I've owned 8 Pontiac Fiero GT's in the past 17 years and hated to see them go when I sold them. Besides being a Nissan 300ZX nut (1990-1996), I found a 1988 Fiero Formula (automatic, manual windows, plain roof, extremely rough interior, 95K miles, paint is faded, w/ rear spoiler) close from where I live. My question is, I know about the GT's... but how about these Formula's? What can I expect to pay for this lil' red monster? Can I anyone tell me what it is worth? Thanks in advance!

quote Originally posted by M5Fanatic: I've owned 8 Pontiac Fiero GT's in the past 17 years and hated to see them go when I sold them. Besides being a Nissan 300ZX nut (1990-1996), I found a 1988 Fiero Formula (automatic, manual windows, plain roof, extremely rough interior, 95K miles, paint is faded, w/ rear spoiler) close from where I live. My question is, I know about the GT's... but how about these Formula's? What can I expect to pay for this lil' red monster? Can I anyone tell me what it is worth? Thanks in advance!

1st welcome to the forum! you probably know more than i do since you've owned 8. the 88 formula was supposed to be a "stripped down" version of the GT. kinda like a race version if you will. it replaced the v6 se. most had few options, i'm surprised its an auto, i thought most were manual. price? i dunno. its an 88 so its worth more than most. its a formula so its rarer than most. color isn't that rare. really depending on condition maybe $3k tops. pics would be good. some folks version of "rough" can be a lot different than other folks.

Yes. Welcome to our obsession!

I'm thinking $2K, tops. More likely $1200-1500.
Based upon nothing more than my opinion of what I'd be willing to pay, if I were in the market. Which I'm not.
I would, however, be willing to pay a premium of a few hundred $ for a five speed. I would also be less willing to pay as much for a bright red or black one. (Seems like every 88 I see for sale is either bright red or black.)
What it really comes down to is what you're willing (or not willing) to pay. And what the seller is willing (or not willing) to sell it for.

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Raydar
88 4.9 Formula IMSA Fasback..........................88 3.4 coupe................................................

Read Nealz Nuze! Praise the Lowered!

quote Originally posted by sostock: 1st welcome to the forum! you probably know more than i do since you've owned 8. the 88 formula was supposed to be a "stripped down" version of the GT. kinda like a race version if you will. it replaced the v6 se. most had few options, i'm surprised its an auto, i thought most were manual. price? i dunno. its an 88 so its worth more than most. its a formula so its rarer than most. color isn't that rare. really depending on condition maybe $3k tops. pics would be good. some folks version of "rough" can be a lot different than other folks.

Thanks for the welcome, Sostock. I used to be a regular on this forum under a different username (I don't remember what it was, it
has been 6-7 years). "Rough" to me is considered worn seats, middle console & glove box are warped, headliner is hanging down,
the paint is faded in certain areas (roof, spoiler, hood). I know the production run of the Formula's were less than the GT's or the base models. I prefer the GT, but thought that maybe I should snatch up this Formula and restore it. I've taken 2 apart to it's bare body, working on them is basically pretty simple. Thanks for the reply and hope to become an active member to this forum once again.

1988 formula+>100k miles+runs+doesn't sound like its in that bad of shape+$1200=good deal. heck you could part it out and make your money back. (not that i suggest that).

M5, don't take this the wrong way, but there is something, and its really none of my business, but what sex are you?

I've never heard of "lots of" oil coming from the EGR tube. It's possible that it's coming from someplace else.
If the O-ring at the base of the distributor is leaking, it will allow "LOTS" of oil to run out, all over the back of the engine.

My opinion...
If it runs good, doesn't smoke, doesn't make any unusual noises after it's hot, doesn't have any rust in the usual places (floorboards and sides of the trunk, mostly) and it meets your price requirement, go for it!

[This message has been edited by Raydar (edited 03-21-2007).]

quote Originally posted by Raydar: I've never heard of "lots of" oil coming from the EGR tube. It's possible that it's cominf from someplace else. If the O-ring at the base of the distributor is leaking, it will allow "LOTS" of oil to run out, all over the back of the engine. My opinion... If it runs good, doesn't smoke, doesn't make any unusual noises after it's hot, doesn't have any rust in the usual places (floorboards and sides of the trunk, mostly) and it meets your price requirement, go for it!

