85 Notchie Build (Page 6/23)
zkhennings JUN 08, 12:05 PM
Long time no post.

Even though it's my daily driver I can't help but pull my Subie apart pretty frequently. This is a pain, but the car is really solid now with a bunch of performance parts, and I think I can be happy and keep it together for a bit. This opens up time to work on my neglected Fiero.

As it sits, it has no motor as I sold it, the paint has always been garbage, and I cover the car in fluid film before and after every winter. It sits in the driveway under a waterproof but breathable car cover. I also wash it periodically. It looks as though everything has stayed relatively rust free and ready to go.

I have been checking in on the forum periodically, sad to see some good builds pulled out of here.

I had plans to do an Ecotec swap to create a really nice weight balance and lighten up the rear end to get the car to handle really well (custom make front and rear subframes with custom control arms and links with Bilstein shocks springs struts), but with the amount of flaws the Fiero has, and the limited time and resources I have to spend on it, I am going to do a 3800SC L67 swap. It will be much cheaper, much simpler, lots of fun, and I can finally drive my Fiero again. I am going to save a complex build for a Miata or something else very small and LIGHT. The Fiero is a pretty dense car in comparison.


The rest of the car is up to the task with it's larger brakes, full poly, and whatnot already.

I have all new ball joints for it as well and new outer and inner tie rods.


So here are some haphazard thoughts on what has to happen:


  • Bumpsteer fix that I designed a while back. A couple members have created the fix I designed/they probably came to similar designs with their own tweaks, and they look very promising.

  • My fuel lines are already rubber and I can move them anywhere in the bay. Will need a bigger fuel pump.

  • I have a Spec stage 2 clutch from my last motor.

  • I have a 4 cyl throttle cable.

  • My current exhaust could easily be modified to bolt to the 3800 stock exhaust.

  • I found a nice looking L67 for $399 with 84,000 miles on it, and it is only 10 miles from my house.

  • I would need to make some motor mounts, for now I will keep the Isuzu with F23 plans for WHEN it blows up.

  • Need a Camaro flywheel to take to my local machine shop

  • For now I will port the supercharger and use a smaller pulley that has been undecided.

  • I will need a tuned PCM, I tune my WRX myself but I don't want to pay for HPTuners (yet)

  • I want to do a low mount alternator, I want to simplify the belt routing, I could put it where the AC compressor would go.

  • I'm going to make a semi permanent coolant crossover that is bolted to the front crossmember of the cradle.

  • I will weld my own Themostat housing to control coolant outlet and make a convenient fill point and utilize some stock Fiero parts, I'm sure I have some thermostats lying around.

  • I will be relocating the battery to the front for weight and to make some space in the bay. Planning on using welding cable for battery terminal wires.

  • I sold my V6 harness, But I think I can make the 4Cyl harness work. I am going to simply splice and heat shrink the harness's as well delete any unneeded wires. And my car is very stripped of all available options so hopefully the harness cleans up well. But I have complete confidence in the my soldering and heat shrinking capabilities, plus custom lengths will be very easy. I am going to figure out a way to label all the wires so I always know what is what if looking for issues.

  • Aftermarket gauges for water temp, oil pressure, and boost will be in order. (MAYBE Air Fuel if I get HP Tuners)

  • I would like to design my own shifter assembly, and make it very tall with short throws, so it is even closer to the steering wheel.


And for kicks I am thinking about reversing the parking brake assembly, grinding off all but one notch, and using that to manually raise the Fiero pop up headlights as I am so sick of heavy motors that always fail, I have gone through so many at this point. Slimmer headlights are also a goal but unrelated to this project. So is a nicer steering wheel.

That is it, I don't see this being a huge financial investment as I have a lot of what I need already. I will keep you guys updated and hopefully within the next month post a pic of the motor I am planning on buying.

[This message has been edited by zkhennings (edited 06-08-2017).]

wgpierce JUN 09, 04:36 AM
Great thread, great work on all you had done previously.

Hope the new "build" goes great
zkhennings JUN 12, 03:50 PM
Thanks! I am more of a perfectionist now than when I built this 4 years ago, luckily I appreciate simplicity more too so hopefully those attributes come together nicely in the upcoming work.

Also I am finally going to get around to re-painting that I always neglected.
Easy8 JUN 13, 09:23 AM
Looks like you are in for some work. Enjoy the build it is half the fun and frustration all at the same time.
Just to muddy the waters you might want to look into a good ole fashion V8 option. I know forced induction is all modern and hip but who does not love the rumble of a large displacement V-8. Caddy 4.9s are extremely easy to drop into fieros. They have lots of grunt off the line and decent HP. You can get them pretty much everywhere. I know there is not much you can do to them once you get them in. But for a simple cheap motor upgrade they are a pretty good option.

ignorant prodigy JUN 13, 09:53 AM
hey man, fellow masshole here
in the middle of a 3800 swap myself.. being my second swap and 4th fiero I have a ton of spare parts if you're ever in need.

gl, keep us posted.

------------------
87 Fiero GT- 98 L67 swap - (SOLD)
88 Fiero Formula- L67 swap in progress
T-Top 672 of 1252

zkhennings JUN 13, 12:09 PM

quote
Originally posted by Easy8:

Looks like you are in for some work. Enjoy the build it is half the fun and frustration all at the same time.
Just to muddy the waters you might want to look into a good ole fashion V8 option. I know forced induction is all modern and hip but who does not love the rumble of a large displacement V-8. Caddy 4.9s are extremely easy to drop into fieros. They have lots of grunt off the line and decent HP. You can get them pretty much everywhere. I know there is not much you can do to them once you get them in. But for a simple cheap motor upgrade they are a pretty good option.



