http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymot...&hash=item4cf56cd428

I can't imagine it would be safe to drive down the street in this thing.

[This message has been edited by Gall757 (edited 02-26-2011).]

Why do you say that?

yeah...looks safe to me.

he is probably talking about the wheel spacers .i would still consider this car if it were in canada though .all the glass is in , it looks like a decent paint job and all the parts to finish seem to be there .he has done a lot of expensive work and include the kit price it seems reasonable .

ooks like a damn nice ride to me. Just needs a drivetrain.

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1985 Fiero GT 4speed 1986 Fiero GT
1994 BMW 530 V8 1997 BMW 328

FieroNews~Boots~Bag's~Walle ts~Headliner~Spare Cover~
Visors~Sunshads and T-Top Sunshades~Download the Fieronews Catalog HERE~

Wait a minute.....How much of the Fiero space frame do you think is left in there? The windshield is in a new position and the original top is cut off... that frame has lost most of it's structure. If you went through a pot hole, the whole chassis would bend.

[This message has been edited by Gall757 (edited 02-26-2011).]

Yeah, I can't find any evidence of the space frame in the interior shots...

I've seen worse. I'd rock it.

lol this car. Beautiful ride, but someone really needs to RE-DO the stretch. Looks to require another 2.5" frame stretch on top of whatever they did the first time. If this isn't done, this car looks like garbage.

LOL @ this car was stretched properly. Then how come the wheels aren't centered in the body? hahaha

[This message has been edited by Custom2M4 (edited 02-26-2011).]

When the chassis of the Fiero is used for a Diablo, you run square iron all the way along the bottom of the floor pan, plus it comes up a little to form sort of a ladder, if you will, along the sides. Most of the time the builder runs tubing up in the roof of the body that ties the front and rear firewall together. And, this is a coupe.
On a roadster, that has a removable top, you have to run an x-frame under the floorpan to keep it from flexing.
That is quite a deal. Usually, the body kit plus some of the other parts are more than the asking price.
If I was to finish that car I would get wider a-arms to do away with those thick adapters. You have to use adapters though, if you use original Lambo wheels on Fiero hubs.

quote Originally posted by Gall757: Wait a minute.....How much of the Fiero space frame do you think is left in there? The windshield is in a new position and the original top is cut off... that frame has lost most of it's structure. If you went through a pot hole, the whole chassis would bend.

Your assuming they didn't brace the undercarriage, which most kits do. I've seen a few lambo kit build threads and they show the additional bracing done to the spaceframe.

interesting...

quote Originally posted by Custom2M4: lol this car. Beautiful ride, but someone really needs to RE-DO the stretch. Looks to require another 2.5" frame stretch on top of whatever they did the first time. If this isn't done, this car looks like garbage. LOL @ this car was stretched properly. Then how come the wheels aren't centered in the body? hahaha

Kind of hard to tell but that may just be a optical illusion from picture angle, and maybe the tire sticking out a bit from the wheel well?

So there is hardly any Fiero left to it.... Front and Rear Suspension and engine cradle? Why bother starting with a Fiero?

Because its easier than starting from total scratch. You already have the motor mounts and suspension and what not worked out, you just have to work out the body mounting. Plus, most of these kit people who use fieros aren't interested in performance, they just want to trick a few dumb blondes, so they don't care about a proper chassis or a well tuned engine, they just want something to move the lambo body around.

***I know not all kit car/replicar builders are lame***

10" is the right stretch for a Diablo, but I think the body dimensions might vary a little from kit to kit.
When I get ready to do a replica I want to get the body first and measure center to center of wheelwells to make sure 10" will look right.
As far as the chassis, I would imagine it`s a lot cheaper to use a Fiero chassis instead of a custom built one, even if you replace the suspension , etc.

Well this guy started with an 88 coupe, but I sure hate it when we lose a Formula to this kind of thing.....

All Lamborghini kits - Diablos, Countachs, Murcielagos - require you to chop the roof off and run new tubing. No lamborghini replica will fit over the stock roof Fiero space frame. You have to consider that the stock Fiero A pillar assembly does not allow the door to swing upwards (there's not enough clearance). The typical way to build these is you brace the underside first (typical way is with an 'X' brace) to hold everything, then cut everything above the door line (A pillar and middle B pillar assembly) to remove the roof portion. If you don't brace before you cut, the weight of the drivetrain will begin to flex the chassis. Then after the bracing and cutting you just run new tubing. The tubing is typically in a bow shape that has a swooping curve upwards, and then smooths out straight to the rear of the chassis. A good replica would have an actual panel constructed for the roof, but not many do. Everything under the top door line of the space frame remains intact, so actually a tremendous amount of the Fiero space frame is still there.

It's incredibly difficult to construct a vehicle chassis from scratch. There's many considerations that one has to work out. If you think that it's just throwing a bunch of tubes together to form a car chassis you'll find very quick that you're wrong. That's why people still charge considerable amounts of money for Lambo replica chassis plans - they're valuable commodities since all the research has been done. Starting with a Fiero is a very good base as you already have the basic geometry of a mid-ship vehicle worked out. Coming up with suspension setups and positions is actually a very difficult thing to do, as on a custom chassis you have to consider alignment issues and suspension travel. The stock Fiero chassis already has this worked out.

