I bought my $3,800 171 000 km Fiero around May 2008. It came with smoked taillights, an Isuzu 5 speed transmission swap (my car is a factory automatic), cut springs in the front and coilover sleeves in the rear, rear stabilizer bar (a front Fiero bar), Optima battery, mint 17x7 mags, engine rebuilt by previous owner, supposedly a Centerforce dual-friction clutch, poly dogbone, and tons of problems to boot.

The day I brought it home:


It even came with a hack-job turbo installation. The turbo attracted me to the car, but once I bought the car and looked into it further, I realized what a hack-job the turbo install was, so I returned it to stock. I do want to eventually turbocharge it again, properly.

This is my daily driver, except during winter.

I like to list every little thing I have done. It shows how much work and $$$ it takes to make a 23-year-old car nice again. I still have much left to do on this car.

Stuff I have done to the car (I'm certainly forgetting things), in several categories:

Undoing the P.O.'s mistakes:
Removed EGR block off plate - I think it's a good thing to have.
Plumbed PCV system properly. The crankcase was previously passively (not positively) ventilated.
Removed audio amplifier that was mounted on the firewall for a non-existent subwoofer
Removed old alarm system wiring and generally cleaned up the wiring. I believe in soldered and heatshrunk joints. The previous owner liked twisting wires together and electrical tape. I replaced some of the crumbly wire loom, and wrapped some sections with reflective aluminium tape.
Removed turbo...
Removed manifold pressure and O2 gauge from driver's A-pillar, and replaced A-pillar with virgin undrilled piece.
Installed stock cold air intake (the turbo had a cone filter directly on the compressor)
Installed missing decklid torsion bar

Chassis:
Replaced front right inner tie-rod end
Six New ball joints
KYB dampers all around
Fierostore front crossmember brackets to replace rusted ones
Polyurethane sway bar and wishbone bushings
LeBaron brake upgrade, with my personal touch: https://www.fiero.nl/forum/Forum2/HTML/103925.html
1996 Subaru Legacy AWD 16" spare tire
Steering rack damper

Engine bay & drivetrain:
Replaced distributor with newer star-type
Replaced the dreaded ignition module...
Accel 8 mm yellow custom-cut spark plug wires
Viton distributor o-ring
Relocated charcoal canister to stock location
Replaced leaky valve cover gaskets & repainted valve covers and upper intake manifold red.
Fierostore intake manifold sticker.
Fuel filter
Replaced leaky coolant overflow reservoir
95 base Toyota Camry slave cylinder piston (same as MR2, but it's not like sleeping with the enemy)
Clutch master, more than once.
A/C delete - most components (compressor, plumbing, some wiring, various brackets) are gone, however, the A/C HVAC ducting & controls still remain.
Replaced alternator & drivebelt
Replaced exhaust tip hangers
Replaced head gaskets
Replaced back-up light switch
Rodney Dickman's oilite transmission selector arm bushings
Replaced passenger side inner and outer drive-axle boots
Stainless 304 coolant tubes from Fiero Store
Replaced front engine and transmission mounts
Replaced rusted-out battery tray
Ignition coil relocation + blower tube blockoff
Motomaster Eliminator Spiral Grid battery
1998 Pontiac Grand Prix 3800 NA starter
Water pump inlet coolant hose replaced

Body:
Replaced sidemarker & front turn signal bulb sockets
Removed "DarkNights" decals from rocker panels
Replaced ticket-me ricer front parking lamps with stock-style clear Fierostore ones
Painted 2057 taillight bulbs red and removed stock diffusers
New radio antenna base, with 99 Saturn radio antenna
Paul McKibben's sail panels, shaved arrowhead logos, and Krylon black wrinkle paint.
"Fiero GT" decal applied to decklid
Repaired cracked wingstands and replaced gaskets
Removed window tint - easy-off aerosol oven cleaner worked great!
Replaced damaged "Fiero GT" nose emblem for 84-85 base model version. I like the golden coloring better.
Added toggle switch to disable trunk lamp when I want to leave the decklid open.
Drilled sunroof water drainage holes
Removed rain "gutters"
H4 headlamp conversion
New coolant tube support brackets
Replaced turn signal flasher for electronic one
Headlamp door rubber stops
Fierostore sunroof glass hardware kit
Ford door strikers
Dew wipes replaced
Lubed power window tracks and door locks
Removed old aftermarket power lock actuator vestiges
Replaced rear trunk weatherstrip
Right side power mirror motor replaced
Front cowl seals replaced
Adjusted window glass alignment
Rear grey trunk carpet from ACC

Interior:
Grant GT 14" steering wheel, from my 99 Saturn which now rests peacefully in a junkyard somewhere.
Fierostore floor mats & seat covers. The fit of the seat covers is good for seat covers, but still objectionable.

