What caused the wreck. A friend flashed his lights at me. I thought he wanted to talk to me so I pulled up next to him (we were going opposite directions). Too close. He had a dully and actually didn't recognize who I was. He didn't stop. I cleared his extended fenders but did not account for his wheel spacers, which extended his tire beyond the fender. My front tire hit his tire.Click to show
88 Fiero GT. I bent my upper A-frame(?) / control arm(?). Of course, it's got the newly designed suspension.
Will the upper A-frame(?) / control arm(?) from my 86 parts GT work ?
Check with Larry Hubbert here on PFF. He's in New Port Richey, FL. He has a LOT of 88 parts, will ship, has reasonable prices, and is a great guy to deal with.
Originally posted by gtoformula: There is an 88 in a Fort Worth salvage yard. Picked a few parts from it, but the front suspension was all there.
Thanks. Would they pull it and ship it to me ?
quote
Originally posted by Habanera Hal: Check with Larry Hubbert here on PFF. He's in New Port Richey, FL. He has a LOT of 88 parts, will ship, has reasonable prices, and is a great guy to deal with.
Also thanks to you. Is Larry Hubbert his user name ? It did not pop up in search. Anyone have his contact info ?
Here is the thing, my car is on the side of the road, sort of. It is at a far away neighbor's house, which I am vuagly familiar with (we have talked a few times). I am sure he doesn't want it there. Neither do I.
It is bent bad. Undriveable to me. Will the 86 work in my pinch, to drive it home (1/4 mile) ? Not that I want to pull it from the 86 and install it on the 88, only to have to repeat it to put it back. Nor do I want to get a wrecker.
Thanks David. Thanks for an out of the box suggestion.
I am thinking that I will just install a doughnut spare and drive it like I had already hit police tire spikes and kept on going. Not a good idea but it is looking better all the time.
I hope all you bent was the UCA, and not the crossmember. The UCA is not too difficult to change, however. The shaft just bolts to a Paddle nut plate in the top of the spring tower. (When you take the bolts out, the plate will fall out. Don't be surprised.)
[This message has been edited by Raydar (edited 04-28-2019).]
I hope all you bent was the UCA, and not the crossmember.
Yeah for Raydar, the harbinger of new worries, [/sarcasm]. Seriously, thanks Raydar. My worries are mostly over. My GT is nestled back in my driveway. I was thinking that I would be a fool if I thought the lower control arm was not compromised.
I need to disassemble everything and get a better look see. Evaluate what I need to do and replace. It looks like plans for next weekend have been 'updated'. I do not have a lift. I don't know how I will be able to inspect the cross member.
Sheesh, I am sick about this. It is an 88 GT T top, that I have had since 2001. Not a mishap since. It now only has a wee bit over 100k miles on it.
quote
Originally posted by Raydar: The UCA is not too difficult to change, however.
It will be new to me though I basically understand what I need to do. My upper shaft has nuts on both ends, but I went, looked, and saw the bolts that likely hold those paddle nuts.
It looks like my rack and pinion steering arrn is bent and it is touching the sway bar. Will my 86 GT's rack and pinion work on the 88 ?
I was just fixing to 'search' for disassembly procedures on our forum. Anyone know of the best thread to reference ?
If I ever need a good reason to renew the front suspension, I have found it. Both sides.
Oh yeah. The easy way started to flutter through my head. It looks like I might be able to pull the upper and lower control arm assemblies as one unit.
Before you start buying parts, the the lower a-arm mounting ears to the front suspension crossmember, as those could be bent as well.
If those mounting ears are bent along with the upper control arm and possibly the upright you might be better off just locating an 88 parts car or a complete 88 front suspension dropout.
Nothing 84-87 front suspension interchanges with the 88... between the front wheels and steering column, you might as well try swapping Ford parts...they are that different.
Originally posted by fieroguru: Before you start buying parts, the the lower a-arm mounting ears to the front suspension crossmember, as those could be bent as well.
I think you mean to inspect them. That sounds like an easy bend back, but as can be seen, I know nothing.
quote
Originally posted by fieroguru: If those mounting ears are bent along with the upper control arm and possibly the upright you might be better off just locating an 88 parts car or a complete 88 front suspension dropout.
