Unfortunately I killed my 85GT with poor choices and neglect... took some time off, but I recently bought another fiero so I'm back.

My 85GT


When I turned 16 I fell in love the fiero. What other car looked so amazing, and had such unique features for the same price as a rusty old topaz? I ended up buying an 85 2m4 with the hopes of modifying it to my liking. The next year i found a yellow 85gt and decided it was cheaper to start with the GT, so here I was, not even out of high school with 2 fieros. I put some winter tires on the 2m4 and made it my winter car until i sent it off to a farm to become a parts car. I enjoyed the 85gt through high school, and made some minor modifications to the stereo, and tried to hide some things with seat covers, and neon lights...eventually, as my knowledge and experience increased i started dreaming bigger and bigger. by 2005ish the car had well over 200 000kms and my dreams included installing an L67 and building a wide body for the car. I had 'dreams' of this for awhile, but it was around this time that i decided i had to commit to it. This included me buying a motor/tranny and ripping into what was a relatively fresh coat of paint to start building a widebody (inspired by madcurl's project). After getting the basic form of the widebody build, shaving the handles and trim, and installing a spoiler from a dodge shadow, a friend of mine offered to use the car as his project for an autobody course he was taking. Everything was progressing, and falling into place.




It was around this time that the project really derailed and the mistakes I made were starting to reveal themselves. it turned out my friend had been layering bondo on the car for months. The 900bux I'd paid so far was gone, and the car was not going to be completed. I brought the car home, and did my best to try and fix what I could, and complete the widebody. I started with sanding down as much as i could right to the bare panels and rebuilding them with fiberglass. After a couple weeks of this, i started to realize i'd really bitten off more than i could handle. The car was in an undrivable state, my 'new motor' was sitting in pieces in the garage, due to fluctuations in work i either had tons of time but no money, or money but no time.

This was the time I crashed. I put the car aside for a 'little while'. Until i had full time employment and moved into a house with a nice garage, then I'd get back at it. As life happens, plans change. The car sat in my parent's driveway, waiting. Years turned to decades, and then a few months ago an old friend sent me a message. He remembered the fiero, knew the history and what my plans were back in the day. He now works with a company that rebuilds cars (primarily corvettes and mustangs) and after talking a bit he said he'd be willing to take on the project, pending the condition of the vehicle.
When i parked the car, it ran, but it needed some work with the steering and suspension. The exhaust basically fell off the motor(i think only 2 bolts were left on one of the manifolds), and from many other half finished or half correct projects there were plenty of small to moderate repairs that were needed. The last time the engine started was about 5years ago. i used to start it periodically, couple times a year, until it just stopped cranking. At the time, i couldn't see any issues, but seeing how much damage the 'critters' have down now, in hindsight i'm sure a wire was chewed through somewhere.
so, two weeks ago, i head over to my parents with my friend and we take a look at the car. It really didn't take him long to make up his mind, but i think out of respect, or to give him some time to find the words, he continued to look around for several mins. The trunk is basically gone, wires are chewed through all over the place, most of the body work(all of what i didn't fix, and about half of what i thought i did) was cracking and peeling off, the frame was basically resting on the ground, so i'm sure we couldn't even see the worst of it. The decision was clear, he said pull the plug. At this point, I had already come to terms with the fact I wasn't going to be able to complete the project myself, but it was still a bit frustrating to admit it wouldn't happen at all. I spent a lot of money turning a mostly stock, running fiero into something too ugly for a wrecker

EDIT: i'm trying to work on the pics, but for the life of me i can't figure out why the heck it's adding a space in the middle of my link. I've deleted this space a dozen times, and it keeps reappearing, for some reason...









So, I had some money tucked away to pay for the work on the fiero, so i figured i'd add to that over the winter, and look to buy something next spring. i was open to options other than a fiero, and I have to admit, it's been a while since i got to enjoy thinking about a 'toy' again. There were hardly any fieros up for sale here, i was actually searching the entire country. I found some 'projects' in my price range, but the market here has definitely changed since my hay-day with the fiero. then i found something interesting. I found a yellow 88 gt about 30mins away. The pics looked good, and the description sounded intriguing. So I contacted the seller and made an appointment to take a look. I look into my financials, and figured the difference between me buying now and buying in spring was only about $300 in interest. And with the market being as bare as it is, i figured that would be money well spent, if the condition lived up to the kijiji ad.
so here it is... just a hair over 100 000 kms. It was 'restored' by a retired guy with a passion for fieros. Apparently he does one or two a year. The owner apparently paid 15000 canuck bucks to buy the car as a gift for his son. But fortunately for me, his son wasn't too excited about the 'old car'. He was asking 8000, and honestly, it was in great shape. not a hint of rust anywhere, paint wasn't perfect, but in good shape, even the dash corners were mint. I used to visit wreckers, and i've been hoarding the best parts i could find for decades. After giving this car a good once over, i decided i had a headlight switch, and mirror switch in better shape. Otherwise this car had a better dash, better door panels, better headlight motors, etc. So I ended up making an offer which he accepted. Today I picked up the car and drove it home.
It's not perfect, there are some little projects to address. The stereo doesn't work, horn doesn't work, and the trunk leaks(seems to be right by the lock cylinder. is there supposed to be a seal there?). The a/c was blowing cold when i went to view the car, but seems like it's not working now. That's a bit of a bummer, as i was super impressed that the a/c was actually working.












so anyway, it's been a while since I've paid attention to the fiero community. I've spent the last couple weeks getting reaquainted with the forums, but I feel like I've missed a lot. This is my first 88 and my first fastback, so I feel a little green again. The car starts nicely, temps remain good, headlight motors work, there's a little play in the steering but certainly no more than I had on my 85. Am I missing something important to check? Hoping to use this a few times a week, but it's a 60km highway trip to work and back, and I don't want to get stranded halfway.

[This message has been edited by fierce_gt (edited 09-15-2019).]

[This message has been edited by fierce_gt (edited 09-16-2019).]

[This message has been edited by fierce_gt (edited 09-16-2019).]