Replaced clutch and brake pedal rubber pads
New from Fierostore decklid release, power window, headlight (and bezel) switches.
Used power mirror switch
Replaced broken HVAC vent
Replaced yellowed trunk lamp
Replaced rusty seat hold-down nuts
Fierostore headliner and sunvisors
Father bitching about VOCs in aerosol contact cement:

Installed missing cigarette lighter, again from Fierostore
Stock leather shift knob to replace brown plastic knob
Faux aluminium trim painted Krylon black wrinkle
Glued cracked glovebox.
Replaced old turn signal stalk
Glued loose armrest vinyl
Replaced cracked interior left side door handle interior plate
60 mm computer case fan added to MS2 housing
Repainted dashboard
Heater core cover replaced since it was missing convenience center bracket

Zoom-zoom turbo-related stuff:
Ported exhaust manifolds
Installed turbo oil return with silver soldered (brazed???) fitting

MegaSquirt 2 ECU with MS2/Extra 3.1.1 & mariob's CL idle patch
Accel 30 lb/hr high-impedance disc injectors
Innovate LC-1 wideband system with dash-mounted air/fuel ratio gauge
Mechanical dash-mounted manifold pressure gauge

Quarter mile time progression with this car:

17 April 2009: bone stock engine
60' 2.260
E.T. 16.114
MPH 84.209

12 October 2009: ported manifolds + MegaSquirt 2 + new injectors
60' 2.105
E.T. 15.644
MPH 86.78

[This message has been edited by pmbrunelle (edited 09-06-2011).]

Just got some new rubber: BF Goodrich g-force sport

205/50ZR17 front

225/45ZR17 rear

The sizes aren't ideal, but it's a good compromise for the money. With this setup I'm still able to keep using my cheap run-of-the-mill 17x7 ET40 wheels, while having some stagger.

Ultimate grip isn't spectacular, but I am very satisfied with the breakaway characteristics of these tires. These tires lose traction gradually, making brake modulation a breeze (note that I have a brake upgrade) compared to the old crappy Kumho Ecsta 711s I had. Can't complain, for the price.

[This message has been edited by pmbrunelle (edited 05-13-2010).]

Looks great there pm! A quick question: Did you have to modify the spare tire well under the hood to fit the 16" Subaru spare? Got a picture you can share?

It doesn't fit in the tub - in my specific case, the tire is too big. The Subaru spares seem to come in different tire sizes, so it's something to watch out for.

However, a lower profile tire could be fitted to keep the overall size down, small enough to avoid the need for modifications to the car.

https://www.fiero.nl/forum/Forum1/HTML/065950.html

In the interest of weight savings, I don't carry the spare with me (unless I'm going on a road trip far away from home), so I haven't bothered to make it fit. I've warned my family that I might call them asking them to bring me my spare on the side of the road...

Thanks.

I'm doing a suspension "refresh" on a budget right now, wishbones getting painted, ball joints replaced, rubber bushings replaced with polyurethane. The typical stuff. I'm using a factory Fiero bar on the back. Front springs are cut stockers.

I noticed rear frame rail rust... Lacking the abilities to repair it, I'll likely have to look for another Fiero chassis to transfer my good parts to in several years... Good thing I'm into mostly bolt-on modifications.

My coilovers were a disaster job of the previous owner:
https://www.fiero.nl/forum/F.../HTML/046456-11.html

This is how I dealt with the coilover situation:

HDPE CNC milled upper spring locator. It's thick enough such that at full droop, the spring remains captive in the locator. The "tapered" sides are to accommodate for changes in the strut's angle without rubbing (due to the ball joint which moves in an arc).


Seen with spring in it, there's maybe 0.5 mm of radial play, so it's a decent fit. The spring is 12" long, and 300 lbf / in. Corrosion is merely cosmetic.


The dampers are KYB, with the perches cut off, and paint to protect the bare metal from corrosion. I trimmed down the factory bumpstops slightly to allow for more travel.


Assembled:


I added a 1/4" thick spacer on top of the strut mounts because of the spring locator bolt heads which protrude.