First thing I removed wheels and front hubs. The new inner and outer bearings were packed and seals were installed. They were set aside for a while.

Next I started with the swaybar and brackets from FieroFanatic13. They came in on friday. They got cleaned up, zinc primered, and painted black like the rest of the suspension. Here is a shot of the left bracket (88 rear swaybar bracket).


Didn't get a shot of the bar but will when I go to put it on the car next time. It wasn't dry and I got busy figuring what size bolt the front brake brackets needed. I figured that a 12x1.5x50mm bolt with a long flange would be perfect. Went to the local discount autp parts store to find some. Deffinately the craziest trip to that store I've ever had. Long story short, I ended up with 4, 12x1.5x65mm bolts. They were a better fit then anything else.

Here is a shot of the front before starting on the brakes. Notice the upper ball joint is now in the correct position.


The brackets have to be bolted on before the hub goes on. You DO NOT want these bolts to come loose so make sure they are perfect if you go this route.



With the bracket securely bolted in place using red loctite the hubs could go on for the final time.


Rotor and portion of the calipers were put into place.


From the top.

From the bottom.


I finished up the other side, then moved to the rear wheels. The brackets for the rear of this project are very simple and came with bolts so it was a 5 minute job complete both sides. I also bolted on the swaybar brackets. I don't have endlinks or saddle bushings yet to the bar will have to wait.



Everything went back together until next time. I really wish the car could sit and wat but it has to stay rolling incase it needs to move out of the way. Kinda frusterating to have to put it back together everytime. I am deffinately getting good at taking it apart.

One last pick on the way out of town. Cars are coming out of their hibernation slowly but surely now that the shop is becoming somewhat useable. How many fieros are in this picture? Look closely.

[This message has been edited by Fieroseverywhere (edited 01-22-2008).]

[This message has been edited by Fieroseverywhere (edited 01-27-2008).]

Just a little nostalgia. This is a pic from a few years back of dad doing some racing at Woodburn Drap strip. The man in the background was the reining national champ in that class. Dad got the wholeshoot but after about about 3rd gear there was no real chance. Problem was the Harley was stock for the street and very heavy compared to the other bike. The bags were removed along with the windshield and a velosity stack replacing the air cleaner only. That run was low 14's high 13's. That was also the lowest Dad had lifted the front end of the bike all night. Gotta love american torque.


Here is a few shots as promised of a few of the parts when they came in.





First up we got started on rebuilding the calipers. The kits were almost as complete as I would have wanted but did not include the thrust washers or nylon washers for the rear calipers. If you want more details on how the rebuild was done let me know.




Now thats a happy caliper. Look at that smile.



Next I got the car up in the air. I removed the old fiero intake grate and rubber whatever you call it. I removed the water seperator months ago so there was not much in the way. The new side scoop was put into place and the oilcooler was measured up (hehe. Measured. ). I think I will probably end up puting it in at an angle and possibly running a fan behind it if needed. I want to keep the inner fender well in place so I will need to make sure that there will be enough airflow to do the job. To test which will work better (automatic radiator or oil cooler in an un-traditional spot) I have decided to install an oil temp gauge to see which works better.






Here is a shot of the completed calipers with new braded lines and the 88 rear swaybar and bushings. Ready to go on the car.


I could not get the swaybar in with the motor in the car so I had to pull it again. This meant the exhaust from cat back needed to come off. Its only the 6th or 7th time I've had to drop the motor so far. Only another 12 or so to go.






The swaybar frame bushings were the correct size for the bar but the bracket that hold them in place was larger then the stock ones. I slotted the holes in the cradle to support these new brackets. I did the first one in the car but waited til the engine was dropped for the second one. 1000x easier out of the car. They came out pretty good but I may wind up switching them with the front since they are so much heavier duty and the swaybars are the same diameter. Only test driving will tell for sure.



Inprogress shot of everything spread apart. Ass in the air and all.


