Has anyone put a Norhtstar V8 mod by Design One Systems into their Fireo? There is an article in the May 1999 issue of Kit Car magazine about this modification ($3000-$5000). This was an idea I had years ago. I never dreamed someone would actually do it. The Northstar is an extremely sophisticated engine. Supposedly, the Design One mod is the most refined on the market. The engine software is reworked to fool the engine into thinking systems not present on the Fiero (but are on the Cadillac) are working normally. Without buying a kit it's probably impossible to do it yourself. No one ever accused the Fiero trunk of being too big, but it does give you some storage space. You loose the trunk if you do this mod. You will also be running an automatic transmission, if your not already. I would like to do this to the car someday, but I would like to know if the kit is all it claims to be. Anyone ever done it?

you would have to be some kind of physco
to put a northstar v8 in your fiero

EMF,
What's the problem? The thought of having 300hp on tap while getting 25mpg doesn't sound appealing?

Hay ez sounds like an awsome swap to me!!!v8archie has the kit also,but he can instal it if you didnt want to spend an eturnity on the thing. From every thing Ive read its suposed to be one of the wildest kits at this time.The Northstar is even suposed to weight less than the 2.8 becouse its all aluminum!! Just imagine....

what would you need to do to your fiero,
in order to install this kit, i mean,
wouldnt you need to replace like 99 % of
the car to take on all this added horsepower
etc from the northstar.
oh, and everyone keeps saying northstar v8
do they make a v6?

Hi EMF! It would be a good idea to tighten up the suspention with some modifications so it would handle as good as it ran,but the drive chain is all from the Northstar so no modification needed there.From what I here the Northstar will not increase the weight realative to a stock 2.8 becuse of its all aluminum construction. My question is how bad would wheel hop be under hard acceloration? GM dosnt make a Northstar v6. HAVE A GOOD ONE!

EMF,
The Northstar system is a 300hp (stock) engine/transmission system designed for late model cadillacs. It is so sophisticated, it was designed to run even if you ran the engine completely out of coolant. It is only made in a V8, although it is a small V8. I'm not sure of the CID. The article said that the stock half-shafts would handle 300hp. Although, you would need upgraded shafts if you installed the turbo version (I wasn't sure if I should mention that). You do not need to rebuild 90% of the car to install it. It is a kit version made to bolt right in. After reviewing the article, you only loose the trunk if you go with the higher performance exhaust. Otherwise, you get to keep the trunk.

it's also the lightest engine ever produced(v8's)...Northstar, all alum. 4.6ltr, 300hp 32v dohc.....i dream of the day....:o)

I can assure anyone that thinks all you need is a motor and kit that you are going to have problems. Even with the engine kit there is a tremendous amount of work to be done to the car. This is true of all high power impants, not just fiero.

For a start you Will need to perform major reworking of the suspesion. All rubber bushings must be replaced with urethane. The rear control arms should be completely replaced with tubular units on a high hp implant. the stamped ones are strong, but they are old. any defecct in them at all could result in a sudden failure of the part. Defects that wouldn't matter with a stock motor can be a big problem with a big motor.

You should also have the cradle stripped and inspected thuroly for cracks. Consider ZyGloing it even.

you will probably want to eliminate cradle bushings completely, some kits may include steel or AL inserts for this, but expect to have to buy or make them. the last thing you want is the cradle moving around with 300hp attached.

Jack Ditter of St. Louis Gateway Fieros (he passed away a few months ago) installed a 97 model Northstar in his 87 GT. He used a Zumalt kit. He did it at John Norman's shop taking advice from John on the details. John pioneered this conversion and did it on a bet several years ago. You can see both cars in the March 1999 issue of Hot Rod magazine.
Jack said the handling was great. The traction control inherent in the Northstar transmission is awsome. There is no wheel hop because of the way the engine torques the load onto the rear wheels.
Jack had Gary Zumalt mount the engine/trans to a new cradle. He then took about 2 months of weekends to do the installation. His biggest challenge was getting the wiring harness right. I don't remember who supplied the harness.
Jack was able to keep about half the depth of the original trunk. He did a very professional job. It looked like Pontiac designed it.
The battery was moved into the forward compartment where the spare tire goes. The coil pack is where the battery used to be. Jack had NACA ducts installed in the rear quarter panels. The left replaced the original intake opening. The right one serves to cool the coil pack. I believe FOCOA fabricated the ducts for him. They look great.
You'll want to upgrade your brakes when you go to a high output drivetrain. This usually results in the loss of the parking brake. Most people with automatics don't use theirs anyway.
Suspension upgrades would be helpful also. I believe Jack lowered his car and installed Uerathane bushings everywhere and a rear sway bar.
John's car is a purple 87 coupe called Obsession with many body and accessory mods. I believe he used a 94 Northstar engine.
One of th neat things about this conversion is it is extremely quiet. You'd never guess that there was over 300hp under the lid.
Jack's car appears to be a normal Fiero from the outside. The only indication of the powerplant is the Northstar emblem where the 2M6 sticker used to be.
This is an awsome transplant but is a handfull to do. Northstar engines aren't cheap either. You can probably plan on spending around $12000 to $15000 to do the conversion (includes buying the engine).
I'd love to have one but will probable settle for a 3.4 from a camaro.
Take care and keep on dreaming.
Carroll

There is now a V6 version of the Northstar, which Oldsmobile is using in their Intrigue. I saw it described as the Shortstar in the automotive press. According to the following article I found, it's got 215 hp, which may or may not be worth the trouble. But since this is such a good motor, there's gotta be room for more power. I wonder if there is any market for Northstar aftermarket performance parts.

http://www.auto.com/reviews/pi_120598_intrigue.htm

****, i would rather have the cadillac :>

i seen somewhere that cadillac is planning on making a 2 seater sports car..front ebgine 465hp supercharged northstar...it's on the news stand now...maybe in car and driver of motortrend..it looks awesome!....but i know the price is going to be for the rich.