Ok...barn find...and its already mine. I got the time to pull the front driver wheel off today to take a look.
I just want to know how long the road is that I am in for. I am hoping this isn't completely hopeless. Anyone out there have any experience in heavy-rust restores? Any sage words of advice?
[This message has been edited by IrnDuke (edited 07-27-2020).]
NEW BRAKE LINES all around.. New bushings on upper and lower, inner and outer tie rods, ball joints, shocks, calipers, hubs, bearings. Use your torch a lot. You could powder coat the parts as they are stripped and polished. Not so bad.
look behind the trunk carpet, look under the car completly: at the floor, and look above where the engine cradle meets the frame.
Yeah, this may be where there is a glimmer of hope. Everything above about 1ft. doesn't seem too bad. The engine and where the engine cradle and frame meet look, dare I say, decent. I'm definitely going to have to weld new lugs into the floor for the seats and get new seat frames...they are completely gone in places...which makes me think there is going to be some floor pan work. Ooof. I'm guessing the gas tank is going to be a goner too.
I am more of the school of thought that even if something is free, sometimes it is better to leave it.
A "free" car that will cost hundreds of hours of labour , lots of parts, lots of trips to the store, etc. is actually very expensive- and still worth a lot less than a car that wasn't a basket case to start with
Me personally, I would grab one that is not rotten and save a bunch of swear words, busted knuckles, rust particles falling into my eyes. etc...
Yup, Don't do anything until look at bottom of car and rear frame hidden by rear inner fender.
quote
Originally posted by IrnDuke: I just want to know how long the road is that I am in for. I am hoping this isn't completely hopeless. Anyone out there have any experience in heavy-rust restores? Any sage words of advice?
Major rust rot on car frame areas often = junk car but you get fools claiming can "rebuild" them.
Rotten parts that bolt to the car can replace but above pic's is going to Eat time and a lot of money. Example: You may/likely need a whole front end. Not replacing rubber bushings etc. Top bracket over spring etc rusted bad is a big problem. S-rack can hind "rust" in the rubber mounting.
Many Suspension parts like many bushings have Class 10.9 or better hardware and will need same if cut or heated. If the bolt etc isn't rusted can split the seem in inner tube and use spray oil and wait for oil to work. See my Cave, Bushings
------------------ Dr. Ian Malcolm: Yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should. (Jurassic Park)
DEFINATELY pull the rear wheels and wheel well liners off both sides and inspect the upper frame rails and cradle mounting spots before you do anything else. As stated, sometimes its better to cut your losses and find something else. Frames can be fixed or even replaced but it's not quick, easy or cheep unless your good with metal fabrication and welding.
Thanks for all the replies everyone!!! I'll try pulling those panels this weekend and taking a look. As I have dug deeper, it seems that most of the damage seems to be confined to the subframe. I'll post results after this weekends dissection and discovery!!!
------------------ **** Stupidly fearless. 1984 Fiero Sport Coupe #242064
Who was I kidding, "...this weekend". I had to rush out after some delicious Culvers and pull those well covers off. The suspense was killing me. Here's the verdict.
Passenger side has the "normal" battery damage and a few spots in the frame, but doesn't look completely out of the question for some weld patching.
Driver's side is a different story. I am hoping you all can tell me that all hope is not lost and I can repair this. This is a marathon for me, not a sprint, so I am willing to put in time and patience. But, if it really is too far gone then....I guess I'll have to cry uncle. There is a big hole in the trunk bay—no biggie. But, it is these horizontal members next to the suspension that have me a bit worried. Someone give me some hope here.
PASSENGER:
DRIVER:
[This message has been edited by IrnDuke (edited 08-05-2020).]
It is no longer a logical task, but if you love the challenge and have the time, you could save it. I am amazed by the restore that RWDPLZ did on his car, and if you can read and understand his thread and feel you want to do it....good for you. The sensible thing is to part out this car, save your money, and find something requiring less work. (it won't get any better sitting in a barn for more years.... )
I hope you come to your senses and abandon this particular project. I'm not trying to be mean, but Fieros in much better condition can be had for next to nothing.
Look on the bright side... you've got a parts car now to draw from while restoring a different Fiero.
Honestly, cut your losses. Save the parts that can be saved for your next project or part out the car. Depending on what you paid for it, you might make a few bucks. But based on the pictures you've posted, I'd be worried about driving it. The bright side is you'll know what to look for next time.
Good luck with the search.
