It's finally just about time to start my project. I've been gathering tools and parts and it's finally warm enough to start work. The plan is to gut it, strip the body, remove the front and rear bits of the frame, and build new frame rails to mount Corvette running gear and an Audi v8 and 5spd. You may have already seen engineman's Audi swap. I'm just going a little bit further. Once the chassis and powertrain are sorted, I'll work on a custom body and interior, keeping the Fiero DNA if possible, but updated. More to come.
Why go through all that work when you can buy one already done here in Ontario Canada! Not mine but looks great! And with the exchange rate you can get it for like 13500 usd. http://m.autotrader.ca/resu...7%2C11%2C10%2C9&st=1
I appreciate the work bubbajoe did but I don't particularly care for much of his build. Aesthetically I don't care for it, and I don't like how he went backwards with the carbs and distributor on the N*. Even if I could buy it, I'd have to redo it all to my particular tastes. He did great work, and I'll reference his thread I'm sure, but I want to build what's in my head.
I've started collecting stuff. A car, a welder, the engine and transmission. The Corvette rear frame sections should be here tomorrow. This weekend I'll be clearing out lawn furniture and stuff from the work space, then I'll try to start tear down.
[This message has been edited by TommyRocker (edited 02-27-2017).]
It's finally just about time to start my project. I've been gathering tools and parts and it's finally warm enough to start work. The plan is to gut it, strip the body, remove the front and rear bits of the frame, and build new frame rails to mount Corvette running gear and an Audi v8 and 5spd. You may have already seen engineman's Audi swap. I'm just going a little bit further. Once the chassis and powertrain are sorted, I'll work on a custom body and interior, keeping the Fiero DNA if possible, but updated. More to come.
It would be very sweet to keep the Fiero DNA. Any drawings or such for it?
This is what I had drawn up a couple years ago, but the pan has changed since then. I don't think I'll be stretching it quite so much and I think I'll be toning down the curves a little bit. Really, though, I'll be doing all the mechanical bits then figuring out the body later.
I like the idea of less stretch. More angular than curvey is the trend now, who knows when that will change. It would actually be sweet to do the Fiero on the Vette frame but still look 100% Fiero.
I still like curves but I want it to look like a modified and updated Fiero, not a kit car. I'm still debating on this point though, insofar as what form "modified and updated Fiero" will take. I just got notification that the Corvette rear frame section should be waiting for me at home.
I still like curves but I want it to look like a modified and updated Fiero, not a kit car. I'm still debating on this point though, insofar as what form "modified and updated Fiero" will take. .
I totally like what you are saying but your renderings don't reflect that at all. What I saw in those look like a rebody and not an updated Fiero.
I totally like what you are saying but your renderings don't reflect that at all. What I saw in those look like a rebody and not an updated Fiero.
Yes Sir. When I drew that it was going to be a rebody with no care for the Fiero DNA. But I've changed my plans. Like I said, I still like curves BUT I want it to look like a modified and updated Fiero. And I do mean updated. I want it to look more modern, maybe as if they kept making the Fiero and moved it upscale. I'll badge it as a Fiero, and I'll keep some Fiero cues like the flying buttress/sale panels, but it won't look 100% Fiero.
Yes Sir. When I drew that it was going to be a rebody with no care for the Fiero DNA. But I've changed my plans. Like I said, I still like curves BUT I want it to look like a modified and updated Fiero. And I do mean updated. I want it to look more modern, maybe as if they kept making the Fiero and moved it upscale. I'll badge it as a Fiero, and I'll keep some Fiero cues like the flying buttress/sale panels, but it won't look 100% Fiero.
Got the Corvette frame sections in. This, in conjunction with the Corvette cradle, will help me locate the suspension and frame rails. I'm hoping to have the rear of the car stripped in the next week and to have the rear suspension within a couple weeks, then I can start fabrication.
[This message has been edited by TommyRocker (edited 03-02-2017).]
The ABZ v8 never came with a manual in the US and euro spec flywheels are rare and super expensive. Later v8 manuals are common but use a different mounting pattern. There's a company that sells an insert that bolts to the factory flex plate to give you a friction surface for the clutch but it's $500 plus I'd have to source a flex plate as mine didn't come with one. There's another company called TTV Racing in the UK that sells a proper aluminum flywheel for my engine. With the crappy exchange rate it came to less than the insert alone, plus I don't have to source a flex plate. It'll let me use S4 clutches and is lighter than the flex plate with insert, so I ordered it today. I've been emailing one of their reps questions the last couple weeks and they've been extremely helpful so I'm hopeful that the flywheel will be good.
Are you going to stretch the car by cutting the existing rails, or are you cutting everything off at the firewall and building a complete new rear frame structure? I did the stretch a couple of years ago, and it really wasn't hard to do.
Ordered the flywheel Friday, it arrived today from the UK. Looks good, was priced lower than the alternative, included shipping, and the customer service from TTV Racing has been awesome. I've got an S4 clutch kit on the way along with all the mounting bolts and so on so hopefully in the next couple weeks I'll have time to put it all together. Here is the flywheel.
I ordered a "brand new" LuK clutch kit for an S4 from eBay. Received a completely trashed pressure plate, flywheel and clutch disk. The disk was falling apart. Messaged the seller and he apologized, blamed a former employee, and I received a refund notification within seconds. Fortunately I recovered my money. Unfortunately I lost a week. I was planning on getting the engine and transmission put together this weekend but now that'll have to wait because the new clutch kit won't be here until Wednesday. Instead, I'm going to try to start stripping the car down. I want to pull the body panels off and get ready to cut the rear off, and ultimately get the interior and cut the front rails off and put the tub on dollies.
[This message has been edited by TommyRocker (edited 03-31-2017).]
Still working on other stuff, at this point I'll be lucky to get to it by the end of the year.
That sucks about your clutch, good you got your money back. Since you need the engine and trans together for mock up work, just put them together, you can do the clutch latter, (you'll have the combo in and out many times before it's ready to run).
Haven't really had much time to work on it lately with work being hectic. I'm hoping to work on it more tomorrow. I have managed to buy a few parts. I bought a giant 102mm ls1 style throttle body, some adapters to allow standard injectors to mount in the abz fuel rail and intake manifold, and a new m122 supercharger from a Cadillac STS-V. I like the Cadillac m122 because it comes with integrated liquid charge coolers and the throttle body mounts straight to the rear of it. If I hadn't found a decent deal I was considering remote mounting dual fifth generation m90s but this will be better.
M122 they work nice are you going with the 6 rib belt or you going to run a 10 rib if you run the 6 rib you will need to get good belt wrap and treat the pulley to a carinite coating i need coat my bottom pulley as i have great belt wrap but the 6 rib still slips just a bit but with a 2 5/8 top pulley i hit just over 11 psi
I'm pretty sure the pulley on the supercharger is an 8 rib. I'll know soon enough. I'm going to run a separate crank pulley and tensioner for the supercharger so I'll be careful to get good belt wrap.
Still working on this, just very slowly. I was on call last week and ended up working most of the weekend, but I did get the supercharger and I did start stripping the car. A little bit. The supercharger is bigger and heavier than I expected, it should look damn good through the back window.
[This message has been edited by TommyRocker (edited 05-09-2017).]
