I was inspired to start this thread after reading Jen's (Fierochc88's) postl about the "old days" in the Fiero hobby. The old days really weren't that old as they only went back 14 or 15 years but it seems far longer. The hobby has changed a bit since then. The first hobbiest communications were done through the Fiero Mailing list where everyone who subscribed received all of the emails posted to the list that day. There were many heated exchanges as most members were younger then but it got the word out and kept Fiero owners in touch. The big mods of the day were the 3.1 and 3.4L engines. The 3800's and 4.9L's didn't come about until around 99 or 00. There was also a Fiero chat room that was hosted on Fridays and some interesting info was shared there. Those were great days. I hope that the long time members on this forum will all chime in and say hello again. The Fiero owners that I remember in the 90's were Rodney, Archie, Ed Parks (now retired) PaulV, Oliver Sholtz, the Gilberts, Bob Schlag, Clint Nichols, The Sessions Brothers, Dave Suda, Rick Stewart, Denny Lambert, Steven Vincent, Anthony Cook, Keith Gehrhart, Roger Garrison, Larry Wheeler, Jon Lagler, Pete (PBJ)and Becky, Paul Stevens, Chris Moore (first N* swap) Ed Williams, Hal Spalter, Scott Backer, Sketch, Dave Rodebaugh, Neil & Dawn (Racincouple) , Mark (Foxgapfiro) , Randy Agee and a whole host of others. Many of the afforementioned are still very active in the hobby but a few seemed to have dropped out. If you see this and haven't chimed in lately tell us all how long you have owned a Fiero? If you know any of these people who might be no longer active in the hobby feel free to tell us how they are doing. I purchased my first Fiero in 1997 and it has been a blast ever since.
------------------ " THE BLACK PARALYZER" -87GT 3800SC Series III engine, custom ZZP /Frozen Boost Intercooler setup, 3.4" Pulley, Powerlog manifold, Northstar TB, LS1 MAF, 3" Flotech Afterburner Exhaust, Autolite 104's, MSD wires, Custom CAI, 4T65eHD w. custom axles, HP Tuners VCM Suite. "THE COLUSSUS" 87GT - ALL OUT 3.4L Turbocharged engine, Garrett Hybrid Turbo, MSD ign., modified TH125H " ON THE LOOSE WITHOUT THE JUICE "
[This message has been edited by Dennis LaGrua (edited 11-29-2012).]
Bought my first one in Feb 2001. It was a four banger with a blown engine, that I planned on a stock engine swap. I got really busy at work so kept putting the engine replacement off... then 9/11 hit and I was deployed. I bought another one that summer - right before 9/11. I found this forum in Dec of that year, and it has been an adventure since then. I've since retired from the air Force, but started a new career that demands much, much more of my time, so as a result, I do not get to play with my Fiero as much as I'd like. But I am in the hobby for the duration.
I can not imagine going out to my garage and not seeing a Fiero.
I had a high school buddy whose dad was a pontiac dealer back in the day, so my first encounter with a Fiero was in 1983 before the offical launch of the 1984 model in the fall. I did not actually purchase a Fiero until January of 1992. Since then I have had a succession of Fieros totalling 12 cars. I currently own 5.
Great Idea to start this thread. I'm new here so I am anxious to hear from the old timers and how things have changed over the years. I don't have a good grasp of the history from the perspective of the guys out in their garages figuring out how to do the mods we're seeing today. I did buy one of those magazine/books that consolidated a lot of Fiero articles over the years. Been fun reading that.
I have been around from back when it was the Fiero mailing list. I bought my first Fiero in '96. It was the 87GT with 36k on the clock. I was stuck in Korea at the time. Since I deployed a lot, I never got to get around much. I started working PT with Gary @ Gary's Customs in the late 90's. Man.. I hated working on kit cars! The good side was going to Carlisle and Daytona with Gary. Eventually that ended poorly when Gary divorced his wife and ran off with a 19yr old girl (funny, I have since found him here in Panama City!).
I met quite a few people back then. I remember Randy Agee, Dennis L, Rodney, Archie (boy me and that guy used to duke it out!), the guys @ D&R, Ed & Rose, A few of the FOCOSEVA guys and my best friend Garth. There were many more I am sure, but my memory isnt what it used to be! Oh yeah, I met a lot of cool guys in the UK Fiero club. I worked on a lot of cars there!
Anyway.. look at some of these old pics! If you see someone you know, point them out!
Gary and I built a Diablo (we showed this at Carlisle... Someone knocked the mirror off and the yellow Fino below fell off the trailer. Anyone remember?)
