Ecotec, Fastback, T-Top Build. (Page 13/22)
Lunatic JUN 06, 06:43 AM
More front end work continues.
The front bearings felt good so I cleaned them up with a wire wheel. Removed as much of the original grease and repacked.


Added some anti-seize to the body and threads and reinstalled.




Caliper spacer bracket installed.


Nylon concentric ring installed.


Having done various big brake upgrades on other vehicles in the past, I too wanted to enjoy the benefits on this car.
It's quite simple really. Find a suitable rotor, make an adapter for the stock calipers and enjoy.




Tap two holes on each bracket and apply some paint.


Same brackets for the rear.


Cheap rotor for testing/fitting purposes.










A quick visit to Canada Brakes landed competitive pricing, no tax and free delivery to my door. Oh, despite having "Canada" in their name, they've moved to California. So I ordered a set of drilled, slotted and zinc plated rotors for both my Fiero and my LS1 powered Formula Firebird.


I made a jig to ease the drilling of the 5 on 100 bolt pattern that must be done to the rotors.


Install the new rotors.




I picked up the wheels from the powder coater. They're semi-gloss black with UV protection.


Then I installed some 225/45/ZR18 Continental tires all around.


On the front, they do clear the battery box despite the angle of the photo.

[This message has been edited by Lunatic (edited 09-27-2015).]

cam-a-lot JUN 06, 09:49 AM
Looks awesome! I may stop in this weekend and check it out. I would give my left nut to have your skills

Will JUN 06, 01:20 PM

quote
Originally posted by Lunatic:

More front end work continues.
The front bearings felt good so I cleaned them up with a wire wheel. Removed as much of the original grease and repacked.





WAAAAYYYYYY too much grease. You'll pop the dust covers off the first time those get warm.
Lunatic JUN 21, 07:33 AM
Another productive day on the car. I chose to remove the original seam sealer and reapply new sealer for piece of mind.




Followed by new weather stripping around the perimeter.




Now, back to the repairs on the sheet metal.








More primer and seam sealer.








Good quality paint to protect the primer.


Followed by gravel guard as an added layer of protection.




Expansion tank also got some paint.


With having real nice frame rails on this car, I also chose "Krown" rust protection spray to thoroughly get inside the frame rails.
Piece of mind is well worth it.


Plastic plugs reinstalled.


I chose to install some weather stripping under the end caps to help keep out water.


End caps in place.




With all this complete, I was able to set the fastback in place. It's starting to look like a car again!


I need to paint two brackets before I continue. But that's enough for today.
I did obtain an 88 master cylinder, thanks to cam-a-lot on the forum. I was surprised to see the weight of this thing. It has a cast iron body versus the aluminum bodied 84 unit.


Then apply paint to protect the cast iron and it looks good.


While I had difficulty finding new, proper fitting heater core hoses locally, Rodney Dickman was the solution. Some zero-lash sway bar end links were also ordered at the same time.


On a side note. I installed a 60mm shorter swing arm on my GSXR 1100. Sadly, it never came with a chain guard. So I made one.
It looks long in the photo but it actually fits nicely. Polished mirror stainless steel too.
Will JUN 22, 08:00 PM
Just check the dust covers on your hubs. Thermal expansion of that grease will pop them off... and they're hard to replace.
Quad Raider JUN 23, 01:10 PM
Man, you do great work. What brake rotors are you using?
Lunatic JUL 02, 03:56 PM

quote
Originally posted by Will:

WAAAAYYYYYY too much grease. You'll pop the dust covers off the first time those get warm.




quote
Originally posted by Will:

Just check the dust covers on your hubs. Thermal expansion of that grease will pop them off... and they're hard to replace.



That was the very first photo of the grease being applied to the bearing. I managed to get good coverage in between the bearings themselves. I then rotated the bearing assembly several times to get the grease spread around. The excess was removed and this is what they looked like.






quote
Originally posted by Quad Raider:

Man, you do great work. What brake rotors are you using?



Thanks Quad Raider. Sorry, but I don't want to disclose the rotor information.


I slipped into the garage for a few hours and got a few more things done. I reinstalled the nylon honey comb style impact strip to the rear bumper.






I had to remove the rear bumper upper mounting strip so that the wiring could be reinstalled.


Tail light wiring installed.




To aid in the holding of the wiring, I chose these zip ties made by Grote. They have a barbed end that fits into a hole, thus making them the ideal solution to replace the brittle and old factory clips.


I decided it was time to tighten down the fastback screws. This is self explanatory but I noticed one gap that I thought was too large. I didn't want to risk breaking the fiberglass and installed a spacer.


After that, the rear bumper cover went on.


