Spent all day Saturday and half of today on finishing-up projects, details, etc.
- Reinstalled and cut the headliner for the sunroof - Installed headlight bumpers (was down to 1 of 4) - Installed new cowling - Wire-wheeled painted, and reinstalled formerly rusty hood spring - Detailed wheels and installed new center caps - Installed keyless entry system - Painted metal on and installed forward runroof storage mounts - Stuck on hood-mounted sunroof storage hold-downs - Installed new sail panels (previous set installed by others was not affixed adequately and one disappeared while my daughter was driving the car on the freeway) - Removed well-melted 3rd brake light assembly until LED bulb arrives. If anyone has a decent-condition 3rd brake light housing for sale, I'm all ears. - Full external detail and interior vacuum - 90 MPH freeway test for sail panels (following day)
Anyway, here are the pics:
This is the "daily driver" set of tail lights. The left one has some mild delam. I have a better set that I'll use for shows, they just still need to be cleaned and polished.
I've always liked cars with pop-up headlights.
This car was born with a solid roof. I endured 24 years of crappy, leaky, dealer-installed sunroof before getting the conversion down during the paint job.
I have a NIB GT nose badge. I am debating about whether to put it on.
We went with a shorty antenna for now. Jury is still out. I can't seem to get the passenger wiper any closer without it hitting the hood.
After losing one on the freeway, I bought 3M VHB tape, doubled up on the leading edge, which is about 2" back from the actual leading edge of the sail panel, and filled the gap at the front with black silicone caulk to prevent wind from getting under it.
I'm really happy with how it turned out. It's come a long way since it got pushed to our new house in 2010, not running with the clear coat flaking off, and re-stored under a tarp. I still have some other things to do:
- It's getting a 3.4 swap in the next month or so - I'd like to drop it an inch - There is some ugly in the interior, the center console in particular, that I want to address - Engine bay restore - Under-hood restore - Better condition sunroof - 3rd brake light reassembly
Originally posted by johnyrottin:I want to know how you got the rims looking so brand new?
I forgot to mention that: I had an alloy wheel shop recondition the edges of the wheels. They stripped the plastic and polished them. Given what I've heard about how much work it is to do that, $100/wheel seemed like a good value. The snowflake/webbing still has some blems but they are pretty minor, mostly related to clumsy impact wrench use by others. But since it's a daily driver for my daughter (what a coincidence, eh?), they are plenty good enough for now.
Wow! Beautiful paint job. I was looking at the paint on the nose pic. Awesome!
You have a nicer set of tail lights!? Those look better than mine.
Thank you. I think it turned out just a bit darker than OEM, but overall we're very happy with it.
And yes, I've been doing a bit of GT tail light hoarding. I want to have a show set, a "trusted driver" set, and a set for my younger daughter when she starts driving. Maybe we'll get lucky and the recently announced replacements will materialize next month and it will all be a moot point
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Originally posted by 2.5:
Nice!
Oh, are those Mr Mikes seat hides? They look covered but dont appear shiny like leather.
Thank you. They are, yes. I'd just finished a two-step deep clean and condition on them.
[This message has been edited by lorennerol (edited 05-18-2015).]
Where did you get the sail panels from? A couple years ago I got some from the Fiero Store and the fit was terrible. With a bit of grinding/sanding around a few edges I got them to work but they're still not perfect. I've been thinking about getting new ones (again) and probably tinted ones this time as I went with the clear last time.
BTW, beautiful car!! Always been a sucker for those blue ones.
[This message has been edited by fastblack (edited 05-19-2015).]
Where did you get the sail panels from? A couple years ago I got some from the Fiero Store and the fit was terrible. With a bit of grinding/sanding around a few edges I got them to work but they're still not perfect. I've been thinking about getting new ones (again) and probably tinted ones this time as I went with the clear last time.
TFS. And yes, the fit isn't perfect. I'm starting to think there is quite a bit of variability in these cars, as I've had other after-market parts that didn't quite fit in weird ways, too. Specific to the sail panels, using thick enough tape is important, as they opening is tapered. Thicker tape sits them farther out of the opening. Also, I think tucking the top corner of the leading edge under the end of the trim piece results in a better fit. Figured this out after I'd done the passenger side. The set from which one came off the car was also TFS/Leader Industries, and the new set seems better overall...perhaps they've been making some adjustments.
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Originally posted by fastblack: BTW, beautiful car!! Always been a sucker for those blue ones.
Thats it...minds made up. I have a faded gold 87 GT that is in need of paint. Blue is my favorite color and it has been in my plan to paint one of these dang fiero's blue. The Gold will be turned to blue!!!!!
There was a guy on Facebook who said he has a blue 86 he was selling, I messaged him but haven't heard anything back. Blue really is an awesome color for Fieros.
Thanks, all. When I was able to buy the car in 1991 it was a pinch-me moment. I was still a senior in college but about to graduate with a good job lined up. The car kind of fell in my laptop...I'd say it chose me as much as I chose it. And yes, I love that bright metallic blue.
All these years later, having back in good (and still improving) condition is another pinch-me moment.
Whatever you decide on paint (those of you commiserating over it), I hope you'll post some pics for us during and after the process.
Thats a sweet ride. Where did you get your sail panels from? They look nice.
Thank you. They are the tinted sail panels from TFS. As others have reported, fitment is a bit finicky, but at the moment we don't have a lot of options for the GT panels.
Wow Loren! Congrats to you and Sage on the terrific outcome on the paint job! It's a real challenge to find a body shop with a fair estimate that is willing to pull through and give a fantastic result! And on top of that, have to manage all the part logistics and holding them to a timeline and under budget. This is a smoking hot car! Hope you enjoy it this summer and will be taking it to Fiero Fest!
[This message has been edited by sricka01 (edited 05-26-2015).]
What is the official name of that color of blue? It looks very close to the factory "quasar blue" of my dearly departed '92 GTZ. Would love to use it for my '87 coupe.
Wow Loren! Congrats to you and Sage on the terrific outcome on the paint job! It's a real challenge to find a body shop with a fair estimate that is willing to pull through and give a fantastic result! And on top of that, have to manage all the part logistics and holding them to a timeline and under budget. This is a smoking hot car! Hope you enjoy it this summer and will be taking it to Fiero Fest!
Thank you. The original timeline did go out the window, but two months wasn't bad and I did hold up the show a bit myself a couple times. It was a learning experience for the shop and for us. We still have some things to do on the car...you know how that is, but it's ready to show now
Great Looking car. Like the WMU in the window. You would be surprised at the number of Fieros in Kalamazoo area.
I was finishing up at Western when I bought the car in spring of 1991. Until I had the windshield replaced, my last WMU parking sticker was still on it, too. My daughter starts there in August, she'll be glad to here there are Fiero people around
Always been a sucker for those blue ones.
Congrats to you and Sage on the terrific outcome on the paint job! It's a real challenge to find a body shop with a fair estimate that is willing to pull through and give a fantastic result! And on top of that, have to manage all the part logistics and holding them to a timeline and under budget. This is a smoking hot car! Hope you enjoy it this summer and will be taking it to Fiero Fest!
