iv got another question.
has anyone had any cooling problems with the 4.9 with the stock fiero Radiator?

quote Originally posted by joshh44: hmmm. sounds like an auto is better then the 5speed. its ment to take the TQ anyways. i might go that rout. im not a big. 2 pedal fan. i like having 3 its a hard debate on which one i want more.

you would be happy with either. just go getrag if you are doing the 5 speed ( izuzus just break alot, ask captfiero). if you are doing the 6 speed( i personally would do the 6 speed because of how cheap they are now), you will just need to spend a little extra, but it has a very awesome tall highway 6th gear that will get you great gas mileage.

auto has better gearing,( if you get a deville tranny with 2.73 final drive, you will get 30+ highway mpgs EASY), manual is more fun. really when it comes down to it, its preference. you dont put a V8 in your car for economy, but with the 4.9L you get both the V8 fun, and the economy.

if you liek manual shift, go manual shift then. the 4.9L is reliable behind a solid 5 speed getrag, a 4 speed muncie( bad gas mileage), or a 6 speed F40( $400-500 on ebay). it is also reliable behind the stock auto 4 speed.

quote Originally posted by joshh44: iv got another question. has anyone had any cooling problems with the 4.9 with the stock fiero Radiator?

I never had any cooling issues with my 4.9/4t60E as long as it was stock.
Once I bumped the compression up to 10.5-1 and put in the E303 copy cam, I had some overheating issues in traffic.
I did lose the oil cooler about the same time, so that may have been the straw that broke the camels back.

As everyone has said, the 3.8sc has more potential, but it does come at a decent cost. My 4.9 on street tires will pull 1.75 60' times. This is sitting at an idle at the tree and nailing the throttle at the right time. It is a blast to drive on the street and with the stock engine, I got ~31mpg. With the modded motor, it dropped down to ~27.

Gene

ahhh thats not to bad. i like the sounds of that
well thats some good news about the cooling part that i like.
time to start searching for some 4.9 engines.

quote Originally posted by ace5514: project, i would hope the motor would be able to withstand a little reving....

Yes, it will. It's not "delicate."

However, I think Fieroseverywhere put it quite well:

quote Originally posted by Fieroseverywhere: The 4.9 is perfectly capable of reving to 6000 on the stock valvetrain. At that RPM though it does not produce much power so there is really no point....

I think the 4.9L nonetheless makes for a fine engine swap in a Fiero.

Remember, that engine was designed not for drag racing, but to propel smartly, vehicles weighing at least two tons (i..e., Cadillacs), from a standing start across intersections.

The end result of successfully putting an engine like that into our comparatively little and light cars I'd think should result in great fun!

Pushing more than two tons of Cadillac across an intersection versus a little Fiero?

Hah!

I'd think the fun factor associated with that mod would make for some very broad grins on the street.

so with the axle changes if i stay with the auto that the 4.9 is attached with. could i get em from a auto wrecker from a car? or from an auto shop only?

quote Originally posted by joshh44: so with the axle changes if i stay with the auto that the 4.9 is attached with. could i get em from a auto wrecker from a car? or from an auto shop only?

I copied this from another thread but I know the guy that wrote it and he knows what he's talking about...

"Your axles will be 1993 Pontiac Transport minivan axles, with Fiero MANUAL transmission outer ends. They two halves snap right together, and fit like they were meant to be there."

quote Originally posted by joshh44: iv got another question. has anyone had any cooling problems with the 4.9 with the stock fiero Radiator?

I'm running the stock 4 cyl radiator in my 88 4.9 swap. I have no overheating issues whatsoever, and I live in a VERY hot climate. The car will run 170-190 in 105 degree ambient temps all day long. I have wired the fan to a switch so I can control when it runs, but the only time I use it is in heavy traffic at low speeds.

The key to not having cooling system issues is to ensure that you have bled all of the air out of the system. If you haven't, you will know it immediately. But if that is done and the rest of the stock cooling system is healthy, it won't overheat.

quote Originally posted by Frizlefrak: The key to not having cooling system issues is to ensure that you have bled all of the air out of the system.

This must explain why my 4 core radiator boiled over on the way back from San Antonio... It should be cooling like a mofo.

BTW did you recognize your axle quote?

[This message has been edited by jscott1 (edited 08-07-2009).]

quote Originally posted by jscott1: This must explain why my 4 core radiator boiled over on the way back from San Antonio... It should be cooling like a mofo.

Yep, it should. I drove my 4.9 around town on Monday...it was 105 degrees that day, and even sitting in line at the bank it didn't get but just a tick past the quarter mark on the gauge....and once back on the freeway, it dropped back to the quarter mark.

quote Originally posted by jscott1: BTW did you recognize your axle quote?

They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery

Actually, the quote may be mine, but the axle idea wasn't. A certain guy in Toney Alabama that has done a lot of these swaps came up with it.

well thats good to know

some useful information!!
stock radiator is good so i dont have to fork up extra cash for a new bigger rad. i like that!
im sure you can use the same tire size. but wider probably get some better traction during hard acceleration so your not just spinning in one spot.
ohhhhhh. i was wondering earlyer about this.
the stock auto tranny from the 4.9. its not a LSD is it? it would be quite nice to have. im not a big fan of getting stuck in the snow when one tire is up in the air just spinning away when you got the other tire on pavement with full traction and the power isnt going to that wheel. errg.

to bad you can have a switch inside the car for the transmission. so you can transver power over to the other wheel when needed. or even have both tires selected on the switch and just go!

quote Originally posted by project34: I'd think the fun factor associated with that mod would make for some very broad grins on the street.

Well said. Let me tell you it does indeed keep the smiles going. I still get a huge grin on my face everytime I press that go pedal. It may not be anywhere near the fastest engine out there but the off the line performance has yet to leave me dissapointed in any way.

Up here we recently got caught up in some 100+ degree weather which is nothing short of crazy for the Seattle area. My 5psd caddy Formula did just fine even sitting in traffic. Never hinted of getting overly hot, very smooth. I have a stock V6 radiator and no AC, but still have the condensor coils I have to pull out.

My next project might just be a 6spd?

quote Originally posted by Dan_Seattle: My next project might just be a 6spd?

Go for it...you won't regret it