Cali trip... working title... I couldn’t decide on title, Trail of Tears 2, Screwed in Cali, Little Bird Poops (the Fiero's name) troubles, Thanks PJK, @@#%@%**"*&@ (don’t think Cliff woulda like that one), The Never Ending Road Trip....
I’m open to suggestions too

Ok....

So, MstangsBware asked me, (well... told me - lol) about going on a road trip to California to bring a Fiero there, drop it off, and pick one up to bring back.
Now while I would go anywhere/ anytime and help a friend / Fiero brother out, and by no means do I have any issue with MstangsBware (matter of fact i'd do it again, and look forward to hangin with him again), what we went through just aint right. It goes beyond a bond that we Fiero nuts, I mean people should have, and boils down to um... respect, decency, just plain human compassion and caring!
The 3800SC drove beautifully and effortlessly. The job he did was one heck of a bang up job! Now as some may not know, I run my own mechanic shop, do about all repairs, occasionally swap motors, work on Fiero's as well as just bout everything else, and so I know my way around and can appreciate attention to details. With that said, MstangsBware really, really put together a beaut here. Not one issue…

Now… for the pics and log
The journey begins. MstangsBware hooks up the GPS.

Travellin’ on Route 66



at the hotel for some r & r

Day 2


Indians!

River looks a little dry

That’s as happy as he gets

B-fast

Rollin’


I think he wants some s.c.!

we lost 




The closest we’d get




Just cause I was told I couldn’t climb that hill!

The meet/swap --- kinda dark for 7:30 pm don’t ya think; we first had to install seats and seatbelts
[removed]
The 1st of way to many times the deck lid had to be open

Day 3 – Little Birdpoop has a bad miss
First parts store – it’s funny, this little town had a parts store with all needed Fiero parts in stock!!


Stop 1 - Changing the 1988 plugs

So in this same little town . . . another Fiero

1400 miles, we did not see another Fiero and no one even asked about – so in this town, 2 Fieros ? Nope 4

And the biggest Basset Hound!!!!

Trouble is startin’ it was on the way to the right side

Stopped to cool down

Stop 2 - Color of mud-fluid in there, so this called for a flush

Stop 3 - a thermostat

Finally, a color other than brown

Still overheatin’

Stop 4 – cool down time to make sure all is ok

Stop 5 - After another cool down, we got an auxiliary temp gauge to verify temp

To 230 and beyond!

He’s meeting a new friend


Custom gauge routing

Stop 6 . . .

Day 4, Stop 7 – manifold was cracked, so yet another repair

another cool down and buying more parts

Guess he is amused

another cool down

We might as well eat

Again, going to the right

Had to turn the heater on, in the desert, in summer, to try to cool down Little Birdpoop. Yep, 160 degrees

Stop 8 – water pump

And again going to the right

Heater is on again; 170 this time

Stop 9

Katatak to the rescue

Great oil pressure too!

Re-body

Ahhh . . .not in a parking lot this time

Who smiles?

Yep, now a radiator AND hoses

Finally, Little Birdpoop calms down

But, SES light on

Someone is at least happy that she is cool!

Back to enjoying the sights



Nope, I don’t see a place to pee or a place to get a drink




AC’s turn, it stopped working

Stop 10 – troubleshooting AC

Anyone else see a dog?

Can you guess where? Only Roswell! lol Stopped here and fixed AC

And another stop

And the last one – AC compressor locked and burned off the belt!

Done, back, and dropping me off - 1:30 am, Saturday


So… there’s the pics, logs, and story. This was supposed to be a daily driver… I just don’t and can’t believe it coulda been. We had to replace cap, rotor, wires, 3 plugs (other 3 were way too rusted out and heads full of crap to get to), flush radiator a couple of times, put thermostat in, replace thermostat housing cap, radiator housing cap, radiator hoses, repair overflow hose, radiator, water pump, charge a/c, and fix exhaust manifold. A/C compressor locked an hour from end of trip.
So… All this for a “daily driver”? Hum??? I just can’t imagine so.
Why in the world could or would anyone, ever, send 2 people, Fiero nuts or not on a 1400 mile trip through the desert without ANY warning in something like this???
AND…. AND…., wait for it, turn around and ask for the seatbelts we installed back!

