First off, is $200 too much for an 88' cradle + susp. components? Theres a guy who's selling an 88' cradle, and i wanna be sure its really an 88' and he's not trying to pass an 85-87 off as one. Pictures would really help

quote Originally posted by kawana: First off, is $200 too much for an 88' cradle + susp. components? Theres a guy who's selling an 88' cradle, and i wanna be sure its really an 88' and he's not trying to pass an 85-87 off as one. Pictures would really help

88s mounting point are soild mounted unlike the Pre-88s that have rubber mounts.

If it has the suspension, there are no A arms.
This is a pre 88 cradle.

This is an 88.

Kinda blurry, but notice the bottom of the wheel? There are two bars that come straight out from the cradle to the knuckle instead of the A shape.
Hope this helps.
As mentioned above, the pre 88's have rubber (stock) bushings on all four attaching points. The 88's are solid metal the metal.

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86 SE 4 Speed 3.4 "The Short Bus"



88 Coupe 4.9 "Hibernating"
For Sale. Make offer.

88 engine Cradle

200 isn't a bad price if it comes with all the suspension links & uprights. If it comes with the stock sway bar, it is a very good deal.

Cradle mounts: Bushings on 84-87 and no bushings on 88
Suspension: Lower A-arm on 84-87 and Tri-link on 88 and optional swaybar
Suspension pickups: Inside cradle on 84-87, on top of cradle on 88
Side rails of cradle: angled on 84-87, parrallel on 88's
Engine mount pad: much smaller 84-87, much larger and heavier on 88.

84-87:


88:


Cradle Dimensions
84-87:


88:

[This message has been edited by fieroguru (edited 05-28-2009).]

I know it's very stable, but why does the '88 setup look more flimsy than the 'pre '88?
The part that replaces the A-arm doesn't look near as beefy. Is that to be lighter?

ok thanks guys, i asked if it was from a formula or not, cuz of the sway bar. This is the ad pic, does it look like an 88? Seems to be, from what i can tell..

quote 1988 Fiero engine cradle. It is in EXCELLENT condition from a west coast car. No damage or problems. Nice to have a spare to build up your engine swap or upgrade your 84-87. $125 Firm. Also available with the rear spindles and rear suspension cradle trailing links with new red poly bushings for an extra $100

[This message has been edited by kawana (edited 05-28-2009).]

Sure looks like an 88 cradle to me.
I don't see a sway bar, though.
FWIW. the sway bar came on the Formula and the GT. Both were 6 cylinder.
The only 88 that didn't have a sway bar was the base 4 cylinder coupe.
It also looks like it came from a manual tranny car (at least if it was a 4 cylinder.) The 4 cylinder automatic had an extra mounting bracket welded to the left side, for the goofy uni-mount. Fortunately, the more stable front and rear tranny mounts are a direct bolt-in in all cases.

quote Originally posted by Austrian Import: I know it's very stable, but why does the '88 setup look more flimsy than the 'pre '88? The part that replaces the A-arm doesn't look near as beefy. Is that to be lighter?

The A-Arm pulls double duty controlling both fore/aft and lateral forces and is of a triangulated design with stamped steel.
The 88 setup isolates the fore/aft and lateral with individual links for each one.

The nice part about isolating the fore/aft and lateral forces is you can run stiff bushings (or rod ends) for the lateral links for less deflection and improved cornering response while keeping the trailing link bushings stock to maintain a near stock ride (except in the corners).