Ever since I was old enough to like cars, but not old enough to drive, I loved Fieros. I also loved Corvettes, but we'll get to that later. We had one in my home town that was black with silver trim along the bottom. I could literally spot one from a mile away.
Then, I got my license, and found out how much cars cost, versus how much I could afford. My Top 3 were, and are, the '63 Stingray split-window, '67 Stingray convertible with the 427 under the hood, and the Fiero GT. For someone still in high school, all of those were out of reach, and by the time I had a job where I could afford the payments Fieros were out of production. The dream was put on hold.
Fast forward thirty years, and I'm just browsing online and stumble across something about Fieros. This brings back the memories, and I begin looking around. While I couldn't afford one then, now it isn't such an issue.
I test drove four different Fieros in three weeks, before settling on one. A maroon/silver '87 GT with the 5-speed Getrag. (Picture will be posted as soon as I figure out how to get it from Google Photos, and shrunk to meet the limits here.)
I drove it from Staunton, Illinois to my home near Lawrenceburg, IN for it's maiden voyage, without any major issues. I even averaged about 26.5mpg on the trip.
Now, I need to save up to get the jack, jack stands, etc. so I can get it up to check the wheel bearings, ball joints, etc. I'm pretty sure it needs the tires balanced and alignment, but I want to look at, or fix, those things first. It's still driveable, but there's a slight vibration at higher interstate speeds, and feels... drifty? if you're not taking a curve.
Once I get that sorted out then I'm going to replace the stereo system in it. The current stereo's power button doesn't stay in when turned on, so you have to hold the button down to listen to the radio. Besides that, I haven't owned any cassettes in 25 years. I've found a Pioneer on Crutchfield that plays CDs and is iPod compatable. While I'm doing that I'll go ahead and update the speakers.
I also plan on getting a stiffer suspension, poly bushings, etc., but those will wait for a while.
In the mean time, I'm hoping to find a Fiero club in my vicinity, that I don't have to drive over an hour to. If there are any other Fiero owners in the Cincy area let me know, especially if you already belong to a local club. If not, maybe we can begin our own.
Welcome! Reading your introduction, I could have written it myself! My car is also a 87 GT (except an auto )
I know what you mean about the car feeling loose ("drifty" you called it). 30 year old rubber bushings leave MUCH to be desired in the handling department. You have the right idea about poly bushings. New shocks and struts will help as well. Just make sure you have it properly aligned afterwards, as it will handle poorly if it is not aligned properly.
You are in the right place. Any issues or questions you have can be (or have already been) answered. The search feature is your friend
Again, welcome to the forum/addiction/madness!
Tim
------------------ Tim Bay City, MI '87 GT original 2.8 V6 All Poly suspension, Eibach springs Aussie Stage 2 side scoops Deck scoop, Fiero Warehouse lip spoiler
The ball joints, tie rods, and such are in pretty good shape. I got a tire balance and alignment done, and now it doesn't drift at highway speeds. I couldn't stop grinning on the way home!
I also fixed the cigarette lighter, and I'm soon going to attempt to retrofit a '92-'95 Grand Am power mirror switch to it. I couldn't find the OE switch for less than $75, which doesn't make sense to me. The one from a Grand Am is only $20. I counted the wires, and compared the colors through the pictures I found online, so I'm pretty sure it should work. If not... I'll figure something else out.
Hopefully tonight I'll get my Pennock's Picture account and all that set up so I can show pics. I'll take step by step pics of the power mirror switch addition, just in case anyone else is interested.
As noted above, I replaced the lighter. (Thanks to Ogre and his cave for the valuable instructions and tips). I didn't reinstall the light when I put it back in, and now it's just tucked inside the console behind the lighter panel.
Does anyone have any suggestions, or ideas, about what I can use the light, or its wiring, for? I thought about rerouting the light to the console "glove box", but that just seems lazy. I'm wondering if the wires could power something that would be useful.
After I change the oil and go over the undercarriage, I'm going to gut the interior and begin updating the stereo, replacing the power window and lock motors, possibly get some of the replacement upholstery from the Fiero Store, and other little details.
You can also wire in an F-Body mirror switch. That is what I did. I purchased a new blank panel from the Fiero Store and used that to mount my switch. F-Body Mirror Switch
I did the very same thing to my 87 GT I purchased last summer. Gutted the whole interior and went through everything. I even put down sound matting. Take your time doing it because you can easily break the old plastic pieces if you try to man handle it.
[This message has been edited by Spadesluck (edited 04-23-2017).]
While I'm doing that I'll go ahead and update the speakers.
If your Fiero still has its original dash speakers, you'll wonder how they produced any sound at all when you discover that the paper cones have almost completely disintegrated.
[This message has been edited by Patrick (edited 04-23-2017).]
So the latest news is that something gave in the exhaust. Inside the cabin my ears popped from the deep sound coming from the engine bay. I'm not sure what the issue is, but I was planning on changing over to stainless steel exhaust anyway.
This weekend is going to be rainy, so I'm going to work on getting my pictures uploaded then. Currently money is tight, so it's going to be a while before I'm able to actually get to work on it. I might just go ahead and start gutting the interior once I get the garage cleaned out so I have room to work.
Here's the Fiero as it stands now. FYI, I've named her Natasha.
Here's the driver's side quarter window. It's in rough shape, but the passenger side is much better. Unfortunately, the PO painted both black. I'm hoping I can strip the black off, and give the passenger side one to a good home.
Here's a spot on the tail light cover. I've found some stuff online that I'm hoping will allow me to fill in the hole, without having to replace the entire passenger side cover. http://www.eastwood.com/rig...epair-kit-clear.html
Now to get the time and money to start doing what needs to be done.
Just so you know, the original factory exhaust is stainless steel.
Thanks, Patrick. I didn't know that. Hopefully that means there's parts I can salvage. The noise coming from it would give me a headache after any lengthy trip though, so I think something is cracked. Mostly it's during the lower RPMs when it has a deep rumble, like you're standing too close to a bass speaker at a concert.
Edited to add: I found this on Rodney Dickman's website. http://www.rodneydickman.com/n58.html Apparently the exhaust is 309 StnStl which is stainless, but will get surface rust. That may save me some money, since I can just sand off the rust that's showing. I'm planning on installing the Shorty Headers from West Coast Fiero ( http://westcoastfiero.com/p...orty-exhaust-headers ), and I'm hoping it's just the Cat that's the problem. If it's something else, I'll take care of that once I get to it.
[This message has been edited by Berlzebub (edited 05-01-2017).]
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