Well I picked up a couple cool new parts yesterday! Got them home around 4 and I was able to install the new booster before it got too dark. I'm going to bench bleed the master and then install it this weekend; if I'm not too busy with holiday stuff.
These are the last pieces of the braking system (excluding all the hard lines) that I haven't yet replaced so I think once they are on the car my braking problems should be fixed. Between not being able to stop well, and not feeling like the suspension was going to keep the wheels attached to the car it was a scary thing to drive. I believe most of my tuning issues will be resolved once I can take the car out for more than a couple minutes and at very low speeds.
Is the chime random? You may have a faulty blue dingy thingy.
I pulled the little blue dingy thingy; it was the first thing that I found could be the issue when searching the forum. It seems to still have issues even with it pulled. I'm going to jump back on the battery drain issue soon.
My official off the top of my head "to do list" that needs doing before I really feel comfortable driving it is as follows:
Bleed brakes Fix battery drain and dome/map lights Warranty out the battery that died on me Figure out the coolant leak (probably the ecm temp sensor I recently replaced) HVAC fan squeals like crazy Alignment Intermittent high idle issues
These last ones are just extra headaches Power door lock switches not working Plug from car to deck lid is shot and needs to be replaced so trunk popper and trunk light work Drivers rear speaker isn't working at all
That fan squeel could be related to a buildup in the housing, put there by our little furry mouse friends. Have you pulled that housing and checked for junk in there? Have been following your thread but don't remember if anyone suggested you clean that out. Once clean, put a drop or two of light oil on the oilite bearing area where the shaft goes through and then check to see if the noise is gone. Lucas may have a used replacement available, along with the harness plug for the trunk lid. Keep it up, you'll have that list down to nothing just in time to start a new list!
So the list of problems is getting shorter! Bleed brakes Fix battery drain and dome/map lights Warranty out the battery that died on me Figure out the coolant leak (probably the ecm temp sensor I recently replaced) HVAC fan squeals like crazy (who knows what happened but the squeal is gone, I'll investigate further if it returns) Alignment (appointment hopefully this week or next) Intermittent high idle issues
These last ones are just extra headaches Power door lock switches not working Plug from car to deck lid is shot and needs to be replaced so trunk popper and trunk light work Drivers rear speaker isn't working at all New headlights that put out enough light to drive at night Driving/fog lights for next to the license plate These last two are so people might just see my car a little better before running it off the road ;-)
Things are really turning around with the little go kart!
Re headlights. I replaced the ones on my 85 with Hella Vision Plus with std 60/55 w bulbs. I also installed a relay system (not the one in the ad below. got mine of ebay) to help reduce the path length through the wiring to the bulbs, easy for me since battery is up front. The difference is amazing. Like driving a modern car. I can actually see the road at night now!
Re headlights. I replaced the ones on my 85 with Hella Vision Plus with std 60/55 w bulbs. I also installed a relay system (not the one in the ad below. got mine of ebay) to help reduce the path length through the wiring to the bulbs, easy for me since battery is up front. The difference is amazing. Like driving a modern car. I can actually see the road at night now!
Yeah thats very similar to what I've done in the past. I ended up putting a set of bi-xenon projectors with HIDs in my 6x4 headlight housings on my El Camino. It was a pretty involved process but they turned out great and its a heck of an improvement! For the Fiero I plan to just get some conversion housings that have clear lenses and some small lights to put next to the license plate. My battery it still in the back, although I was thinking of relocating it to the frunk. I'll probably just pull some power right off the back of the fuse box, and run it to a terminal block or just out to the relays directly. I also plan to add some way to either hold the lights up with the power off or wire them to independently raise without turning on the lights. The other issue is a switch that is on my gauge pod that isn't well mounted or wired and it is an override for the cooling fan, so that will have to move.
Finding a place to mount a switch in the Fiero is a pain, finding room for 3 or 4 is almost impossible!
You actually can run the headlights up and then turn them off. Turn them on and after the lights raise, take your fingernail and pull back on the top of the headlight switch (left upper side) and the left half of the switch will turn the headlights off while they remain upright. Just one glitch though, the parking lights are still on and I don't know of a way to turn them off while the lights remain upright. You can run them up manually with the switch off, however and then there would be no parking lights.
You actually can run the headlights up and then turn them off. Turn them on and after the lights raise, take your fingernail and pull back on the top of the headlight switch (left upper side) and the left half of the switch will turn the headlights off while they remain upright. Just one glitch though, the parking lights are still on and I don't know of a way to turn them off while the lights remain upright. You can run them up manually with the switch off, however and then there would be no parking lights.
