[This message has been edited by ALLTRBO (edited 11-22-2009).]

Good to know some like the wordy posts (I am one). I agree, some people leave out lots of information in the name of getting it posted real quick (I think).

Wow, sounds like you have a lot going on, I wish you all the best and I'm sure those that love you are thankful for you from the sounds of it.

I do hope I can help keep others on track but that's giving me too much credit, I'm just trying to share my build, as I know I've enjoyed learning from many many others that I've read.

If anyone else wants to join this special episode of "As the Turbo Spools" go right ahead and post in here, I don't mind at all.

Okay, back to the build. We're going to make progress now!...

[This message has been edited by ALLTRBO (edited 11-22-2009).]

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"Be not led astray, bretheren beloved..." -James 1:16.


Thanks, Danyel, for the graphic.

[This message has been edited by ALLTRBO (edited 11-22-2009).]

So the date was set for Joey (Dave's wife) to come pick up MIDTRBO with her blingin' new Ford semi-truck (at least it's about as big as one), about a month or so from then IIRC. I had to get crackin' on it just to get it onto a trailer.

First off was finding the correct hardware for the rear suspension in my pile 'o parts, the previous owner slapped a bunch of random bolts in it to keep it from falling off when I picked it up (another detail he failed to mention beforehand) so I had to order some of the correct hardware and find the rest used. I finally had everything sorted out, then I had to complete the other side strut ass'y with the rust removal, POR-15, and Koni, I hadn't actually done that until this point. Once that was back together I bolted all the suspension back onto the car, and next up was the new wheels and tires.

Since I was going to have him finish the 12" brake upgrade and the 15" wheels had bald tires anyway (those 5-star 15's you can see on the front in the rear-up shot earlier were the only others I had, I sold the gold lace wheels with the last Fiero I think I'll ever sell, haha), I needed to install the new tires on the VW wheels. I had previously spent a lot of time polishing up the VW wheels because they didn't look perfect when I got them, and while still not perfect, they are now very acceptable looking.

I took my trusty old beater '90 Chevy 1500 (I REALLY hate driving that thing unless I'm using it for its intended purpose) to the NASA tech center with my wheels and tires loaded up in the back, then proceeded to mount and balance all the tires. One of the rears took way more weight to balance than I like but rather than dismounting and using the fancy features of the top-o-the line computer balancer with road force measurements (it is NASA afterall, hehe) to determine which part of the assembly was the problem (wheel runout? Tire out of round? etc. etc.), or even just doing the old-fashioned rotate-the-tire-180*-on-the-wheel trick, I just left it balanced with lots of weights because I had no time left that day. Those rears were a PAIN to install, the sidewalls are low, they're wider than the wheels, and those have sidewalls as stiff as I've seen. They wouldn't even rotate on the wheel without having one bead entirely removed.
I'm hoping it'll be fine when it comes time to drive it back home from New Jersey so I can deal with it then. It should be okay, but I don't ultimately want okay, I want perfect. Tires aren't something to toy with in my opinion.

I also had to order a full set of Fiero lugnuts since I had none because the 15" wheels use the other style lug (I forget the name), and because I want to use Fiero (any older GM, really) black lugnut caps on these. I don't need those yet, however, but will order them when the car gets home so I don't lose them in the meantime. I also will order two more VW centercaps since two were missing, and will put Fiero decals over those.

Here was the result (better pics soon)...



P.P. I don't have that motorcycle anymore, but a fire-breathing 200hp 450lb monster that'll pull the front wheel from a roll in third at 130mph! 9.9 @ 150 in the 1/4, a 2008 ZX-10R. Then I have the little 750 turbo project that'll make the same power when I'm done with that (after the Fiero at least).

[This message has been edited by ALLTRBO (edited 11-22-2009).]

Time was getting shorter, the date fast approaching. I had to clean the hell out of the garage and label and pack all of the parts I had that needed to go with it, stuff them in the Fiero, then come up with a series of base tune chips for Dave to try (in order) when the time comes to start it up. I ended up with a few different combos, one of which should work should the others fail, providing the wiring and mechanical's are proper.

Around this time TLG auto (member Oslo) came out with a product that I thought I'd try, a set of low-rise wingstands. They require finishing touches and minor mods to look GREAT rather than just good IMO, but I ordered them up real quick and installed them so I could snag pics before the car left.

Here are the pics of those installed. Note the Fiero lacking a passenger seat and packed with Fiero junk, hehe.

[This message has been edited by ALLTRBO (edited 01-09-2010).]

The day was finally here. Joey and her sidekick Shawn (one of Dave's Fiero loving employees, also working on it) were fortunately late, because I wasn't ready until they arrived, haha.

I'll try to keep the long story short. This whole time I was filled with a rush-rush anxiety that I shouldn't have been, it was a bad day for that.
My driveway is a mild S-curve uphill, Joey couldn't get the trailer backed up it with the massive Ford, we tried to 'hoist' it into position and failed, so ultimately I had to go get my trusty ol' beater Chevy and back the trailer up the grassy area with it. Chevy 1, Ford 0, haha. If you'll remember the car had no brakes (not even the parking brake) so down-and-up-and-down onto the trailer was hard, then while being strapped down MIDTRBO almost ran over and killed Joey , fortunately Shawn was there to save the day preventing certain death while I was la-la-ing around taking these pictures at that very moment.
MIDTRBO got strapped down, I pulled it down the street, we traded trucks, and they were off into the sunset (not really, it was early summer afternoon and they were headed north, but it sounded good, didn't it?)

How many Fiero nuts does it take to load one onto a trailer without killing anybody? Exactly 3. Barely.

(Shawn strapping it down, my Chevy in front, the Ford on the side. )








Joey and Shawn on the left, my wife Christine on the right. TWNTRBO in the background parked on the street...



My favorite side shot (the car in reality anyway), I love the wing location in this pic. Unfortunately the brakes are still missing, I'll have to have Dave get us a pic of them sitting behind the wheels now that they're fully installed.



The rest of the story continues for me only in pictures for awhile. I feel like you guys now. Well, maybe not.

[This message has been edited by ALLTRBO (edited 11-22-2009).]

I'm going to have to stop here for tonight and I'm not sure when I can post again, but I still have to get you all up to snuff with what Dave has done so far (quite a bit, he's a lot faster than I am!). In the meantime you can see some of it in his Haus of Guru thread if you haven't already.
Comments still welcome.

To offset all the RED RED RED (gosh, I can't stand red, but no offense if you like it.), I leave you with a simple photoshop. Goodnight Fiero friends...

[This message has been edited by ALLTRBO (edited 11-22-2009).]