Fiero kept, another Fiero acquired... (Page 5/13)
maryjane MAR 09, 07:17 AM

quote
Originally posted by 82-T/A [At Work]:
EDIT: Oh yeah, I really do miss that Solstice, a lot. But I knew I couldn't keep it and have a kid. My wife and I both had two-door convertibles as our daily drivers.



I know how that is. Same reason I sold the vette. I had it when I got married and wife had a Mustang and a 2 year old daughter, we couldn't go anywhere much in the vette. (back then, a kid "could" ride in the passenger's lap without all the safety laws we have today.) Anyway, the vette got sold and the wife's piece of crap 6 cyl mustang stayed. A year later the twins were born and it was station wagon time...

[This message has been edited by maryjane (edited 03-09-2023).]

82-T/A [At Work] MAR 09, 07:31 AM

quote
Originally posted by maryjane:

I know how that is. Same reason I sold the vette. I had it when I got married and wife had a Mustang and a 2 year old daughter, we couldn't go anywhere much in the vette. (back then, a kid "could" ride in the passenger's lap without all the safety laws we have today.) Anyway, the vette got sold and the wife's piece of crap 6 cyl mustang stayed. A year later the twins were born and it was station wagon time...




Hahah... yeah, exactly. But the question I ask is... when you say station-wagon time... would that be Olds or Buick 455 big block station-wagon time? Or like Rocket 350 or Chrysler 308 time?



quote
Originally posted by blackrams:

As I indicated previously, had I been able to build a convertible Fiero, it would still be titled in my name. I absolutely love driving and riding in the wind. If you were to take a glance into my garage, you'd agree. To each their own, Porsche never turned my crank with the exception of the 911 and I could never afford one of those. It is, what it is. Get that girl's Fiero checked out, fixed and roadworthy. It's a great father/daughter project.

Rams



It takes a lot of work to make a convertible Fiero actually look good. A lot of times, people just cut the B-pillars and call it a day, like I did with this...



... and it just looks aweful. Most of the convertible Fieros I've seen have not been great, but one or two that were really well done, and they look amazing.

The odd thing with the Solstice... after I bought it... and keep in mind, I got it for a great price, $21,300 off the floor (I'd special ordered it after watching The Apprentice)... I kind of felt like I had less of a car. Like, the fact that it didn't have a roof made it feel like I'd paid a lot of money for something that was missing, hahah. I loved that car, I really did... and here in South Florida, I drove with the roof off almost all the time. But there were times I'd wished it was a hard-top.

I love Porsche, but less so the 911 (at least anything newer than 1970). The 944 is a really cool car to me, not the 924, not the 968, but the 944. I don't even like the Turbo one with the newer front and rear. I like the old-school bumper-pad looking one.



quote
Originally posted by maryjane:

Well, ya just never know.... I used to pull either a horse trailer or a bass boat with this, more often the horse trailer:



That is hilarious! I can't even imagine a horse trailer being pulled by a Corvette, let alone one with a horse in it. A smaller-boat, or even jet-skis, I can totally see that. That's pretty awesome. I guess there were no issues really?
maryjane MAR 09, 12:00 PM
It was a one horse single axle trailer. They were pretty common back iin the day. I had coil over shocks on the rear, which made it ride rough as heck but helped with the squat quite a bit. I remember getting to the top nut on the shocks was a real pain.
Took it on a weekend camping/fishing trip fishing trip one weekend to what used to be called Lake Texarkana.........from US Navy base Millington Tenn. A girl was involved...........

Weren't many troopers on I-40 across Arkansas back then.
Ain't many people can say they had a 14' bass boat go 100mph, even if it was for just a few miles..it got squirrelly back there, and I had to slow down.. (rented from Navy special services for $20/day, included a tent and 2 sleeping bags) ..we just used one of them. (before meeting my future wife)
Those, were the days!!!!!!!!!

[This message has been edited by maryjane (edited 03-09-2023).]

blackrams MAR 09, 12:06 PM

quote
Originally posted by 82-T/A [At Work]:
I loved that car, I really did... and here in South Florida, I drove with the roof off almost all the time. But there were times I'd wished it was a hard-top.



I sat in a Coupe "hardtop" Solstice and decided it would never do for me. Hit my head getting in and out of it. Harder to get into and out of than a Fiero ever was.
Nope, I've never (not even once) driven my Solstice with the top up. I really do love that little car.

Rams
maryjane MAR 09, 12:50 PM

quote
Originally posted by blackrams:


I sat in a Coupe "hardtop" Solstice and decided it would never do for me. Hit my head getting in and out of it. Harder to get into and out of than a Fiero ever was.
Nope, I've never (not even once) driven my Solstice with the top up. I really do love that little car.

Rams



Jane and I went to the Pontiac/Chevy dealer in 2008 and they had a yellow GXP in the showroom Jane wanted badly but I knew that conv top wouldn't last where we lived and no garage. She was heartbroke when I drove up with a new Chev truck instead.
If one comes up for sale near me in good mech condition, I may buy her one now tho.
maryjane MAR 09, 01:02 PM
Evidntly, a luggage trunk and a spare tire isn't one of Soltice's big selliing points:

"My 2009 GXP is a delight. Goes like stink, handles like a cat on carpet, stops like glue and (if I keep my toes out of the fan) averages 32 mpg. Bought new in Denver, I now have over 146K miles on it. Replaced cracked turbo at 124K. With top down, my luggage is a shaving kit. Installed Hidden Hitch for Tag-Along trailer to carry a spare on road trips. Towing trailer at 85, mileage drops to 28. Keeping it till I expire."

