Back in May, I was working out in California doing some tuning on a customers Grand Prix. He does a lot of work restoring cars, and had an 88 Fiero GT that he just didn't have the time to do anything with. He said if I wanted it, it was mine, just had to pay the shipping to get it from the LA area to the Indianapolis area. It's been a car Ive always wanted so couldn't pass up a virtually rust free chassis, even if the exterior looked a little rough.

It was missing the T-Tops, but I located some at a junk year and scooped them up. Known items that need to be taken care of:
Needs drivers window and power actuator. Also missing external handle linkage.
Drivers side mirror need mounting.
Windshield is cracked and needs to be replaced, long with seal.
T-Top door seals need to be replaced, the main seal under the T-Tops is good fortunately. Is there a seal/trim piece that should be on the car behind the T-Tops?
Trim piece missing from drivers door.
Tail light lenses missing. Can these be obtained separately? The housing look fine.
The factory engine is junk. Missing top end and pistons.
Headliner is missing.
Sun visors need replacement/restoration.
Trunk had been crushed in from the underside. Pretty easy to pound it back out.

Now the big surprise. When the transport company hooked up to pull it on the car carrier, they placed the hook wrong and broke the steering damper.. Wait! 88's arn't supposed to have a damper! After looking over the suspension after the car arrived this week, the front end suspension is from a 87 GT (along with the front qtr panels, hood, and nose piece) Sucks it doesn't have the 88 front suspension. It also has the 87 brakes. (The hood and inner fenders have a VIN for a 87 GT) I need to get it up on stands and get some underside pictures to figure out exactly what was done and if it will be possible to convert it back to the 88 suspension.

Below are some picture:
Getting loaded on transport. First in Last out. the other 8 cars that were loaded on the transport got dropped off in Indianapolis



All loaded:



The broken damper that it shouldn't of had!



Tail lights need lenses.



Drivers side... Missing window. Door looks like it was replaced. I do have the mirror and interior trim pieces but missing the out side trim peice.



Front qtr... Ya, the paints a little rough. It has been beat on my southern California sun for 25 years! And the last 14 years it has been non-operational.



Seats are dirty, but the foam is good, and no tears. Clean them for the time being, and get replacement covers eventually.



Dash is complete. Steering wheel just needs a center piece. The trim around the shifter in the center console has one crack in it. I should be able to repair that pretty easily.



Rear suspension is definitely 88.



Rear strut towers.





Did some cleaning today. Cleared out all the junk and trim pieces stored inside, then pulled the seats and cleaned carpet. Could use some more spot cleaning, but much better then it originally was. There's a little fuzzing under the foot area just in front of the seats, but otherwise I can live it it. Door carpet not bad at all, will just need a light cleaning.







"Felt" is a little damp still from being cleaned... I think I might keep the "Special Forces" decal, keep people from messing with me 8-) ECU is a reman one (looks pretty clean) Anyone need a factory ECU? Make an offer!



Some aftermarket alarm/remote module I found when cleaning. No fob for it, so will remove.



Nose piece is in rough shape on passenger side. It is actually split at the line and coming apart.



Need to replace the little triangle trim piece above mirror (I do have the mirror)



Both sail panels are junk. This seems to be a pretty common issue.



Should there be a seal/weatherstrip/trim piece here behind the T-Tops?



Window seal on T-Tops are toast. Main gasket is fine though.





So there it is. The plan is to drop a 3800 in it eventually. I'm in no big hurry though and will take care of the easy/cheep stuff first. Plan is to keep the 5 speed in there, drop in a N/A bottom end and top swap my heads/intercooler/blower form my 98 Grand Prix and convert to run on E85.

[This message has been edited by PRJPerformance (edited 06-26-2013).]

Rodney Dickman once made a damper for the 88s, it could be an add on. Do you have more pics of the front suspension? It seems odd that someone would put early year front suspension in an 88. I can see some pros to it, but its a lot of work.

Link to old page...
http://my.execpc.com/~rodney1/damper.htm

That definitely looks like an early year rack, however.

