Do you mean this one I bought from Chester in 2003? "https://www.fiero.nl/forum/Archives/Archive-000002/HTML/20040223-1-030843.html" Wow! You're good. It's taken me an hour to find this link in the archives. No. It's not the same car. But I do believe there is a "spiritual" link between the 2 cars. I bought the one from Chester when he was living in New England (New Hampshire I believe). It was truly a beautiful car when I bought it and I honestly feel it was an even better car when I sold it 70k miles and 10 years later. Then life turned ugly for that poor little Fiero. I thought I had sold the car to a nice couple in Hollywood in the "business". As it turned out the car was purchased for a TV show (the name of the show escapes me) that delighted in finding perfectly good cars and destroying them performing stupid stunts. The Fiero's final demise was having a fire hose inserted through the sunroof and filling the interior with water until it overflowed out the windows and then they tried to drive it. I would have tried to find the remains and salvage it but the show was filmed in Detroit and I am in California. A few years ago someone here on Pennock's reported another 86 Gold SE for sale in New England. This one had only 157 miles on it. DE JA VU! Here was my chance to make ammends for what had happened to Chester's Fiero. I called the guy and bought it and this time had it shipped out to California in the spring of 2011. It now has a little under 500 miles on it. But let me say right now; this is not Chester's Fiero. Although the drivetrain has not been touched, the body has been through allot. This car was used at a high school auto shop class to learn bodywork. Its had multiple paint jobs (but the paint does look very good). This story is off topic for the Mall but I feel a response to the question posted deserved an answer. So I'm now going to post some pics and describe this 86 Gold SE that I now have for sale. indydriver, now living in Riverside, CA
[This message has been edited by indydriver (edited 04-25-2015).]
See the crystal clear tail lights! Original tires. Interior was very "mildew-y" but after weeks of applying baking soda and sampooing the seats they are now near pristeen. Horn paddles are missing/broken and the hood release cable works but not hooked up to lever. Radio, hearter, cruise, turn signals all work and the headlights go up and down. I had the a/c converted and it blows cold.
$5k seems fair. Less than I paid for it and much less than I have invested in it. You're in East Texas? This car is in southern California. Are you really interested or just curious?
Originally posted by indydriver: ...Then life turned ugly for that poor little Fiero. I thought I had sold the car to a nice couple in Hollywood in the "business". As it turned out the car was purchased for a TV show (the name of the show escapes me) that delighted in finding perfectly good cars and destroying them performing stupid stunts. The Fiero's final demise was having a fire hose inserted through the sunroof and filling the interior with water until it overflowed out the windows and then they tried to drive it.
That was the US version of Top Gear. I remember seeing that episode. The Fiero, some midsize car (like a Cutlass?) and a big-azz GM station wagon (a Caprice or Roadmaster, I think) were all victims. Of course the Fiero lost, because the ECM was in the passenger compartment, and shorted out by the water, of course. Cretins.
So its a time machine Where has this car been for the last 29 years?
Can you post some engine pictures and talk about any work thats been done to the car? Pull the carpet from the trunk and lets see some sheet metal pictures.
The one thing I always worry about when a car is stored that long is how the rubber holds up. How do you feel about this car? For $5000 would it drive across country? Looking for a DD that gets more than 10 mpg and this may just fit the bill
I live in Florida and would have to fly out to look at it and then consider the drive back home.
Thanks Jake
[This message has been edited by Jake_Dragon (edited 04-26-2015).]
Wow,indydriver, that's amazing that you've managed TWO gold SE's with no miles from the east coast.. I am sad to hear that Chester's car had fallen to such a sad demise... I saw that stupid show that flooded that car and ruined it.. I would have never imagined that car was the one found here in New England.. Sad. Anyways,good luck with the sale of that time capsule!
So its a time machine Where has this car been for the last 29 years?
Can you post some engine pictures and talk about any work thats been done to the car? Pull the carpet from the trunk and lets see some sheet metal pictures.
The one thing I always worry about when a car is stored that long is how the rubber holds up. How do you feel about this car? For $5000 would it drive across country? Looking for a DD that gets more than 10 mpg and this may just fit the bill
I live in Florida and would have to fly out to look at it and then consider the drive back home.
