Alright guys and gals...as promised, here is the build up of my 87 GT. I bought the car last August and it has 94,000 mile on it. The guy I bought it from really took care of it and it has no problems at all.....so I decided to hack it up !!!! The kit is from the Fiero Warehouse and is one of the finest I have seen. I started today at 3:00pm and called it a day at 8:00pm. In that time, I was able to strip the entire car and test fit one of the rear fenders.

First off, this is one of the best tools for anyone to own. It allows you to push your car from side to side without starting it or having to do the old forward/back push while steering.

I will tell you that the best procedure for me was to 1-Remove all wheel well screws, 2-Drill out all of the rivets that hold the stock panels on to the car.They hold the rocker panels to the frame and also have to be drilled out from the door sill plates after you remove the covers.

I won't get too in depth with the destruction details but lets just say that I am using very little of the existing car so I had no concerns about saving too many parts. Here is the car with the molding removed....you can really save the existing tabs if you pry from the top of the molding rather than from the bottom.

This is the stock door with the plastic panels removed exposing the steel lip where the my new panels will mount.

Once the body panels are removed, you can focus on the rear of the car. First, remove all the sail panel screws and then the trim. Be aware that the factory used a slight adhesive so be careful with prying these out or you could snap them.I actually bought new windows so I took the old windows out. This is not necessary for rear clip removal. I will warn you that protection is needed if you decide to remove the old windows as they will shatter. After removing the trim and the tail light assembly, all of the necessary bolts and plastic fasteners will be accessible.

Before removing the rear clip, the roof paneling must be loosened. Remove the headliner and there are 3 nuts for the rear roof section and 6 bolts for the front section. The reason for loosening these is that the front section is hooked to the rear so they have to be unhooked. Carefully lift the front portion of the roof panel to unhook it from the rear. Once unhooked, all of the bolts can be removed from the rear clip and it can be lifted off the car in one piece. I will give you a warning for the novice builder...the fuel door latch is held in by one screw. To get to this screw, you have to remove your gas cap. Be aware that this is a plastic car and does generate static electricty. If you touch the screwdriver to the gas filler neck, you could be in for a surprise. I know,I know it probably won't happen but I just put the caution out there for you.Here is a pic with the clip removed.

After I removed the rear clip, it was time to call it quits for tonight but I decided to do a test fit of a rear fender. One member of the forum was asking about the difference between the stock look and the IMSA look. Here is your answer.
Stock........
IMSA.........

Not bad for the first day !!

quote Originally posted by drumwzrd: After I removed the rear clip, it was time to call it quits for tonight but I decided to do a test fit of a rear fender. One member of the forum was asking about the difference between the stock look and the IMSA look. Here is your answer.

Thank you sir That does help a lot! Looking forward to seeing more progress

Looking good,,, I am installing a towel rack over my key board as to keep it dry. Those parts are really nicely done and the gel coat almost matches the car color. Just toss some color in clear and call it a day. Heck we wish it was that easy.

Keep the pictures coming. SC

Are those the factory rims? If so, you may have a "rare" set of white rims. Not that it means a whole lot (long story), but if they are original, you may want to put them up for sale. Just a thought.

They are the factory white rims and they are in pretty good shape. A little yellowing but that is to be expected for 20 years old.

I would cut into the wheel well to match up with the stock size... the IMSA wells have always looked too small.

Can't wait to see it finished!

quote Originally posted by drumwzrd: They are the factory white rims and they are in pretty good shape. A little yellowing but that is to be expected for 20 years old.

https://www.fiero.nl/forum/Forum1/HTML/059040.html Hmmm...

Nice start to a build-up. I'll be following

insert gif of person eating popcorn here

Alright....day 2 of this build. As you saw, the first day was mainly for disassembly and inspection of all hidden components and wires. Today, I was able to remove the front bumper cover which is held in by screws under the front of the car on the left and right. Basically, you are removing the rubber dust protector from the bumper but leaving it attatched to the car. One thing I am slowly seeing about this car is that you seem to only need 1 or 2 sizes of torx bit, a 7mm and a 15mm wrench or socket....this is great !! Below is the pic of the front end which is just hanging on the factory bracket.

I also temporarily mounted the front fenders to get an idea of door clearance and hood clearance...this will require a little finessing to get it right. The pic above also shows the fenders mounted with the front end. I also mounted the rocker panels and sill plates. The sill plates simply slide over the sill mounts and the rocker panels slide down into the factory clamp strip and rivet from the bottom of the door. This strip is seen in my previous pics.

Here is an overhead view of a very rough constructed car.

Testing the wing....
Even though I am jumping ahead....let me know what you think about this Dodge Viper gas cap on the car.