Good to know; I'll have to play around with that to see if it works on mine. Not sure I'll get much done in the near future, working in this rain out in my driveway isn't my idea of fun! I've been staying in the garage working on my El Camino where its dry! Jessica
Bleed brakes Fix battery drain and dome/map lights Warranty out the battery that died on me Figure out the coolant leak (probably the ecm temp sensor I recently replaced) HVAC fan squeals like crazy (who knows what happened but the squeal is gone, I'll investigate further if it returns) Alignment (Going Wednesday) Intermittent high idle issues Adjust TV Cable
These last ones are just extra headaches Power door lock switches now working Plug from car to deck lid is shot and needs to be replaced so trunk popper and trunk light work Drivers rear speaker isn't working at all New headlights that put out enough light to drive at night In the mail will be installed soon Driving/fog lights for next to the license plate In the mail will be installed soon
So thats about all the real stuff taken care of for the little red car! I think I'll be taking a brake from spending on the cars at this point. Plus with the weather we've been having I think I'll just try to stay inside and dry! I'll post some updates with the lights and if adjusting the TV cable again helps with the engine issues. Its not down shifting or up shifting at the right time and the car either revs too high or too low and I think thats the problem. Should be looking at it on Wednesday as well.
From now until Christmas I'll be focusing on knitting presents for my family (Yes I should have started sooner, every year I say I will and every year I don't) Jessica
So the good news comes with some not so good news.
The car is aligned, and it is like driving a slot car! its so planted and tight its amazing. My 98 Camaro wasn't even this fun to drive. I got the new sealed beam conversion installed, I still need to wire the relays and also install the fog lights. The trim rings are both broken and a tab on each is gone, but they hold. I need to readjust the assemblies in the car so they stop hanging up on the hood.
The not so good news is that my belt is squeeling and slipping (I think it was new and has never been used but I think it is dry rotted). The TV cable on the transmission is broken and that is why it isn't kicking down right or shifting right. The shift solenoid for the TCC lockup (the lockup solenoid) is not working right.
So I've got a couple more things to deal with before I can really hit the open road.
Should be done fixing those issues sometime after Christmas; if its before than I'll let you guys and gals know how it goes
I figured out the fog light mounting this afternoon (they are exactly equally spaced but I think my picture wasn't perfectly straight on). The lights are screwed to a 1/2" thick by 2" wide rectangular steel stock that I bolted to the steel inner bumper. The factory plastic triangular honeycomb piece that was bolted to the steel inner bumper was already broken and just bouncing around in there. I puled them out because they kept almost falling out and getting stuck next to the license plate. The lights are recessed behind the fascia about an inch and it could be an issue, if it is I'll weld a bracket to my piece of tubing and mount them closer to the fascia. As they are installed now they don't touch anything and shouldn't melt the fascia or cause any issues. It only got to 38* today and between taking a good 3 hours to figure out and make these mounts I was just too cold to finish wiring and everything else. I plan to install a relay for these lights as well as one for the high and low beams near the master cylinder. Plus I think I'm going to try and make a switch panel for in the ashtray so that should take some extra fiddling as well.
From my experience, this is what I did. Make sure the wiring harness is plugged into the transmission. Also, if the engine has not reached operating temp. (195 or maybe 180 degrees) the lockup feature will not work. Make sure you have the correct thermostat or you may not reach those temps. If that fails, you will have to replace the solenoid. That can be done through the drivers rear wheel well after removing the inner liner. You may be able to get a TV cable from Lucas Murk. Replace the squeeling belt and clean the pulleys as best you can, that should fix the problem. Car is looking better every picture.
From my experience, this is what I did. Make sure the wiring harness is plugged into the transmission. Also, if the engine has not reached operating temp. (195 or maybe 180 degrees) the lockup feature will not work. Make sure you have the correct thermostat or you may not reach those temps. If that fails, you will have to replace the solenoid. That can be done through the drivers rear wheel well after removing the inner liner. You may be able to get a TV cable from Lucas Murk. Replace the squeeling belt and clean the pulleys as best you can, that should fix the problem. Car is looking better every picture.
Thanks for the info and kind words. I'm really glad its looking better I found a couple tests to do regarding the trans on this site and another site. I pulled and cleaned the transmission plug and reinstalled it but it still did the same thing. My Dad got me a bunch of parts for Christmas (first time in years my folks have given me car parts for Christmas). I've got a set of solenoids for the transmission, a filter, gaskets for the pans, as well as a new cable. I'll replace the belt when I get the back end of the car up, and I'll be sure to follow the advice. Unfortunately, I'm on hold until this white stuff melts ;-)
If all else fails I'll keep working on the lights because they require less laying on the ground in the cold. Jessica
Laying on the cold ground is not my favorite thing either
I like your fog lights. What brand-which ones did you use?
