World's slowest Fiero/Quad 4 Swap (Page 36/51)
Quadfather JUL 17, 09:19 PM
The transmission mount I’m making is based on one Fierobsessed used in the swap documented by Sardonyx247. It uses one of the bushings and mounts from a dog bone. It requires drilling a hole in the side of the cradle, passing a bolt through it and the bushing, and welding a vertical plate on the other side of the bushing with a nut welded on it.

These two photos are from Sardonyx’s build thread:




I used the other bushing from the same dog bone to make the transmission mount I documented earlier in the thread, so I like the idea of having a matched set of bushings on either side of the transmission.

First step was making a template out of cardboard.


I screwed up the location for the bolt hole in the cradle and had to weld the hole shut and start over. Decided to wait until I had the flange trimmed and mounted on the transmission.



[This message has been edited by Quadfather (edited 07-17-2022).]

Quadfather JUL 17, 09:24 PM
The flange then had to be trimmed so it wouldn’t interfere with the axle.





Then I located the bushing where I wanted it, drilled the hole in the cradle and bolted the bushing in. Then I tacked the bushing and flange together, took them out and finished the weld. Tough to get a good bead, but I couldn’t figure out how to get the bushing out of the tube.



This is the side where I’ll weld in a vertical plate. The nut will be on this side of the plate, with the bolt passing through.



It’s so hot in the shop I wrapped a little early today and went home for dinner. Hope to finish this mount early this week.

[This message has been edited by Quadfather (edited 07-18-2022).]

Quadfather JUL 17, 09:36 PM
My family went back to the Pontiac Oakland Club convention on Saturday, and what a cool event it was. So many fabulous cars with great stories. GTOs (both originals and from the 2000s), Grand Prix 2+2s, a ‘67 Bonneville limousine with a 468 engine, even a Phoenix SJ. We saw cars from all over the country. My favorite was a 1970 LeMans station wagon.



Swapped with a 455, and also a GTO hood tach. But the coolest feature was the tail gate. It had the same kind of gate our ‘70 Catalina wagon had, it can swing down or swing from the driver’s side. So cool to see one again.



We also enjoyed seeing almost as many cool cars in the parking lot as we did at the show.



Look at the custom exhaust on this one. I’d love to know what engine that is.

[This message has been edited by Quadfather (edited 07-21-2022).]

Quadfather JUL 17, 09:51 PM
It was so much fun to see so many people who love their special cars so much they’re willing to bring them to a show hundreds or even thousands of miles from home. On the downside, I talked to a Fiero owner who turned out to be a dumbass. My son and I were admiring his beautiful 1988 Fiero GT when I mentioned I have an ‘87 and am 11 years into an engine swap. He asked me what engine and I told him a Quad 4. That’s when his inner dumbass came bubbling to the surface.

He asked me if I’m using one of the “later model Quads with the aluminum block,” because an aluminum head on a cast iron block just won’t work. I told him the key is using a good head gasket, but he was just getting warmed up. He went on for five minutes about why I shouldn’t be using the engine I have. I finally told him I’d driven my Quad every day for four years and never had a problem with it. He was still talking when my son and I turned and walked away. During the guy’s tirade, my son had googled Quad 4s and said to me GM never made one with an aluminum block, just to confirm, which I knew already.

We went back to looking at cars and several rows over came upon two more Fieros. One of the owners turned out to be from Collinsville, the next town over from Oologah. He showed us his ‘87 GT and was proud that he’d just had a Maaco paint job just to get it to be one color. We could tell it had been several colors before Maaco painted it red. He was very enthusiastic and was thrilled to hear about my ‘87. Just then a woman stepped up to ask him if he thought her 6’6” son could fit in a Fiero. She yelled for her son, who came walking from several rows away, and sure enough he was all of 6’6”. In the meantime, my 6’2” son told her he could fit in a Fiero so he figured her son could, too.

The owner practically ordered the son to sit in the car. We all watched as he folded himself into it and put his giant feet on the pedals. He said, “See, I fit, I can get one!” The owner was almost as excited as the kid was. It was so much fun to watch. The family was from New Jersey and the parents are members of the club, but I don’t know what kind of classic Pontiac(s) they drive. But I do know that kid’s probably going to be getting a Fiero soon.

[This message has been edited by Quadfather (edited 07-18-2022).]