A lot of the forum members keep mentioning about the wheel well size and how I need to open them up. I don't understand what you are trying to do. If I stay with a 15" rim, I don't see the problem with clearance. Here is a pic of the rear stock tire. Notice the amount of space.

To clear up any questions about the tire size that I will be using and what the difference in tire height will be, below is a pic of my tire and one that is pretty close to a common size. On the right side is a 225/50/15 and my rear is on the left at 345/35/15....there is almost no height difference.

Before I call it quits for today, I need some opinions about the paint job. I am painting this car myself and really like the scheme of the Valvoline car. I was thinking of painting it exact and even painting the sponsor decals on rather than using stickers. The pic below is from a forum member and I don't remember who it came from so I edited out the person. This is the paint scheme I was going to do. Anyway, tomorrow, I tackle the rear end and lighting brackets ( If I get that far ). I'll keep you posted !!!

I've always like the look of the valvoline car. If it were mine, I'd get some printouts of the various logos and see what it looked like if they were on the car. If I liked it, I'd probably go ahead and put them on. I'd rather have my own sponsors, but that's a bit of wishful thinking Even if you go ahead and paint the logos on, there aren't that many and they don't 'ruin' the view of the car.

quote Originally posted by drumwzrd: A lot of the forum members keep mentioning about the wheel well size and how I need to open them up. I don't understand what you are trying to do. If I stay with a 15" rim, I don't see the problem with clearance. Here is a pic of the rear stock tire. Notice the amount of space. To clear up any questions about the tire size that I will be using and what the difference in tire height will be, below is a pic of my tire and one that is pretty close to a common size. On the right side is a 225/50/15 and my rear is on the left at 345/35/15....there is almost no height difference.

Nobody said anything about clearance, the IMSA wheel well looks stupid because it's smaller than the stock one. Even the race car has larger wells than the kit you're about to put on.

I was just saying cutting the wheel well to fit at least the stock diameter will greatly improve the look of the car.

[This message has been edited by Leafy (edited 03-13-2007).]

Alright, tonight I temp fitted the rear bumper and it looked ok. I'm not posting pics yet until I get the light assembly mounted. Also, I spent the evening measuring for the wheel backspacing since I am going so large on the rear tire. I may order the wheels this week if I have time.

I have had a few requests about the interior. Here are a couple of pics but keep in mind, it is under construction....notice the wiring hanging under the steering column. Regarding the build, I just started the proper fitting of the rear section. I plan to bolt the kit together and then glass the kit together for extra strength. I will try to post as many pics as I can but at this point, it will be like watching paint dry.....boring.



I am also trying to get rid of all stock body panels that I removed....meaning bumpers, front fenders, sill plates, rocker panels, and the rear clip. Keep in mind that I am removing a section of the rear area that connects the two sides together on the roof. I also will be removing the taillight bracket assembly. Also, a new side intake scoop from Fiero Store is no longer needed so it is going also as well as the stock GT steering wheel in Gray. Let me know if anyone needs any of these parts.

[This message has been edited by drumwzrd (edited 03-14-2007).]

Alright, work has been hectic so I am a little behind in my schedule. This weekend, I will hopefully post a major update of this build. For today, I wanted to show you one other aspect of this build. Many of you already know this but some may not....the IMSA kit is not joined at the roof or rear bumper from manufacture. The stock clip is a one piece that you can just lift off the car. Due to this, a filler strip or joining strip has to be added to tie the rear section to the roof. Also the taillight section is not included. This also has to be fabricated. The first pic is of what I start with....the stock rear clip with the roof line marked out, and the taillight section marked out.



The next pic is what I end up with after the cuts are made. If you notice on the roof panel, I left the 3 mounting studs intact even though the IMSA kit covers the holes where the studs mount to the roof. I want the maximum strength so I will modify the kit rather than the factory mounting points.


This is where the roof piece will be installed and glassed in to the left and right side of the fenders. If you look close, you can see the center mounting hole and on the far side, you can just barely see the other mounting hole. This is where I will modify the kit to allow maximum strength.


Finally, here is the rough fitting of the stock taillight section. It will be glassed in after the rear bumper is properly mounted to the car. I also cut it so that all of the stock bolt locations can be used.

huummm. so do I understand correctly that you're not using any of the rear clip substructure (except the portions you cut out with the skin attached). ?

