World's slowest Fiero/Quad 4 Swap (Page 26/51)
Quadfather APR 21, 10:00 AM
Haven't done any work on the car because I've been distracted by other projects. Trying to rehab my old Gravely mower instead of just storing it in my garage. Also working to replace another old air compressor. It's the compressor I keep at my house.

I had another old compressor I bought at an estate sale years ago and over the weekend bought two more "used" ones, hoping to be able to make one good compressor.





Hope to get back to rebuilding the Quad 4 in a week or two.
Quadfather APR 23, 10:08 AM
While I was in the shop working on various air compressor parts, the frustration really started weighing me down. I looked at the car and realized how much work I still have to do and the frustration took over.

Then, last night I dreamed I was out driving it. Somehow it had the original Iron Duke in it and I'd driven hundreds of miles from home yet that old engine was just purring. I woke up with a feeling of joy.
Quadfather SEP 13, 10:24 PM
Been working on other projects in the shop as well as a big one at work, so haven’t made much progress over the summer. It’s harder and harder to focus on the Fiero during the heat of the summer.

I did spend a couple of days looking for the Iron Duke engine harness. Finally found it on one of my spare parts bins right next to the car. Somehow the label had crinkled and wasn’t legible.





Finally realized that I need to mate the wires coming out of the Fiero plug to the Beretta engine harness, instead of mating the Beretta plug to the Fiero wires.



Still trying to face the music that I need to buy a new head. Maybe when the weather cools down.

[This message has been edited by Quadfather (edited 09-13-2021).]

Dennis LaGrua SEP 27, 07:49 AM
You've gone through years of work to get this Quad four engine up and running. I admire your work and not to be critical; would not this project been easier if you just started with a working Ecotec engine?. You can buy many of the mounts and a complete stand alone wiring harness for some of these engines. Many performance options are also available for the Ecotec.

------------------
" THE BLACK PARALYZER" -87GT 3800SC Series III engine, custom ZZP /Frozen Boost Intercooler setup, 3.4" Pulley, Northstar TB, LS1 MAF, 3" Spintech/Hedman Exhaust, P-log Manifold, Autolite 104's, MSD wires, Custom CAI, 4T65eHD w. custom axles, Champion Radiator, S10 Brake Booster, HP Tuners VCM Suite.
"THE COLUSSUS"
87GT - ALL OUT 3.4L Turbocharged engine, Garrett Hybrid Turbo, MSD ign., modified TH125H
" ON THE LOOSE WITHOUT THE JUICE "

Quadfather SEP 27, 10:52 AM

quote
Originally posted by Dennis LaGrua:

You've gone through years of work to get this Quad four engine up and running. I admire your work and not to be critical; would not this project been easier if you just started with a working Ecotec engine?. You can buy many of the mounts and a complete stand alone wiring harness for some of these engines. Many performance options are also available for the Ecotec.




The Ecotec would have been fine, but engine choice is not the reason this thing has been taking so long. I chose the Quad for two reasons: I was already familiar with it (both mechanically and performance wise), and I had one in my possession.

Trust me, I've spent a lot of time over the years thinking about the decisions I've made in this project. If I had a do-over, the biggest thing I'd change would be to fix the Iron Duke and start driving the car, then do the major upgrades along the way. Heck, I also had experience with Iron Dukes at that point.

[This message has been edited by Quadfather (edited 10-19-2021).]

Quadfather OCT 19, 05:58 PM
Today I began the process of replacing the head. Cylinder Head International said they don’t have any Quad 4/2.3 liter heads in stock, so I had to ship mine first. It’s interesting to me that the same head came from the same company in 2008 when I was first working on my GTZ. Naturally I couldn’t find the crack again.

While I wait I’m trying to resist the temptation to disassemble the pistons and rods to make sure I did them right.



[This message has been edited by Quadfather (edited 10-19-2021).]

Quadfather OCT 19, 06:03 PM
Over the last few months I’ve become convinced that I need to change my interior. I like the Camaro seats and the upholstery, but the texture and colors are wrong. I want this car to be full 80s shtick, so my seats need to be blue and black vinyl or leather.





That change will have to wait until the car is on the road.
Quadfather OCT 19, 06:10 PM
I’m on vacation this week and ordinarily at this point in a staycation I’d have several tasks already completed on the car. Instead I’ve just been farting around.

Maybe it’s because I just wrapped up a major project at work that took a year to finish, including very focused effort for the last six weeks. Probably just about the time I have to go back to work the bug will hit me again and I’ll be wishing for time off to work on the car.
Quadfather OCT 31, 07:07 PM
It’s like Christmas in October. The head came back from Texas.



I don’t think they packed it like this the first time they sent this head to me in 2008. The expanding foam works great.



I noticed the professional spread out the different shaped valves in different combustion chambers.



I have Fridays off for the rest of the year, because I have so much PTO, so I’m hoping to make progress this week. This will give me time to study up on installing the head before I try it on Friday.

[This message has been edited by Quadfather (edited 10-31-2021).]

Quadfather NOV 08, 07:51 PM
Ran into some trouble while installing the head. I made the mistake of comparing my factory service manual instructions with the instructions in my Haynes manual and they disagree. GM changed the head torque sequence several times over the years, so the FSM is not reliable. Not only are the torque values different, but so are the numbers of the bolts.



When I started working on this engine in 2008, I thought I used my Haynes manual when installing the new head. But this time around the torque settings didn’t seem right. Searching the internet just caused more confusion. Then I remembered that I saved all the information I printed off from the old Quad4Forurms 13 years ago, including instructions for torquing the head. These are the instructions I used back then.

[This message has been edited by Quadfather (edited 11-12-2021).]