Ladies and Gentleman let me get this started by first saying that the info found on this site is fantastic. Now on to the reason for the post. I want to do a mini overhauling on my daughter this summer while she is on a mission trip with the youth from our church. She is a major fan of the show Overhauling and is willing to take my somewhat beat down 85 as her first car so I want it to look good for her. What I am asking for is and tech help and ideas that could be done in a week with only two or three people working on the vehicle at a time (all three having to hold full time jobs at the same time). things that i know will be done are new trunk corners and upper rails ( those that run over the wheels in the rear). We are also working within a small budget so Please remember that as you make your suggestions Thanks and Prayers Ray and ( Rachel the soon to be fiero owner)

That sure make you a good person in my books for doing something that takes more work and effort out of your day.
+ For you.

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1985 2M4
-A/F and Voltmeter gauges in A-Pillar gauge pod
-Jenzen Bass tube............................................-Mini scorpion wing
-MTX 250W RMS amplifier..................................-2003 Subaru WRX 16" rims
-Viper Security system

She deserves it she is always put last behind her older brother by (well at times by me ) and i feel that it is the least i could do for her. Ray

That depends, in what conditions is the car in? How good is the interior, wheels, engine etc.

the car is decent shape i use it as a daily driver interior needs a good cleaning exterior needs painted previous owner spray bombed it. has ruted trunk corners and at least the passenger sid rail needs replaced. the wheels are stock but good ( we will be getting them sandblasted and painted and clear coated ) engine purrs needs valve cover gasket (leaks) Ray

Isn't an upper frame rail replacement sometimes a week long job by itself? I don't mean to ruin your parade, but I know that job can get pretty intense depending on how far rusted it is.

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Christian Thomas
87 Pontiac Fiero GT Burgandy/Silver 5.7L ZZ4 5spd
301rwhp/345rwtq

Next Mod: 88 suspension
06 Cobalt SS/SC w/ LSD

Hi, got any pics ? I own a Detail Shop south of Dayton, maybe be able to help you folks out.

Interior:
Maybe some Mr. Mikes seat covers, nothing like leather.
Also you could paint the front speaker covers with fabric paint, ( chances are they are faded from the sun and some black paint on them really freshens up the dash.)
Misc pieces could be painted throughout the cars interior.
Does it need a new headliner?
Custom steering wheel and shift knob.
Stean clean the seats and carpets inside and in the trunk.
Pedal covers and 2 dead pedals.

Exterior:
Paint? but you only ave a week so maybe not.
new tires, maybe rims?

Just a few ideas to get you started, good luck.

She know that the car will be hers but not that we will be doing this to it. my son and I will be designing new interior parts and other things under the pretense of them going on his 84 se then HOPEFULLY all we will have to do is a whole lot of removing and replacing. She can be quite blond at times so we are even going to get her to help with the mods for her "brothers" car. we will tell her that this will be a good learning experience if she wants to do anything for hers when she get it. I figure that we have 3.5 months to work before the week she will be gone I hope we can get it all of the parts needed ordered and in by then. Thanks for all of the suggestions we will consider all of them. Ray

i'd say the biggest things to do(as in the biggest changes) would be new wheels/tires and a nice paint job.
you can definately get into interior pieces as well if you have the time.
and adding a simple stereo can always be nice as well.

i'd say wheels/tires is a must unless already done. they will be the fastest mod you can do, and relatively inexpensive.
paint will make the biggest visual change, but also can cost a lot of money and take most of the week to get done.
a simple stereo can be had for 500bux and installed in a few hours, you might as well install a CD player and some nice speakers

one of the first things that is getting done is a complete cleaning every part will be removed from the interior that can and still remain as a daily driver. this is one of the items that she will help as we want to just give it a good cleaning prior to doing any work on it. I have already made templates of the gauge cluster face plate and the center plate and the middle console plate (where the shifter is) these will be cut out of 3/16 aluminum with a burshed and clearcoat finish. the center console wher the heater and radio is will be turned toward the driver and tilted so that the base will be close to the shifter when it is park. the shifter will be shortened 1.5 inches. the computer will be relocated to behind or under the pass seat and a sub box will be put where that was. The radio will be mounted in a seperate box where the interior lights are and they will be relocated to either the rear above the sub box or under the radio enclosure.

I'm kind of thinking the same thing about those rails. If you could get a couple of guys on holidays you stand a chance.

Just how bad are the rails? Can they be coated with white grease and capped with new metal pop-rivitted on, or are they really cheezy and need to be cut out for structural integrity?

If you can remove the outer panels, and paint them off the car while the interior and structure work is being done, you can likely get it done, but unless your volunteers are supermen, going to work all day and trying to do it in the evenings is a bit of a tall order in a week.