Russ544

On the stock GT, the rear clip is held down by several locations. The roof with the 3 studs that I described, the taillight section with 6 bolts, and 6 mounting points that are hidden by the sail panel trim. Keep in mind that stock rear end has 4 parts.....the upper rear clip, the rear bumper cover and 2 side panels behind each door. The kit has the side panels and fenders as one, and the rear bumper is a separate piece. After I bolt the rear section together, I will have a 1 piece rear end. Again, I intend to bolt and glass these pieces to really add strength. The kit uses the stock locations to bolt it to the car. I will use the roof studs, the 6 taillight bolts (once glassed in), the upper and lower bumper mounts which are now going to be bolts instead of plastic rivets. I believe there are about 12 bumper mounting points top and bottom. That leaves me with the 6 mounting points behind the sail panels. These are the only things that I will have to recreate so to answer your question, I will be using all of the stock mounting locations plus I may add some steel rivets to the body in the door jambs since there is a real healthy flange that was molded to the kit. All in all, this will actually be stronger than stock when I'm done. This weekend, I will post picks of the rear end bolted together and drilled out so everyone can see the mounting locations. If I have the time, I will also try to post the front end bolted together with mounting points showing.

Tomorrow, I will be posting some of the modifications needed to make this kit fit the stock structure.

Ok. I am a little disappointed with myself because this was supposed to be a major update and due to certain circumstances, I really fell behind with this update. I picked up a friend this weekend and I won't use names but uuuuhhhh it rhymes with Heineken !!!!! Anyway, lets just say I was in no condition to pick up tools on Saturday. What I did on Sunday, however, is remove the kit and started drilling and doing adjustments for the proper assembly of the pieces. Amazingly, I have only had to do one modification to the cars structure. I had to bend some of the rear bumper metal out of the way so that the rear clip fit perfectly.


This is really all I accomplished today.



And this is what is left of the original body.


I am waiting for my panel bonding adhesive to arrive and then I can start permanently mounting and glassing the body to the car.
For those interested, it was extremely difficult to buy this adhesive. It comes in a double tube and I get the stuff for about $35.00 per tube....no big deal. Where I start to cringe is the price of the gun.....roughly $255.00.....OUCH !!!! Oh well....I guess I need it.

To change the subject, I am going with Billet Specialties for my wheels. They are a great company and are willing to work with you in any way possible. This is probably going to be the wheel that I use.


Hopefully, I'll be able to post a few more updates this week....work permitting.

quote Originally posted by drumwzrd: To change the subject, I am going with Billet Specialties for my wheels. They are a great company and are willing to work with you in any way possible. This is probably going to be the wheel that I use. Hopefully, I'll be able to post a few more updates this week....work permitting.

A example of some Bullet rims here: https://www.fiero.nl/forum/F...1/HTML/044505-5.html

Thank you sir.

i like you leaving the rear wheel wells stock because i want to see how that will look .everyone else is opening them up and if i do this kit , that would be too much work. one thing i dont like is that you have to destroy a gt rear clip to install it .these are getting really hard to find (at least in ontario) and i wish they would modify the kit to make that unnecesary .looks good so far .you are going to need rear coilovers to fit those tires .

Awesome thread! No need to apologize for any delays/ only minor updates...!

Thanks for sharing this with us!

-FR

Personally, I'm not so fond of the viper gas cap. If nothing else, you should turn it around. so that it opens from the back.

Nice sleek lines and then a steel mushroom sprouting out the side.

Hope you don't take offense. None was meant.

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Kendall (Icelander) Whitlatch
'85 Fiero 2M4 - 5spd Isuzu
'67 LeMans/GTO clone 6.5 litre TH400
All the rest aren't Pontiacs, so what does it matter?

No offense taken. The Viper cap was just a thought. If I used it, it would be recessed in the body so the only thing you see would be the peak of the dome.

As a note** I also personally like the imsa wheel wells as they come stock from the mold... but the front bumper does not seem to have its lower ground effect extend as low as the original GT front bumper unless you attach the chin spoiler.

The problem here in California is that there are nothing but speed bumps, curbs and other devices that are designed to slow you down. If I put the chin spoiler on, it would be torn off the first time I drive downtown. I will lower the car once the tires are on and it should be a really clean look.

Just a quick update. I am waiting for my panel adhesive to arrive and the.....GULP......$300.00 applicator gun. While I'm waiting, I will be posting the progress of the air intake that I am designing from fiberglass for the side. I'll also go through the most simple way to make a quick mold with no release agent...some of you will be impressed at this technique. I am going to try to pick up the pace on this build once all of my fiberglass accessories arrive due to the fact that I just read the post about the West Coast show in Monterey and am pushing to complete this kit for the show.

PM returned.

Shucks... If I'd a know you needed an applicator gun I could have just sold you the one I fabricated for.. oh I duno... 1/2 price of the one you bought Also sorry to point this out, but had you purchased your panel adhesive from a local auto paint store they generally loan you the gun for free. oh well.... maybe next time

Russ

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"doesn't matter where you've been....... doesn't matter where you're going...... just how cool you look gettin' there."
Fonzy

drumwzrd - PM sent

[This message has been edited by larini74 (edited 03-21-2007).]