I seriously considered doing a Northstar swap for a while for all the V8 reasons, but I decided against it for my current goals.


quote
Originally posted by ignorant prodigy:

hey man, fellow masshole here
in the middle of a 3800 swap myself.. being my second swap and 4th fiero I have a ton of spare parts if you're ever in need.

gl, keep us posted.




I just read through your progress the other day everything is looking great, I would love to come check it out some time and maybe take a look at all the Fiero parts you have too, I am like an hour north of you
ignorant prodigy JUN 13, 06:20 PM

quote
Originally posted by zkhennings:


I just read through your progress the other day everything is looking great, I would love to come check it out some time and maybe take a look at all the Fiero parts you have too, I am like an hour north of you



anytime, just send me a PM. would love to meet some locals to shoot the **** with.
zkhennings MAR 11, 10:48 PM
Finally beginning to gather information and parts to start an LE5 swap. Found some more pictures of my drivetrain with the final exhaust. Exhaust did not require any modifications to trunk. Motor was pulled as I ended up selling it in 2015.









[This message has been edited by zkhennings (edited 03-12-2020).]

ignorant prodigy MAR 25, 12:41 PM
nice keep us posted
zkhennings FEB 23, 04:02 PM
I am resurrecting this thread as it is time for some new Fiero work. The poor Fiero has been sitting engineless since 2015, I have had multiple hopes and dreams and plans for the car but none have come to fruition as I have had so many other projects.

On a personal note I ended up separating my shoulder badly snowboarding in 2015. I had a hard time doing much as I never gave myself the downtime to recover properly, and I could not properly use that arm for almost an entire year as a result, really limiting myself. I said enough was enough and decided to really focus on health and activity while I am young, and I have been snowboarding and riding motocross like crazy ever since with a focus in injury prevention so I can continue to do these activities for a long time.

I have mainly been working on my dirtbikes and my WRX for the past several years, without making anything too large of a project. I also bought a 24 seat shuttle bus in September 2020 to turn into an adventure mobile, it is a place to stay when snowboarding, can haul dirtbikes, and tow racecars. Long story short my Fiero has been neglected as my focus has been shifted.

Fast forward and I recently tore my ACL while snowboarding which is a huge bummer, however from a Fiero standpoint it is one of the best things that could have happened. With a brace on I can walk around and do things, so I am fully able to wrench on a car, and I have almost a year long recovery ahead of me before I am cleared to begin snowboarding and dirtbiking again. Instead of being upset that I am missing the snowboarding season and motocross season, I am looking forwards to having a running Fiero again.

This has also happened at an ideal time as my WRX is sitting at 272,000 miles and while it is in good shape, the engine is tired, and it needs some rust repair and paint. It needs a new motor, a bigger turbo, general TLC, and I need another car to drive during the summer/fall to make it happen. So reviving the Fiero and having a summer car will be perfect.

Now for the Fiero plans - I originally wanted to do a 3800 Turbo. However I spent a lot of time drifting my Fiero around in the snow and it loves to snap oversteer. I plan to use my Fiero for autocross and maybe some track days, so it is a priority for me to have it handle, and for that I want it to be as light as possible, especially in the rear. I then decided that an Ecotec with a turbo would work well, but with further investigation it appears that a full turbo system and motor would add enough weight to be at least the weight of the 2.8. I considered an NA Ecotec built to rev, but I just do not think that will be satisfying, it will sound meh, and it will cost a ton.
More recently since I have been stuck on the couch more, I have spent hundreds of hours researching swaps, and I learned that the new 60*V6 motors are awesome.

I am starting an NA LZ9 3900 swap for these reasons:

- It is lighter than the 2.8 by around 50lbs, I believe this makes it lighter than the Iron Duke too
- It will bolt up to my current transmission (will do an F23 eventually) and getting the front motor mount to work is simple
- It makes as much power as the 3800SC does stock, and with a cam, headers, and valvetrain mods to get it to rev higher I believe I can hit at least 300HP. Secondary mods would be lighter and shorter pistons, higher compression, longer forged rods
- Many engine components are similar enough to GM V8 motor components that there is a decent aftermarket available at decent prices
- I can use some Fiero components on it to simplify it/the swap in general and make it lighter
- It will fit well in the engine bay and be relatively easy to work on
- It is a simple motor and my Fiero is all about simple
- It sounds amazing (sound matters!)

My plans include:

- 1988 Fiero flywheel and my Spec Stage 2+ clutch
- 2.8 timing cover, water pump, and alternator (most likely)
- Hot cam from a 3400 using cam bearing spacers and 3400 timing chain and gear
- Stiffer valve springs from an LS
- Pushrods to match
- Custom headers/exhaust I will make
- LZ4 Intake
- 76mm GM V8 cabled throttle body with adapter I will make
- Lightly port heads and intake
- MicroSquirt for engine management
- Add spot calipers for parking brake so I can pass inspection with the intention of upgrading the calipers and rotors down the road (already have Grand Am swap but want lighter calipers and larger rotors)

There are many supporting details that I will leave out, but I am putting together a buy list and I have started to buy things on it. My plan is to build the motor ASAP and then when the weather gets a little nicer I can work on mounting it in the car and wire up the MicroSquirt using a speed density tune. It will be a fun learning opportunity and I will definitely be investing in their autotune software.

Stay tuned, but here are some pics in the meantime.


The Bus



Interior



Current state of dissasembly



Dirtbike things







Replacing leaky fork seals on my girlfriend's GSXR 600




[This message has been edited by zkhennings (edited 02-23-2021).]