I've been asking for it for a long time and I'm finally getting my 3800SC motor. Matt started work on it yesterday and got the old motor removed in 5 hours. Probably would have been less but he had a stubborn bolt that caused him much pain (literally). Heck even the new wiring harness caused him pain cause he fell down the basement steps carrying it down and the computer fell on his head. So here is some pics of the start of the work. Hopefully this will be complete in time for the Charleston POCI show in July.
HOLY @(@*#----Please for your children take the time and money to go buy the proper lifting/stands to complete this job....This has to be one of the most unsafe things I have seen in my life when it comes to working on cars. I have had 2 scissors jacks fails from just holding up one side of the car.....
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06:48 PM
m0sh_man Member
Posts: 8460 From: south charleston WV 25309 Registered: Feb 2002
HOLY @(@*#----Please for your children take the time and money to go buy the proper lifting/stands to complete this job....This has to be one of the most unsafe things I have seen in my life when it comes to working on cars. I have had 2 scissors jacks fails from just holding up one side of the car.....
been using the scissor jacks for 10 years now, on countless fiero's, never had a single one fail while holding up a fiero (on a solid flat surface) had a couble jacks slide sideways or sink in dirt/gravel, but never had one fail and fall down.
i use the crank up scissor jacks to raise and lower the cradle, and raise up the car to remove the cradle, i use a jack on each side, crank it up, and stick two cinderblocks under each side of the car with a 2x6 ontop the centerblocks to run all the way accross the car, i also use jack stands to support the car, got two fiero's on the porch now both with the rear ends raised up in the air.
, now back onto fieroangels's topic
got the 3.4L out of the 88 today, took 5 hours for removal start to finish (had a stubborn cradle bolt) move the 3800 into place and slid it under the car, got it jacked up to about 12" or so from the cradle mounts on the frame, noticed that the exhaust on the 3800 was going to hit the trunk so i had to cut a section outta the trunk, dont have to remove the entire trunk, but going to loose about 25% or so of the lower section of the trunk, anyway, if things go well tomorrow, the car should be atleast able to turn over and start, might still have to button up some coolant lines and some other stuff, but it should be bolted in and functional.
i think fieroangel has some photo's of the motor going in.
matthew
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10:14 PM
May 23rd, 2010
m0sh_man Member
Posts: 8460 From: south charleston WV 25309 Registered: Feb 2002
HOLY @(@*#----Please for your children take the time and money to go buy the proper lifting/stands to complete this job....This has to be one of the most unsafe things I have seen in my life when it comes to working on cars. I have had 2 scissors jacks fails from just holding up one side of the car.....
i guess i should also point out that if you look in the pictures there are jack stands, 2 ton jack stands, one on each side of the car, the crank up jack and cinderblocks are used to support the cradle while i break the bolts loose, ive noticed if you take alittle pressure off the cradle, the bolts will spin alittle easier, it would be insane to use "just" crank up jacks to support the entire car, the front wheels are chalked, and there are 3-5 back-up supports holding the car, i had three crank-up jacks holding the cradle, one front center, and one on each side of the rear, and i have four cinderblocks holding the chassis up with a 2x6 ontop of them to bear the load more evenly.
how goes the work? looked like you had a good start on it yesterday. the new gauge panel cured the key off needle floating problem. Glad I got the whole unit. Didn't know the old frame was broken until I started removing it. Thanks again..
------------------ Robb. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- It's A Pontiac thing What else Can I say?????? 1985 Fiero GT 1998 Sunfire Turbocharged 1996 Grand Prix
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02:00 PM
m0sh_man Member
Posts: 8460 From: south charleston WV 25309 Registered: Feb 2002
went good, the 3800 s/c is in the car and running, ive got a few bugs to work out, with the key switch on, i had to get under the car and trigger the starter at the starter to get it to turn over, i figured out my problem was the car i pulled it from was originally an automatic, so the starter wire is in the wrong spot on the electrical connector by the battery, easy fix.
at this point i have to finish the coolent lines, the passenger side is hooked up, the drivers side isnt, i have to install the getrag shift cables, hook up the slave cylinder, and bleed the clutch system, i also have to figure out what type of oil the supercharger uses, for some reason there isnt a nut on the end of the supercharger, and when i pulled it from the donor car, some leaked out of the S/C snout
i still have to burn out the old rubber bushings from the trailing arms and install the poly bushings, i have to change the strut hats since they are the held adapter that adapt a 88 cradle to a 84-87 car, and after all that i guess ill have to get it aligned.
Engine swaps can be so much fun especially with rusty bolts that do not want to co operate. The thing with the photo that scares me is the cinder blocks not the scissor jacks, I prefer to use large wooden blocks like old rail road ties for that kind of work because the cement blocks will some times with out warning crack and fall apart under load. Dan
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08:32 PM
May 24th, 2010
m0sh_man Member
Posts: 8460 From: south charleston WV 25309 Registered: Feb 2002
Engine swaps can be so much fun especially with rusty bolts that do not want to co operate. The thing with the photo that scares me is the cinder blocks not the scissor jacks, I prefer to use large wooden blocks like old rail road ties for that kind of work because the cement blocks will some times with out warning crack and fall apart under load. Dan
i agree dan, ive had one cinderblock fail over the years, thats why i keep the metal jack stands under the car also, i always position them so that they are helping support the weight, the block that failed, failed when i was raising the car up, so when it failed, the car dropped down about 3/4" (19MM) to the jack stand that was in position for safety.
btw dan, im going to be sending you a PM in an hour or so, due to the previous owners wiring job on this car im not able to use your programmed ECM until i iron out some things, ill let you know whats going on.