W O W!

Holy crap no wonder you guys seemed giddy when I called. Must have been teetering on the edge of heatstroke.

Neglect
Abuse
Deception
Outright Lie
So for a Daily Driver that car was tagged in CA? I highly doubt it.

[This message has been edited by DIY_Stu (edited 06-20-2010).]

Forgot to add that she ran so bad and hot that Wednesday we only got 4hrs down the road and Thursday... 2 hours!!!

OMG, That is almost comical... WoW... Whom did you get this from again..?? I am behind on some threads because I am still trying to catch up for the last 5 years I missed... Im still reading 2007..lol When I got my latest GT w/?the 4.9, I drove it back from Durant to Seagoville took me 8 HOURS... 6~10 minutes tpps, then pull over, let cool.. issed: I had air in the system the was a bleep to get out, and mine was nasty too like yours. I feel your pain. Love the Ttops... Almost worth the pain..lol That was most likely your MOST EXSPENSIVE trip home EVER... What are the plans for "Poopy"..??

quote Originally posted by SMTHGT: OMG, That is almost comical... WoW... Whom did you get this from again..?? I am behind on some threads because I am still trying to catch up for the last 5 years I missed... Im still reading 2007..lol When I got my latest GT w/?the 4.9, I drove it back from Durant to Seagoville took me 8 HOURS... 6~10 minutes tpps, then pull over, let cool.. issed: I had air in the system the was a bleep to get out, and mine was nasty too like yours. I feel your pain. Love the Ttops... Almost worth the pain..lol That was most likely your MOST EXSPENSIVE trip home EVER... What are the plans for "Poopy"..??

Not comical, Hell, I thought I had the flight/road trip from (or was that to) hell last summer when I flew down to Louisiana to pick up the Indy Hauler. Missed/late flights had me into Alexandria about 20 hrs late, then there were issues with the truck, but I made it home. You and Mstang have mine beat hands down!!!

I agree with Smooooth, the prep needs to be exposed, there is no way that was a DD, it's uncool to send people across country in a car that bad off, bad things happen when your stranded in the middle of nowhere!!!

Glad you guys made it home.

Cheers Beers n Gearz. Joe

Here's some more pics of our impromptu club meeting on Thursday night:

MstangsBware and Automark put on a tech session - Raditaor R & R!


Jeff and my 16 year old jumped right in!


The required "Picture of a Picture":


Fill her up!


Checking for leaks:


I would like to point out that you will not see one pic with me doing anything!

I'd also like to add my opinion about the guy that sent these 2 off across the desert in June in a car that was NOT, NO Way a Daily Driver. Deception and miss representation is a dispicable trait. There was no way this guy did not know that this Fiero had issues and he intentionally with held important - need to know information about this Fiero. I thinks its criminal!

On a positive note, you have to admire Stephen and Mark for pushing through the problems and having the ability to get that Fiero all the way back home. I am bummed that a fellow Fiero guy would do this to "family" members but It was great to spend some time with Stephen and Mark. As much of a PITA the car was, we had a pretty good time sharing stories and working on the car. Wish it was under different circumstances but it's something I will remember for the rest of my time. Good job boys!

Pat

[This message has been edited by katatak (edited 06-20-2010).]

Maybe it was a daily driver, but only driven 5 miles or less each way... A better question to ask is the longest trip it has been on in the last 30 days.

Sounds like quite the adventure... if nothing else you have a good story and an 88 T-Top to show for it.

I'm just speechless.....you guys give the phrase "overcoming adversity" a whole new meaning. Glad you are home safe.

quote Originally posted by fieroguru: Maybe it was a daily driver, but only driven 5 miles or less each way... A better question to ask is the longest trip it has been on in the last 30 days....

