My name is Dave. My Fiero obsession started in the spring of 1987, at a racetrack in Ohio called Nelson Ledges. My childhood was spent there it seems, as well as many other road courses in the northeast US. My uncle has raced cars in SCCA for as long as I can remember, and Nelson was our home track. That particular year, he put an ‘85 Fiero GT on the track that he found in Florida wrecked, someone managed to ROLL IT OVER! He bought it, and with my father’s help rebuilt it from the ground up, put a roll cage in it, beefed the motor a little bit, and went racing. I fell in love with that car. The look of it, the wheels, pop up headlights, the sound of it, everything! Unfortunately, I was only 8, so it quickly disappeared from my life, as he only raced it that year, sold it to a friend who raced it a few years then it was gone. But I had the big. From that first day on, I was always on the lookout for them everywhere I went. A close friend had an ‘87 GT and everything he did with it I was there helping out. Finally, after 30 years of waiting, I bought one for my own. A red ‘88 GT from a guy named Ted in Media, PA. The car is pretty clean, all original I believe save for a performance chip he said he put in and tuned headers. I plan to keep it close to stock, but will be picking my uncle’s brain on beefing the motor a little bit, and of course any tips from you fellow Fiero junkies is welcome. I’ll post pictures when I can pf both cars, right now I using my phone to post, and it doesn’t want to cooperate with me. My main question right now is what tools should I invest in for it? I know there’s special tools for interior trim and exterior moldings and such, plus maintenance tools in general. I have a very basic collection of tools, and some from my father’s garage as he passed a few years back, and I still have to take inventory of it. Thanks in advance.
[This message has been edited by MyFirefly88Gt (edited 03-03-2018).]
Welcome to the forum and the craziness of owning a Fiero. The fact that you have an 88 you will need to do some research because your suspension is very different compared to the other years (for the better). I have not personally run into needing any special tools. There are some idiosyncrasies to the Fiero, like our ICM's.
To get pictures to work using the program PIP is best. The how to is on the main page I beleive.
[This message has been edited by Spadesluck (edited 03-03-2018).]
Thanks. I did know about the suspension difference, but haven’t physically looked at it yet. Taking it apart soon to do brakes and wheel bearing hubs, so I’ll get a good look then. I did post pictures to the forum Facebook page, but I know not everyone does the social media thing. I’ll get them up on here when I have a bigger screen to work with. Your response prompted another question though. It may be a dumb question but could you please define the term ICM’s for me? I’m new to that one.
Hi Dave, congrats on your Fiero and welcome to the forum. I have an 88 and love it.
Here are a few things that I have found about the 88 year Fieros, there are probably more that would be good to know too.
The 88 front hubs are unique to the 88 Fiero, the brake calipers are only used on 88 Fieros and a couple of years of the Pontiac 6000 and brake pad compound selection is limited.
Rodney Dickman has front hubs and most suspension parts and lots of additional good stuff. Calipers online is a source for rebuilt rear and NOS front calipers, I have them on both ends of my car and no problems at all. Porterfield Brakes has several pad compounds available, I used their R4-S brake pads, good stopping power and very low dust, good for my wheels that have spun, polished aluminum rims.
I picked up a set of front caster/camber alignment tools on ebay as I couldn't find an alignment shop that had them, they are Kent-Moore J-36419.
Hello David and welcome to the "obsession". Such an appropriate word. You asked about tools. Of coarse, you want to start with the standard set of tools, wrenches, pliers, drivers, that sort of thing. The first thing that comes to my mind after that is my favorite. I have a double swivel 3/8 drive ratchet wrench. what I mean by that is that there are two swivel points on the wrench. The first being right under the head, and the second halfway down the handle. this allows you to flex the wrench in all kinds of configurations to fit in those tight spots and still have room to swing the handle. Great in the tight engine bay. A good set of torx drivers will also come in handy depending on what your working on. Vice grips can also be used for various applications. I also suggest a can of PB Blaster. Its an excellent rust penetrant to help loosen those rusty nuts and bolts. A good repair manual has also been of help for me. The exploded views of assemblies give a good understanding of what your up against. But most of all, for me at least, is all the excellent advise and information I have received from all the concerned people on this site who took the time to help me out. I can't thank them enough. The ratch wrench I'm speaking of is a Pittsburgh Pro 3/8 drive flexible ratchet item # 96369 Have a great time with your Fiero. You've waited a long time for this.