A_Lonely_Potato JUL 18, 12:02 AM

quote
Originally posted by Quadfather:

...We went back to looking at cars and several rows over came upon two more Fieros. One of the owners turned out to be from Collinsville, the next town over from Oologah. He showed us his ‘87 GT and was proud that he’d just had a Maaco paint job just to get it to be one color. We could tell it had been several colors before Maaco painted it red. Just then a woman stepped up to ask him if he thought her 6’6” son could fit in a Fiero. She yelled for her son, who came walking for several rows away, and sure enough he was all of 6’6”. In the meantime, my 6’2” son told her he could fit in a Fiero so he figured her son could, too.

The owner practically ordered the son to sit in the car. We all watched as he folded himself into it and put his giant feet on the pedals. He said, “See, I fit, I can get one!”...



I have a 6'6" friend whose dad is 6'7" and they can both fully stretch their legs out in the passenger seat. never had them try to sit in the drivers, ill have to check some day.
Quadfather JUL 21, 01:17 PM

quote
Originally posted by A_Lonely_Potato:


I have a 6'6" friend whose dad is 6'7" and they can both fully stretch their legs out in the passenger seat. never had them try to sit in the drivers, ill have to check some day.



Please get photos. I wish I would've snapped a few of that kid sitting in the Fiero with the gunboats he called shoes.
Quadfather JUL 21, 01:27 PM
Fabricated the other side of the new transmission mount. Once again I used the cardboard template method. The metal I used for the first try was too thin, so I looked around the shop for some 1/4" plate. The piece I found wasn't quite big enough but decided it'll be ok to leave some open spots so dirt/liquid won't get stuck behind it. It also already had some holes drilled in it so I just left them.



I drilled a hole for the bolt then used that to keep it in position and carefully marked around it to know where to grind off the paint, and also to show where to put it back in again.

Pulled the engine/trans off the cradle, then turned the cradle on its side to make it easier to weld.





Then reattached the engine/trans to make sure it fits. It does.



Plenty of room between the transmission and the cradle now, but hopefully not so much that it will affect how the top of the engine fits under the deck lid.





This afternoon I'll separate the engine/transmission from the cradle, finish the welding then paint the cradle again. Hope to move on to the next step this weekend.

[This message has been edited by Quadfather (edited 07-21-2022).]

Frenchrafe JUL 22, 03:58 AM
Hi there!
Glad to see someone else tackle a sub-frame mod! (Check out my vids to see mine, if you want? https://youtu.be/y0jCOt9fyJ4 https://youtu.be/LExUCcdfJ3M )

I'm going back to rubber mounts after years of hard poly mounts. I was totally fed up with the NVH that the poly mounts gave!
I hope your setup won't be a disappointment for you? Those poly mounts are not forgiving and not fun on anything but a race car (in my opinion).

Best regards,
Rafe

------------------
"Turbo Slug" - '87 Fiero GT. 3800 turbo. - The fastest Fiero in France!
https://youtu.be/c4Cu7_2OgYc
https://www.youtube.com/cha...1wZvWQlkYxTjivW_0XNg

Quadfather JUL 22, 12:15 PM

quote
Originally posted by Frenchrafe:

Hi there!
Glad to see someone else tackle a sub-frame mod! (Check out my vids to see mine, if you want? https://youtu.be/y0jCOt9fyJ4 https://youtu.be/LExUCcdfJ3M )

I'm going back to rubber mounts after years of hard poly mounts. I was totally fed up with the NVH that the poly mounts gave!
I hope your setup won't be a disappointment for you? Those poly mounts are not forgiving and not fun on anything but a race car (in my opinion).

Best regards,
Rafe




Hi, Rafe,

Yes, that's a legitimate concern, but I figure if I can get this project finished and the car actually on the road, I'll be so happy I won't care about vibration, noise, record inflation, or whatever.
Quadfather JUL 22, 09:49 PM
Began the process of cleaning up the engine bay.

First up was removing the awful insulation from the firewall. This stuff is disgusting.



Also noticed another casualty of taking the engine in and out so many times.



If memory serves I need the pressure switch from the Beretta AC lines, which I can use if I have one line clocked to match the Fiero’s. I’ll have to look that up.



Oh look, more overspray.



And, of course, the engine bay self portrait, the only way I was comfortable doing it.

[This message has been edited by Quadfather (edited 07-22-2022).]