[This message has been edited by Jncomutt (edited 06-25-2013).]

quote Originally posted by Jncomutt: Rodney Dickman once made a damper for the 88s, it could be an add on. Do you have more pics of the front suspension? It seems odd that someone would put early year front suspension in an 88. I can see some pros to it, but its a lot of work. Link to old page... http://my.execpc.com/~rodney1/damper.htm

I suspect the entire front end of this car had been wrecked and a 97 donor car was used for repair. It has the 87 non-vented front rotors also. I suspect everything back to the firewall was replaced with the 87 stuff. I'll get some front suspension pics in a few days.

Anyone have a carfax account and want to run a full report. The free report shows 15 records on it for the 88 VIN (the donor 87 VIN shows 3 records)

quote Originally posted by PRJPerformance: I suspect the entire front end of this car had been wrecked and a 97 donor car was used for repair. It has the 87 non-vented front rotors also. I suspect everything back to the firewall was replaced with the 87 stuff. I'll get some front suspension pics in a few days. Anyone have a carfax account and want to run a full report. The free report shows 15 records on it for the 88 VIN (the donor 87 VIN shows 3 records)

97? Off a few years?

PRJ the guru of the Grand Prix from over on CGP?

quote Originally posted by MstangsBware: 97? Off a few years? PRJ the guru of the Grand Prix from over on CGP?

Doah, I keep doing that! 87 GT donor car.

Yes, same PRJ.

I was able to get a full AutoCheck report last night and also ran the 87 VIN through www.nicb.org which showed that that car had been totaled. the 88 VIN nothing unusual showed up, other then it had some problems passing CA emissions back in 1998.

So when you going to do a 3.8 turbo on that sucker?

quote Originally posted by thismanyfieros: So when you going to do a 3.8 turbo on that sucker?

Won't do a turbo. Just a L36 bottom end, stock cam, stock heads, stock rockers, stock Gen3 M90, an intercooler and E85. This engine setup is what I have in my Grand Prix (with a L67 bottom end) and it pushed my GP to 12.3's which good enough for me. I'd rather keep it reliable then push the limits.

If I wanted to go big HP, I'm put a Whipple W100AX twin screw on it.

PRJ

Glad to see you made it over from the Grand Prix world like many of us have. Very much looking forward to this build!

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Project L67 Fiero

Note to self: Sail panels are really sharp when they crack and always wear gloves when working with nasty sharp things.

On another note. Did preliminary cleaning of drivers seat. A heck of a lot cleaner and smells much better. Probably do another round of cleaning on it, then put some POR15 on the slider frame to kill the rust, and lube up the tracks. Also will pull apart to switch assembly on the seat and make sure all the contacts are clean.

PRJ

What is the 88 vin# maybe I can help you out, if the whole front was replaced then look at the doors there should be vin# stickers on them for the 88.
Let me know
Fiero John-WI

Reminds me so much my white GT project. Almost all needed to be fixed/replaced. But came out great. Just need determination. Apparently there are very few of those side t-top glass gaskets. Get them quick. Good luck ;-)

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Red: TPI V8 + 6-Speed White: 3800SC auto
304rwHP/366rwTQ

quote Originally posted by FIERO JOHN-WI: What is the 88 vin# maybe I can help you out, if the whole front was replaced then look at the doors there should be vin# stickers on them for the 88. Let me know Fiero John-WI

Ya, whole front replaced as was drivers door. The passenger door has the 88 VIN (that matches the tag at base of windsheild) as does the rear qtrs and the trunk lid, and the rear suspension is definitely 88.

I also found out today from a customer I had here the power adjustable drivers seat I got is a rare/desirable item 8-) The motor works, but I can't feel any adjustment. I assume there are air bladders in the seat an the motor is a pump. So either the pump not pumping, or there is an air leak.

PRJ

quote Originally posted by PRJPerformance: Ya, whole front replaced as was drivers door. The passenger door has the 88 VIN (that matches the tag at base of windsheild) as does the rear qtrs and the trunk lid, and the rear suspension is definitely 88. I also found out today from a customer I had here the power adjustable drivers seat I got is a rare/desirable item 8-) The motor works, but I can't feel any adjustment. I assume there are air bladders in the seat an the motor is a pump. So either the pump not pumping, or there is an air leak. PRJ

I believe Rodney Dickman offers a rebuild kit for the lumbar seat. A similar set up was also offered on C4 Vettes

quote Originally posted by Rick 88: I believe Rodney Dickman offers a rebuild kit for the lumbar seat. A similar set up was also offered on C4 Vettes

Ya, I found that info.... I plan to pull the seat apart this weekend and look it over. If I can "patch" the leak(s) I'll just do that.

