The Car
Fiero GT
5 speed manual
250,000 mile Ohio car
2nd owner
Paid $800 drove it home



Pre-2007 Mods
3.4 95 Camaro 43,000 miles
2030 cam
19lb injectors from 89 Mustang GT
Ported head to intake
1” lowering springs
All Polly Urethane bushing kit
Monroe sensa tract Struts/Shocks
Rear Fiero store sway bar
GA Brake upgrade




Known Problems.
Brake hoses had complete slices where they connected to the brake line.
Brakes feel weak, no matter how hard you press on brakes they wouldn’t produce more stopping power. (from lines expanding)

Shifting had to be done before 4.5kRPM all power just dropped off there
Not enough power to break the rear 245/40/18 Federals 595’s free.

This summer I decided that I wanted to start and road race this car, as that’s what I have setup the car for the last two years to do. I decided that all the 20 year old brake lines and hoses had to go. *of the two things I do not want to fail when doing 100 into a 90degree turn brakes and steering are the two*
I Ordered and bought all Stainless Steel brake lines and Stainless steel braded lines from the Fiero store. I ordered Vented Drilled Gold Zink coated Rotors from Ebay and bought 4 new Beretta Calipers at Advance Auto Parts.







But when I was up under the front I noticed a few things one of the biggest is that my Radiator was just floating in the air, the entire lower core support was rotted out, and when I looked under the front bumper I noticed that the bumper support had fallen down and that the metal bumper was rotted.
This is what I found





It looks like it was hit kind of hard in the front end but every body part has the correct VIN, I just find it hard that you can get the front bumper to bend but not hurt the front clip.

So I posted that I needed some parts and MstangsBware answered. Within a week I received the parts, and they where exactly what I needed, I cutout the center as it was rotted and put in a 1” square stock to give support for the upper fascia. I also decided that I wanted a newer improved radiator, as the original had to go and the loss of 4lbs from it to .







I like the way the Fiero looks when the front clip is off.



I also decided that I wanted to take my safety a little more seriously so I ordered 6point harnesses, I seen where others have complained that the Fiero seat is to wide and I do agree with this but I have gotten them comfortable and also left in the original seat belts also. I used both the original mounting points for the seatbelts this holds both the sub belt and the side belts as they are M12 Bolts using some spacers and mounted them down there, the upper straps I drilled a hole directly in the lower center of the Hood Support and put a washer here, this makes the two shoulder straps come out and go around the seat then back down this way it tightens around the seat and over your shoulders I find them very comfortable this way and with them tight I can not get out of them, it’s a whole new experience with these on, its just like a roller coaster ride.



Ok so now I have the parts for the front end, brakes, and my safety in mine, the next thing for me to address was the engine, I put that 3.4 in and was really disappointed in its performance and how it felt, yah it pulled more then the 2.8 but it wasn’t anything to brag about, and it lost a lot of power at 4500+rpm damn near instantly.

So knowing about Trueleo and the work those guys had been doing, and seeing the truth in there Dyno numbers I decided to buy there Custom Headers knowing that the stock exhaust system on the 2.8 was a large issue let alone on the 3.4. Later they contacted me on one of there Prototype long runners they still had and offered me a great deal on it also, so I took it also, with a new intake and exhaust I knew that the motor would get all the air it needs, I also ordered a new Big bore TB off of Stick47 on Ebay, I was very pleased with how well it was modified.

I looked into upgrading my Cam as we all know how much we love the 2030, I have this cam because when I bought a cam for my first Fiero 10 years ago there wasn’t another cam really on the market. I liked the idea of the new cam but decided I didn’t want to do that much work taking everything all apart again, and replacing the springs etc. so I opted to just put in 1.6 roller rockers for now, maybe next year, though I think I will just try to sell this motor and go for a 3.8SC next year. (more Power)









The under drive pulleys what to say about those, there is a large difference and I had some issues after the first test drive or two, it looked like the car was over heating I have a digital summit gauge installed in the car * I destroyed my first Fiero motor from a failed water pump and no working temperature gauge * I also didn’t like how the car would run at lower RPM because of the alternator I still had the old original SI unit, so I installed a brand new CS 105 alternator but at the same time thinking that I was overheating now, I put back the original Crank pulley, little did I know I was still overheating by the gauge but I had installed a 205 fan switch and it wouldn’t be on but the gauge would read 260deg. When I connected winALDL the computer thought the temp was 190deg. This turned out to be because of a Grounding issue with the gauge. Run the ground for the gauge directly to the engine block as it uses the ground that it receive as the baseline for the resistance in the sending unit (if your gauge changes because you step on the brake or turn on lights etc. then this is your problem)
Now it’s nice and steady.
I will have to put the under drive pulleys back on and try out how everything works now that I have the new alternator and the fixed gauge.