Wow! Thanks for all the information everyone! I’ll be working on pictures tomorrow evening. I work weekend nights so my schedule is crazy. Can I just download this pip thing to my computer? I’m pretty sure it’s windows 10. Work on the car starting this week. Have to fix a reflector some ******* broke last week in a parking lot and didn’t bother to let me know. Also putting new headlights in. I have the service manual CD from Fiero store ordered. Has anyone else got that? It says is a copy of the dealer service manual so I figured it would be a good idea to get. Shopping for parts to do brakes and hubs when I have time. Definitely going to check into the places yinz ( I’m originally from Pittsburgh so pleas excuse the lingo 😜) are suggesting. Can’t wait to get her done and polished up for the summer.
Good thing I read this post, I live on the other side of 30 south of Gettysburg and I'm out in York all the time for school. It's funny I work weekend days! There are a couple local junkyards that have Fieros, but zero '88's as far as I know. Check Craigslist for the shop manual, I have seen them there for as low as $25. I got mine on ebay for a bit more. It's a huge help. I'm rebuilding my '87 GT at a good snail's pace and learning as I go too. So don't be afraid to ask questions here, everyone is great. Welcome!!!
Hey Dave, you do know about the Fiero Store, don't you ? There's also this fellow Pat out there in Texas. I've done business with him and also spoke to him on the phone. A nice guy if you ask me. Keep an eye on ebay too. You sound like a real Fiero nut ! lol. that's good : )
Yes, I am well aware of the Fiero Store. I have my second shipment of stuff from there coming this week. I ordered the CD Shop Manual from them. It was only like $30 or something. Going to work on this PIP thing right now. Pictures may be on the way.
Says it only works with windows 8 and up and said something about architect something that was a minimum system requirements. I’m not updating my computer right now.
Originally posted by MyFirefly88Gt: Says it only works with windows 8 and up and said something about architect something that was a minimum system requirements. I’m not updating my computer right now.
quote
Originally posted by Patrick:
Where'd you see that?
I'm running Win7. PIP would probably work with Win98.
Yep, it will run on anything Win95-7 according to the download link. "Version 1.09 for Windows 95b/98/98SE/ME/2000/XP/Vista/Win7" And, while not stated 8 and 10 work too. So don't worry, no need to update anything. It looks confusing at first, but once you get used to it it's quite easy to use!
Ok, I’ll try those links later. I just googled it, and the website that came up said it wouldn’t work with my computer. I’m not very computer savvy. Thanks guys.
Well, there you go. That is the one my uncle road raced in SCCA. I guess I need to take other pictures of my '88 because the files are too big for PIP and I can't figure out a way to shrink them to the correct size. The story on this particular Fiero is that my uncle found it in Florida, totaled. Someone managed to roll it over! He bought it, had it sent up to him in PA, and he and my dad rebuilt it from the ground up. My dad told me they had the engine bored thirty over, balanced and blueprinted and put Grand National injectors in it. They hollowed out the CAT, put a roll cage in it and took it racing! My uncle said it was so loud that the tech inspectors were not happy, and he had to get mufflers from Harley Davidson specially made to quiet it down and stay out of tech penalty. It was raced in a class called Showroom Stock, so they couldn't change much, as with the engine mods it was probably already out of spec, and they had to run stock brakes. He said every weekend they had to put new brakes on it because the stock brakes couldn't handle it. Still, it was the coolest thing I have ever seen, at the age of 8-10. He raced it in '87, sold it to a buddy who raced it in '88 & '89 and then sold it to someone else, and I never seen it again. But that is the one that started my obsession with these cars.
The way I manage photos for Pip is to select the small size when I share the pictures to email from my phone. I use a droid so any android should be able to do it.
And finally, here is the side view. Thanks guys for all the help on what should have probably been a lot easier if I was more computer savvy. Now yinz can see what started the obsession, and what is currently feeding it.
And finally, here is the side view. Thanks guys for all the help on what should have probably been a lot easier if I was more computer savvy. Now yinz can see what started the obsession, and what is currently feeding it.
Beautiful car - love the black wheel/white letter tires on the solid red GT.
Thanks. That’s how I bought it. It’s mechanically sound, mostly stock. It needs some small things, and it needs painted, the pictures make it look otherwise but it’s got spiderwebs in a couple areas and clear coat is fading on the wing. First up it brakes all the way around and wheel bearings at least in the front. I love it though. Getting parts for those issues hopefully next week.