Steve, you are aware of the symptoms I was having with my GT before the rebuild. On tear down I did pour oil out of the EGR tube, the car sounded good at idle and as long as you babied it before the teardown but had that tapping/pinging under load and on deacceleration from the upper RPM's. Not saying this Formula is on it's way out like mine was and the oil in the EGR tube may have been an unrelated symptom but I actually poured oil from the EGR tube when we disconnected the tube. First time I had seen anything like that.

I would tend to value the car in question, just from the limited info given, at $1000 tops. The car being an auto transmission tends to attract less interest from folks that want a sports car, I would push it up the $1200 - $1400 if it were a 5spd M/T.

Here again, these are all just opinions and as stated it all comes down to what a buyer is willing to pay and what the seller will accept.


Edited to add: Pull the air intake off the throttle body and see if you have oil in the throttle body itself, I think the oil in the EGR tube, at least in my case, may have been due to excessive blow by (bad valve seals maybe). My throttle body and intake plenum had a lot of oil in it as well as the EGR tube.
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Don't take life too seriously -- you'll never get out if it alive.

[This message has been edited by DRA (edited 03-21-2007).]

quote Originally posted by DRA: Steve, you are aware of the symptoms I was having with my GT before the rebuild. On tear down I did pour oil out of the EGR tube... ...Edited to add: Pull the air intake off the throttle body and see if you have oil in the throttle body itself, I think the oil in the EGR tube, at least in my case, may have been due to excessive blow by (bad valve seals maybe). My throttle body and intake plenum had a lot of oil in it as well as the EGR tube.

Thanks Dave. I wasn't aware of that, with your motor. Did your engine use oil between oil changes?
I know that oil can accumulate in the tube and plenum, but I never saw that much. Never enough to pour out, anyway. (Maybe I've just been lucky.)

It occurs to me that if the PCV valve is stuck, it could also allow oil to accumulate in the intake manifold (as well as causing smoking and possibly increased oil consumption.)

It also occurs to me that if oil is leaking out of the EGR tube, that it's either loose or broken. The classic symptom of this would be a high idle. If it's broken, the fix can be anywhere between ~$25 and $100, depending on where you find an EGR tube.

quote Originally posted by Raydar: Thanks Dave. I wasn't aware of that, with your motor. Did your engine use oil between oil changes? I know that oil can accumulate in the tube and plenum, but I never saw that much. Never enough to pour out, anyway. (Maybe I've just been lucky.) It occurs to me that if the PCV valve is stuck, it could also allow oil to accumulate in the intake manifold (as well as causing smoking and possibly increased oil consumption.) It also occurs to me that if oil is leaking out of the EGR tube, that it's either loose or broken. The classic symptom of this would be a high idle. If it's broken, the fix can be anywhere between ~$25 and $100, depending on where you find an EGR tube.

I had a little smoke at startup, classic symptom of oil leaking down the valve seals and pooling in the cylinder, and a little smoke when blowing it out but nothing bad (wasn't foggin' for squitas). The PCV valve seemed okay but we did replace it during the refresh, a lot of oil in it but you could shake it and it rattled.
I'm bad about doing early oil changes (or good, depends on how you look at it) and never noticed the oil being real low, may have been losing a little in between but not a whole quart.
I agree if the tube were actually leaking on this Formula it would most likely be drawing air creating a high idle situation. Of course that is assuming a previous owner didn't do a little tweaking to bring the idle down and mask the problem (seen that many times).

[This message has been edited by DRA (edited 03-21-2007).]

Can you take it for a test drive? The other areas I'd be worried about would be how tight the steering is, how well the brakes work and rust. If it's a rust free chassis that hasn't been wrecked, then you're ok. However, if it's rusted out and/or been wrecked, then I wouldn't rebuild it. As far as value? That's somewhat of a personal opinion. Since it looks like the car is going to need a LOT of work to bring it back, $1k would be "fair" assuming rust free and non wrecked. Also, here's a link to the nifty pricing guide:

http://home.xnet.com/~paulv/Price%20Guide.htm

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-Chris
'85 V6 SE 4sp (SOLD)
'88 GT Auto (fun car)
'03 Sentra SE-R Spec V (Daily driver)

$1250 is probably fair. Figure you'll need to pour some money into it.

I have Formula (calling it an 88 Formula is redundant) that I bought (saved from the crusher) for $400, red (faded, scratched, peeling clear coat), with a pretty trashy interior. Mileage when I bought it was about 105,000. It had a trashed Getrag and needed a clutch, and tires, and a new egr tube (leaked), and needs a windshield. But on the good side, mine had a very low mileage engine in it (looked like new) that smogged better than new after I replaced the cat.