I ordered a Self adjuster bracket off of Dodgerunner as one thing I hate is hearing the belt squeal and with the under drive kit I felt for sure it would at times, the one I bought off him did not have the bracket to hold the alternator, which I like for my application as then I can use the alternator as adjustment also, and was able to find belts for both the under drive pulley set and the standard Fiero set. * i may not have pictures of this directly but they are on the forum it was the last thing i did before i put the motor in and i was kinda in a hurry sorry *


I also ordered a set of 96 + fuel injectors for Mustangs, off Ebay, this set of 8 19lb injectors use the 4 hole style for more efficient spray pattern and with a 12-13 resistance they seem to be working great and only cost $50.



I have been having an issue with bump steer and wanted to remove as much of it as possible * at over 100mph your going to notice any * so I ordered the bump steer kit from RCC specialty products, it’s a solid metal bar that extends out from the original point about 4” so that the tie rod pivot point is with the rest of the suspension, the only time you get additional Toe is when the suspension is in the last 3” of travel before the tire lifts off the ground, so one of two things your about to go air born and this wont be your real problem, or two your jacking the car up, with the car 1” lowered there is a good 5” before the tires even start to toe.

Along this line I also put in a camber adjusting bolt for the upper part of the strut when you lower the car 1” the adjustment for camber is just at the edge of factory adjustments, this gives about.5 to 1degree more, and can be bought from Advance Auto Parts *though take the number you see on the box as most salesmen wont know what your talking about.



Also for Trueleo's exhaust i wanted to make sure i had not leaks and did not like the fabric gaskets so i bought aluminum ones that seal better and are reusable.



engine pictures






I would like to give some Props to the following people that I was pleased to deal with and hope I was not to much of a pain in the ass. I finished this and a lot more things in the last month to have my car ready to run in another week and have been very busy.

The Fiero Store: you guys are great, I have yet to ever be displeased with an order or your service.
Rodney Dickman: Your products and continuing devotion to the Fiero community are unparallel, when you develop the smaller water pump pulley I will be one of the first to order it.
Trueleo.com: Though I may have come across impatient at times you always answered all emails normally in less then 4 hours and answered any questions great products.
MstangsBware: all the used parts you sent me where great and worked perfectly, and quick shipping.
Dodgerunner: you know for not having any brackets made and getting one to me in less then a week, that’s pretty good, great job and great product.
And All of PPF, using the archives and everyone’s current posts is invaluable its like having “the big book of the Fiero” in your house that you can just go to and find the answers to anything you need in seconds. Great Community.

How it feels now, first off I am happy I installed the Harness lets start with that. The brakes, anyone that says they require going to larger brakes, you don’t, the GA brakes may not look large under my rims but I will post stopping distances on them shortly but I can pin you to the seatbelts from 70 and stop within seconds with them, I am using ceramic pads and did change the master cylinder to the smaller bore. Yah it takes a little farther down on the pedal now but I have a wider range of control because of it.

The engine, its still not a V8  but that’s what you get, the amount of power I gained from 1 to 4.5k rpm is mostly negligible, I still cant burn off these tires, but I can drop the clutch at 3.5k give a little bark and it pulls like a fraight train out of it. The difference is from 4.5k up now, there is no dought in my mind that this motor is a 7k RPM motor now when tuned correctly, the first time I took it out it went straight to the red line in 2nd gear pulled right to it, and feels like it wants to keep pulling. *the chip is still 6400rpm or whatever stock level is, Trueleo supplied me with some chips but they are not perfect for my setup I will have to have some custom tuning done or I will be buying an Ostrich and do my own, I wouldn’t mind going to an 85 ECM and install a knock sensor for security.


There will be more to come, I will Be Dynoing soon though I am trying to find a shop near the Akron Cleveland area that can Dyno Tune ODB1 if anyone knows anyone? And there are a lot of things I am forgetting atm that I have done. Also feel free to post any questions or other pictures you may want to see.

Nice write-up and congrats on a nice build.

As for the low end torque issue, I think I can help. On my 2.9 build, when I ported the heads and mounted the carb, my top end opened up also but the low end torque was similarly disappointing. It is still pulling hard at 6k and I just don't want to take this particular motor higher, but I agree, 7k is not out of the question. In my case, I still don't have headers. Long tube headers (32-6") would bring up your low end torque, however, there is another way. I'm not conversant with your cam's specs but I also have 1.6 rockers coupled with the Fiero cam.

After quite a bit of research, it appears that on the stock HO cam, if I advance the cam timing 4* I can drop the hp power band 500-600 rpm and raise the low end torque. This would make my peak hp come in at 3500 rpm. The net torque figures increase are harder to guage but probably significant.

You may want to ask the cam maker if it has 4* built in or if it can be advanced 4*. They will know. I'll be doing this mod this year, but, my 36" headers are on hold until I can afford a mig welder. (anybody got one cheap?)

Hope this helps.