Yes we coulda asked that.... but.... the guy drove it to us which I think was about an hour from his house. He couldnt have drove that and NOT noticed. Also, he was suppose to meet us at 730 that night and didnt show till 930. Now A, either he had to take it real easy and it took him bout 4 hrs to go 1 hour or B, he was holdin out for dark to conceal and not givin more time for a complete checkout. Matter of fact, when he arrived he literally jump out, asked for title and keys, and said I gotta go. He DIDNT want us to inspect car and even flew off when Stephen checked then VIN on title to VIN on car. He also thought it strange and untrustworthy to check the oil or, look at any part of the car!
So... he knew....

Deja vu.
I can't believe that guy did it again.
I feel your pain.

This story actually started a few years back.

Ask the "member" how his 308 rebodied v-8 is doing.....

------------------
86 SE ChopTop 4 Speed 3.4 "The Short Bus"

"For Sale"

Where in Cali did ya have to drop it off..?? I didnt mean it was really funny when I said comical... yall know that right...

Um, what city? I picked one up for my side of the grapevine and 20 some minutes later, I was waiting for a tow. Had it brought to a shop, they did not find the cause of overheating. It also ended up being a radiator. The car had so many burnt wiring harnesses I gave up on it. There was a lot of undisclosed problems.

Here is the Thread on the build of the car we took out to the LA area of Cali......

https://www.fiero.nl/forum/Forum1/HTML/074794.html


This trip was supposed to be a fun trip out there to swap cars then alot of sight seeing on the way back...Instead after the car swap it turned into a nightmare of engine missing, overheating, A/C compressor squealing and more. While I kept up my hopes and positive attitude most the time I came close to losing it a few times torward the end. Thanksfully after the meet up with Katatak and swapping out radiator/hoses the car acted fine up till the AC went South. I can say after all the repairs and money spent to make the car run right, Birdpoop(cars nickname) does run good but still needs some attention which she will get very soon.


The biggest issue I have with the Douche(PaulJK) is that he knew there were major issues with this car and gave us no fair warning about them. I mean a heads up that:

.. the cooling system was filled with ditch water
..no t-stat in the cooling system
.. that there was a crack all the way around the rear manifold
.. the front radiator hoses where soft/blowed up like footballs
..the plugs/wires where the original ones from 88 when the car rolled off the factory floor
..that the AC compressor was on it's way out and growled everytime it would engage
..brakes need work on(wore out)


Another thing that really gets to me is that he was blaming me for him having to waste money being he was going to have to smog the car again cause the swap wasn't ready yet. I now see the reason wasn't spending the money to have it smogged but the fact that there was no way in hell it would come close to passing or even make it to the smog station. This also explain why he went off the handle when I told him I would not overnight the title to him before I got there. Which also explains why when I told him I would meet him an hour away he went ballistic on me for telling him when/where to meet. It all makes perfect sense now that it is all over with and we went thru what we did...


So for those that wonder what type of person would do this..His name on the Forum is:

PAULJK

Stephen you're just a Good - ole - Boy. At first sign of overheat I would have turned around. to choke someone. Curious as to how many times a Fiero On Fire photo shoot was discussed on the way too long trip home?

The worst part is knowing that he's actually a member of this community, all i can say is wow.

Mstang, I know we haven't seen eye to eye at times, but damn, I wouldn't wish this trip on someone I hate!!!

Joe

quote Originally posted by DIY_Stu: Stephen you're just a Good - ole - Boy. At first sign of overheat I would have turned around. to choke someone. Curious as to how many times a Fiero On Fire photo shoot was discussed on the way too long trip home?

Yeah--Mark said the same thing as we where driving off in the car. I guess if I had known then what I knew the next day that would have been the case. But luckly we new what to do and how to fix the issues on the fly. With a little more work the car will be a DD and a nice one at that.....

