Quick update...

Well, the wheel alignment was a bust... the driver's side inner tie rod was shot so they couldn't do it. I'll see if I can get a new one ordered and installed so an alignment can be done before going to the car show.

Not much time left!

[This message has been edited by ITALGT (edited 02-03-2013).]

Another quick update...

I've got the car up on jack stands again, and I've already got the new inner tie-rod from Rodney Dickman (excellent service as usual!), as well as a couple of door hinge kits that I've been needing. I did get over-anxious though and didn't order a new tie-rod boot along with the tie-rod, so I got one of those coming too. I should have it all together and aligned later this week, hopefully in time for Thursday night's club meeting.

I somehow managed to throw my back out yesterday and it's hurtin', so I'm not sure how much more work I'll be getting done on the car this weekend... at least it's mostly the little stuff I'm needing to get done before the show anyways.I'll see how much pain I can deal with... I'm going back out to the shop!

[This message has been edited by ITALGT (edited 02-03-2013).]

[This message has been edited by ITALGT (edited 02-03-2013).]

Time for an update...

Well, because the tie-rod boot that I ordered didn't show up in time, I made it to the car show but without the Fiero. I arrived there a little late in the afternoon, just as most of the other Fiero owners were leaving the show. I did get to talk and meet with a couple of people before they left. Overall, a pretty impressive event that I will surely not miss next year.

Back onto the project! Now that the stress level is gone from getting the car ready for a car show, I'm going to shift gears and continue on with my plans. First up are those bright-red brake calipers... after seeing them on the car now, I have decided that they just have to go! I am going to paint them black to match the rest of the car and the overall theme I'm going for. The red looks ok, but it it just stands out way too much. Here's a quick comparison of the two colors:





The "jet fighter" theme is also coming along nicely inside the car. I recently powder-coated the trim screws to look like polished aluminum, and will be adding more details like this later. I also painted those gauge face-plates and shifter surround satin black:

[This message has been edited by ITALGT (edited 02-03-2013).]

So today I finally got the wheel alignment done and the car is back on the road (which makes me very happy!). Life has been a bit hectic lately, but I still have managed to work on the car when I've had the time. I now have a few little projects going... here's a look at what I've done these last few weeks. The wheels are now fully "de-blinged" (no more distracting chrome center-caps). This is not that great of a picture to show... I'll have better ones coming soon.



Work continues inside the car... map-pockets were removed and I started playing with newly powder-coated door trim "rivets:"





I've also been piecing together a custom shifter. Here's what it looks like so far:



First gear position:



Reverse gear position:



So what exactly did I use to make it? The shifter that I started with is Rodney Dickman's shifter for aftermarket knobs, shortened 3/4" and then powder-coated Silver Reflectra. The shifter boot and plate is actually a Hurst kit I bought from Autozone ($15.00). The original plate was rectangular and polished... not the look I was going for... so I took the boot plate and cut it to a square. Then I rounded the edges, drilled new mounting holes, and gave it a "brushed" finish using 180-grit sandpaper. I finished the plate off with clear powder-coat. Holding down the plate is a cheap ($3.00) set of nylon license-plate screws with chrome beauty caps. I also fabricated a simple nylon sleeve to keep the boot in place, and topping it all off is a ($9.00) Mr. Gasket heavy chrome shift-ball from Summit Racing. I will upgrade to a polished aluminum unit in the future. There was just a little trimming to do around the factory trim plate, other than that, it was a very easy build.

Total investment? A cool $30.00... not bad.

You can see there a two mounting holes for and aft of the shifter plate still showing. These will be taken care of later.

Here's a crappy picture of the shifter along with some new pedal covers:



...and that's it for now. I'll try getting some better pictures up this weekend.

[This message has been edited by ITALGT (edited 02-03-2013).]

Yet another change of plans on those door trim panel "rivets..." I utilized the same chrome license plate caps I used on the shifter instead. MUCH better effect with the chrome finish...



I used the supplied nylon hardware by cutting off the "snap-on" portion with a dremel tool, then drilling out the center for a screw. I also need to place a washer behind each piece for the caps to secure properly and not "sink" into the holes.

I'm also experiementing with some chrome snap caps I found at Lowe's, using them where I can... arm rests, door seals, trim face-plates, etc..

Armrests are soon to be painted black...

Here's a picture of how the interior is looking:



A better shot of the shifter:



1/2" solid aluminum rod I will fab and polish for the doors and dash:



...tail lights got the VHT Night Shades spray-tint treatment:



...and finally, updated pictures of the car. Note: black lug nuts will be replaced with chrome soon:





Here is the seats I've decided to purchase in the future... they are Summit Racing's sport seats, $189.00 each:



...and I think my clutch is starting to slip under hard acceleration. Bummer. It's not terrible yet but noticable, so I guess I better get my hands on a new clutch and plan for a cradle drop in the future. I also had the honor of discovering a wet substance below the clutch master cylinder on the inside of the car... gee, I've never seen THAT before! ha-ha... time for a new master cylinder.

Otherwise, the only other major things the car needs is a new alternator belt (to replace the early-morning squealer) and one of my catylitic converters is rattling away... oh yeah, need some new header collector gaskets too. But the car is driveable now at least.

That's about it for now. More coming... stay "tuned."

[This message has been edited by ITALGT (edited 01-30-2013).]

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Me, I sell engines, the cars are for free, I need something to crate the engines in....
Enzo Ferrari....

[This message has been edited by ITALGT (edited 01-30-2013).]