Arn

damn i wanted a long runner intake but they said they didnt have or make any. despite their site saying so. o well. i basicly am building the same thing xcept with a crane 272, ported heads, 9.5:1 compression(decked block), and an 8lbs flywheel stg3 spec clutch. along with the other nessesary replace/upgrade parts like springs and lifters and a roller timing chain. i was going to use the 2030 but the machine shop said it was too small(for my intended driving) so the only bigger cam i could find without going mechanical was the 272. if you could e-mail me the dyno chart id like to see what you put down my e-mail is jmdavis86@verizon.net.

as for future mods(more future than installing the enigne which im giong to do within a month) im going to use nitrous and a 6spd(power permitting), along with the very nessesary megasquirt standalone so i can switch to sequential fuel injection with dis, maf, and all the goodies im used to working with on modern cars(i like me some gas mileage).

also the overbored ebay tb isnt big enuff for the 3.4, i think you need a 62mm tb to feed it correctly, i do have the 57mmtb on my 2.8 though and its great with the trueleo.

This is why I decided to stick with the stock 3400 roller cam in my motor that makes peak power @ 5200 rpm. To me that is the perfect peak point for the street without giving up any bottom end. Ofcourse I have yet to drive it due to a bum mechanic...

Very curious on the dyno. Previous efforts with the hydraulic H260 cam netted me 150rwhp @ 4500rpm and 200 ft*lbs. www.geocities.com/lou_dias/Fiero.html
The 2030 cam got me 146.3 rwhp and 201 ft*lbs, but that was a rebuilt motor with a couple more cubes. Cam does make a difference. Again, you have to know what you want to begin with and build around that. The 2030 advertised peak power @ 4200rpm and that's where I made peak power. The 260 cam advertised peak power @ 4500 rpm and SUPRISE that's where I made peak power.

[This message has been edited by lou_dias (edited 06-19-2007).]

"I will Be Dynoing soon though I am trying to find a shop near the Akron Cleveland area that can Dyno Tune ODB1 if anyone knows anyone?"

These links can find dynos but you will probably have to call to see what they each offer:
http://www.mustangdyne.com/locator.htm
http://www.dynojet.com/dyno...utomotive/index.aspx

[This message has been edited by Hudini (edited 06-19-2007).]

I had been holding that intake for soomeone for a long time and m thus we had no more1 Well he chnaged his mind, wanted a new short runner and thats how we suddenly had one.
BTW: when we put Matts 3.4 on the dyno (without our headers) the intake did not lose any bottom end, it gainee a lil (dyno sheet on out site), so it may be a cam thing? And yes we need to update our website.

quote Originally posted by megafreakindeth: damn i wanted a long runner intake but they said they didnt have or make any. despite their site saying so. o well. i basicly am building the same thing xcept with a crane 272, ported heads, 9.5:1 compression(decked block), and an 8lbs flywheel stg3 spec clutch. along with the other nessesary replace/upgrade parts like springs and lifters and a roller timing chain. i was going to use the 2030 but the machine shop said it was too small(for my intended driving) so the only bigger cam i could find without going mechanical was the 272. if you could e-mail me the dyno chart id like to see what you put down my e-mail is jmdavis86@verizon.net. as for future mods(more future than installing the enigne which im giong to do within a month) im going to use nitrous and a 6spd(power permitting), along with the very nessesary megasquirt standalone so i can switch to sequential fuel injection with dis, maf, and all the goodies im used to working with on modern cars(i like me some gas mileage). also the overbored ebay tb isnt big enuff for the 3.4, i think you need a 62mm tb to feed it correctly, i do have the 57mmtb on my 2.8 though and its great with the trueleo.

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[IMG]



Trueleo.com/fiero.htm
RSpiderII@aol.com

Nice!! Wonder when I'll be able to finish mine

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Red: TPI V8 + 6-Speed Yellow: Nitrous 3.4 + 4 speed Auto
304rwHP/366rwTQ

I also fixed something else that was driving me NUTS, the passenger side door rattled, and after reading some posts on here about the door pins being bad i looked it over, the door would close with ease it was not sagging nor was it hitting the rocker panel. But i went ahead and replaced the door pins, and it was still rattling every time you hit a bump, so with more investigation i determined that it was due to the wear in the striker bolt and door, so off to Advance Auto Parts and i looked though the Help parts i found this little gem,

Help Part Number 38421, Ford Striker Bolt

it has a plastic shield on it but the thread is 7/16 14 just the same as ours upon some further inspection with the plastic removed it has a .495 diameter our stock bolt has a .475, this worked like a charm, it tightened up a 20 year old door and i can still close it with one finger.

so if your door rattles and its not your hinge pins try this striker bolt. Good Luck

Good input from FrancisT.

I should clarify that when I am referring to disappointing bottom end, when I launch @ 3,000 rpm I leave a nice patch of rubber, so it really isn't anemic. What I would like to see though, is being able to break the wheels loose at a 2000 rpm launch. Maybe I'm hoping too much with a 2.8/2.9?

Arn

What size thottle body are you using?

i am using the 56mm bore with shaft mod from Stick47 on ebay

quote Originally posted by Atomfusion: so if your door rattles and its not your hinge pins try this striker bolt. Good Luck

I have this problem too. Pins are ok but door rattles on every bump.
Now I'm gonna check with a local ford dealer if they have this part over here in Europe too. Does this striker bolt belong to a specific car?

go to http://www.dormanproducts.com/ and type in the part number will give you a huge listing but as a quick idea the 1983-1986 E150 van has it, as do many ford cars from 1977-86.

Thanks alot and + to you!