PM replied, if your original harness was with a Bonneville SSEi set up then a few wires will need to be moved to be able to work with the GTP PCM so you can eliminate all the pass key crap. I have two large wooden blocks that I prefer to use even over jack stands when going under a car they are about three feet long by two feet wide and 1 foot thick and solid as heck. No clue where they came from I found them in a wreckers one day and have been using them ever since. Dan
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11:57 AM
PURPLE REIGN Member
Posts: 4080 From: Minnesnowta ------------------ Land of White Gold Registered: Sep 2002
yep, this one even has one of your mounts in it (the rear transmission mount) and my other fiero has all three mounts made by you, i purchased them all second hand though.....
i plan on having the car repainted eventually, it will remain purple.
its 1997 trans am bright purple metallic.
matthew
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01:57 PM
FieroAngel Member
Posts: 2094 From: S. Charleston WV Registered: Apr 2004
Ummmm technically its not a GT its a coupe with a fastback body (yep gotta be a smartass)
Ah well..... you can get away with it Angie
------------------ MINNESOTA MAFIA Real men get blown If you're going to run your mouth make sure the proof isn't all over the net that you're full of sh!t. 87 GT MP-112 powered, 3800 Supercharged on 19's 372 rwhp & tuning____88 GT T-top 1 of very few, 000,194.4 miles 87 GT custom______90 Grand prix STE Turbo_____2007GSXR 1000 Nitrous is like a hot chick with an STD, Ya want to hit it, but are afraid of the consequences. IF YOU AIN'T BREAKING STUFF..................IT AIN'T MODDED ENOUGH If your'e not living on the edge..........you're taking up too much room. Best Fiero mounts available
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12:49 AM
m0sh_man Member
Posts: 8460 From: south charleston WV 25309 Registered: Feb 2002
its kinda funny, all my fiero's are coupes but have aero bodies......
the engine is in the car and runs when i turn the key, idles fine too, still have to put the suspension back on, install the 5 speed shift cables and shifter assembly.
ive got KYB coilovers with 300lb springs that go on the car, and also full poly rear suspension stuff to install, i set a goal of having the car back to road ready in two weeks, i should have that goal met in about 10-12 days.
fieroangel wanted the s/c motor in it for the POCI show in charleston WV in july, they are having something called a "fiero reunion" not sure what they really mean by that, but the car should be presentable by then.
hopefully in the next year or two ill clean up the wiring harness and paint the supercharger and valve covers to match the car, i have way too many projects going on to do all the perfectionist work now.
matthew
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10:07 PM
Jun 1st, 2010
m0sh_man Member
Posts: 8460 From: south charleston WV 25309 Registered: Feb 2002
well, the 3800 s/c was on the ground and mobile on friday, i didnt work on it at all saturday or sunday, and yesterday i drove it around the house, and down the street and back a few times only to find out the alternator was making some horrible squeek from the bearings, luckily the previous owner of the drivetrain kept his receipt for a lifetime replacement alternator so i took it back and exchanged it. ive still gotta find some supercharger oil, and i want to find a better way to hold the battery down, right now the battery is loose, and can easily slide into the pulley for the supercharger belt.
matthew
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07:49 AM
FieroAngel Member
Posts: 2094 From: S. Charleston WV Registered: Apr 2004
WHAT!! you drove it around the house!! Hope you didnt leave tire marks on the hard wood floor I got to drive it too but I cant wait to get it out on the interstate at 70MPH and see what it can do.
HOLY @(@*#----Please for your children take the time and money to go buy the proper lifting/stands to complete this job....This has to be one of the most unsafe things I have seen in my life when it comes to working on cars. I have had 2 scissors jacks fails from just holding up one side of the car.....
X2 i had one of thoes f***ers strip on me while changing a tire on my firebird. The tire was on thank god but all you heard was a sudden creeking sound and snap the damn thing falls. i got away from it just in time.. from now on i only use bottel jacks floor jacks and jack stands. It even says on the sicisor jack "not for matinence purposes"
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09:34 PM
m0sh_man Member
Posts: 8460 From: south charleston WV 25309 Registered: Feb 2002
X2 i had one of thoes f***ers strip on me while changing a tire on my firebird. The tire was on thank god but all you heard was a sudden creeking sound and snap the damn thing falls. i got away from it just in time.. from now on i only use bottel jacks floor jacks and jack stands. It even says on the sicisor jack "not for matinence purposes"
like i said, i keep the jack stands under the car also, everytime i crank up jack i crank the jack stands up with them. made a solid bracket to hold the battery in place today, and i also changed the supercharger oil, ive got a whine coming from the car and its not the supercharger (unless its the supercharger bearings) it sounds like it could be a idler pulley but im not sure at this point, im going to remove the a/c compressor and put a compressor bypass pulley in place.
sounds like it is coming along nicely. PICS? Was kinda in pieces last time I saw it.
------------------ Robb. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- It's A Pontiac thing What else Can I say?????? 1985 Fiero GT 1998 Sunfire Turbocharged 1996 Grand Prix now1987 fiero cp
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09:30 PM
PFF
System Bot
Jun 7th, 2010
m0sh_man Member
Posts: 8460 From: south charleston WV 25309 Registered: Feb 2002
sounds like it is coming along nicely. PICS? Was kinda in pieces last time I saw it.
i keep forgetting to take pictures, i actually drove it to work, put about 8 miles on it today total, definatly going to have to adjust the alignment until i can get a real alignment, the caster/camber are fine, but the wheels are toe'd in quite a bit from where i made sure the toe adjusters were not siezed up.
ive also gotta get pictures of the 3.4L motor i pulled outta the car, i need to sell it and im sure pictures will help.
having trouble with our digital camera, it somehow lost all the pictures we took, ive got the photo's on my camera phone, but my card reader for the micro SD card is also having troubles, ill get them up soon i hope.
guess i need to step up my game 
Looks good so far !! 