I cleaned the passenger seat yesterday. Looks a lot better. Some fading and wear, but the bad stains are gone, and the foam is in excellent condition. Need to pull the tracks off both seats, clean up, and put some rust inhibitor on them. Still got some rust stains in the carpet I need to clean with some CLR around the seat mounting points.

Gonna hook up a battery today to check out the electrical stuff (headlight light motors, passenger window motor/lock, radio, etc)

PRJ

Should there be a seal/weatherstrip/trim piece here behind the T-Tops?


Answer is YES...it is called a P seal and they are not made any more. Google T-Top registry and you'll find a site that might still have some old stock. I got a pair from a member of NIFE (Northern Illinois Fiero Enthusiasts) that he made. There are many T-Top owners who just remove the old ones and don't replace them. Robert's SkiTime car doesn't use them. The pretty much just keep some noise out. If your other seals are good, you shouldn't have any movement issues or water leaks without them.

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My Fiero...

88 Yellow CJB #182 of 1252 formula

quote Originally posted by zefferk: Should there be a seal/weatherstrip/trim piece here behind the T-Tops? Answer is YES...it is called a P seal and they are not made any more. Google T-Top registry and you'll find a site that might still have some old stock. I got a pair from a member of NIFE (Northern Illinois Fiero Enthusiasts) that he made. There are many T-Top owners who just remove the old ones and don't replace them. Robert's SkiTime car doesn't use them. The pretty much just keep some noise out. If your other seals are good, you shouldn't have any movement issues or water leaks without them.

Ya, I've read up on alternatives to the factory P-Seals.

The main weather seal under the T-Tops is good. The seal for the doors are fair. The big problem I see is the seal at the outside end of the T-Tops that mates with the door windows.; These are in rough shape, and I really haven't found any alternative options for these on the forum.

The P-seals used in the Fiero T-Tops were the exact same part as the ones used in the Mustang. I used to get them from the parts counter at the local Ford Dealer.
Ford Part # E1ZZ-6650080-A

I recently ordered a set from Fox Mustang Restoration.
Their Part # 1481006
http://www.foxmustangrestor...d_Felt_Weather_strip

Some other sources;
http://www.jegs.com/i/JEGS/...1ZZ-6650080/10002/-1

http://www.americanmuscle.c...acementV1&adtype=pla

http://www.ebay.com/itm/130...id=p3984.m1438.l2649

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88 Red GT 5sp T-Top CJB #1139
88 Yellow Formula 5sp
87 Black GT 5sp
87 Med. Red SE Auto T-Top
86 Black GT 4sp T-Top (Black Knight)
84 IRM (Prototype) Turbo Fastback T-Top
Dr Pepper Go Kart

http://www.prjperformance.c...20130626IMGP6951.JPG

The piece you show in the pic above I believe was called the Shingle it covered the weatherstrip on the glass. I found a usable replacement at the local Home Depot in the flooring department that looks very close to the original part, just longer. It's a black Rubber piece used as a transition between different height floors. Trim to length and glue in with GE Silicone II Gasket & Seal (Black).

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88 Red GT 5sp T-Top CJB #1139
88 Yellow Formula 5sp
87 Black GT 5sp
87 Med. Red SE Auto T-Top
86 Black GT 4sp T-Top (Black Knight)
84 IRM (Prototype) Turbo Fastback T-Top
Dr Pepper Go Kart

quote Originally posted by FieroScott: http://www.prjperformance.c...20130626IMGP6951.JPG The piece you show in the pic above I believe was called the Shingle it covered the weatherstrip on the glass. I found a usable replacement at the local Home Depot in the flooring department that looks very close to the original part, just longer. It's a black Rubber piece used as a transition between different height floors. Trim to length and glue in with GE Silicone II Gasket & Seal (Black).

Thanks for that... I might run to HD tomorrow and take a look. If I can get those two seal fixed, and the drivers window in, then I think it will be OK for the time being and can take the tarp off it until I can fit in my garage.