I've noticed that a few replicas are finally starting to use updated cars, such as a Porsche Boxter donor which I think is a smart move. I personally do not understand why one would use a car from the '80's to replicate say a Murcielago from post-2000. Not that there's anything wrong with using a Fiero, but I think that more modern mid-engined offerings are much more suitable for replicating what is a newer vehicle.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by TommyRocker:

Plus, most of these kit people who use fieros aren't interested in performance, they just want to trick a few dumb blondes, so they don't care about a proper chassis or a well tuned engine, they just want something to move the lambo body around.

I want some dumb blondes.

quote Originally posted by TXGOOD: [QUOTE]Originally posted by TommyRocker: I want some dumb blondes.

We have a blond guy at work who's not very bright, you can have him, lol.

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Jim Martin
White '86 GT
California

quote Originally posted by Khw: Kind of hard to tell but that may just be a optical illusion from picture angle, and maybe the tire sticking out a bit from the wheel well?

Its no optical illusion, they made the mistake of modifying it before they mounted / measured the body. Theres a reason why he's not posting pictures of the car straight on. This isn't the first time it's been attempted to be sold, and last time had alot more pictures.

quote Originally posted by Gall757: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymot...&hash=item4cf56cd428 I can't imagine it would be safe to drive down the street in this thing.

You cant drive down the street in it.. It doesnt come with an engine! lol.. So it should be a pretty safe car sitting in your driveway.. lol.

I think it looks pretty cool.. but the rear wheels do look like they should be back a little bit.. But iv seen alot of Diablo kits that are like that.. I dont know enough about the kits to know if they just did it wrong, or if thats just how they are.

[This message has been edited by Jonesy (edited 02-26-2011).]

So I guess the most important thing to look for is the chassis re-enforcement? I think it would be pretty hard to trust that the owner did it right, considering all the engineers at the car companies that had to figure out the original chassis. Even if you did trick a blonde, she might ask you to take it out on the freeway for a few blocks before you got down to business back at her place....and then who knows if you are going to make it to making it.

A hot rodder and his wife were rolling down the freeway near me a couple of years ago, and he had the geometry wrong on the steering arms.....hit a bump and the car slowly got more and more out of control, finally swerving into the guard rail. She died. He has to live with it. As is pointed out by a number of entries on this topic, we should not underestimate what goes into making a car 'right' in the first place..and the reason why.

quote Originally posted by Custom2M4: Its no optical illusion, they made the mistake of modifying it before they mounted / measured the body. Theres a reason why he's not posting pictures of the car straight on. This isn't the first time it's been attempted to be sold, and last time had alot more pictures.

Ah, I didn't see it last time so never saw those pictures.

[This message has been edited by Khw (edited 02-27-2011).]

quote Originally posted by Gall757: So I guess the most important thing to look for is the chassis re-enforcement? I think it would be pretty hard to trust that the owner did it right, considering all the engineers at the car companies that had to figure out the original chassis. Even if you did trick a blonde, she might ask you to take it out on the freeway for a few blocks before you got down to business back at her place....and then who knows if you are going to make it to making it.

From reading your input and seeming lack of knowledge, it sounds like you don't have a clue as to how a kit car is built. Maybe you should just move along and find something else to pick on.

Seriously, I just love it when people have nothing else better to do then to find other peoples stuff and make fun of it or put it down, when almost 100 percent of the time they have nothing themselves to show just how good it should be. Really, get a different life if this is all you have to do during the day.

Kevin

Sorry Kevin, I did not intend to offend you.

I questioned this car because I did not understand it. Maybe you could help here by talking about how the chassis is re-enforced. Do you have some pictures? This forum is a great place to learn things, and a lot of people are willing to teach, which is a very good thing. Should all kit cars be considered safe? If so, let us know, because I have seen a lot of shoddy workmanship over the years, and maybe my concerns here are misplaced.

Here's a sample of what is done when it's done properly. It's what V8 Archie did for a customer's Lamborghini Muira replica. The entire thread is in the Construction Zone:

[This message has been edited by Bloozberry (edited 02-27-2011).]

quote Originally posted by Gall757: Sorry Kevin, I did not intend to offend you. I questioned this car because I did not understand it. Maybe you could help here by talking about how the chassis is re-enforced. Do you have some pictures? This forum is a great place to learn things, and a lot of people are willing to teach, which is a very good thing. Should all kit cars be considered safe? If so, let us know, because I have seen a lot of shoddy workmanship over the years, and maybe my concerns here are misplaced.

I could not agree with you more, in that there is some very bad work on the roads out there, unsafe even. Doesn't have to be a kit car either. I have seen bad mods on daily drivers that I would not want to ride in.
It does seem though, that some have the misconception that if someboby else built it, it must not be right.
I myself started with the fiero frame. It is an 84 so most won't be upset over that.
If you click on my "Home" button, you can see alot of what I have done, and I am waaaay behind on updating the site. I followed Euroworks instructions on the frame/mod work, so I feel pretty safe on the design since he has done this for 25 plus years. I also have a friend who is a certified welder that checks everything in my building stages.
Sure you need to wonder what the previous guy has done when buying an unfinished kit, but I wouldn't always assume the worse.

Kevin

quote and has dementions of a real one.

I kind of agree with Kevin.

An unfinished kit was unfinished for a reason.

I wouldn't touch it without a full "on the hoist" examination if I were in the market for one.

Arn