Thanks Jake
Records I recieved with the purchase indicate that this car was owned by a high school auto shop in New Hampshire until 1996. It is interesting that this is a very similar story I gathered explaining the history of Chester's Gold Fiero mentioned earlier. It also was thought to be a GM donated car to a trade shcool in New Hampshire. Both of these Fieros were void of VIN plates on the dash at the base of the winshield with no indication that there ever was one. See the pic below of the VIN location of this for sale Fiero absent VIN (note there is no indication that there ever was a tag). The car was sold to the guy I bought it from (Robbie) as 2 seperate lots of car parts. I have both reciepts. I doubt that there was actually 2 seperate piles of parts. There just one whole (more or less) Fiero. The 2 reciepts was a a legal ruse to circumvent the agreement that trades schools had with auto manufactures that donated cars were to be destroyed when they were done with them rather than sold. Chester's car was just sold to a dismantler (junk yard). Then in 1999 Robbie applied to state of Maine to issue a replacement VIN. State of Maine applied a VIN sticker to the door jam. In December 20I0 (through a lead on Pennock's of a Craigslist posting) I purchased the car from Robbie in Maine by phone/mail. I had the car shipped out of Maine as soon as weather allowed to a "Fiero friendly" shop in New Jersey to have it checked out and prepped for a redo of my 2003 cross country trek with Chester's Fiero. Then reality set in. Robbie was not an honest guy. The car needed too much work that I just could not afford at that time. What I did have done in the New Jersey shop was to have a new gas tank installed. The original was caved in aparrently by a floor jack. I could see a high school kid doing that. I will disclose the rest of the cars shortcomings in my following posts. I had it shipped from New Jersey to L.A. in April 2011.
[This message has been edited by indydriver (edited 04-27-2015).]
So its a time machine Where has this car been for the last 29 years?
Can you post some engine pictures and talk about any work thats been done to the car? Pull the carpet from the trunk and lets see some sheet metal pictures.
The one thing I always worry about when a car is stored that long is how the rubber holds up. How do you feel about this car? For $5000 would it drive across country? Looking for a DD that gets more than 10 mpg and this may just fit the bill
I live in Florida and would have to fly out to look at it and then consider the drive back home.
Thanks Jake
Jake, Allot of questions here. I'll try to respond to all of them. I think I've already answered "...for the last 29 years?" question. I'll post some engine pics below. When the car arrived in socal in I had it drop shipped directly to my mechanic near where I work. I won't say he's a Fiero "specialist" but I've brought 6 different Fieros to him over 15 years for alignments, complete a/c replacements, clutch and tranmission replacement, brake work and even an '88 headlight conversion on Chester's '86 SE. I had him do a complete safety and road worthiness check and I had all work done he reccommended. (except I did not replace the original tires). He replaced some engine hoses and all 4 brake hoses with braided lines. Other work I've had done since include a new fuel pump, filter, strainer, and relay ($475 parts&labor) and a/c converted to 134a and new accumulator installed ($235). As far as the drivetrain is concerned, I'd drive it anywhere. The tires have all of their original tread minus 478 miles worth. But they are old and hard. As for the condition of the rubber on the car, the door, trunk&engine compartment and sunroof seals are all excellent. Whats wierd is the condition of the dew wipes. As depicted below, the driver side is cracked and broken as one might expect. But the passenger side is soft and supple. Also see 2 pics of trunk carpet pulled back. A little dusty but dry with no rust. Look at the exhaust manifold. Just some light scale with some shiney steel still showing! That's what a 478 mile manifold looks like. Driver side dew wipe. Passenger side dew Wipe. Left side trunk. Right side trunk.
Would I drive it cross country as it sits? No. It needs allot of work. Most can be done in your driveway. You just can't do it in my driveway. In my next post I'll list everything I know that should be done to it to make it a safe cross country trip and then everything it needs to be pristine/original. indydriver in Riverside, CA
Thanks! update the list of things you think need fixed so I can start really thinking about this. I guess I would also have to see if Florida would issue a replacement VIN and what I would need. I hate to say it but its starting to be an uphill battle. I really would love another 86 SE and this fits the bill.
