Hello MERA owners,
I am beginning my MERA restoration and will be installing a set of 16" wheels that look pretty good. I would like to fill in the tire well with larger wheels and make the rims stick out more, as the Mera body is wider than the Fiero. I was thinking on using 1" spacers for the front, and 2" for the rear, and 225-50-16 for the front and 245-50-16 for the rear. I have an 88GT with same size wheels and fit perfect. Now, I do not know about the spacers. Does anyone have some experience with this on a MERA?

Also, I would like to find a set of original MERA badges to replace the Ferrari ones on the car now. I know this is probably very difficult, but it does not hurt to ask... I asked Rodney Dickman, who has been very helpful, but he does not have them.

Thanks everyone.

I have been looking for Mera front and rear deck lid emblems/letters for a couple of years with no result. Good luck to you and let me know if you find some spare ones.

Nelson, check with Alan Horne. When he converted his Mera to a Ferrari 308, he may have salvaged his badging.

Suggest you forget about spacers. Unless you spend a LOT of money for them, they can be very dangerous. What I did on my Ferrari 308 kit was get wheels made with the offset to make them set flush by themselves. If I remember it was 2 inches on front and 4 inches on back. I had no wheel bearing problems in 100,000 of hard driving. Some pics here. They are 16"X8" all around with 235/60 tires. They were taller and threw off speedo, but aftermarket 200mph speedo was correctible for that.

http://groups.msn.com/rogerscarphotos

[This message has been edited by rogergarrison (edited 10-05-2008).]

If you lower it the OEM Mera rims and OEM size Goodyear Gatorback tires look good. When I bought my 88 Mera around 14 years ago I bought a new set of the OEM Mera size Goodyear Gatorbacks that I just put on late last year. I had to do some serious searching to find them. They were already rare by that time. Plus I bought a slightly used set that I still have from another Mera owner that took them off as he put on some Goodrich tires on his 88 Mera. The OEM Size Goodyear Gatorbacks are the best tires for the 88 Mera looks wise. That is why I bought some spares. These Gatorbacks are long gone now.




Rodney Dickman
Mera serial number 8110

rogergarrison:

Thanks for the advise on the spacers. I have used spacers on my 86 Porsche 911 - wide body, with no problem. Every so often I have pulled the wheels off to re-torque the spacers, but they are usually fine. You are right, it is better to stay away from spacers, but the wheels with offset can get too expensive. Thanks again.

quote Originally posted by jackcastro: Rodney, I will start looking for the 4 letters M-E-R-A from other cars 1987 or before.

try RAMblER AMERican. The 1960 era Ramblers had individual letters. I know because a friend had a R-A-M-L-B-E-R station wagon.

Lots of people use them on VW and Porsche. They have a very wide bolt pattern to spread the weight much better. As much as I hate them, they were on my GT40 to fit Ford bolt pattern wheels to my Porsche hubs and transaxle. They were also steel, not a cheap aluminum alloy.

You are right about the spacers. Steel is better. The best option would be the wheels with the right offset.

Individual letters? Try this... http://www.customonlinesign...ter_&_number_emblems

If anyone gets a lead on MERA wheel centers, good luck.

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Julian - MERA #8071

Thanks. I doubt there are any emblems for sale. I will try to get the logo scanned and try to reproduce the emblems for the wheels and front bumper cover.

I have one set of gold colour wheel center "reproduction" emblems (not for sale). Does anyone know how to laminate them with that thick looking clear dome? Right now they are just stickers.

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Julian - MERA #8071

Can you send me a picture and dimensions?

I may have someone who can do it. I used to work for the factory in Daytona beach, Fl., that did the emblems and hub caps for Pontiac, and may be able to get someone. The factory closed years ago, but I know a couple of guys that used to run the process.

Jack.

I'll send you a picture in the days to come....


Thank you.

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Julian - MERA #8071

quote Originally posted by Julian: I have a set of white 88 lace type wheels with the Mera center cap. I also can supply a picture of the Mera rear deck lid letters as well as the front nose badge. If the reproductions work out I would like two more sets. Nelson Individual letters? Try this... http://www.customonlinesign...ter_&_number_emblems If anyone gets a lead on MERA wheel centers, good luck.

Nelson,

Better than a picture, if you do not have the emblems on the car, please scan them at high res. I would need the measurments also.

Thanks,

Jack

I have plenty of the reproduction Mera center cap and nose emblems on hand. The 87's were flat. No thick clear coating. The 88's had the thick clear on these emblems.

The word Mera came from the 87-88ish Grand Am SE

The 2.8 emblems from GM cars of that era.

The GTS from the Lebaron GTS


Rodney Dickman
Mera Registry

Rodney,

I want a set of front and wheel emblems.
Please send a PM

If you want to protect wheel centers logo, just got to an auto paint supply store and get a piece of 3M clear vinyl. They also make it in 1/2" strips for door edges. This is the stuff you see on pickup and vans on the kickout of the rear quarters in front of the back wheels. You cant hurt the stuff and its crystal clear, never yellows.

Jack,

If Rodney has them do you still want me to provide the scan?

Nelson

quote Originally posted by jackcastro: Nelson, Better than a picture, if you do not have the emblems on the car, please scan them at high res. I would need the measurments also. Thanks, Jack

Rodney said:

The 87's were flat. No thick clear coating. The 88's had the thick clear on these emblems.