[This message has been edited by maryjane (edited 03-09-2023).]

82-T/A [At Work] MAR 09, 01:39 PM

quote
Originally posted by maryjane:

Jane and I went to the Pontiac/Chevy dealer in 2008 and they had a yellow GXP in the showroom Jane wanted badly but I knew that conv top wouldn't last where we lived and no garage.



I picked up my Solstice in December of 2005, and I sold it in August of 2009. So I had it for a little over 3 and a half years. I sold it with 28k miles, and during that time, I didn't really have any issues with it, except the rear-end, and a few things with the top.

The top stretched... to the point that it began to balloon up a little bit while driving. It didn't remain "taught" like you'd expect when the top was new. It also wasn't ideal to leave the top down and stowed, because it would routinely crease... which would then take several days of having the top up, go back to normal.

Two issues I had with the roof is that the handle fell off. Not really a problem, I just re-attached it and replaced the screw. The next issue was that the window de-laminated from the sunroof. Basically... the glass separated around the entire top. I ended up buying this some kind of black GM window adhesive... which was the recommended factory repair, and it was back to normal. The car was under warranty, but I refused to take the car to the dealership because I hate having other people touch my car, so I repaired it myself. Other than that, everything was great.



quote
Originally posted by maryjane:

Evidntly, a luggage trunk and a spare tire isn't one of Soltice's big selliing points:




Yeah, not a lot of room... but I used it to drive back and forth to work, which was like 4 miles from my house, and to go to the beach, and occasionally go down town. When I first bought it, no one had ever seen one, so everyone thought it was some kind of super-car. Like.. imagine, it's December of 2005, I had the first one in Fort Lauderdale (basically), which was not intentional... just happened that way. Every single light that I'd go to, people would be taking pictures of the car, and in many cases, people would literally jump out of their car, stand in front of me, and take pictures with their flip-phone cameras (which is what everyone had in 2005).

I looked young at the time, so I still remember this couple in a really beat-ass work-fan. This lady stuck her head out and was talking really nice to me, and asking me about the car... and then she started harassing me asking if "daddy" bought it for me for Christmas. I was like... Lady... I'm 28 friggin' years old... and it was a $21k car, that I was financing. But she insisted I was some spoiled little **** from a wealthy family, hahah. I started to really NOT like the attention I was getting in my Solstice. For almost the entire first year of ownership, people would go crazy around it. I couldn't get gas without people running over to my car and taking pictures and starting up a conversation... usually nice, but sometimes people being nasty ... like they were offended that my car might be better than theirs. There was one guy at a gas station who had some old Nissan Sentra, and was telling me how his car was way faster and quicker than mine. Same thing happened with a guy that had some Lexus 2-seater. Weirdest thing ever... like... who starts up conversations like that, and why should I even care if someone's car is faster than mine?


Anyway, to answer your question... there is room in the back under the decklid. It's probably a little more than twice the size of the space you'd find in the FRONT of the Fiero. Like... you could put a large back-pack, or a suite-case. Keep in mind, there was no spare tire. There was a can of Fix-a-Flat (if I'm not mistaken), which was attached to an electric tire pump. Some kind of thing where they worked together, and this was your spare, basically...
blackrams MAR 09, 04:42 PM

quote
Originally posted by maryjane:

Evidntly, a luggage trunk and a spare tire isn't one of Soltice's big selliing points:




Don,
I enjoy the heck out of my Solstice. The wife doesn't mind it but, not a big fan of all that air. Always wants the windows up. People are different is all I can say. Correct on the spare tire, there isn't one and there is no place to carry one. Especially if, the convertible top is in the trunk. There is no doubt there are compromises one must make if you want to travel overnight in a Solstice but, that's also true of a Fiero.

I mounted a hidden hitch and now pull the same little tag-a-long trailer I pull with my bike or my trike. I also bought a cargo carrier I've used a couple of times. The Solstice doesn't even notice it back there. I would suggest that most GXPs have had the crap run out of them and that the base model with the 2.4L and 5 speed manual are better than the GXPs but, that's just my opinion.

I also agree that having a Solstice and no covered parking area is just asking for fabric issues and possibly interior problems when that top leaks. Very much like a Fiero T Top or moonroof car with leaky seals.

Rams
cliffw MAR 12, 08:42 AM

quote
Originally posted by 82-T/A [At Work]:




Your daughter will make a good mate for my grandson(s). She can take her pick.

The picture above made me cringe. I used to own a tow dolly. I want to post this as a public service to Fiero owners. You loaded it correctly. Not because the rear wheels are not free wheeling. Because any trailer needs more weight up front to prevent swaying.

You did not secure it correctly. I have towed many a Fiero. Once, the direction of travel, speed, and natural nature caused my rear lid to blow open. I always tie it down to prevent that.
williegoat MAR 12, 01:20 PM

quote
Originally posted by cliffw:
I have towed many a Fiero. Once, the direction of travel, speed, and natural nature caused my rear lid to blow open. I always tie it down to prevent that.


Did it break the rear glass?