I also took the struts to the shop next door and removed the original spring perches. I'd been meaning to do this for a while and figured that is was time. Next I put the motor back in and got started installing the brake calipers. Turned out pretty good I think. Stock e-brake is retained unchanged since I used an 88 cradle in this swap. Clearance is very good on a 16" wheel and I'm thinking I may try out some GT 15's on it and see if they will fit. Originally I wanted to use a set of these anyways since the 85GT never came with them and I always really liked the look of them on the aero notchies.






I tried for a while but the old brake lines were not coming off for anything. Notice how rusty they are in the pics above. I spent so much time trying that I was not able to get the front calipers mounted. I had tubing wrenches, WD40 and a mapp gas torch but it was not enough. Dad will bring over the big torch sometime this week and get them off. The hard brake lines are the only ones that have not been replaced on this car and I don't want to because of some seized fittings. I'll just step back and let the pro handle it.

One more shot of the car before packing up to go. She sure sits low to the ground. Poor fiero. Probably gets pretty lonely sitting in the dark all the time. Almost all of these shots were taken with the lights on (all 4 remaining flouresent tubes.) and the camera flash on. I pretty much work by droplight in this shop.


The garage in being insulated right now (ceiling almost done) so It won't be long before the car can be moved to its final build location. Its gonna be nice to see what I am doing again. Later.

[This message has been edited by Fieroseverywhere (edited 02-04-2008).]

quote Originally posted by Fieroseverywhere:

Nice work. Home come your ride is so low? Was there something with the 85GT? My friend got a 85GT last year and its almost lower than my choptop...

------------------
Regards SHARKMAN
Europe # 1 choptop

quote Originally posted by Sharkman: Nice work. Home come your ride is so low? Was there something with the 85GT? My friend got a 85GT last year and its almost lower than my choptop...

I don't think there is anything special about the 85GT's. I could be wrong though. I know the 85GT's are the longest of all the fieros by about 4 inches. This could have something to do with how low it looks.

This car came to me with cut springs. They were cut in a way that had then at all different lengths ranging from 3/4 to 1.5 coils removed. This just would not do so I bought a set of springs from a forum member here. I believe they are from WCF originally but there is no way to tell for sure. The front springs are 10" (400lb) long and the rears are 8" coilovers (350lbs), set pretty low in that pic. This car also has 16" wheels (temporary) and is running 205/45-16's on it. They have a shorter overall diameter then the original wheels. They are also low on air in that pic. The car is actually too low and I will be raising it up a bit. I can't get a floorjack under it without using a second jack to lift the suspension a bit. Front or rear. I also don't think I'll be able to get out of the driveway with it set at this height. These springs will work great at the track but on the street I'm going to need something else.

The rear in the last pic I posted last night is actually about .5" shorter then the pic you quoted cause I set the coilovers to their lowest setting after the final modification to the struts (original perch removal). Just wanted to see how low it will actually go as a starting point for where to raise it to. I could remove the front spring pads for even lower the height another .5" in the front if I wanted to. I believe the car is sitting between 2 and 3 inches lower then stock at this point.

Love your car sharkman. Its one of my favorite choptops out there. I think fieros look really good in silver and metalic grey. You have given me quite a bit of inspiration for my build.

quote Originally posted by JesseM: im putting the same scoop on my bro's fiero

It's not bad for the price. I like how the fiero part is removable. I'm thinking of making an aluminum piece to replace "fiero" with something else. For a simple, inexpensive, bolt on piece it looks WAY better then the original fiero grate. IMO of course. I'm just using it to test a theory. If it works I think I might just keep it around.

I will edit my last post to add details about what I did in the pics.

[This message has been edited by Fieroseverywhere (edited 02-04-2008).]

Above post edited.

Happy Birthday to me!

Got my tax refund today also. Good birthday present. Time to order some wheels and tires... maybe.

[This message has been edited by Fieroseverywhere (edited 02-04-2008).]