looks like its time I can start posting progress.

first thing I did on the car was take care of rust. I wire wheeled the floor, rocker panels, and rear quarter panels. then did my usual zinc primer/painting of them









so after the rust repair I was just collecting missing parts/ ordering upgrades

then I put the front end up and unbolted ALL the suspension/brakes. I mean everything -- crossmember and all:



I then proceeded to do a ton of work. I sandblasted and powder coated everything

control arms are getting new poly bushings and ball joints. steering rack fully built with a dual damper setup. cut 1 coil off the front springs since their not progressive (free lowering!)

also going to use Rodney Dickmans Zero lash sway bar end links

















coolant pipes were sandblasted and painted with zinc primer. I would have powder coated them if my oven was big enough.. oh well



control arms with the poly bushings and ball joints in. I also replaced the ball joint bolts on the upper control arms with allen head bolts. the stock ones were just regular bolts and the bolt head is right up against the control arm. there was basically no room to get a wrench/socket in there to hold them. so this should make them alot easier to remove in the future



steering rack mockup on the crossmember





incoming!



I *should* have the front end back together this weekend. I told myself that a few weeks ago, but I want everything done. dont want to jack the car up a million times like I've had to on other cars in the past

I will be the first to say that i will be watching this very closely. my 87 GT is in about the same torn apart condition as yours. im looking forward to seeing how yours differs from mine!!
Josh

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1987 Black GT with BIG plans

And I'll be the second to say that I will be watching closely.

I'm looking at buying my second '86 GT real soon and it will probably get rebuilt while I'm driving the current one. Then they will swap places.

------------------
Jim Martin
White '86 GT
California

And I'll be the third to say that this car has caused much soreness in my muscles.. erm I mean it has come a long way =P.

Scott has some more pictures he should be posting soon =).

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1990 Sunbird SE /// 1995 Beretta Base

Same here too.....

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http://www.blackwidowfiero.com

got the spare tire cover thanks to snowblindburd. I like it alot!

Let me know how you like the dual steering dampers, my car tends to follow the road really bad even if its in good alignment.

quote Originally posted by ckrummy: Let me know how you like the dual steering dampers, my car tends to follow the road really bad even if its in good alignment.

ya I'm not sure how its all going to work out. I figured if I get any bump steer, the dual dampers wont encourage oversteer corrections

I havent even drove the car yet so I will most likely try the duals first then single just to see the difference

had a good day today

finished rebuilding the distributor. I used arctic silver 5 thermal compound on the ignition module where it touches the distributor housing. also added 3 copper heat sinks.





the bushings on the dogbone mount were torn on both sides, so I replaced it with a solid adjustable dogbone



then I removed all the rear passenger side stuff:



everything apart. time for tons more work lol

This aught to be good!

Wow...detail detail detail!!!!

I spy a familiar looking rear bumper cover.....

Looking real good!!

Love the detail.

Steve

quote Originally posted by 86soon3.4: I spy a familiar looking rear bumper cover..... Looking real good!! Love the detail. Steve

hehehe yes. thanks again for the great deal on those parts

brackets for the brake upgrade finally showed up I will get pics of those soon

I squirted some seafoam in through the spark plug holes, engine turns over by hand now

oil pan has been powder coated and installed on the car w/ new gasket



took apart the alternator and rebuilt it. replaced the voltage regulator & brushes

had another good day today. made some coilovers, -- ok, you guys are prolly pretty interested in that. so I will go ahead and get to that then show the rest...lol

heres the parts needed to make them:



from left to right we have: QA1 12" spring w/300# spring rate, adjustable spring seat and threaded sleeve, KYB strut, strut mount

in order to make coilovers you basically cut the spring perch off the strut, slap the threaded sleeve on, toss the spring on that, and attach/bolt up the strut mount.