As promised...a side intake project while I wait for supplies. I started with blocks of green styrofoam for the mold from a local craft store. They come in 6 packs for $3.50 and each piece is the size of a brick.


I glued 3 together using 3m spray adhesive. I then sketched out the general design of the 2 openings and roughcut the foam with a hacksaw blade.


After I had the general shape idea, I then sanded the piece with 220 grit paper. The beauty of this is that the sandpaper does not clog and it cuts very quickly...so quickly that you can destroy a part within seconds so be careful. I shaped the piece by eye until the mold looked about right.



Here it is with no openings on the car.


And with the openings cut.


The look should be pretty different and actually neat once it is molded in to the fender. Tomorrow, I will start the fiberglassing and post more pics.

[This message has been edited by drumwzrd (edited 03-22-2007).]

Nice !

Gotta luv some tweeking !

Well guys and gals, I have not had a chance for a major update do to work and my supplies just showing up on Friday. Now that I have them, updates will continue on a more regular basis. The first quicky is the roof panel. First, I was able to remove the factory skin from the rear roof panel plate and set it in place to test the fit.

I then trimmed the plate to fit under the new fiberglass panels and trimmed the factory skin to fit within the new quarter panels.

These will all be bonded with 3M panel adhesive and then the gaps will be sanded, beveled, and filled with fiberglass filler. I will post more pics tomorrow of the surfaces being bonded since I was not ready to use the adhesive today. The next small item was the rear wing. I was told that the proper way to install this was to "split" the rear decklid and insert the wing flange under the opening. Then, it is bonded to the decklid. I am also going to be adding nuts to the bottom of the wing and bolting the wing to the decklid as well as using the panel adhesive. These are to be sure that the wing doesn't move even after I glass the wing in to the rear lid. First, I set the wing on the car and positioned it for proper fit. I then marked the edges with a Sharpie and used frisket masking to trace the contour of the flange.

I then cut the frisket and removed the excess and the wing. I placed my cutout on my marks that I made with the pen.

I then cut along the line with a dremel tool. I used such a small tool just because I am limited on space and could not afford to have a fiberglass cloud in my garage....plus, it is very accurate. I then "split" the lid with a screwdriver.

I then slid the wing under the split and checked for proper gap.


Here is a look from the underside of the lid.

This is what the gap looks like until it is sanded and filled to fit the wing properly.

This is the wing with the lid opened. Notice how important it is to keep the decklid contour lines straight???

quote Originally posted by drumwzrd: The pic below is from a forum member and I don't remember who it came from so I edited out the person.

I just uploaded a short video of the Dingman Bros on Youtube...


Dingman Bros IMSA Fiero at Daytona 2006

Let me know if yo want some Hi-Res pics and the Video at higher quality.... I can upload it to RapidShare or some other file sharing service so you can download.

Thats a great vid. Thanks

I deffinatly think the fender needs to be widened, otherwise the car cant be lowered.

Reluctantly, I will explain again and post the same old pics again. I am using 15" wheels. The tires that I am using are about 1/2 taller than the stock tires. These are on the left of the pic.

Due to this, I have about 3 inches of lowering area before the tire hits the fender. This pic is of the car sitting on my wheel-arounds....it is not jacked in the air. Notice the clearance and do the math. I have plenty of lowering area without cutting anything. If it looks like crap, I will cut the fenders but I think it will look great as-is....


If I cut the fenders with my new wheel size, 345/35/15, I will have about 5 inches of clearance around the sides of each wheel and that will look like crap !

Buuttttt.......I appreciate your opinions.

quote Originally posted by drumwzrd: Thats a great vid. Thanks

You have a PM with the download link for the high-res pics and two short videos...

[This message has been edited by FierociousGT (edited 04-03-2007).]

Looks really goodso far and glad to see the build of an imsa in its orginal form. I would check to see if those 345's will all fit underneath inside the car or you may need wheel flares to cover the excess rubber xposed out of the wheel well. With my build I started with rear viper 335's tires but they did not all fit underneath, even with coilovers. I am for sure that nothing bigger than 315's @17" tall rim or smaller than 17" will fit under the rear fenders....or I say that you must preform some major labour intensive magic.

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Fully Modified IMSA GT Street/Race Car
48/52% weight ballence ratio(F/R)
2500lbs -250hp
2.8 V-6 Supercharged w/ intercooler
3.5 inch drop w/coil-over supension+upgrades
Full custom interior & body

Whoa, I never noticed you were right up the road in San Mateo! Thats awesome, I'll have to take a peek at this project sometime! This is what I get for never going to Golden Gate Fieros meetings.