------------------ Mike in Sydney
[This message has been edited by Mike in Sydney (edited 08-06-2020).]
Ditto on rockers, this is the pass side which was much worse then the driver's side above. I sem to recall I just patched the driver's side but this side was gone.
I used what was left of the old trunk corner and some sheet metal to replace the driver's side trunk
Overall it saved the car, or at least kept it going for a few more years. Sold it a year or so later as it had lots of other rust issues and really wasn't long for this world. I enjoyed doing it as I'd never done that much frame/metal work before but honestly, I wouldn't do it again unless the car was really special to me. Yours looks to be in much worse shape overall so personally I think you'd be better off finding a better starting point and parting out what you can from this one.
It isn't as bad as mine if the strut tower hasn't separated from the lower rail yet.
If you can weld, or want to invest in the equipment and learn, go for it. I don't know where people live that they can just go spend a few dollars and 'get another one' but it really isn't practical where this kind of frame rot occurs with the modern cost of shipping and the way Fiero values are right now. You could spend $2000 on another car and $800 in shipping it, and very well end up being in the same predicament.
Here is my $2200 CAD Fiero (this one happened to be 1/2 hour away from my home in Grand-Mère):
Not bad, I got away with three small patches in the trunk, one patch near the battery, and a battery tray replacement. It really didn't need much.
Here we can see the small battery tray area patch I did:
You can get decent for cheap, but I can't say I fully agree with the "scrap it it's rusty" mantra we have here. If we always apply this mantra, well we're encouraging our favorite cars to be scrapped. At some point, to prevent Fieros from going extinct, they must be repaired.
[This message has been edited by pmbrunelle (edited 08-06-2020).]
One of my favorite scenes in that great movie (Only Monty Python I can watch)...."None shall pass!"
I really like having a CA Fiero...But I bought it new and have taken care of it (Just never found a wrench to fit the loose nut behind the steering wheel)
Here's the irony of this whole thing....stuck under the rear deck lid. 😂
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Originally posted by RWDPLZ:
Had to look that one up, apparently they filed for bankruptcy in 1988. Pretty obvious why now.
IrnDuke, I'm definately not laughing at your misfortune... but damn... Rusty Jones... protecting a rust bucket... and going broke... that's kind of funny!
Let's say was profitable then I-co drop them or when bankrupt... I-co likely was a big part paying Warranty claims and No other I-co wanted to carry at all or wanted a lot more money to carry them. So RJ went Bankrupt then to void all Warranties to shield Many Millions of $. Same reason GM and many others did.
A related "scam" is Ziebart "undercoating services" that's still in business in some places even tho you don't see/hear ads now.
Most get "the service" then sell or trade in before problems cause by the aftermarket crap and the installers. If you keep a car for long... Oh they have a "Warranty" but try to get rust problems covered and you find they have Hundreds or more reasons their not paying for anything. Most aren't transferred if you sell a car either.
One big problem is/was the product maybe 100% good was not installed right to cut corners by many Franchisees. (Both like AAMCO and MAACO are 99+% Franchise operated shops.) Any problems when installing then doesn't take long to lift a edge and water, road salt, etc eats more metal and often faster as the coating hold more crap and stays wet longer.
Many Car Brands had better rust proofing in late '70's to 80's like Fiero dip coating and if you put anything on top of OEM treatment then Factory Warranty is often voided Because GM et al knew most aftermarket "rust proofing" sucks. Dealer and Private body/frame shops have dealt w/ many problems cause by them many years by the 80's.
IrnDuke, I'm definately not laughing at your misfortune... but damn... Rusty Jones... protecting a rust bucket... and going broke... that's kind of funny!
Oh yeah, I got a good guffaw from the irony of the whole situation. I still wouldn't characterize it as a misfortune. Learning curve experience, for sure. But, what good is a project car if it's not...well...a project. This one is just turning out to be a much bigger project than I expected. To quote another monty python movie....
I hope you come to your senses and abandon this particular project. I'm not trying to be mean, but Fieros in much better condition can be had for next to nothing.
Look on the bright side... you've got a parts car now to draw from while restoring a different Fiero.
Agree with Patrick on this one... Get a southern car. The body panels get sun cooked. Take you cold storage preserved plastic and put it on a rust free chassis... Or spend the winter cutting, welding, cutting, welding, painting etc...
[This message has been edited by DimeMachine (edited 08-09-2020).]
Just wait 'til Patrick gets here..... 