What is this 'upright' of which you speak of ?
quote
Originally posted by fieroguru: Nothing 84-87 front suspension interchanges with the 88... between the front wheels and steering column, you might as well try swapping Ford parts...they are that different.
So, my 86GT rack and pinion will not work.
Heh, I had an 88 parts car for years. Years. I let it go for cheap to someone in need. Que sara sara. Luckily, Larry Hubbert responded that he had a few.
Thank you all. I am probably not done yet, . If it's worth fixing, it's worth fixing right !
It's the spring tower / shock mount / UCA mounting surface. The entire thing could have been bent backwards. Or not. It's a hard call.
One of my old parts cars was a Formula that had been driven into a dirt bank, when the owner blew a turn in the rain. It was about 10 inches shorter on the right side than the left. Pushed the entire A-pillar back about two inches. I was still able to drive it on and off the trailer with a donut spare. The only control arm that was not salvageable was the right lower. The cradle horns (front and rear extensions) were bent, but that damned thing is pretty sturdy.
Yeah... I recognize the "hit" was different, but still.
[This message has been edited by Raydar (edited 04-28-2019).]
Originally posted by cliffw: I think you mean to inspect them. That sounds like an easy bend back, but as can be seen, I know nothing.
Yes, typing on the phone with fat thumbs... It isn’t just the tabs, they mount to a square box tube, the tube often becomes non-square (especially in the rear) in addition to bending the tabs.
quote
Originally posted by cliffw: What is this 'upright' of which you speak of ?
Upright, knuckle, spindle… the front suspension part that connects to the upper/lower a-arms and holds the wheel bearing. They are pretty thin and can be bent, cracked, or broken.
quote
Originally posted by cliffw: I will need a front end with the W6 springs ?
Any 88 front suspension will work. Just swap your springs. They all have the same rate, just some are shorter than others.
quote
Originally posted by cliffw: Is the right looking at it, or sitting in it.
Driver's side (at least in the US) is the Left hand side.
[This message has been edited by fieroguru (edited 04-28-2019).]
Originally posted by fieroguru: Driver's side (at least in the US) is the Left hand side.
Thanks. Imagine my horror if I committed to buy a right hand UCA, paid for it, and then received a right hand UCA, all the while needing a left hand UCA.
The frame damage on that car looks very extensive. I think the only way to fix it is to get another 88 and put the parts you want to save from your wrecked car on to the car you buy. The whole frame appears bent, even the roof has been smashed upwards.
Sorry, I thought the picture was of the car you were trying to fix. Reread your post, I get it now.
[This message has been edited by wftb (edited 05-03-2019).]
Originally posted by fieroguru: Nothing with the 84-87 suspension will bolt to the 88 suspension. Everything is different.
Later :
quote
Originally posted by cliffw: It looks like my rack and pinion steering arrn is bent and it is touching the sway bar. Will my 86 GT's rack and pinion work on the 88 ?
quote
Originally posted by fieroguru: Nothing 84-87 front suspension interchanges with the 88... between the front wheels and steering column, you might as well try swapping Ford parts...they are that different.
Still later (from my "the Mall" parts search) :
quote
Originally posted by fieroguru: All 88 springs have the same rate, just the lengths are different. Sway bars and steering racks are also all the same, so get "any" 88 front suspension and swap your springs.
I guess I am trying to confuse myself, and to not get confused.
Did I learn that the 88 steering racks have a different length connecting rod (where it connects to the front suspension) ?
Side note : I am still looking for a complete 88 front suspension, as close as possible to San Antonio. Larry Hubbert in Florida (I could justify making that trip as my Dad lived there) has not gotten back to me via PM. Nor ccfiero350 in Houston.
I understand and will wait. We all have other lives and get busy. I am going to get this right the first time.
One 11mm bolt on the steering shaft, and 8 bolts to hold the cradle in and the whole front crossmember drops as a unit, complete with suspension, swaybar and rack. Also need to remove a clamp for the rear brake line.
I just wanted to add, you can carry away the whole subframe/suspension as a unit from the front of an 88- no need to disassemble it.......But you will have to remove the coolant pipes, and it would be easier to just remove the front trunk tray to gain access to the steering shaft, and brake line bolts.
. If it's worth fixing, it's worth fixing right !