Well I'm not sure they are a brand per say. They are from ebay; my criteria was under 3" round and accessible from the back so I can service them easy and use an H3 bulb.
They don't come with any wiring or switches its just the lights and the mounts. So that worked fine for my purposes because I didn't know exactly what I wanted and usually those universal things don't really look right or fit how I want.
Well I got some wires hooked tot he lights and run up to in front of the drivers side head light. I'll tuck the wiring into the factory loom and then hook it to a relay in front of the master cylinder. I'm not sure how great these will be with the way they are mounted right now but I think it'll help get some light on the road and make the car more visible. I was able to hook a battery up to the lights and see how they looked so that gave me some hope
Is there a good (large) power wire to tap into somewhere in the interior or the front truck of the FIiero? I know I could run an amp wire tot he front trunk and use that to get battery power to my relays but I'd rather not and figured I'd go ahead and ask.
I also went ahead and started to work on the transmission. I replaced the TV cable, and then spend a ton of time removing the pans and draining the fluid. I tried to catch it but it looks like something died under my car! I painted up the pans because they were pretty trashy looking and very rusty. I figured a little black paint after some rust converter wouldn't hurt. Lots of parts to go onto the car. The fluid I pulled out looked fairly new, and had a newer filter, but there was a lot of black friction material in the pan (Which is fine I know for a car with 150K miles) as well as some water in the pan. it looked like a strawberry milkshake! I cleaned it all up and its ready to go back together now. I did however strip the torx screw that holds the TCC solenoid in the valve body so I'll have to extract it somehow and then replace it. Other than that snafu and being a very cold day it went surprisingly well. We're supposed to have rain for the next few days (maybe week?) so I don't know when I'll get back to it; and I missed a lot of nice days last week while traveling for work :-/
I'm confident that once this stuff is done I can be more or less confident in the car as a daily driver. Its only been a 10 month process, but considering how much I've rebuilt or replaced on the car I think its still pretty good progress
I had to pull out my adventure tent to hide from the rain. I did get the transmission buttoned up; it felt like it took a million times longer than it should have. I didn't have a chance to drive the car but I did move it forwards and back and it feels better than it ever has.
I've got a much shorter list of things to do at this point though. -Find coolant leak -Burp the cooling system again -Adjust TV cable -wire relays -wire switches -finish driving light wires -Figure out why the hood is hanging up the headlight
Not too many of these are deal breakers, it'll be on the road soon Jessica
What kind of relays and switches are you wiring up?
I'm planning to use some lit rocker switches I have had for years that I was going to use on my El Camino but that project changed course so they are mostly extras now. They have green LEDs so that is cool. The relays are some I ordered in bulk off ebay a while back that are the 4 or 5 prong universal style, and they came with a plug so that will make things easier.
Well it seems to be one step closer and two steps further away from success with this little gremlin.
I was able to burp the coolant and adjust the TV cable and take the car for a test drive. The belt was squeaking so we tightened the alternator....and during the test drive it died and wouldn't charge
I'm not sure if we inadvertently broke a wire, clip plug or the alternator itself but its not charging. The TV cable also needed more adjustment.
On a positive note the car downshifts now and doesn't get stuck or lug every time you come to a stop. This was the reason I took apart the transmission; so I'm calling it a success even if we may have broken something along the way.
So far it was the best drive I've taken it on and it performed flawlessly before the battery died.
Luckily I was just a mile from home so I was able to turn the lights off and limp it home.
I had no idea that was how they wired the car up, thank you! Is there a way to address that in a more "I don't want a burned out bulb to make my car not run" kind of way?
Luckily I don't have any bulbs out on the dash and the alternator is working as of yesterday morning. I don't recall seeing a voltage light on the dash when the car died; so I either wasn't paying attention or its a faulty bulb. I'm going to see if I can get the charging system checked in the next few days before I decide to pull the alternator.
OK that was sort of what I was thinking, but wasn't ready to lose the bulb. Guess I'll just leave the bulb and check to see if this little car is working. Been super busy traveling for work and working extra days so I don't know when I'll get much further with the fixing of the Fiero. I think I'm 90% there but with the weather and my schedule I think I'll be at the one year anniversary before I'm really driving this thing. Of course I have done a lot of work and modifications so I'm not totally sad about it taking so long but it'd be nice to drive more than around the neighborhood.