Thanks! update the list of things you think need fixed so I can start really thinking about this. I guess I would also have to see if Florida would issue a replacement VIN and what I would need. I hate to say it but its starting to be an uphill battle. I really would love another 86 SE and this fits the bill.
Thanks again Jake
Jake, When I brought the car into California, I was required to have the car inspected at California Highway Patrol Inspection Yard. They did not like the State of Maine VIN replacement tag and removed it. They applied in it's place a California "Blue Tag" with the original VIN number they located on the engine/chassis. My California Title also has the original VIN. Running a carfax on it will report the car first ever being registered in 2010. My title indicates "YR 1ST SOLD" 2010. This title was issued 07/29/11. It took me a couple months and half a dozen trips to the DMV to finally get it. So as far as transfering title it will be no more trouble than any other straight forward out-of-state transfer. I'll work on the list and post it tonight. It might be a little late East Coast time zone. indydriver in Riverside, CA
[This message has been edited by indydriver (edited 04-27-2015).]
To make this Fiero a daily driver, a few things should be addressed imediately: Tires - I've left the original Goodyear Eagle GT's on the car because they do have some collector value. The 84 Indy guys like them when they show their cars. I sold 2 of them from Chester's SE to an Indy owner. But I would'nt drive too far on them. I did drive Chester's SE cross country on original Eagles but they were 10 years newer. And when I did replace them with brand new BFG T/A's I realized how lucky I was that I made that trip without a tire mishap. The front Facia is not completely attached. What is missing is left and right side brackets that tie the rearmost ends of the facia to the plastic inner wheel well liners. Right now the center corners of the facia sag a few inches. I'm looking at a Clymer 1984-1986 Fiero shop manual trying to find the proper nomemclature for these parts but this manual does'nt cover aero facias. There is a picture of an 86 GT on the cover and 84 Indys and 85 GT's all had aero bodies but the manual does not cover aero body parts. And there are a few other pieces missing under there that I don't know because they aren't there. If I was keping the car I would look for an aero bodied parts car and just swap all missing pieces over. Anyway, I would'nt want to drive cross country until that is all addressed. Front shocks seem ok, But one of the rear struts seems a little "bouncy". I'd just replace all 4 corners befor a long trip. With these fixes I'd drive it anywhere.
Now for all the rest of the negatives. There are no drip rails on the car. I've seen them removed before on customs and it does look nice. And this car has been left out in the rain before and I did'nt find any evidence of leakage through the windows. I did find a little leakage at the sunroof seal though. As noted before, this car was used at an autobody shop school. There is no telling what this car was subjected to over eleventeen semesters of high school kids working on it. There is evidence that the top has been extensively reworked (probably why the drip rails are gone). See the pics below of the top at the upper left and right corners of windshield and of the top above left sail panel. The belt line trim is not fastened as nice as I'd like it. It's not rattling or falling off but gapped away from the body more than original. Probably from being removed and replaced every semester. The sail panels are both cracked. I do have a pair of 84 SE glass panels that I'll include. they will never crack from sun and I've never seen one broken from impact. The rear wing is not factory. Very common. My first Fiero was a black 86 SE with T-Tops. The T-Tops were from the Pontiac supplier but were not factory installed. And the rear wing was aftermarket. Dealers did this to keep the sticker price down (cheaper than ordering options from the factory). The interior is very nice. Just some details needing attention. emergency brake boot is missing. The plastic pilar covers are not fastened securely (bent/missing clips?). The plastic cover that surounds the drivers door threshold is broken. The driver's left seat bolster is pristine. No evidence of wear at all. Carpet is perfect. Headliner and visors are perfect. I do not know if they are original though. There are likely other interior bits missing or damaged. Missing drip rail and a little piece of top broken off just above sail panel location. Thats about it. If I can think of anything else I'll post it. indydriver in Riverside, CA
...Then life turned ugly for that poor little Fiero. I thought I had sold the car to a nice couple in Hollywood in the "business". As it turned out the car was purchased for a TV show (the name of the show escapes me) that delighted in finding perfectly good cars and destroying them performing stupid stunts. The Fiero's final demise was having a fire hose inserted through the sunroof and filling the interior with water until it overflowed out the windows and then they tried to drive it.