That is a rough trip. I'm glad you made it back. It could have been a lot worse. If the engine or transmission was bad, you would still be stuck who knows where.

You guys are a Real piece of work. This is gonna be like custer arguing with the indians, but i'll give it a go for now.

Let's see. When we MADE this deal there were how many miles on the car ? YES, that/s 2008 ! (that PM was one i answered from another member but the time frame is the same).


------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

and now there are how many ?



Yep, guess the car Was driven pretty often, huh ?

I'm seeing that you missed a few things, so I will point out that the alternator, radiator fan, ignition coil and probably things i can't remember over the last YEAR and a HALF that have been replaced while you MESSED around with this swap. Why didn't I replace the plugs and wires ? THE CAR RAN FINE THE WAY IT WAS.

You asked me to change the oil and top off the fluids before I met you with the car. i did with no problem. THEN you checked in the parking lot to see if I did it, DIDN'T you ?! Oh, I guess you just forgot to mention this ...

You guys are an embarrassment to all the good people I know in Texas.

[This message has been edited by PaulJK (edited 06-21-2010).]

A car is able to run through the desert nonstop until it runs out of gas.....Ive driven through nevada desert at 110 in a 69 ranchero and did not have one problem.......Just sayin

quote Originally posted by katatak: Deception and miss representation is a dispicable trait. There was no way this guy did not know that this Fiero had issues and he intentionally with held important - need to know information about this Fiero. I thinks its criminal!

What the heck do you know about ANY of this ?! Pretty much nothing, but thanks for chiming in ....

nevermind.

[This message has been edited by 87antuzzi (edited 06-21-2010).]

in before trash

quote Originally posted by PaulJK: Let's see. You have about 5 THOUSAND posts since feb 2009. I have a little over 5,000 posts since 2001. Guess your "just sayin'" happens a LOT, huh ?! Thanks for chiming in and not "just sayin' " anything worthwhile .... i'm done ......

WOW... Why are you being such a D!CK..?? What do you want everyone to say..?? GREAT JOB PAUL..??

quote Originally posted by Carver1: It's funny that you don't see the "Look at my new 3800SC GT" thread.

speaking of trash, i don't wanna miss this crook and liar .... i owe you a response but you'll have to wait. Man, i hope no one here gets that 3.4 engine you have in the yellow choptop you have for sale.

Now I can go quote what you said, but it’s there for all to read unless you edit or delete it...

So... let’s go
It isn’t like Custer and the Indians, Its you standing behind your monitor feel n like your 10ft tall and bullet proof and trying to save face!

So you replaced a few things....
All the stuff we mentioned is NORMAL to replace and SHOULD HAVE be replaced more often.

You say "THE CAR RAN FINE THE WAY IT WAS". No way it could or did, period. No way. A car can’t run on that kind of water, those kind of plugs, hoses in that shape, etc, etc.

Again, so you changed the oil... No one said anything on the color of the oil, BUT, the color of the radiator fluid??? The fact there was no thermo? The fact the plugs were probably original (now the back ones were SO rusted, we couldn’t remove them on the side of the road, so I cant speak for them,,,)? etc, etc

An embarrassment to the good people you know here? Wonder if you would have sent them off in this? Maybe, just maybe you are the embarrassment to them???

Next, you drove 80 miles? Woopdedo! WE DROVE 2800 MILES!!! That is unreal! I work all day and had to drive 80 miles... WOW! Stephen worked ALL night and STILL jump in the car the next day and WENT 900 MILES, before being able to get good/ real sleep!

730 WAS agreed upon AND you had plenty of notice to make it. Plenty! Look if originally I was thinking I was going to meet someone at 530 for this swap I’ve “waited sssoooo long for” and I knew they were coming and almost there, heck I woulda already been there waiting! We waited 2 extra hours.... Yes you may have had traffic, BUT, if you knew it was suppose to be 730.... 930 is STILL 2 hours later. ALSO, you COULDNT have been driving for 3 or 4 hrs straight in this horrible traffic you talk about, cause the Fiero wasnt even hot! Heck the temp gage we starred at for DAYS, AND DAYS, overheating, was barley warm! So... what did you get there earlier and find a parking lot to let it cool???