All the best to you though, you're being a good Dad. Too bad I'm too far away to help. Maybe you've got some retired guys nearby who can pitch in.

Arn

I think the best thing you can do is personalize the car with her name. Custom plates will make a hugh difference along with the other stuff. Get her brother to figure out her favorite songs, and make a cd that will be in the cd player when you give it to her. Nothing like a good stereo with your favorite song playing. If the car dosent have a spoiler, add one, cause chicks dig spoilers when they are in good taste. Flushmount headlights would be good too, because you dont want her to be worried if her headlights are gonna work. If its a V6 rebuild the distributor with a new pick up coil, and a new ignition module. Doug chase did a good thread on this its currently in tech here https://www.fiero.nl/forum/Forum2/HTML/070763.html then put on a new coil, and wires and plugs. Change the fuel filter and pump. That will go a long way in keeping the car trouble free for years to come.

Are there any car shows happening around the time she's gone? Do you have other friends into cars besides Fieros? Can you host a big BBQ? How good is your time management and scheduling skills? Does she read Pennocks?

Findlay isn't too far away from us Toledo-folk and I know theres "a few good men" up here. Go up a little further into Michigan and there's an even bigger group! I'll send an email to the TFOG (Toledo Fiero Owners Group) mailing list and let everyone know of this post.

Thanks,
Matt Moenter
Webmaster TFOG & MFC

that is fantastic we are planning this for around the second week in july and would include a weekend and i will even provide the burgers and pepsi if a group do show up. Does anyone know how to get in touch with rubyred as he makes the upper rails that need replaced.

He is Rubyredfiero on the forum list

He can also give you a pretty accurate time estimate for doing the rails.

Arn

pm sent

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Mike
87 GT Factory Wingless

GT Wheel Refinishing Service comming soon.

Hey, I can make her CD, thats a good idea!

Im working on that dash still, workign on the details, the only Design program i have i had never used before so it took a little while to get used to, but here is what ive got so far.....

ill call later

bump for those that cant sleep (ya that means me too)

Maybe if you use the Meguiar's 3 step (Paint cleaner/Polish/Carnuba Wax) wisely, you can get the paint looking like new in one day, maybe some very good detailing, and some nice set of new shoes (rims + tires), seats and a steering wheel...

we ar planning on one weekend and 6week days (of course I have to work night shift) so i will be very grumpy but my son will be heading up the effort when i am not there. my son is also known as UCFieroCharger on the forum.

Would that be July 9-15?

i think actually the 11 is the first day of her trip and then it runs til the 17th or 18th

Arn and Ray, thanks for the comments and confidence in my rails. In the meantime I have sent info about the rails to Ray. I'm not the only source for these rails, but glad to help. Here's a link to my thread for others that are interested in doing their own work.
https://www.fiero.nl/forum/Forum2/HTML/068409.html
I will be adding a drawing for the rail to my thread. Good luck.
Oops, don't know how to attach a pdf file to a thread. Help.

But I had a friend convert it to a gif file and is included in my thread link above.

[This message has been edited by rubyredfiero (edited 04-05-2006).]

Bump to keep it on top

I found an inexpensive stereo that would be good for the fiero. (I went to best buy today )

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=7044067&t ype=product&productCategoryId=pcmcat52600050007&id=1099397002981

when it is on the face leans up so it would be easy for the driver to see. I think it would be a great fit for a fiero.
I expected $200-$300 for it, but i was pleasantly suprised when i saw the price was $169.99

Maybe ill get one for me...

[This message has been edited by UCFieroCharger (edited 04-05-2006).]

mp3/xm capable, your a good brother. Dont forget to stuff some 6x9" in the dash.

does anyone make short rca cables so you can send the signal to the amp without 15' cables like you would use in a typical instal?

I have a RIDICULUS ammount of cables so if an amp finds its way into the car that wont be a problem.

you get that for yourself and we will take the one at home

sorry couldnt get pip to work

[This message has been edited by rlinn84 (edited 04-07-2006).]

bump to keep it where i can find it

dont get that head unit... get a pioneer, they are one of the best and are fairly cheap, you can spend the same and get better quality. try www.crutchfield.com look at the pioneer's...

[This message has been edited by AJ7 (edited 04-08-2006).]

I was concidering jvc or pioneer not quite sure yet ill have to see how the budget looks

quote Originally posted by rlinn84: I was concidering jvc or pioneer not quite sure yet ill have to see how the budget looks

i have a JVC right now, and i recommend getting a pioneer..... you can get a good one for $150 from the site i posted above..

JVC isnt very good in my experience...

We have a Jensen one sitting that we are debating on putting in there, it will depend on if i can get my Ipod idea done soon....