Gary and I modded my 87GT (this is how it looked at Daytona and Carlisle)
The day I sold my baby to Ken (member on here) after totally going over the 87 again. Me (left) & Ken (right)
My 88 Formula while I lived in the UK
Me and RacerJT at the track in Richmond VA
Gary and I built a SBC powered custom Fino
IIRC that is kitcarman's (JR) F40 in the background... anyone remember he spray painted ***** tires shred tires, ask me how I know down the side of his car? LOL
The first Fino built in the US was by me @ Gary
Followed by the Finale
I sold this one to a guy in NJ around 2008, I believe... I always wondered what happened to it.. 88GT L67/5MT
[This message has been edited by BV MotorSports (edited 11-29-2012).]
That was the article that convinced me that I HAD to get a Fiero when my Grand Am died. Do you still have a Fiero? I'll be in Panama City Beach on Dec 29 & 30.
Since driving an '85 GT with V6 and 4-speed late in 1986. I remember that car; it was black and low to the ground and holy CRAP I wish I could have bought it.
In 2002 I bought my '85 SE with a V6 and an automatic.
That was the article that convinced me that I HAD to get a Fiero when my Grand Am died. Do you still have a Fiero? I'll be in Panama City Beach on Dec 29 & 30.
OMG that is awesome. That was a fantastic car. I put a lot of myself into that car. Literally, I have blood, sweat and tears all over it. Of course I have Fieros.. 2 of them right now. a 14k 88GT 3800 turbo and a 87GT 3.4TDC race car. Neither run.... lol
I bought an 85GT back in '93 and didn't acquire my 87GT until 2000. Since then I've owned 7 or 8 and still have 3. My first Fiero forum was Freddie Clark's Alt.Autos.Fiero which was something of a bulletin board style forum. I think Freddie is still around the East Greenwich area. He was a regular at The Fiero Factory swap meets.
I registered early on with Pennocks, but when my ISP went out of business, I had to re-register and lost credits for all my postings.
I got my first fiero July 1986--a gold bumperpad notchie--then in 91 got a GT with t-tops--Didnt join the forum until this year--didnt know about it...I thought I would make my 86 a kit car, but that didnt happen--just started restoring the 88 this year thats when I found the forum. Wished I knew about it when I had my 86
------------------ Pat Jones
[This message has been edited by 88FieroGT TTops (edited 11-29-2012).]
I got my first fiero in 1999 when I was in high school. It was an 88 Formula, and the day after I bought it I signed up here. I drove it through college and did a 3.4 pushrod swap in it on a gravel driveway.
I've had 7 of them since then, I've probably went about 6 years out of the last 13 without a Fiero. I currently have an 87gt.
I first got into the Fiero in late 1982 when Pontiac announced the car was going into production. Bought my 1st Fiero in '85 & had the engine out of it before I got the payment book from the finance company.
i have had the bug since the fall of 96 when i bought a 85 se with the v-6 and the four speed stick. the po had rebuilt the motor with all the go fast goodies you could do to them. then he lost his license. sold it to me for 500 dollars. at the time i had not driven a stick at all(rode motorcycles). luckily my girlfreind could drive it home. the next day i got in the car and taught my self how to drive it. i had made one mistake on that one i put it in mine and her name, in fl if it is in both names and has "or" in it and not "and" it only takes one person to sign it to sell. we broke up and i told her she could use it till she got a car, i had a 69 opel gt at the time that i was driving. well she sold it to someone for 50 bucks just to piss me off. since then i have had about 4 more fieros but none newer then the one i have now a 86 v-6 se
Gosh, Randy Aggee...another blast from the past name - whatever happened to him?
Dad got his first Fiero in 1985 in the Mac Again, Back Again sweepstakes. The second one showed up around 1996? and I got my first one in 1999. Anyone who knows my family knows that it took off from there :-)
These days, I still have my silver 88GT and the Blue Demon. Dad still has his 85GT and 2 parts cars. The herd has been thinned considerably.
I ordered my first one in Sept of '83 from Mont Claire Pontiac in Chicago. SE with the suede/sheepskin seats. Just sold it to a friend about 3 years ago. Got the itch to have another, and picked up a Formula this summer.
In 1990 bought a 1984SE for a daily driver, traded an Olds Omega and $1300, drove it 100miles daily for my work commute till sometime late 90's. Got involved with a few shows when I found the Fiero list and then PFF's and Skitime who lives very close to me. Made a few of the Zinn's shows but not showing my car. Got away from the hobby sometime around 2000-2001 and my SE was dying from autotrans and engine problems.