sound easy? well.. you have to be Extremely careful when cutting the spring perch off. I spent little over an hour doing careful cutting/grinding. I used a bunch of painters tape wrapped around the strut body incase I slipped or something

heres cutting the spring perch in action:



and the (well almost) finished product. I just need to get something to center the spring on the strut mount, and toss some silicone sealant between the sleeve and the strut body



so there you have it, custom coilovers. I can now set the ride height where ever I want it

now for the other stuff.. powder coated the transmission oil pan, installed new transmission filter & gasket



heres under the car looking better now



these pieces direct airflow at the ignition and alternator. powder coated them silver

[This message has been edited by scott0999 (edited 02-17-2011).]

quote Originally posted by scott0999: ya I'm not sure how its all going to work out. I figured if I get any bump steer, the dual dampers wont encourage oversteer corrections I havent even drove the car yet so I will most likely try the duals first then single just to see the difference

after installing the Bump-steer kit ( purchased through the fiero store) and a Auto cross alignment, I tried the car with and with out the steering dampener. I decided on no dampener, The steering is very precise this way and steering is a lot better without. The dampener was brand new and came with my suspension as I wanted it replaced it sits in the box now, on a shelf.

Nope, cant get a mint trunk seal for $30 shipped, impossible!

where did u get the threaded sleeve for the coilover. and i wish i had as much ambition as u do. looks awsome.

quote Originally posted by farming for fieros: where did u get the threaded sleeve for the coilover. and i wish i had as much ambition as u do. looks awsome.

thanks,

http://shop.a1racing.com/se...g=false&category=253

took alternator in to have it tested. needs new diode trio and bearing (only parts I didnt replace).. wish I had found this kit earlier, includes everything all together. oh well



it sounded like the radiator fan was hitting the housing. upon close inspection it didnt quite look like it was rubbing.. so took the fan motor out.. hooked it up directly to the battery and it started smoking. not sure if it was backwards, but I thought most fans could be hooked up backwards would just spin the other way. anyway looks like it needs a new fan motor now, and prolly needed it anyway. if it fixes the noise then good

then took exhaust manifold off because it was cracked. re-welded most of it, then torwards the end it burned through and caused an even bigger crack. at that point it would have needed alot more welding/patching.. so looks like I will be getting a "new" manifold instead..

both coilovers are made. got some clear silicone sealant and used that between the threaded sleeve and strut body, worked really good. also took the stock spring pads from the front (I had bought a new set for the front, so had spares), and cut them to fit the rear coilover springs. it also helps to keep the springs centered on the strut mount

got the brakes mocked up for the front & rear passenger side. it was "fun" separating the front hub from the rotor. used a 4.5" cutting wheel which wasnt quite big enough to go in straight, had to cut at a slight angle. so ended up taking the plasma cutter and cut the outer portion of the rotor off (FUN.. lol). then with that part off was able to cut straight into the hub

went to the yard yesterday got a new/used exhaust manifold with no cracks. there was a new guy there and charged more than its worth, but I wasnt about to argue. I've saved a ton on past purchases so it wasnt a huge deal

then I finished working on the alternator. took it in and it passed now. its quiet, putting out almost 15V, and passes load test

replaced the radiator fan motor. its nice and quiet now

found a 72" straight piece of brake line, worked great for the passenger -> driver side rear brake line

thats all I got done yesterday. plan on replacing the water pump today (and watching the super bowl of course)

I will try and get some pics of random stuff too

got the fiero store alternator bracket today. the stock alternator bracket is prone to cracking in the slotted adjustment area (upper right in this pic). this bracket is made thicker. it seems to be a completely custom piece they did a nice job on it

one of the bolts broke on the stock alt bracket anyway, and I didnt feel like trying to fix it lol

got the exhaust manifold, water pump, alternator back on. then got the rear passenger side back together

I could type alot more but I'm tired heres pics

today I removed all the rear driver side stuff and took it all apart. modified the knuckle for the brakes then powder coated it

this side shouldnt take as long. the coilovers are ready to go.. so I just need to do the control arm. the axle boot was torn so I need to replace that. also need to install the tranny cooler. oh and lets not forget the rear sway bar

maybe those extra things will even out the time after all.. we'll see lol

Nice build, Can't wait to see more.