Well Lucas came through with a great cradle that is rust free (yes there is surface rust) and after some cleaning and blasting should be perfect for my little car.
I'm not sure when I'll swap the cradles or if I'll do an engine swap but this is the first major part, and I haven't been able to locate one within 100 miles thats worth grabbing. Also the price was unbeatable!
Drove the car to Autozone last night and got the alternator tested. Its got a bad voltage regulator and enough corrosion that it looks like it was pulled from the Titanic. I'll go ahead and replace it this weekend; the running issues seem to happen when the voltage drops so I'm once again very hopeful that this will be the fix! The transmission is still shifting at WOT but I think it just needs to TV cable readjusted again. The headlights are getting stuck going up and down on the doors so they need adjusting. I haven't noticed a leak of coolant but its been very wet out. Still needs wiring of lights and things like that. The list is very short now.
Lucas comes through again! His prices are usually very good. You know, I just happen to have an Archie small block kit sitting on the work bench. At the rate I'm doing projects, you may be able to convince me to sell it. My wife says I need to start getting rid of stuff at my age. Glad to hear your car is moving forward.
Lucas comes through again! His prices are usually very good. You know, I just happen to have an Archie small block kit sitting on the work bench. At the rate I'm doing projects, you may be able to convince me to sell it. My wife says I need to start getting rid of stuff at my age. Glad to hear your car is moving forward.
Lucas had a nice looking 350 and 5spd on a cradle he was working on. It looked very tempting. I just sold my extremely overbuilt 305 that I pulled from my EL Camino that is getting a 6.0L LS swap. My friend put it and my also overbuilt turbo 350 transmission in his 1st gen S10 blazer 2door. He says its scary now and wants to know how I made a 305 run like a built 350 hahaha.
I had just sold that drivetrain when I bought the Fiero and didn't really want to do an engine swap on it at the time; plus I didn't have room to store another engine!
I'm sure you'll finish before me. The Fiero needs to just be a driver and when I get the El Camino finished I'll think of starting the Fiero swap. Considering the El Camino body is off the frame and I have a lot of things to do before it goes back together it'll be a while before I get to the Fiero. I'm hoping that by the end of this year the car is a roller again. Maybe it'll be done in two years.
I pulled these newish speakers out of my El Camino pile because I won't be using them in that car again. I'll be mounting the 6.5 in the dash and the little ones in the back.
Then I decided to pull the interior apart, found the rear speakers were corroded and that was why one wasn't working. Got $3 worth of material at the fabric store and decided on some black accent speaker covers It was really simple, I've built speaker boxes in the past and these were a lot easier to cover. I just used hot glue to hold the fabric in case you wanted to try doing it. I also decided to pull the headliner out because I found a lot of water behind the speakers and also it kept dropping stuff on my head. Luckily the backing board was in pretty good shape. Only issue is where one visor attaches, but it should be fine. I also picked up $15 worth of suede for the headliner, so that should be going on soon. Once its back together I'll reinstall the speakers and all the interior trim pieces.
Then I spent the morning replacing the alternator, I had to call my Dad to come over and help me tension the belt. I couldn't seem to get enough leverage on it and tighten the mount at the same time. Now that the car has enough amps/volts a lot of the things I think I was having problems with started to work better. The light in the trunk even works better and is brighter now! The car even runs better Then we adjusted the headlights and they work now and don't get hung up on the hood. I made a bracket to mount my relays in the frunk. Adjusted the TV cable but it isn't really working quite right. Added more trans fluid, unfortunately I think some water got in the pan while I had it apart doing the work outside. Looks like I might have to take it and have it flushed at an oil change shop. The coolant leak is still an issue and I can't figure out where it is coming from, it may be the water pump :-( When its low on coolant the ECM makes it cold start and run really rich so that is a priority now.
The car looks darn good driving around though! I was not wearing nice enough clothes to get into the car so I sent my Dad out on a few test drives while we were adjusting the TV cable. He took it on a nice long spirited drive up in the hills and said its really nice. I still hold the record for most miles driven in the car but if he goes on another ride like that he may take the lead! Maybe I'll do the headliner this week and maybe the relays and light wiring too; depends a lot on the weather, work and yard work haha Jessica
Well the headliner material is cut and I'll probably post some pictures later of me attaching it and maybe reinstalling it and the interior this weekend. The transmission is now really slipping (it always had a little slip but its much worse now). I'm debating what to do with the whole project. My gut reaction is to buy a 3800 car with an engine and transmission that is running and driving and use that as a backup/daily for a bit. That is after all what the Fiero was supposed to be, but it never got there. It will allow me to buy some swap brackets and pieces and once I'm ready I can pull the Fiero apart (sell the engine and trans) and then the new car and then do the swap. Who knows what will happen though, I'll keep you all posted and I may be selling parts soon.
