I just became the proud owner of an '87 Fiero (my first one) with a tired Iron Duke and 5-speed transmission. I'm a couple of weeks away from beginning the project, but my plan is to transplant the Quad 4 and 5-speed from my rusty '92 Beretta GTZ into the car. While visiting my favorite salvage yard, I came across a Citation that's mostly intact. I know that the Fiero used the engine cradle from the Citation, but just how similar are they? Since I will need to modify the Fiero's cradle for the Quad, I figure it would be handy to have a spare cradle on hand. Plus, this one has a sway bar. What do you think?

The cradle should be different... so much that it wouldn't be worth trying to use. The X-car platform design was used, but because of the differences in mounting requirements, the Fiero cradles are unique.

[This message has been edited by jaskispyder (edited 01-25-2011).]

Wow, that was fast! If not the whole cradle, would the sway bar itself be worth grabbing?

A lot of people have used Fiero front sway bars on the rear, never heard of a Citation sway bar being used?

quote Originally posted by Quad Raider: Wow, that was fast! If not the whole cradle, would the sway bar itself be worth grabbing?

That may fit, I remember something about this a long, long time ago. It would be worth grabbing, since you are there.

If you can find an easy way to get the GM part numbers you may find your answer.

------------------
1986 Red s/e 2m6 5-sp, & 2006 Red Solstice 5-sp

I will be visiting the salvage yard again later this week. I'll try to take some photos then.

How do I post photos here?

At the bottom of the page, there's an icon for Pennock's Image Poster. Click on that and follow the directions.

Welcome aboard, BTW.

Thanks. I took some pics of the Citation engine cradle in the salvage. Looks like I'll have to consult with IT in order to get it set up.

Have a look at this thread for some very helpful image posting info... Please Help Fight the Red X

OK. I took photos of the Citation cradle in the junkyard, but then TWO separate blizzards hit Oklahoma dumping more than three feet of snow here. Between having to cover the blizzards at work, and not having much time to talk to IT, it took me a while to figure out how to post photos, but here goes:





As far as I know, the Citation is still sitting in the salvage yard waiting for my attention. There's also a 6000 STE which I understand has parts that could help me change the Fiero's rear hubs, right? (maybe I should make that another thread)

Anyway, how does this sway bar compare to the '87 Fiero cradle? Will it bolt right in? I'd check my Fiero, but it's buried under THREE FEET OF SNOW right now. ; )

quote Originally posted by Quad Raider: I just became the proud owner of an '87 Fiero (my first one) with a tired Iron Duke and 5-speed transmission. I'm a couple of weeks away from beginning the project, but my plan is to transplant the Quad 4 and 5-speed from my rusty '92 Beretta GTZ into the car. While visiting my favorite salvage yard, I came across a Citation that's mostly intact. I know that the Fiero used the engine cradle from the Citation, but just how similar are they? Since I will need to modify the Fiero's cradle for the Quad, I figure it would be handy to have a spare cradle on hand. Plus, this one has a sway bar. What do you think?

My Hillbilly math says you are about an hour from Joplin Mo. Is that pretty accurate?

Brad

More like 90 minutes or two hours. Six days if there's THREE feet of snow on the ground. Did I mention we've had a lot of snow?

No, the mounting points are different, for one thing. The fiero uses the front of the cradle as a pivot point to lower it, but the citation doesn't have this. It will not bolt in. You may be able to modify it, but then you have to account for the exhaust of the Fiero and add toe-link mounting points. Overall, it will take more time to modify, than it would to just find an 87 Fiero cradle.

OK. I figured it was not a direct bolt in. Thank you for the confirmation.

The cross member is too high also, it looks like it raises up as if there was a RWD tranny going in. The fiero is low and curves down a little in back. They used the basic layout of the citation subframe, but modified it to fit the Fiero chassis. This still was a cost savings as they didn't have to develop from scratch.

[This message has been edited by jaskispyder (edited 02-11-2011).]

Just to be clear, are we talking about the whole cradle, just the sway bar, or both? I can see how the cradle is different, but does that mean the sway bar won't bolt in, either?

And on a sort of related topic, did Oklahoma get the snow that was meant for you folks up there?

quote Originally posted by jaskispyder: No, the mounting points are different, for one thing. The fiero uses the front of the cradle as a pivot point to lower it, but the citation doesn't have this..

Thats what I was thinking too. If im remembering, Fiero has 2 rear mounts vertical and the 2 fronts are horizontal. Citation has all four verticle.