I've got my flashlight, portable jack, tire iron, my truck with two batteries and jumper cables, etc. I'm hoping I can get to all the main rust points through some creative means...

What I really need is a flouroscope!

So, in all seriousness, anything specific I should bring? The old magnet isn't of much use on a Fiero!

Also, anything in particular I should watch for on a beretta brake conversion job (thus the tire iron)...

Cheers!
Brad

Just look for frame rust, interior trim damage and use some common sense.

Just pull down the conners of the trunk and look at the frame rails over the rear axles. if it is rusted there walk away unless it is cheap and you can weld.

The interior trim is harder to find and expensive unless you make your own.

It is better right now to spend a little more and buy a car not needing a lot of work vs a fixer upper if you want a show quality car. In the long run it will be cheaper as to get a fixer upper to where you want it can cost you 2- 3 times what it is worth or more depending on how much of the work you can do yourself.

There are a lot of low mileage cars out there at a good price to take your time.

I know what you mean about cheap vs. spending a few extra bucks! Thanks for the tips. I'm hoping I can reach up inside the rear wheel wells to check things out.

This first one is a true beater BUT there is no thought of this being a show car. Rather one will become my commuting vehicle. It's got cosmetic issues but that's ok. I did find out it only had 8500 miles on it in 1993.

I think I may start flipping cars... taking ones which look decent, aren't running or are running poorly and can be had super cheap. Drive it for a little while, put a few hundred dollars into it and resell it. The goal wouldn't always be about making money... rather, it would provide some simple fun on the side.

So it hasent ran since 1993?

if so... may wanna pass on that. unless your thinking rebuild.

[This message has been edited by Jonesy (edited 05-15-2010).]

Nope, it must have been a show queen from 1986 until 1993 as there were only ~ 8500 miles put on in this timeframe. Since then it has been put through its paces for another 120K.

Spark plug wrench & compression tester
OBD1 scanner

Make sure it will change gears with the engine running -relese the clutch- before the pedal get too close to the floor. You want a lil travel left in it, else at best it may need bleeding but more likely need a new clutch. If its the later, drop the price a lot.

Also; look at the wear on the rubber brake and clutch pedals, lots of short hall drivng -bad for engine, lots of wear- will cause a lot of wear. If the pedals only have a lil wear and the owner claims it is mostly they are mostly highway miles he may not be lying. Good luck.

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Good point with the pedals... I never really thought about it but that's a pretty obvious tell-tale sign of use.

I remember the first time I drove a stick... it was a friends car years ago in college. My first question was "Is your clutch going out?" They said "No, it's just fine". I said "You may want to check it... It all feels like mush whether I depress the pedal or not to shift". They were getting a new clutch a week later and now I know what a bad clutch feels like!

I'm off at 7am to go see it! Woohooo!

Make sure to look under the car as well.
Fiero's tend to get abused a lot.
You should look out for dings/dents in the cradle and front crossmember,
crushed coolant tubes and other damage that shows how the car was driven
by the previous owner. This is an indicator of how well (or not well) the car was maintained/treated.

Kit

If you like the car, money might be a good idea

Hahaha! Yep, had money but this guy didn't get it.

I almost feel sorry for this guy... almost. He must have put over $700 into the car fixing various items and I went out there and shredded the car apart. Granted, he got the car for peanuts BUT didn't check the obvious items.

Here's a short list:
- Holes in both corners of the trunk
- Body was in poor shape (ok maybe marginally decent). There were too many broken pieces, chips, etc.
- Passenger side rocker was OK.
- Passenger side rear wheel well was marginal.
- Driver side rocker appeared marginal.

But, here was the deal breaker. I reached past the rocker on the driver side to check the floors and pushed up. THERE WAS NOTHING THERE! The carpet moved and then my finger came through a hole next to the door. Alright, we went from maybe repairable to probably should be a parts car and could be driven for awhile to it is at best a parts car. In reality, only the engine, tranny and maybe the gauge cluster are good.

On to check out car #2 (almost perfect body minus a dented in front quarter on one side, immaculate interior, under 100K BUT it's been parked for 10+ years). How much does a new gas tank cost ?

I'm out a few bucks for taking a tow dolly along BUT the experience of checking out a bad fiero was worth every penny.

Cheers!
Brad

Hmm, it sat for ten years..... aside from internal rust you'll likely other issues, here's but a few:

Dried out rubber items: Valve guide seals - could smoke when you back off throttle, Injector O rings, may cause vacuum leaks.
Parts for above cheep thought the valve guides will a PIA to do.

Injectors and fuel tank gauge gummed up.
You can boil the injectors in some GM top end cleaner and they will look like new.

Rust in break and clutch lines.

If the car looks really good and you mind some work go for it.

BTW: with cars this old it's a good idea to clean or bettter yet replace all the major connectors - distributor, coil, MAP senore, TPS senore etc- before you start throwing parts at it like ignition related items etc. Old connecotrs corrode and make crapy connections that can look like other issues. I

Thanks for the tips! Luckily my background is in electrical engineering... having been in the field for 15 years I'm long past using the shotgun problem solving approach

I have a little experience with engines that have sat a long time. This one will definitely be a bigger challenge to check out... I do know, though, they had it running by bypassing the fuel system. A good close look at the engine will be required (although at this price I could take car #1 AND car #2 and make car #3!!!).


On a side note, I saw what appeared to be a MINT CONDITION notchback in Plymouth, MN around Zachary Lane and 54th (maybe?)... if you are the owner, it was just north of the railroad tracks. Does this belong to anyone on the forum? It looked sooooo nice I didn't place it as a fiero until it turned the corner (too far in front and my eyes aren't as good as they used to be). Hats off for keeping the car in pristine condition!

Cheers!
Brad

Mmmmmm... may have found a good one Is 3 the lucky number?

#3 is a 85 SE with the 2.8L and 4-speed with less than 90K miles. Supposedly the car is from the south (thus no MN salt or winters!). Interior looks good, exterior is ok, good tires and supposedly little to no rust... it looks like a southern car with the paint baked off. It's running a little rough at idle. The plugs, wires, dizzy, etc have not been touched and the fuel is a year or two old... sounds like a drain, some new fuel, plugs, filters, oil change, etc along with a few typical maintenance items (one of the calipers is sticking and needs new guide pins) to start.

I do have a few questions...

1) Are aftermarket rims a good thing or bad thing as far as value is concerned? The owner believes they are 15" rims and they look quite nice.
2) How much does a new to me gas tank cost? Am I better off cleaning and recoating the tank myself? (Just thinking ahead here...)
3) Is the door skin hard to replace? Someone chipped the bottom corner of the door off (maybe 2" square). I can always pull out the fiberglass and patch it.
4) Does 1K sound like a fair price?

I plan to see it Wed or Thurs. Fingers crossed!

Any suggestions for a unique paint pattern or scheme? If the paint is shot on what I buy I plan to do something cool... I just have to figure out what that is going to be!