Sorry o hear about your transmission. I'd bet you would be happy with a 3.8 swap. Too bad you couldn't get a few miles on the fiero and enjoy it for a while
When you called it a basket case.....you may have been giving it a break. After all the work you did on the suspension, a bad transmission should not slow you down much. They are cheap and plentiful. (is it auto?)
Yeah it was pretty bad when I got it; but its a lot better now. Even though I don't know what I'll do with it I decided to continue with what I was already doing. I finished the headliner last night and I'll put that back in the car along with all the trim panels and speakers maybe this weekend.
Yeah the car is an auto, and I'm sure I'd be happy with a new engine as well. I wanted to drive the car for the next 2 years or so. I was planning to do the Fiero after I finished the frame off on my El Camino. Its frame and body aren't attached so I can't get the Fiero in the garage and I don't have a carport (all this probably could have been avoided if the car had stayed a lot drier).
I've been looking at just buying a car that has a lower miles 3800SC engine and using it as a daily/backup for the next couple years while I finish the Elky. I'll buy some Fierox mounts, and maybe some wiring harnesses to splice together and sell the engine and transmission in the Fiero. Then when the Elky is done I'll pull apart the car put the drivetrain on my new cradle and put it in the car. All of this could change, who knows.
Well I'm still working on the car and I'm looking for a engine and transmission. At this point it makes the most sense to go all in (maybe not all at once but still try) and get the Fiero back on the road.
Made some speaker plates I had these 3.5" speakers from the old dash in my El Camino and they still sound amazing. In fact just these two speakers are better than everything I've had in it up to this point They fit pretty good so far, I hope they fit under the covers, I'll find that out tomorrow.
$15 worth of suede goes a long way to making a car fancy! I made a small mistake and glued the center around the opening of the board. The original was so deteriorated and loose I couldn't tell where it should have gone. If it all falls down I'll buy more and glue it over this haha It looks really nice in the car though, thats always nice when things come together.
I'll work on the front speakers tomorrow and get the interior back in the car (I hope)
Jessica
***Edit: I would like to redo the sun visors in my extra suede material at some point but for now I'm leaving them original.
[This message has been edited by 78_elky (edited 02-05-2016).]
Got the 6.5" speakers to fit in the dash. Saw a picture of a similar install on this forum. It wasn't terribly hard to make the mounts or fit the speakers in. It was too dark to get a shot of the new covers installed. I think they look really nice though I'm working on the switch panel for inside the ash tray tonight and tomorrow I'm going to look at a 98 Regal GS...wish me luck!
Good luck Jessica! Mind you, the resourcefulness, determination and progress you've shown appear to negate the need for luck... I always look for your posts to see how the adventure's going!
Switch plate made to fit int he ash tray. I don't smoke so no loss there. I really despise having to cut rectangular holes but these switches were from an old project and free Almost all in a straight line I still need to figure out how to secure it and do some more trimming so that the cover fits just right, but its close!
Then I picked this little car up this morning. The seller wanted it gone. Its a 98 Regal GS with pacesetter headers a cold air intake, new plugs, and wires. Its had the intake gaskets replaced and has 150K on it. It has a shifting issue with the transmission (solenoid b) but it came with a NA 3.8L and trans out of a 99 Pontiac.
I don't think I should make the not SC trans work on the SC car but I can sell it and the engine and recoup some money. I'm pretty excited and it was $400 for it all so I think I can either make it work or part it out for pretty cheap (heck I might make money).
Jessica
**Edit** The transmission will need a rebuild but I'm weighing my options for the Regal. The Fiero is still going to get its list taken care of and move towards driving again. I'm working on all the wiring fort he headlights and fog lights right now Got the relays mounted and I'll wire them in here pretty soon.
I am also going to use a design I found on the forum to bend and weld up a battery tray for under the spare tire. That will help with cleaning up the engine bay for the future engine swap as well as move it to the front to be near the relays.
[This message has been edited by 78_elky (edited 02-09-2016).]
Mind you, the resourcefulness, determination and progress you've shown appear to negate the need for luck... 
I always look for your posts to see how the adventure's going! 
