Fiero Belly Pans? (Page 2/2)
1985 Fiero GT FEB 09, 11:46 AM

quote
Originally posted by sleek fiero:

Maybe you would be better off buying a sacrificial "winter beater" and keep your irreplaceable Fiero off the salty roads. This is what I have done for 30 years and mine is still pristeen. My last one was a 2008 chev Aveo that cost me $2000 and I sold it in the spring for $3500 . Not bad economics sleek



Agreed, I understand the OP recently got done with some stuff and wants to enjoy it, but you'll enjoy it even more after winter, and you can drive it without compromising it's later life, also, you can't really get much real fun in the snow and salt, you can drift a few times, but after that, you can't fly around corners and do hard accelerations, etc. here in Canada we had a green Christmas, all the previous snow melted and the roads got rained on to clean them, I would have driven my Fiero if I could, but I had removed the wheels and tires for polishing, and also not paid for registration or insurance over the winter, so I had to drive my dad's instead , Christmas Eve driving a Fiero on clean warm roads, where it's normally 15 below and 3+feet of snow is something different! I'll enjoy my Fiero even more in the spring.

My winter beater is a 2008 Pontiac G5, bought for $2500 Canadian, and inspected until September 2025, it has some rust, but should last until then, unless I sell it earlier, definitely worth it for 2 winters of driving.

[This message has been edited by 1985 Fiero GT (edited 02-09-2024).]

Additivewalnut FEB 09, 02:30 PM

quote
Originally posted by sleek fiero:

Maybe you would be better off buying a sacrificial "winter beater" and keep your irreplaceable Fiero off the salty roads. This is what I have done for 30 years and mine is still pristeen. My last one was a 2008 chev Aveo that cost me $2000 and I sold it in the spring for $3500 . Not bad economics sleek




I have a daily driver, a very nice 2007 Infiniti M35x, AWD, Bose sound system, navigation..... I still prefer the Fiero LOL. I really should keep it off the road but it's too damn fun to drive.
armos FEB 13, 04:51 AM
When I lived up north I had an 84. Based on condition I think it was driven in winter it's whole life. It was rusty when I got it in 96.
Somebody had put tar or really thick grease all over the engine cradle. The cradle on that car wasn't perfect, but it was solid. It never had the serious rotting that I've seen other people post.
But the upper frame rails completely crumbled away, and that's why I had to junk that car.

So based on that experience I wonder if grease is a good idea or a bad one. It does make sense that if there's a hole anywhere, it could trap moisture and backfire, but if it's thick enough to stop small rocks and you really slather it on...
I guess the biggest downside with that kind of protection is that it makes the steel hard to inspect. If something has started to rust, it would be hard to see it.

[This message has been edited by armos (edited 02-13-2024).]

theogre FEB 13, 08:47 AM

quote
Originally posted by armos:
When I lived up north I had an 84. Based on condition I think it was driven in winter it's whole life. It was rusty when I got it in 96.
Somebody had put tar or really thick grease all over the engine cradle. The cradle on that car wasn't perfect, but it was solid. It never had the serious rotting that I've seen other people post.
But the upper frame rails completely crumbled away, and that's why I had to junk that car.

So based on that experience I wonder if grease is a good idea or a bad one. It does make sense that if there's a hole anywhere, it could trap moisture and backfire, but if it's thick enough to stop small rocks and you really slather it on...
I guess the biggest downside with that kind of protection is that it makes the steel hard to inspect. If something has started to rust, it would be hard to see it.

Many use Roofing or Building Compounds of various types as undercoat that have same problem as "Ziebart" as covered above.

If was Grease/oil, will keeps metal safe but most types run &/or trap "dirt" & quickly cause huge mess to work on again. Even real Cosmoline that often get a "skin" can be a mess, just look @ some bulb sockets, C500, & related having "Light bulb grease" that's likely Cosmoline or similar products.