I agree nice build... Your getting personal with your baby..

Vince

Outstanding job man!

What was the cost on that complete alternator kit?

quote Originally posted by Pappy: Outstanding job man! What was the cost on that complete alternator kit?

thanks,

http://www.amazon.com/Victo...id=1298050344&sr=8-1

Curious... what brake upgrade is that? Noticed the ebrake stuff is there.

quote Originally posted by Finally_Mine_86_GT: Curious... what brake upgrade is that? Noticed the ebrake stuff is there.

With the brackets i see on the passenger side it looks like the 11.25" lebaron upgrade. I did the grand am upgrade, works well enough. I bet the Lebaron is even better.

quote Originally posted by Finally_Mine_86_GT: Curious... what brake upgrade is that? Noticed the ebrake stuff is there.

the 11.25" upgrade, cadillac calipers/lebaron rotors.

I have braided lines to go on as well. might even do the booster upgrade if I feel the need

last weekend tried replacing the cv boot on the driver side axle.. for some reason the boot doesnt want to go on easy, keep sliding off. I got it to go on once and the part where the clamp goes in doesnt line up with the bushing on the axle... seems like the boot needs to go on even further. after messing with it for over an hour I got pissed off, and decided to order a whole new axle. didnt want to, but something is screwy with this boot and I'm sick of messing with it. taking way too long for something that should be easy .. anyway,

then powder coated the control arm on the rear driver side, installed new poly bushings and ball joint.

started to mockup the rear sway bar. drilled the holes in the lower control arms, and started to line it up to the engine cradle. by that time I was getting pretty tired and called it a day. next day (sunday) there was a big blizzard and I didnt feel like working on it. spent the day relaxing and gathering misc parts I needed

this weekend I got the transmission cooler mostly done and its pretty sweet. I used a HAYDEN cooler and mounted 2 120mm fans on it (in a push/pull configuration). the cooler is mounted right under the decklid vent on the driver side. so the heat can get out easy





picked up a full catback exhaust (catback on fiero actually includes the cat, unlike some cars lol). its used but its in pretty good shape. alot better than the one I had before



and yes I plan on polishing the tips

got the spanner wrench for adjusting the coilovers:



once the rear driver side suspension/brakes is on, I can install the exhaust, sway bar, gas tank, then start putting the engine back together. then I might even try starting the car lol!

where in wi are you?

Hey Scott, where did you say you got the front hubs from again? I forgot what you told me.

I think it was Westcoast Fiero, but not sure.

Steve

quote Originally posted by Foxy Fiero13: where in wi are you?

Neenah

quote Originally posted by 86soon3.4: Hey Scott, where did you say you got the front hubs from again? I forgot what you told me. I think it was Westcoast Fiero, but not sure. Steve

the front hubs? their just the stock hubs. I cut the rotor off the hub for the brake swap. I get the feeling we were talking about something else though?

this weekends progress:

brand new driver side driveshaft



putting the driver side back together



I actually finished the driver side.. guess I forgot to take that pic. anyway it looks just like the other side

removed the fuel pulsator between the fuel pump and the fuel feed line. their known to leak under high fuel pressure and prone to failure.

before:



the fuel line I used to replace it:



SAE 30R10 fuel hose in place of pulsator. clamped down with fuel injection clamps



removed all the fuel lines from the car for rust treatment. taped off the ends, sandblasted, and zinc primered

[This message has been edited by scott0999 (edited 03-07-2011).]

cleaned all 12 lifters. was a major pita, 1/2 of them were stuck. stuck so bad I couldnt disassemble them. had to put them in the ultrasonic cleaner for awhile then they came apart. anyway their all ok now

then installed the pushrods and adjusted the valve lash. installed the lower intake too. heres a sneak peak of the upper intake (not done yet though)

[This message has been edited by scott0999 (edited 03-21-2011).]

I have to say i will have my eyes all over this thread! very very nice! i hope you buy the polished muffler bearings....