Hello! My name is Dylan and about two weeks ago I purchased my first Fiero. After two weeks and a few kinks along the way I must say I do love it. I bought a 1988 Formula with just under 70000 miles on the clock. My mechanic checked it out and said it was leaps and bounds better than my old car, a 1994 Ford Taurus SHO with over 145000 mile and more rust than old farm trucks. After driving it 3 hours home I woke up the next morning to a flat tire thanks to a stray screw picked up somewhere. After getting it patched I woke up the next day to a brisk morning and a car that wouldn't start. Called to get it towed that afternoon only to come home and have it start right up. Been running fine since, but after some internet surfing I've self diagnosed it as a pickup coil, which I'll be getting around to probably next weekend. In the mean time the car has been running fine! The body is in rather good shape despite the purple repaint chipping around the sunroof. Overall, a pretty clean car.
That's my story as a two week old Fiero owner. Now my question. I love the Fiero engine bay. I see some online that look just absolutely fantastic. Mine unfortunately is not quite that. Caked on dirt and gunk really makes it look pretty rough. Admittedly my SHO engine looked clean compared to it. I'd really like to get it clean up and was hoping I could get some tips on going about this. Precautions to take and the best way others have gone about this. I'm going to upload some photos of my engine in a couple minutes here to give people an idea of what I'm dealing with! Thank you very much and I can't wait to become involved in this awesome Fiero owners circle!
I'll be sure to keep an eye on the fuel pump after the coil is change if any weird things continue! Thanks for the welcomings!
Here are some pictures of the engine and one of the car itself! Not a fan of the purple, but its not the worst colour it could be I suppose! Originally it was white. I'd like to get it painted back to white or possibly black eventually as the paint is chipping quite bad around the sunroof anyways.
I'd really like to clean this bit up as the rest looks like mostly dust, but this is the gunk that I'd really like to clean up and get to looking a bit cleaner!
We go through Bowling Green and pass by Troy often on our way to St. Louis! In Quincy we have the Tin Dusters car show in Quincy every October I think. Typically cars pre-60s but occasionally you see some newer cars there. I'd like my car to be a bit cleaner by then so I can hang around and drive it through the park with some other nice cars! Already I have lots of admirers checking it out anywhere I go in town!
Just for kicks, here's my old SHO. I truly loved this car as well but it simply wasn't a good car to be driving around anymore. I sold it for 700 and the guy who bought it put some money into it and is now trying to sell it for 1300.
Those bottom lights didn't work when I owned it!
And it always was an aesthetically appealing engine!
Fiero engine bays will get dirty because the engine is in back, and the air is coming up from the road.....out the louvers. Yours looks extra dirty though. I wonder if the PCV valve is working...you should probably go through the entire PCV system. You will need a general cleaning just to find out where the oil leaks are....and the valve covers may be one place.
The SHO was a very neat car, but I think you will find that your Fiero will be more dependable once you get on top of the maintenance everybody avoids over the years.
if you use degreaser, be careful about where the drips go.....that stuff is not good in ground water....and also be careful about ignition wiring. Many Fieros have been knocked out at the quarter car wash...
That paint chipping around the sunroof is an issue. Water can get into the SMC body panel and it will slowly come apart. so try to get that protected.
[This message has been edited by Gall757 (edited 04-11-2015).]
In that case maybe I'll just have it cleaned up professionally and get everything tuned up a bit to find the leak. There isn't any fresh oil, at least none that's dripping onto my drive like my old car, may still be there though.
Excuse my ignorance, but what does SMC stand for and what would be the best way to protect it?
Originally posted by Dylpro: Excuse my ignorance, but what does SMC stand for and what would be the best way to protect it?
All Fiero body panels are plastic. The roof is Sheet Molding Compound, (SMC). similar to fiberglass, but denser. It's durable, except when it is cut or chipped and water can get in it. Then it can expand and break chunks off of it, sort of like a pothole in the road. It needs to be dried, filled, and painted so the water stays out.
