I’ve been meaning to start a build thread for a few months now and I haven’t set aside the time to do it. There are tons of build threads out there on so many peoples 3800 projects and most are pretty helpful in showing their progress or giving the future builder an idea of what it takes to actually get a 3800 into a Fiero so why do another one? Well, first and foremost this is going to be for me. It will be my build diary. I also want it to also serve as another resource for those future 3800 builders out there who want to see it explained in a simple and easy to follow log. This is my first 3800 build so it is a learn-as-I-go process that anyone is welcome to follow and offer up support from their build experiences. I can’t say if my build thread will be any better than any of the others because I’ve read some really good threads but all I can offer is what I’m learning as I go. The unique difference I can share in my build thread is the end results will hopefully end with a running L67 in my car and a series of build videos that show what it took to make that happen. I think first and foremost anyone following my journey should probably get to know the car a little better since this thread is centered around it.

The subject of this build thread will be a 1987 Fiero GT that was originally the Bright Blue Polly paint option offered for that year. I bought the car April 12th 1997 from Woodbury, NJ with 109k. It was the first car I ever bought and it was my senior year in high school. I drove this car EVERYWHERE. I loved it! In 1999 I bought a red 85 SE which I then gave the distinction of the red car and the blue car. In 2001 I sold the SE to my brother but I still identified the 87GT as the blue car so it morphed into being its name, The Blue Car. Not the coolest name but it stuck. I got married in 2004 and started a family in 2005. By 2007 I had to park The Blue Car due to my growing family. In the summer of 2012 I was told that I was going to get laid off in three months so to thin out the budget I sold my Buick Rendezvous to pay down debt and bank as much as I could to prepare for the worst. My company ended up rehiring me with a raise 7 weeks after being laid off so now I was back in the market for a car. I’m pretty sure my wife regrets making the comment to this day but she said “why don’t you either drive the Fiero or get rid of it.” That is car like family to me so selling it was out of the question but that DID reignited the Fiero Fury in my soul that has since never left me. The car had been sitting for 5 years. Surprisingly it still ran but the brakes were shot. I gave it a complete brake overhaul and started looking for any kind of 3800 swap videos to see if it was within my mechanical abilities but nothing was out there that gave me that confidence. In fact there weren’t really any Fiero videos showing how to do anything. After thinking about it, I had wished that I had recorded myself doing the brake job on the Fiero and shared what I know about servicing the car with anyone who might be in my shoes wanted to learn how to do something. That kicked of the trend in pulling out the camera when something needed to be fixed.



Over the past several years The Blue Car has gone through a transformation. We’ll call it The New Blue Car. I spent some time and came up with a NEW blue color scheme that would breathe new life into the car. I of course pulled out the camera and recorded myself painting the car Long Beach Blue Pearl (B510P) with a high gloss black on the rocker panels. The wheels were a reverse of the paint scheme as they were painted high gloss black with Long Beach Blue Pearl accents around the edge. The camera has been rolling any chance I get after that.


At 184k miles in 2012 I felt the tired old 2.8 needed to retire so I did my first video log of that swap process. There have been other service and upgraded videos over the years but this year will be the biggest contribution yet. I know the Fiero is seen as more of a niche car in the automotive world so viral hits and fortune was not my intent. I wanted to help my fellow “niche’y” Fiero friends do what I’ve been doing all these years. Keeping those Fiero’s alive!


Now that we’ve been properly introduced let’s get up to speed on this 3800 project. I spent most of last year (2015) saving and buying pats. A huge (THANK YOU) to the PFF members who have sold me parts including FieroRog for the quality parts that make this project a reality. I’m not a welder so I couldn’t fabricate these types of parts. As I have been buying up parts I’ve kept a detailed log of what I bought, when I bought it, what the part number is, what I paid for it and a direct link to the part on the internet (if one was available). There is a common saying that Fiero owners have two cars, one to drive and one for parts. My parts car was an 86GT with t-tops that I completely stripped and chopped up. I have nearly an entire cars worth of parts in my attic so that will also be a source of parts for me. First, I pulled out an old rusty engine cradle I had laying around. This will be the base of my new 3800 build. For anyone who doesn’t have a spare cradle and needs to pull their Fiero engine out. Here is my video on removing the 2.8 engine from a Fiero.


