12 year olds and cars - Kathryn's Fiero (Page 27/175) olejoedad JUL 21, 11:42 AM A comment on the engine swap discussion.............. Keep in mind as you consider the swap options that the stock Fiero 125 transmission is a 3 speed, and compared to the modern automatics, not efficient. No matter what engine you end up with, it would be of great benefit to change to a more modern 4 speed automatic. If you decide to keep the 2.8, or move up a bit to the 3.4, the 4T60 is a good choice - it runs with the Fiero OBD I ECM and will help performance as well as fuel economy. If you step up to a 3800 or a 4.9 V-8, the 4T60-E is a good choice for the fuel injected 3800. If eventually the engine choice is the 3800 S/C, the 4T65E-HD is your trans to upgrade to. In a word - if you upgrade the drivetrain - dump the 125 auto. On another note, we are looking forward to meeting you and your father this weekend in Jackson for the Capitol City Fiero Club's "Driving the Excitement" weekend! michhiker28 JUL 21, 11:43 AM Hey Baby K, You've got some sanding and welding to do first babe! Just messing with you. The 3.4 is probably the easiest to swap in but we can look at others too if you want. I'm sure we can put enough power in for you to have fun, without it getting you into trouble. How's the trip going? You and J still kicking etc? Also, did you and Papa get to go look for a helmet yet? -Dad MadMark JUL 21, 01:09 PM I am so glad you are coming to the Driving the Excitement event, since we (all of the Capital City Fiero Club) will get a chance to meet you and your dad. I am truly looking forward to talking with your dad and you. If there is anything we can do to help you with your project just ask and I think between all of us we can help. If you or your dad would like to take a ride in the various different Fiero's with drive train combinations I am sure we can arrange that. Joe will have his 4.9 Caddy engine with a 4T60E, I will be there with a 3800SC III with a 4T65E-HD, my wife will have her 2.5 with a TH125, Jack should be there with a LS3 Corvette engine and a 6 speed manual trans, Brian will be there with a 2.8 with a TH125, Robert should have a 3.1 or 3.4 with a 4T60 trans and he might bring his other one with a 3.4 with a 4 speed manual transmission. (sorry if I messed up which engine Robert has). There will be others there too with various combinations of engines and transmissions. So you should be able to get a feel for what you would like to do with your Fiero in the future. Keep up the good work and keep us informed since it is one of the threads that I always go to, to see what you have been up to. cherokee 140 JUL 21, 03:02 PM Get that girl some welding gloves...and something to cover her arms with. Two kinds of burns...one from the hot stuff that lands on you and the other is a sun burn from the light. Tell uncle bob to pickup another helmet too. Good to see you are wearing glasses with the project...safety first. kathryn JUL 21, 08:50 PM okay less confused. actually the reason behind my not getting anything done for a week is the fact that i have been visiting grandparents in ohio while my mom and dad are at home painting the interior of the house dad: yes we have been kicking and j and i plan to kick again tomorrow what scares me is that j has lost some of her aim and power in her punts. and i really need to work on footwork again oh and about the helmet we're going to stop by and see if the store has them after kicking but before leaving to detroit tomorrow. any way just to let all of you know i'm still here, and i don't plan on going anywhere where i can't write on my thread any time soon so both my dad and i will be on pretty much all year round so i hope you don't leave either and keep checking in i will have more car updates by the end of next week. although i'll probably just be sanding. any way totally off topic but the heat wave is supposed to slightly calm down soon!!!! yes! it is like roasting here in ohio. -kathryn MadMark JUL 21, 09:23 PM Sanding is like "Wax on, Wax off". kathryn JUL 22, 09:35 AM Exactly!!!!!!! it just goes on and on and on. it never ends, i'm telling you it is like a nightmare where you're working and you never get any where. -kathryn Taijiguy JUL 22, 02:16 PM I'll let you in on a secret for rust removal that I recently discovered- Klean Strip makes a product called "Prep and Etch". This stuff is GREAT! I was using a sand blaster to prep my suspension parts for powder coating, but this stuff is amazing. You spray (or soak) the part in this solution and it just brings it back to life. It destroys all the rust, and leaves the part etched and ready to paint or powder coat. I've been amazed at how some of my parts came out. It's also very inexpensive, about $15 a gallon at Home Depot. One issue is that with really heavy rust it leaves behind a bit of a sludge. I use a two tank system. I soak the parts first in a "dirty" tank, which removes the rust. Then I take the part out and wash off the sludge. Then I dip the part in a second "clean" tank, and let that dry. (you're supposed to let the solution dry on the part, it gives a small amount of rust protection and is suitable for painting or powder coating) I can't tell you how much work this stuff has saved me. http://www.wmbarr.com/produ...x?catid=32&prodid=81 michhiker28 JUL 22, 02:28 PM Thanks Taijiguy, We'll definitely check it out. Kathryn has been doing some sandblasting on the metal work, and sanding the body panels to prep for paint. She doesn't complain to much about blasting, it is more the body panels that get her down....lol! -MH Taijiguy JUL 22, 05:23 PM The sandblasting isn't bad, it just gets old being hunched over the thing for extended periods of time. Plus, I don't know about your setup, but mine clouds up so bad I can barely see what I'm doing. The nice thing about the Klean Strip stuff is you just drop it in and let it soak. There's no scrubbing or anything. I leave stuff in for a day or two, and seriously it comes out looking brand new (unless there's scarring from the rust of course). Let me know how it works for ya.