4.6 Northstar Swap Project (Page 8/22)
copperhens AUG 16, 03:58 PM





The coil overs barely clear. When I look into upgraded suspension it will be tricky. These coil overs are temporary.



I was at the scrap yard, and they only had one Northstar of the year I needed. It was also not picked over at all go figure. The plastic rail was recalled, and replacing mine was on the back burner. I got this rail for $10 and installed it in 20 minutes so I call that a score.

[This message has been edited by copperhens (edited 08-16-2020).]

copperhens AUG 16, 04:02 PM

Today the car got to sit on four wheels for the first time in years!
Will AUG 20, 11:18 AM
I very rarely browse GFC, so I missed most of this thread
Looks great! What's your choice for engine management?

I was interested in seeing more about how the engine went together for you, as well as what results you get out of it for power.

FYI, ARP makes Northstar rod bolts now https://arp-bolts.com/kits/...il.php?RecordID=3978

[This message has been edited by Will (edited 08-20-2020).]

DrXtreme SEP 06, 01:20 PM
What fuel pump will you be using? I have a 1988 Mera with N* motor and auto trans, but when I accelerate it hesitates like starving for fuel. Previous owner replaced fuel pump, but believes it was stock Fiero which doesn't have enough pressure for the V8 motor. My PS rack is leaking bad and its been too hot in Florida to work in the garage, so waiting for better weather to check it out, then work on fuel pressure and AC line replacement.

Dr Xtreme
copperhens NOV 30, 03:58 PM

quote
Originally posted by Will:

I very rarely browse GFC, so I missed most of this thread
Looks great! What's your choice for engine management?

I was interested in seeing more about how the engine went together for you, as well as what results you get out of it for power.

FYI, ARP makes Northstar rod bolts now https://arp-bolts.com/kits/...il.php?RecordID=3978




Bummer! I think the thread got moved to a different category now. I have not abandoned the project, I just have been slacking with keeping updates... I got to post more as a lot has happened.

Ooh that is great!
copperhens NOV 30, 04:00 PM

quote
Originally posted by DrXtreme:

What fuel pump will you be using? I have a 1988 Mera with N* motor and auto trans, but when I accelerate it hesitates like starving for fuel. Previous owner replaced fuel pump, but believes it was stock Fiero which doesn't have enough pressure for the V8 motor. My PS rack is leaking bad and its been too hot in Florida to work in the garage, so waiting for better weather to check it out, then work on fuel pressure and AC line replacement.

Dr Xtreme



I am going to be using the EP376. It is a '90s pump used on Corvettes, Impalas, and ther v8 GM cars. I have never used this pump before, but it is supposed to be plug and play.
copperhens NOV 30, 05:24 PM
My phone took a crap and I had to upload all of my photos to the PC which cannot read .HEIC format photos. So most of my project pictures from the last couple months are unreadable unless I go through them one by one, but I managed to find a few. Because of not having a phone, I have not been taking as many pictures, grrr.

In October, we mocked up the cooling hoses and got them done. I had part numbers for the rubber hoses that are lost in my pictures. My friend had Jeep cooling hoses layimg around that actually were close to what I was looking for. I took them to Oreilly's and told them the idea I had for hoses. The nice guys at Oreilly's searched their inventories and found hoses that worked perfect. From there we used scrap aluminum pipe to connect the rubber hoses.

I think they turned out great.



copperhens NOV 30, 05:56 PM
At some point the brakes got bled, the clutch got bled... It was nice to finally have brakes for a change. I also changed out the ignition and door locks. The door locks were much harder than the ignition to my surprise. It is great having keys for the car!

Within the past couple weeks a lot of major stuff has gotten done.

Here is the car.


Here is the battery tray mockup. The tray is from V8 Archie. The on/off switch is some $20 off of Amazon that seems really well done.


Here are some wiring mockups. The wires run along side the bottom of the car.


Here is the bracket for the expansion tank. I did a lot of research on which sort of tank was best. I have seen some Northstar tanks up from, I have seen some mounted in multiple spots in the rear. A Grand Prix tank seemed popular, as did an expensive Corvette tank. Ultimately I bought Dorman 603050. Its pressurized, you can see the fluid levels, and mounting it did not seem crazy since it was a nice shape. However, there had to be an adapter made to jump down from 1in at the tank nipple, to the 5/8 hose of the Fiero. I will have to get pictures of it.
copperhens NOV 30, 06:04 PM
I failed to get pictures of a lot of the rear wiring and progress from the weekend.



Here is the car as-is. It is kind of a bad picture, but you can see the tank mounted in the corner. The main ground is mounted at the bottom of the bracket of the tank. The engine ground is mounted on the other bolt of the same mount. There is a positive battery junction on the strut tower as well that I wired in yesterday.


Here is the front tray that is pretty much done. The aluminum was cut with CNC, and is just for added support up front, as well as having a battery tie down location.


We got a lot of cooling system accessory lines run too. We worked from 11am to 5pm yesterday and it flew by! But we got the car to the point where it could be started.

Alas, the fuel pump thought otherwise, and now the tank needs to be dropped. I am ashamed to admit I was all ready to drop the tank months ago, but my dad told me not to get into it. We should have known better that the fuel pump was probably dead after sitting. Oh well, it has caught up to us. Also, my fuel and starter relays were both rusted solid. I have never seen a relay in such bad shape, so time to buy new ones. I am also biting the bullet and buying a sending unit. I am assuming it is rusty, and might as well just replace it.
Will DEC 01, 09:33 AM

quote
Originally posted by copperhens:




To go from the waterpump outlet (upper connection) to the left coolant pipe, check out this combo:
CarQuest 20898 + Moroso inline filler neck + 1.25” straight hose coupler ~2” long


quote
Originally posted by copperhens:

Here is the bracket for the expansion tank. I did a lot of research on which sort of tank was best. I have seen some Northstar tanks up from, I have seen some mounted in multiple spots in the rear. A Grand Prix tank seemed popular, as did an expensive Corvette tank. Ultimately I bought Dorman 603050. Its pressurized, you can see the fluid levels, and mounting it did not seem crazy since it was a nice shape. However, there had to be an adapter made to jump down from 1in at the tank nipple, to the 5/8 hose of the Fiero. I will have to get pictures of it.



I've wanted to try the Corvette tank on the left side of the engine bay... I believe the Corvette tank has a concave spherical surface meant to fit over the Corvette's wheel house, so it may work with with the Fiero wheel house on the left side of the engine bay.


quote
Originally posted by copperhens:

Here is the car as-is. It is kind of a bad picture, but you can see the tank mounted in the corner. The main ground is mounted at the bottom of the bracket of the tank. The engine ground is mounted on the other bolt of the same mount. There is a positive battery junction on the strut tower as well that I wired in yesterday.





What application did your rear cam cover come from? The close corner looks different than the ones I've seen.