quote Originally posted by DaveC: I edited my last post to say "where the bracket of the brake HOSE bolts to the control arm". Before it said "....brake CALIPER...." Oops! Yeah, check out the pics of the entire crossmember when you first removed it and you'll see what I'm talking about. Cheers! Dave

Crap!! Your right!!! By my own pics you have proven I put them on reversed. And they have been reversed for over 7 years and 20k miles. And I just put on new front shocks yesterday.

See, I'm not a mechanic, I just act like one! Thanks again Dave. You just added even more work for me to take care of, luckily.

[This message has been edited by Fieroseverywhere (edited 03-18-2015).]

Pic dump.

In the way and Dad didn't have any keys.


New doner engine.


New engine installed on cradle.


Back in the fiero.



The missing clue for why the old block broke...


Notice the "threads" near the top of the hole. I now believe this was caused by a bent head bolt. Costly mistake. Double check them all before reinstalling.

Starting the interior work. Going for updated stock look. Also finally time to put a real stereo system in.

Minor surface rust and a slight bend at the mirror mounting point. Looks like someone backed the mirror into something. Easy fix.


Windows seals were toast.


The windows are OK. Some scratches on the passenger side.


New lights for the garage!! Finally I can see... everything. I may have been overcompensating for the lack of light these last few years. Oh well. EDIT: correction; this pic was taken before the new lights were installed.


First up the rear wall panel. Out with the old...


In with the new...













Played with some plastidip on the mirrors. Pretty cool stuff. Easy to spray, nice finish, removable. Nice. Once I sand and prep the mirrors properly I will re-shoot them.




Time to start painting. I went one shade darker on the grey (well the black too but that was just faded ). First batch of grey parts...




And first batch of black...


A few parts needed to be re-shaped. Shift and radio surrounds, center console, etc. Actually I was pretty surprised how good everything actually was. Really everything just needed paint. I started out using clamps but found a much better way...



First color on the dash.



Color comparison



Beginning the stereo install. No screens just sound. No crazy amount of power either. Just good clean sound. Pioneer DEH-80PRS in FMK550 mount. This is a good mount. Moves the stereo up to the top of the opening and adds a pocket for a phone. Works with double din opening or 1.5 din if flush mounted behind the trim. No cutting of the skeleton required.





The skeleton needed to be rebuilt around the stereo area. Quik steel is great for this. JB weld also make a product that works well. After initial shaping and curing it is sanded into shape, painted, and drilled and tapped with new holes.


Second color on dash and second batch of black parts.



That took almost 6 weeks to get this far. Everything was cleaned, wire brushed (brass fine bristle), adhesion promoter, and paint. I underestimated how big this project actually is. Getting close now though.

Gauge pods. Amazing what some paint and new trim can do.



Back to the sound system. I made an aluminum mount plate for the amps... yeah, two of them. A Pioneer GM-D1004 for the front and rear channel. This thing is tiny. Its a class D 45x4rms and measures 8"x2.5"x1.5". It also has a signal sensing circuit so a remote wire is not necessary (it has one if you want to use it). And all of this while only needing a 15A internal fuse. Crazy how fast technology moves. A few years ago there was no way I could have gotten an amp under the dash let alone two. The other amp is a PYLE (literally!) to power the subs. Its cheap and crappy but I'm still not sure on a few details of the install so I'm not putting out any more money til its sorted.

The mount plate was attached to the bracket where the blue dinger used to be attached. The dinger was relocated to the wheel well on the right side. Speaker and RCA's were routed through a hole in the middle towards the stereo on the left side. Power and ground stay on the right. Power comes from a power distribution black fed by 8ga wire directly off the battery. Ground is also 8ga. New 16ga twisted pair speaker wire was routed to all 6 speakers (4 two ways).





I made adapters for the front speakers. Now they are Infinity reference series 4x6 components. The adapters are simple abs sheet. They are bolted in with stainless machine screws and nylocks.






The covers were also painted to match the dash. Before and after.




Mounting the stereo.


Dash going back in.





Aux gauges back in. Test fitting the radio surround. Its not painted yet.


^^^ with new trim.

Completed wall panels. Map pockets moved to rear wall. Dynomat added to doors, roof, and B pillars. This completes the sound deadening I started 7 years ago.


And today the headliner and trim pieces went back in. Also new sun visors.




Only a few pieces to finish. Getting close now! Once I get it done I will get some pics outside in the daylight. The new garage light tend to washout the pics.




I didn't get any pics but I did take apart the front suspension and reverse the upper control arms. Also installed some koni shocks up front.

That's it for today. So much done in the last couple months its hard to remember. At least the tedious part is over now. Later guys.

[This message has been edited by Fieroseverywhere (edited 05-25-2015).]

Finished up the interior today.

Door panels painted.

Atticus approves!

Drivers door panel cut for non power mirror. There is just barely enough room for this to fit. The FS door panels are slightly shorted on that top section.


Shift surround completed. The stainless plate I received was for an auto trans. In order to make it look right I decided to go with a rubber shift boot. For that to work right I needed to make myself a trim ring to fill the extra gaps. I think it turned out pretty good. What do you think?



And finally the door panels mounted. I went with a couple woofers mounted. They are Earthquake Sound SWS6.5x. 6.5" shallow mount (1.75") woofer 100w rms. Less then a 2" mounting depth but still have over 1.25" of excursion each direction due to the woofer design. The doors were covered with dynomat and the inner door panels got new jute insulation spray glued on. I made every effort to silence any rattles that may come up. Also new window seals and felt guides were added and adjusted to keep the glass from rattling. So far it sounds amazing. Since I'm not running a huge amount of power out of them I believe they are going to work well in the long term. Also mounted is a sub woofer volume control where the cig lighter used to be.




And finally the seats back in the car. The interior work is almost complete. Just waiting on the LED dash lighting to show up.



That was a much bigger project then I anticipated. Still managed to get it done in under 2 months. Whew.

If anyone has any questions please don't hesitate to ask. I may not have gotten all the details in the posts. Later guys.

EDIT: Stereo install specs.

Head unit: Pioneer DEH80-PRS (internal amp disabled, active capable)
Front Speakers: 2@ infinity refrence series 4x6 component plates 45w rms
Rear speakers: 2@ retro sound R652-N 2 way 6.5" 50w rms
Woofers: 2@ Earthquake Sound SWS6.5x 100w rms
Front/rear amp: Pioneer GM-D1004, 4 channel 45w rms x 4 @ 4 ohm
Woofer amp: Pyle PLMRMP1A, 2 channel marine amp 100w rms @ 4 ohms(supposedly, I doubt it though)
Speaker wire: Belden 8471
RCA cables: 2 Monster Cable @ 3ft; 1 unknown brand @ 3 ft.

[This message has been edited by Fieroseverywhere (edited 06-07-2015).]