The word Mera came from the 87-88ish Grand Am SE

The 2.8 emblems from GM cars of that era.

The GTS from the Lebaron GTS


Reply:

Rodney is a wealth of Mera Knowledge.....(Thus the Mera King)
Thanks once again for the info.... BTW did you ever find out what Ford the reverse lights were off of? I ask Bob Bracey a long time ago & he couldn't remember.

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Julian - MERA #8071

Does anyone of you MERA owners have close up pictures of the correct location for the emblem?

If anyone is interested, there is an auction on ebay right now for an original MERA brochure. The link is

http://cgi.ebay.com/1987-Po...ksid=p3286.m20.l1116

I bought a copy, although I do not tink it is big enough to tell the position of the emblems.

Thanks.

That auction has been running on ebay for a few months, that seller has alot of rare/interesting car related materials such as that one. I have a few originals of that color brochure which were given to me when I purchased my 88 Bracey Mera. But I don't believe there are actually any Mera emblems viewable on the car shown in the pictures of that brochure. Also, interesting to note that the Mera pictured in the brochure has the real Carello Ferrari tail lights (as my 87 Mera does), and not the ford backup lights more commonly associated with the Mera. That brochure can also be seen by going to fiero.net, clicking on "showroom", then go to "mera sales brochure". Rodney's Mera article as well as another 2 page black & white sales ad are also viewable there as well. Of the Meras I own, none of them came with any original Mera emblems. I'd imagine that most all of the original Mera owners got rid of them to re-badge with Ferr. emblems, not really thinking much about the history or rarity of the Mera down the line.

Thanks for your reply.

Rodney suggested to keep the car as original as possible, and I would rather remove all the Ferrari stuff and make it a 100% Pure Mera. I think he is right about the car having more value all original, and besides, a Mera is a much more interesting conversation topic than a Ferrari look a like. I do not care if I can not do it for a while, but I will be looking for all the stuff to change it at a later time.

quote Originally posted by Julian: BTW did you ever find out what Ford the reverse lights were off of? I ask Bob Bracey a long time ago & he couldn't remember.

Off late 80's Ford Escort station wagons.

Rodney Dickman
Mera Registry

Jack,

The nose emblem fits in a slight depression of the front deck lid. WRT to the request for a picture of the Mera power mirror control, I will take one later tonight and e-mail it to you. It is a joystick type controller and does not look anything like the standard Fiero power mirror mirror controller.

Nelson

quote Originally posted by jackcastro: I wast told the power mirror switch on the Meras was differente than the one on the Fieros. Is this true and if so, can someone post a picture? The only noticeable differences on my Mera are the door panel addition on top of them. Is there anything else I do not know? Also my car will need dew wipes (inner and outer door seals). Are these the same from the Fieros? The door seems higher and I wonder if the originals would fit. Last, I am missing one of th front side markers from the right fender. Were those original Fiero's, the ones that go on the side moding? Thanks everyone for this vauable help.

Any idea of which car this mirror switch came from? I doubt they did anything just for this car, due to the low volume production.

Thanks.

quote Originally posted by jackcastro: Any idea of which car this mirror switch came from? I doubt they did anything just for this car, due to the low volume production. Thanks.

It is the original switch supplied by Vitalonie for their power mirrors that were used on the Mera's.

Rodney

Could you send me a picture?

Thanks

Does your car have a joystick-type controller between the power window switches? I am away for a few days, it sounds like Nelson will beat me to it, otherwise I would have been glad to send you a picture of what it should look like on Sunday when I get back.

Also, I'm sure its been pointed out or I'm sure you are already aware, but if you are going for the original Mera appearance, the entire hood should be smooth, as opposed to what was done on yours between the headlights. Probably the prior owner who did that was unaware or uninterested in the fact that it is not consistant with a Mera. I noticed that alteration on this car when I saw it listed for sale, that was actually one of the things that kept me from bidding too high on it...as when I see a 308 replica for sale, if I see that on the hood, my mind normally says right away "that's not a Mera". I dont know if there's much you can do about getting the hood back to its original state, but as long as the other indicators substantiate your car, you'll still be able to show that it is in fact a real Mera, despite that alteration.

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MERA-Black '88 (Was Bob Bracey's w/Northstar)
MERA-Red '88 (T-Top w/3800 Supercharged/5 Spd)
MERA-Red '87 (Stock Interior/Motor)
ARTERO-Silver (On 87 GT w/PISA Wraparound Dash)
NSX-T Red '97 S/N #0030

The mechanic that used to work on the carhas the mirror switch!! The hood had a scoop installed, which I may remove when I paint the car. I wish I had the scoop on my V8 GT instead, but thats the way it is.

If you cut it off with a cutting wheel, you should be able to save and reuse it.

Patching fiberglass, no matter how good a job you do, always shows cracks later. I am not afraid of saving it and aninstalling it on the other car, but patching the Mera.

what ever happend to this car. finish the story. BUMP

Julian,

I have a source to add the "dome" to emblems but there is a set up fee of a $150 plus dollars and they need a whole sheet to work with instead of individual emblems. If I go this route, I will let you know.

Nelson

quote Originally posted by Julian: I have one set of gold colour wheel center "reproduction" emblems (not for sale). Does anyone know how to laminate them with that thick looking clear dome? Right now they are just stickers.