It sat for a long time till I finally decided it was not worth the trouble of fixing and I wanted a 4spd, bought an 85GT in 2009 and re-entered the Fiero world as my wife would call it my "Mid-life Crisis", I keep telling her it's not and state I still have the Fiero I had when I was younger! Slowly in the process of stripping the 84 of anything usable as I had upgraded the suspension with lowering springs poly etc. Currently working on a 3.4L upgrade for the 85 just for the ease and fun of it.
$$$'s do not allow me to have a show car but just a fun car to go out and enjoy driving on a nice day, to a cruise-in or a show. Since my business revolves around helping others make things go fast it's something unique for me to do with my spare time, visit with other car people and does not involve a bunch of $$$'s to have fun
------------------ "There is no more formidable adversary than one who perceives he has nothing to lose." - Gen. George S. Patton http://www.flowbenchtech.com
[This message has been edited by Brucepts (edited 11-30-2012).]
Originally posted by dudewithoutfiero: ... i had made one mistake on that one i put it in mine and her name, in fl if it is in both names and has "or" in it and not "and" it only takes one person to sign it to sell. we broke up and... she sold it to someone for 50 bucks just to piss me off.
Did she give you your username too, . I fell in love with them when the first came out. Being young with an even younger new family dashed all hopes of owning one. I all but forgot about them as the years went by. In 98 a customer at a car repair facility I worked at was tired of bringing hers in for repairs. She traded me even for a Geo I had. I have never been without one (or more) since.
Bought My first one in April 1984, a red sport coupe for $11,700. Had to wait almost 6 weeks for delivery. By the end of the summer, there was almost 15K on the odometer.
I bought my first and only 1986 GT new for my daughter right after she graduated from high school. She drove it for a couple years, got married and decided she wanted another car. I took over the Fiero and helped her get a new Honda CRXsi. I still have the Fiero and had Ed Parks install a 4.9 auto. It won 2 best of show at Daytona. The bar has been raised quiet bit since those days. I,m planning on the Daytona show in 2013 but don't expect to win anything. Ronnie and Carolyn Fulcher are out of Fieros and into Harleys. Dan Bunker is out od Fieros and into Camping and traveling. Ellen and I still enjoy tooling around in "Spirit" and meeting new people as the car brings out a lot of lookers.
I got my first fiero in Dec 97. Yellow formula. It was my first car. Not including the 84 ford tempo I had for a week and broke it mudding. So I caught the bug.
I had it for quite a while. I had many other fieros too. I'll dig out some pics if I find them. Mostly parts cars and stuff I fixed and sold. I put a zz3 in my formula but never really got it right. It was a used motor and I was too broke to get it right and parted it out after a couple years. Took a couple year hiatus. I now have an 87gt that's fairly decent. Future LS4 and choptop.
I bought my first new Fiero in April 1984, I have owned 1984,1985,1986,1987 and 1988 Fiero's. I have had 4 cylinder, 6 cylinder, and V-8 Fiero's. I have owned stock, custom choptop and a rebody Fiero. I guess I have had the bug for 29+ years.
I had been following the "P" car since about 1982. My Uncle worked at a Pontiac Dealership in my home town, and he would show me picture and stuff that GM sent out to the dealerships. I first sat in a Fiero in July 1983 at the POCI convention in Niagara Falls. Pontiac had two on display, a loaded Red SE, and second SE with all the body panels off. They both got a lot of attention, but the one with the body panels removed got the most.
I almost sprung for a new 88, I remember walking the lot in the summer of 88 and seeing fully loaded GT's sitting there. If I only knew then what I know now !!!!!!!!!!!!
My first was an 87 GT that I bought in the summer of 90. I have had 6 of them total, including a Black 84 convertible, a Blue 87 Coupe, two 87 GT's (blue/white) and now have a Black 88 GT (3800) and my Green 88 T-TOP coupe (LS376).
I think we need to make a bumper sticker that reads "Fiero: Either you get it, or you don't"
No one outside of Pennocks and my local Fiero club understand my obsession with all things FIERO.
In high school a friend had a Fiero GT (86 or 87), I thought it was interesting, but I was into 3rd gen camaros. In college I wanted something that rode/handled better, and was looking for a C4 Vette. During that search (1996) another Fiero GT caught my attention, but I ended up getting an 86 Vette.
In 1998 I finally purchased my first Fiero (86 V6 SE/4 speed) and eventually sold the Vette to focus exclusively on Fieros in 2000...
Of course I have Fieros.. 2 of them right now. a 14k 88GT 3800 turbo and a 87GT 3.4TDC race car. Neither run.... lol
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