first chop top. Once the lightning was done and the storm had subsided the “thing” Archie had built was shocked into life…and this is what he came up with.











Archie built the car in 1998 and sold it to Joel (screename Falcon Fiero). He owned it from either late 99 or early 2000 to 2002. His contributions to the car were new exhaust system, painted underside of hood and trunk, painted most of the interior black, new black carpet, Mr. Mikes floormats, steering wheel from Austrailia w/ custom chrome adaptor hub, and taking a crap load of pics of it!He spent his time with it taking it to shows, and cruises. Loved every minute of it.

Chapter Three

She was the lady of dreams and one man had to have her. A beautiful car with a shorter roof and an LT1 motor mated to a 5 speed manual transmission. The interior had been changed over to black and she was given some details which made her stand apart. Dave Bagwell (screename DL10) was the man that managed to woe the lady away from Falcon Fiero. Again, I don’t have many details as to the story of when, why or how I am just glad she ended up there. He loved and cherished that blue lady over the years. At some point Dave decided the lady had become “long in the tooth” and could use with some cosmetic surgery. The surgeon? Who other than Archie! Back to the mad mechanic for a complete teardown and reassembly. Here is what she went through.












And went from this to this:




Again, at some point the owner DL10 made a decision it was time for the next chapter in her life. I will let Dave chime in as to why that decision was made. He wanted someone from the Fiero community. Someone who had the same passion for the car, the community, and the heritage that our little cars have. He reflected internally, searched his heart, searched his soul…and chose me. Again, I can’t tell you why so he will have to chime in but I am very happy to be the chosen one. And that brings her to chapter three.

Chapter Four

She needed some attention…broken transmission, broken axle, leaking radiator fluid, and some various little assundries. Her first stop was on to Whodeanies. Why not the original builder? Well, Dean was closer to me so I could go visit. She arrived on the back of a car carrier and Dean got to work analyzing what was wrong. Here she is in Dean’s shop. We were kind of surprised noone asked any questions when she showed up in some pictures of peoples cars in the background



Dean had to have axles made before he could bring her back to life. This is where we found the transmission problems. I vaguely remember Dave telling me about a hole in the tranny that was plugged with JB weld but that is where the problem was. Dean tracked down a freshly rebuilt 5 speed, had the axles made and started surgery. It took awhile to track the parts down but went together quickly once they were gathered. While he was under her he found some rusted body pieces. He removed them and replaced them for me knowing I was anal retentive and would have been calling him to source those parts once I received her. Dean cleaned her up and drove her for a week or so taking her to a car show and ensuring her mechanicals were as strong as when Archie built her. Everything looked good so she was loaded onto a car carrier and delivered to me sometime after midnight. I unloaded her and just put her away in the garage. I found time to assess my likes and dislikes, things I would keep and things I would change, and quirks the girl had. Now, it’s my turn!
First and foremost, she had to get bathed to include engine bay, trunk, and front storage area. I am not a fan of pure black interiors or bright colored ones so there will be some changes there. Thanks to Paul Vargas (screename Paulv) for his commitment to the community and the fact that he had a complete interior in great shape for me. Unfortunately the dash was damaged in transit so that aspect will have to wait. The interior got striped out and an original gray was cleaned and reinstalled.























During this process ever screw, nut, and bolt was rust reformed, primed, and flat enameled along with the brackets behind the HVAC area. There was lots of blue overspray to be cleaned off. For example the bezels and window switches had it on them and took some scrape time with a fine exacto knife and some scrubbing with magic eraser. This also cleaned them up from the whiting that all grey switches suffer. All the seat rails were dealt with at the same time. They were removed and treat along with a lubricant to blend them into the black carpet better. The seats were cleaned and conditioned with McGuire’s and new Dot Matrix bezels were installed. I am still working on getting a 5 speed one but it will happen in time. Long way to go but I am on the journey.

This is a work in progress. You can see some areas were treated with cleaning and reconditioning but some have not. They will all be gotten to...just a matter of finding the time to do it. We already have interior mods in the process of being made and then she will be going to Russ88TTop for some interior loving. What do you think so far???

[This message has been edited by johnyrottin (edited 11-04-2012).]

I raise my hands as the current owner of the original rims and wing. Love the gbct

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1985 Fiero GT 4speed 1986 Fiero GT
1997 BMW 328 1984 Porsche 944

FieroNews

[This message has been edited by DL10 (edited 11-03-2012).]

Very cool thread to see!

I believe I owned it from either late 99 or early 2000 to 2002.

My contributions to the car were minor, new exhaust system, painted underside of hood and trunk, painted MOST of the interior black, new black carpet, Mr. Mikes floormats, steering wheel from Austrailia w/ custom chrome adaptor hub, and took a crap load of pics of it!

I spent my time with it taking it to shows, and cruises. Loved every minute of it.

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SSFiero@Aol.com 87 Gt-5spd-62k miles.

quote Originally posted by Fiero Thomas: I raise my hands as the current owner of the original rims and wing. Love the gbct

Actually the original GBCT wheels and wing were different. The TSW Blades wheels, and wing risers came later:





Or, to be even more specific, it had LACE wheels during the build.

[This message has been edited by Falcon Fiero (edited 11-03-2012).]

quote Originally posted by johnyrottin: We were kind of surprised noone asked any questions when she showed up in some pictures of peoples cars in the background.

It had to have been the wheels. The Blades(?) are very uncommon. It's how I always recognized the car, in other pics.
And the high wing is gone. And it appears to be a darker blue.

[This message has been edited by Raydar (edited 11-03-2012).]

quote Originally posted by Falcon Fiero: Very cool thread to see! I believe I owned it from either late 99 or early 2000 to 2002. My contributions to the car were minor, new exhaust system, painted underside of hood and trunk, painted MOST of the interior black, new black carpet, Mr. Mikes floormats, steering wheel from Austrailia w/ custom chrome adaptor hub, and took a crap load of pics of it! I spent my time with it taking it to shows, and cruises. Loved every minute of it.

I remember seeing these pics back in 1999 or so and becuase it's a fastback I knew what mine would look like. I drove the next 900 miles to V8Archie's. I liked the Purple Pavement Eater, but it was hybrid of a fastback with a notchback-like top with a twist of tweakness so I there's was no connection except for the wing tips.

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"Friends don't let their friends drive stock."