If you get the Formula with the thought that it will be a project car, you won't be disappointed. I don't know what the oily EGR tube is, could be blowby, but just as easily could be a bad PCV valve, couldn't it? My Formula is by far my favorite Fiero to date--it's the best handling, nicest running one I've seen. (gets decent mileage, too.)

Welcome to the forum, btw. Post pics when you can.

Fieros are all 20 - 25 years old. Some consider them collectibles and classics and some consider them junk. The condition on a vehicle this old can range from pristine to "used up". We've seen them where the underbody was eaten away, having holes on the trunk upper sides, with engines smoking and everything not working. On the other hand if you buy from an enthusiast then you might get a good one. The question "What is it worth?" is a very difficult one to answer.
I've purchased low end GT's for $1000 and ones in great shape for $2000-$3000. Regional prices also have a bearing.
As for an 88 Formula with 100K miles; unless it was maintained I would not pay more than $1000-$1500 for it and be sure to check the undercarriage for rust.

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87GT 3.4 Turbo- 0-60 5.2 seconds -Best
Engine Controls, ECM goodies, Chip
re-programming & odd electronics stuff

Well guys, I appreciate all of you're input on my questions and giving me advise on what the problem could be with the oil situation. The guy that has the Formula doesn't know anything about Fiero's... he did some work on someone's vehicle and instead of being paid for it, this guy gave him the Fiero. I know the Fiero is from Wisconsin originally. I am meeting with him again tomorrow and was wondering what else I need to look for to diagnose the problem a little better. I will make some pics as well (if someone can post them for me). The guy is meeting me 16 miles away from his house. If I decide to buy this Fiero, will I be save enough to drive it for 45 miles back to my house without running into problems? Thanks again for all you're feedback...

quote Originally posted by M5Fanatic: ...I know the Fiero is from Wisconsin originally...

Check that puppy very carefully for rust.

Don't know what to tell you about driving it home.
It would pay to have an ignition module and a 5.5mm (I think) nutdriver and a small screwdriver with you.

Email the pics to me if you want. I'll post them.

[This message has been edited by Raydar (edited 03-21-2007).]

Well... it has been almost 2 months since I posted about this Formula that this guy was selling for $1200.00. On Sunday the 29th of April I talked to Ed at the Fiero Swap Meet and told him about this Formula and he told me that it was a good price. Well, I met once again with the guy on my way back from the Swap Meet and I asked him what would be the lowest price he'd take... he said, $700.00 cash. I bought it that same day and he even drove it to my home which was 45 minutes away. As I mentioned before, it looked rough when I looked at it before, but not as rough as I thought it was. The Lh-side Headlight Motor needs to be rebuilt, the Headliner replaced, the seats had seatcovers on them, but they appeared just dirty with a small rip on the drivers' side. The Fuel-Pump needs to be replaced, the oil I was so worried about was from the "O" Ring by the Distributor, the R-Rear Caliper w/ Bracket needs to be installed (there's nothing there), both rear tires need to be replaced, spark-plugs & wires need to be installed... and the roof, spoiler and the hood needs paint. The interior needs a good cleaning and the carpet needs a good scrubbing. The car is practically fine! Question... can anyone tell me how to rebuilt the Headlight Motors??? ...and does anyone have a R-Rear Caliper w/ Bracket? ...can any post pics for me on this Formula? If you give me you're Email I will send them to you in a zip. Thanks again for all your input.

Cool!
Congrats!
Sounds to me like you almost stole that car!
I'll post the pics for you if you want. My email is in the button above this post.

The 88 (and 87) headlight motors are a cakewalk.
Go to www.rodneydickman.com and poke around until you find the rebuild kits for the 87-88 motors.
You can rebuild both of them for ~$10 or so. If instructions are not included, just post here or shoot me a PM.
You can probably do both of them in an hour, and that's with a beer break thrown in.

The calipers are available at www.calipersonline.com
You can also probably find them at your local parts store. Shop around. Prices will vary widely.

I just shopped for calipers for my Formula last week. Napa did not have them and had a difficult time locating them. I went with Calipers Online. No core for fronts. Loaded and ready to bolt on. Decent price too.
Congrats! The Formula is a fun little car.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymot...QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[This message has been edited by FormulaGT (edited 05-10-2007).]

Here ya' go!
Not bad for $700. Not bad at all!