A bit of work up front included installing the zero lash sway bar end links.




I wanted piece of mind knowing the heater core was in good shape. If it wasn't, a new one would be ordered. Well, the old one was removed for inspection. It looked to be in great shape with no visual defects. The "green stuff" is not corrosion but marking paint. A thorough flushing while it was off followed by a little compressed air, and it's ready to go back in.


Along with new hoses of course.


While at the front of the car, the clutch master went in. Here' s the orientation that's recommended. Banjo faces this way.


Brake master temporarily set in place. I need to run the brake lines first, then reinstall the spare tire tub. I have to get some "P" clips first. But that's for another day.

[This message has been edited by Lunatic (edited 07-02-2015).]

Lunatic JUL 26, 07:52 AM
This was a good day as I got a few things done.
I set the engine and trans back in place. This was the first time after having installed the shock towers and sheet metal. I have ample clearance around everything!






Even though I mounted the engine "straight up", I have room for the stock exhaust manifold. I will have to add the rear sway bar and see where it has clearance issues, if any. I will probably just make a header once I get to that point.


The oil pan is level with the bottom of the cradle.


Lots of room. I still have a few Northstar engine's here...



I also managed to get most of the brake and clutch lines run. Again, that sucked in the heat.











Since my battery is now under the right front headlight, I need to get power to the back of the car. So, I used some number 2 welding cable for this. It's very flexible too.


I chose to route the positive cable through the inside of the car. Beside the vacuum line was an ideal entry point.
This wasn't a lot of fun on a hot day.


It's only resting in place right now. I'll make a distribution block to hold the heavy wire. I will also use this point to pull power for the rest of the car since it's so close to the C500.


Don't mind the crusty looking engine and starter, they'll be cleaned up in time.
Here you can see the main starter wire in place and how it's routed. On all positive leads, I applied a red piece of shrink tube.


Since the battery is somewhat difficult to get to, I chose to also install a main disconnect switch while I was at it.






I used this tool to crimp all my ends on the battery leads.



Oh, I finally got around to cutting the aluminum for the fuel tank too!


[This message has been edited by Lunatic (edited 07-26-2015).]

Lunatic AUG 15, 09:39 AM
And the fun continues.
I hate the look of the factory antenna on the car. So, I removed it and filled the hole.


While that only took a few minutes, the wiring would not.
I chose to mount the PCM on the rear trunk wall. The location is ideal as it's out of the way, hardly noticeable and easy to get to.
You'll also notice the routing of the wires. I like this and after some new loom, it's there to stay.




A rat's nest that's being tidied up.




I added a new hole in this location. Using a grommet, I passed the wiring into the cabin.




On the inside, I chose to leave the C203 as-is since it's small.




Here's the start of the marriage of the Fiero harness to the Ecotec harness.


Because the C500 was rather large and bulky, I've chosen to just cut the wire off the connector and attach as needed.


I will however use wire labels to indicate the circuits.


I used a thick piece of lexan to make a simple mounting surface. This now holds a lug for the main power. As well as the BCM, fuel and A/C relays.




I've also joined the fastback tail light harness to the 84 harness. Despite not being plug and play, this was very easy to do. I removed and discarded the 84 turn/stop relays and used the proper colour wires for the left and right turn signals. These wires are hot and will keep the turn signal bulbs illuminated at all times! This is solved by cutting the white feed wire on the brake switch. This cut separates the feed to the turn signal/hazard circuit that caused the turn signals to stay hot. After the cut, the signal lights work like normal. I then ran a light blue wire from the brake switch to the tail light harness so that I could have working brake lights.


Since I was there, I added the back up light circuit from the F23 trans to the tail lights.


Here's my pile of excess wire so far.


While visiting my friend, I obtained these seats. I think these will find their way into my VW. Thanks Joe.
Lunatic SEP 07, 06:46 PM
Since we had a long weekend here, I took a few hours and built an aluminum bumper for the front of the car. To match the rear bumper of course.
As with all things I do, a simple model was created. Yes I know, it's upside down in this photo.


Here's the Mitsubishi CNC laser cutter at work.


The CNC press brake is a necessity for great looking bends.


Here's some of the parts required to build the front bumper.


Clamped and ready to weld.


Since the Fiero bumper is slightly curved, I too chose to mimic the bend. A one inch spacer in the middle is all that's required.


Side by side photo.


Some gravel guard in behind the bumper to keep it nice.


Voila! Front bumper installed.




The turn signal brackets got the black paint treatment as well.


Honey comb energy absorber installed and fits nicely. This is the one for the GT style nose.


And lastly, the bumper cover went on.


It was very hot here and I didn't want to start adjusting body gaps. That can wait for another cooler day.