In 1985 in had an beautiful white 1984 SE Fiero that I bought new. To this day it was the first car I ever bought new. I always loved that car and it kept to 2004. After it ran into some problems that no one could fix I was forced to sell by my now ex-wife. I always regretted it.

I digress. At present: Anyway I see a (1988?) Formula Fiero for sale in my local area. Its very close by. Now I tinker with Corvettes and sell them in my summer free time. I can do minor mechanical stuff but I can't tear down an engine and such. Corvette parts are plentiful and advise is also on numerous forums.
The local seller wants $1000 (a drop from $1500 advertised) for a Forumla thats been sitting outside and hasn't started in an estimated 15 years. He says he has "the head off, come get it for $1000". The engine has 49K org miles on it. It looks OK in the pics, but they lie.

My question, how hard is to get parts for the car, especially the motor which he cams needs to be rebuilt and what could I be getting into. I want to repair to a nice condition to drive and possibly sell on. What am I in for? Thanks Steve

The short answer is that everything is replaceable - and mostly available - except for the space frame.
Make sure there is no (or minimal) rust. Check the corners of the trunk, under the carpet. If it's rusted through, there, it's likely rusted in lots of other places.
Check the floors and the engine cradle.

Replacement engines are not too difficult to find. Engine upgrades are just about as easy to find, if you want to do a swap.
The whole "has sat for 15 years" frightens me a bit. Most everything is going to need to be gone through.
Unless it's especially nice, I wouldn't pay more than $500 for it. Tops.

Edit - Welcome to our obsession! Well... Welcome back!

[This message has been edited by Raydar (edited 08-13-2016).]

quote Originally posted by Raydar: The short answer is that everything is replaceable - and mostly available - except for the space frame. Make sure there is no (or minimal) rust. Check the corners of the trunk, under the carpet. If it's rusted through, there, it's likely rusted in lots of other places. Check the floors and the engine cradle. Replacement engines are not too difficult to find. Engine upgrades are just about as easy to find, if you want to do a swap. The whole "has sat for 15 years" frightens me a bit. Most everything is going to need to be gone through. Unless it's especially nice, I wouldn't pay more than $500 for it. Tops. Edit - Welcome to our obsession! Well... Welcome back!

Any special considerations because its a "Formula"? He posts it as a 1986.
http://hartford.craigslist.org/cto/5713253379.html

Several things---Formulas were only produced in 1988. The pictured vehicle has SE quarter windows. There was no SE in 88. The wheels, though 88 wheels, have the wrong offset on the front. It's possible that both front wheels are on the passenger side, but those on the driver's side are both rear wheels. I don't believe the Formula had Fiero 2m6 on the deck lid. It's possible that this is a Formula clone on an 86 chassis. Get the VIN and run it through the VIN decoder on the front page of this forum.

Sorry. There's no VIN decoder there. Try this one. http://gafiero.org/vin.shtml

[This message has been edited by fierofool (edited 08-13-2016).]

I agree with Fierofool. Looks like someone built a Formula clone on an 86 frame.
There's no telling what it started out as, without seeing the VIN.
It's a lot of trouble converting anything "86" into a "Formula". Anything in 86 that had a V6 also had an aero (SE or GT) body.
It would be relatively easy to swap out the bumperpad front and rear fascias with the Formula fascias, but then, none of the 86 bumperpad cars came with V6 engines.
(I'm guessing it was a 2M6 SE. BTW... Formulas only had a "Fiero" label on the decklid.)

Edit - 86 SEs only had 80-85 MPH speedometers. If the speedo has been changed, that calls the mileage into question, too.

I stand by my previous statement. If there's no rust, probably a $500 car. It DOES look decent in the pics, though.

[This message has been edited by Raydar (edited 08-13-2016).]

The car has an 88 rear fascia and the correct decals on door, in the correct location. The seats are correct for 88 Formula, and 86 SE would have had the Fiero badge on the seat back. The dash pocket backer appears to be 86 SE, as it is fabric, Formulas are vinyl, also the 88s has a stenciled Fiero emblem on pocket corner, not the emblem on the backer. The paint appears to be the 88 red. The dash trim is not the 88 dot matrix. Car has round side moldings all around. Only 86 GT had round side moldings, 86 SE has grooved, as did the coupe.
I vote Formula with some swapped sail panel and interior goodies, but who knows.
A VIN or a shot showing brake caliper position or an engine bay shot would clear up the mystery.

FWIW, my 86 SE V6/4 SPD came with a 120 mph speedo.

[This message has been edited by olejoedad (edited 08-14-2016).]

1G2PE1190JP21919 Thats the VIN he gave me. Seems its missing a digit. heres what I got from GA Fiero club:
6 Body type 1 2-door coupe/sedan (GM styles 11,27,37,47,57,97)
8 Engine 9 2.8-liter V6 MPFI, GM RPO L44
9 Check digit 0 not calculate able
10 Model year J 1988

I was gonna post a pic but I don't see how.
Soooo what is it?

quote Originally posted by 72and86: I was gonna post a pic but I don't see how.

If you're running Windows... PIP. Maximum width - 1024 pixels. Maximum file size - 300 kb.

I found this one more helpful
http://www.nytmare.org/fiero/vin/fierovin.htm

quote Originally posted by olejoedad: FWIW, my 86 SE V6/4 SPD came with a 120 mph speedo.

My 86SE also has the 120 speedo, but I know of at least 4 previous owners who could have changed anything on it. I believe TopNotch's previous stock SE also had the 120 speedo.

quote Originally posted by fierofool: My 86SE also has the 120 speedo, but I know of at least 4 previous owners who could have changed anything on it. I believe TopNotch's previous stock SE also had the 120 speedo.

I stand corrected. Perhaps it was a running change or an option, then.
I bought a cluster and aux pod from an 86 SE, a few years back. It was an 85 MPH speedo. Backlighted. Think I still have it.

[This message has been edited by Raydar (edited 08-14-2016).]

I have to say I agree with Raydar. Having sat for 15 plus years, I wouldn't pay more than 500 for it and it would have to be mint, 88 or not. Beside the engine there's a good chance the suspension will need gone through, the brakes may be locked up and in need of a rebuild at a minimum, the list goes on. If it's sat for that long there's a good chance the gas tank may have holes in it as well. Saw that on a car I bought with 39k on the clock, the whole top of the gas tank was caved in due to rust.

There's lots of good cars around.
http://claz.org/classifieds/vehicles/cars?q=fiero


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[This message has been edited by fierosound (edited 08-15-2016).]

The VIN checks as a Formula.