Now, how did we miss the obvious stuff???
.Overheating: Like I said, car was cool. WAY to cool for being driven supposedly "hours".
.Engine Missing: Were we suppose to pull out plugs??? Or think that they were original or not maintained???
.A/C compressor squealing: Maybe the fact that it was cover in some kinda oily crap could have kept it quite for a few??? Maybe that was put on while you were letting the car come out of the red before we all meet???
.Swollen radiator hoses: Again.... were we suppose to think your "dd" would be driven like that? BESIDES... it was DARK! We weren’t in a shop with a lift, with lights everywhere! Besides, if you had been there at 730, when there was still SOME light, and NOT sitting somewhere letting car cool and dousing A/C with oil to get it to stop squealing, we MIGHT just have seen that! And... 150 or 250 deg, you CANT just pop open the cooling system for an inspection. AND... if you so kindly changed oil... WHY not put real fluid in instead of mud???

Hot Dogs? You mean Hot Rods? Either way, neither one of us is 18, we didn’t jump out with helmets, didn’t go slamming it into drive and drifting sideways out of parking lot in the direction of home! Stupid comment, just stupid. Hot foot it? Hot foot? Again read previous sentence.
Look again, that’s just stupid comments. you didn’t meet two "kids" in a parking lot looking to buy a "hot rod" to go right to the track!
Between the two of us we have had a LOT of Fiero's and a LOT of other cars, we’ve driven LOTS of miles, and made LOTS of road trips. Kids don’t build and do 3800sc, drive em accross country, and sure as heck wouldn’t have know how to do a rolling restoration! Like I said, a stupid comment.

Overdriving the car??? 30 to 45 minutes shouldn’t "overdrive" any car. Again, we knew we had 1400 miles to get back and we had plenty of time and didn’t want to push it. Again, stupid comment. Or maybe it wasn’t, maybe 30 to 45 minutes is "overdriving".
Again on "inspection" and "fine mechanics", READ UP!

And last for now... cause Im sure you’ll have more to say to save face.... It’s amazing how the people that post on here, you gotta rip. Amazing and unreal! Guess that’s more of that hiding behind that monitor feelin big and bad???

What does Katatak know? WOW! Someone one meets us cause we have to stop for ANOTHER cool down, drive us to his house, opens his house, helps us, offers up WHATEVER he can... ie tools, parts, drinks, heck even a place to crash for the night! SO, absolutely unreal for you to jump him! wow, wow, wow! Apparently he know quite a bit about being a good person and not leavin someone screwed! You Paul are UNREAL! Guy goes outta his way, and you ask, what does he know.... WOW
O and he also know of the crap we had to replace, because he saw it!

And ripping 87antuzzi? WOW again! You feel better? So what you have 5000 post in X amount of years and he don’t! What sense at all did that make??? Guess cause I’ve only made 300 you know more than me??? LoL
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.
.
.
.
Look paul, the "proof" is in the photos and now in your attitude and replies. So... Feel how you want, state what you want, but at the end, you are wrong, your attitude is wrong, and the Fiero was wrong.

[This message has been edited by AutoMark (edited 06-21-2010).]

quote Originally posted by SMTHGT: WOW... Why are you being such a D!CK..?? What do you want everyone to say..?? GREAT JOB PAUL..??

No. but read the stuff that is posted above and see the negatives that i got BEFORE i even responded. You call ME a D!CK ?! What am I supposed to say, smooth ? Thanks for joining in ? The car HAS been my daily driver, and i drove it and it was inspected Without problems. Now i have people calling me a liar and saying i cheated them. And NONE of these guys was even INVOLVED in the deal ?!