My project officially kicked off in September 2015. I wanted to keep my first swap as a budget build but at the same time I want to try and make it look nice. I took a wire brush and a drill and stripped off the old paint and grease from the cradle.



I then after the cradle was degreased and cleaned I picked up some base coat/clear coat paint from Pep Boys.
11oz prep spay (degreaser/cleaner)
12oz Hi-temp Grey Primer
12oz Hi-temp Black Paint
12oz Hi-temp Clear Coat




If I was going to do a build video I at least needed a presentable cradle to work off of. Refubishing this from the ground up meant that I needed a nice and clean frame. My first unofficial 3800 build video was replacing the old dry rotted cradle and control arm bushings. I decided to go with Rodney Dickman’s red aluminum cradle bushings and the Fiero Store’s Polyurethane control arm bushings.
84-87 Aluminum Engine Cradle Bushings (red)
Rear Polly Transmission Mount



Here is a video on that process.


After the bushings were installed I set out to attach the knuckles, hubs and tie rods. After which I felt I had a platform ready to build on.





Now it was time to get my 4t65e-HD transmission mounted on. I order some Rodney Dickman transmission mounts as the old rubber mounts wouldn’t stand the test of time against the torque of a supercharged 3800.
Front Polly Transmission Mount
Rear Polly Transmission Mount







Here is the installation of the transmission to the cradle.

Once mounted, the path I chose was to then get the axles installed. My logic was that the transmission alone isn’t as difficult to move around on the cradle if I needed to make some slight adjustments to its position so that the axles would properly seat in. Trying to make those adjustments with the engine mounted seemed like more work than I wanted to tackle. When it comes to axle building there seems to be an overwhelming list of options out there. I was eventually directed to Stephen Poe who has axle building and 3800 installs down to a science. He set me down the path I decided to take. Anyone looking to have axles made for their auto trans 3800 swap can talk to Stephen Poe. He will build you what you need. Anyone looking to build their own should check out my axle build video for more information.







That is all of the videos released so far. I’ve already recorded videos for two and a half more segments. The next one I hope to release will be converting the fuel rail and swapping around the valve covers. That would be the half video I mentioned. I have the fuel rail removed and recently sent that to FieroFreak to chop up and make into a more Fiero friendly setup. I saw not too long ago on FB that Jason injured his eye so I plan on finishing this video whenever he’s back up to speed. I hope to release the next video on 04/09/2016 so if I get the fuel rail back before then I will try and make that the next video published. If not I will move on and publish the fuel rail whenever I can.
The next video in line after the fuel rail would be installing FieroRog’s brackets, accessories, misc pulleys and the serpentine belt.
The third video I have on the editing table is replacing the lower intake gasket and supercharger gasket.
The next video I plan to start recording in the coming days would be swapping out the super charger pulley for a 3.4 and changing the plugs. My goal is if all goes smoothly and I can maintain this pace is to try and publish a new video every two or three weeks. Knowing my luck, delays and life will come into play and stall my timeline.

Now that I’m up to date on where I’m at I can try and keep a more accurate update as to where I’m at, issues I’m running in to and new videos I post.

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87 Fiero GT 3.4 Pushrod with 7730 ECM & DIS
88 MERA #8013
85 Fiero SE with 3.1 pushrod
86 Fiero SE 2.8 stock
www.youtube.com/LostNotForgotton

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"Discord"
Red 1988 GT under restoration!

Let's Go Mets!

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

[This message has been edited by JohnWPB (edited 03-31-2016).]

Wow! I never knew your car started off like that. This will be a great 'behind the scenes' kind of stuff.

Look forward to move videos in the future.

[This message has been edited by zzzhuh (edited 03-31-2016).]