Smooth, for you i responded but now i'm done

[This message has been edited by PaulJK (edited 06-21-2010).]

I would ignore everyone. But, Honestly you need to make things right somehow w/ Stephen. Just my opinion....

Poe, I told you before when you called me on the return leg home with an overheated car..., and I will tell you again...

THANK YOU SO MUCH for NOT inviting me to ride shtogun on this Gilligans Island 3 hour tour you went on.

I really appreciate it. 170 at the vents?... you guys are nuts.

Mark?... maybe your head stayed cool where you shaved 'Fiero' into it?

(you also left out the part about your pretzel toothbrush)

------------------
<---- did you buy Cliff a beer?

I have kept extremely quiet about the earlier "deal" with Paul. If you wanna open that can of worms, be my guest.
I'd be happy to meet you somewhere to discuss it in person, but I know that will never happen.
I love how you try to bash everyone that makes a comment about you. This post and most every other one you are a part of speak for themselves.
Face it Paul, No one likes you. You are a discrace to the forum. You lie. You try to get something for nothing every chance you can. You are a sorry human being.
I am embarrased that I ever tried to work a deal with you.

The reason I dropped the fact that you still owe me, is that I was hoping you would go away.
Hell, you make my kids cry when they see you!

I was burned trying to help out a Fiero guy get some work done. I recieved nothing from you in return. NOTHING.

It would be in your best interest to head on down the road. Now that you have a car that is capible of getting down the road.......

Say whatever you want about me, nobody cares about your opinion. You have proven the type of person that you are yet again.

You are done here PaulJK.

DAMN Carver... Why dont you tell us how you REALLY FEEL...

quote Originally posted by PaulJK: What the heck do you know about ANY of this ?! Pretty much nothing, but thanks for chiming in ....

Edited to delete my statement - you simply are not worth my time!

[This message has been edited by katatak (edited 06-21-2010).]

Well PaulJK...I did not expect you to respond in any other way being the way you are. You have issues my friends and I hope in the future you get them all worked out and taken care of. The facts are documented here with pictures to back up the facts....the car you sent us on a 1400 mile trip with was not a DD in anyway unless you where driving no more than 10 minutes in traffic or 35 minute at night in cool weather...There was a reason you showed up 2 hours late, there was a reason you wanted to jump right in the car I brought and leave, there was a reason you did not want me to test drive the Formula....All these reasons are stated here with pictures that prove it, so no matter what you reply back with you are just WRONG.......


PaulJK you are a WORK of ART and I see why there is no one in the Cali area that has good ties with you. Good luck with your newely swapped Fiero.......

quote Originally posted by MstangsBware: I know he came to my rescue after a long day in the summer heat offering up his house, tools, drinks, knowledge, ect.....

Really, he did all that for you? What did he do for Mark? lol.

... I guess I should change Kat's rating back to a positive... ( I keed, I keed)

Hey Pat... you and Friz got nudged green by me... sorry I never caught you guys sooner.
(I hate it when I pick up a rating and I don't know who, where, or why!)
((edit... already had the Frak-man))

[This message has been edited by blakeinspace (edited 06-21-2010).]

quote Originally posted by PaulJK: No. but read the stuff that is posted above and see the negatives that i got BEFORE i even responded. You call ME a D!CK ?! What am I supposed to say, smooth ? Thanks for joining in ? The car HAS been my daily driver, and i drove it and it was inspected Without problems. Now i have people calling me a liar and saying i cheated them. And NONE of these guys was even INVOLVED in the deal ?! Smooth, for you i responded but now i'm done

You are a dick. Your the reason people hate Californians. You have 3 different people who worked on the car say it was not a DD. Now your going to try to back that up?. Your either stupid or nuts. Then I make a simple statement and you go all "teenage girl drama club" on me. Its obvious you are a crook, a liar and just a general D bag. You let 2 guys drive through the friggen desert in a car filled with DITCH water. That aint right.