Well, she made it down. The more it ran/drove, the better it ran/drove. There's an ugly vibration that shows up between 62 and 66 MPH that disappears below and above that range. Averaged 31 MPG once the bad gas was out of the system. Dropped to ~25 MPG when I had to put up the headlights for night/poor-weather driving, and had to hit the speed limit of 70 for part of 95 and 64. I've been driving her the past couple of weeks because my other car's main cat was plugged and needed replacement, was waiting for the part so I can get it done. Here's the picture of her sitting in my garage the night I got it there. (Defroster won't defog for some reason. On my ToDo to fix.)
Needs work outside of the engine/trans swap. A lot of it. The below is just what's necessary to get it back on the road after the swap:
Brakes are working, but I want them working better before it's on the road for good. Possibly C4 12" upgrade. Investigating inexpensive but effective options.
Someone broke my driver's side mirror at a rest stop during the trip down. Need to replace that.
Driver's side front side marker bulb is blown.
Passenger's side front side marker is cracked.
Horn does not work. Not sure if relay or horns. Going to be poking at this tonight. (3/31)
Heater works: Barely. Front defroster won't defog.
Rear defroster does not work.
Dew wipes on both sides.
Passenger side headlight motor spins and spins. Sounds like a stripped gear. Getting a Rodney Dickman metal gear to put in.
Tires are shot after sitting and the trip. Wheels aren't pretty, so will be getting nice 16" wheels+tires from TireRack.
Rubber bushings in the rear are all gross/falling apart. Doing an '88 cradle swap, so will replace with poly.
All-over cleaning, inside and out. It's been sitting for years. No telling what animals/creepy-crawlies have either begun living in, or have left a mess in this car.
I'm planning on doing this car in 4 phases:
1) Engine swap/Road safety/Brakes/88 Cradle swap 2) Suspension (Arraut front slalom and... well, whatever the equivalent for the back suspension is.) 3) Body/Interior. (Norm's front tilt clip with C6 headlights, some variation of a rear, not sure if widebody yet or not. I have about a year before I have to make a decision on this.) 4) Performance. (Turbo, air:water intercooler, cam, dyno test+tune. There's a lot up for debate on this yet.)
I've been asked a few times, "Why not just get an '88?" or "Why not just get a different Fiero?" Well, because I'm stupidly attached to this one. And I already have it. And I know the frame is rust-free. Since I've owned it, I've had just about every body panel off, every bit of carpet up/off, and have seen pretty much every bit of metal this car has to offer. Aside the suspension components and metal brake lines and usual "normal"/not-really-problematic spots, the picture below exemplifies why in the lack of corrosion alone.
Anyway - there's a lot of work to do, but I'm determined to get it done.
Edit: Image tags don't like DropBox. So using Photobucket instead.
[This message has been edited by Ravant (edited 03-31-2014).]
Vibration could just be a tire. Looks like it was parked under trees, needs some cleaning Changed the oil right away right?
She's since been cleaned. Needs another wash or three and a good waxing. There's 4 years' worth of tree gunk built up. I did the oil when I replaced the starter and alternator. The alt was easier to reach/wrench on with the oil filter out of the way. This Duke is coming out in favor of an engine/trans/cradle swap. But I'm still treating it right and intend to rebuild it for another project (rat rod) down the line. (These 2.5's are nigh unkillable. Trust me, I tried when I was younger. Not on purpose, just young and dumb. It still only has 89,000 miles on it!) Anyway, I am expecting the vibration to be a combination of things, from tire to bad suspension bushings and more. But tire was my first thought, thanks.
[This message has been edited by Ravant (edited 03-31-2014).]
Good. I have an 85 2M4 5 speed that I picked up for $500 last year and I am having a lot of fun with it. I am keeping it stock.
Only reason this one isn't staying stock is because of how beat-up it was when I bought it. The spark plugs literally crumbled as I removed them, the paper on the filter was rotted away and the wire mesh was all that remained. The fuel injector was dribbling fuel instead of spraying it. Had the original starter and original alt. Replaced those all back in the day. Seeing as how abused it was by the previous owner, I'd be hesitant to try to trust it going forward. Figure, if I'm putting money in to fix it up, might as well use newer parts, update the car a bit, and make it mine.
I do eventually want to get an '88 Formula and restore it to 100% bone-stock, showroom condition.
I understand your reasoning. My 85 was a one owner car that sat parked outside for at least 7 years. No rust in trunk and very minimal surface rust on frame. The motor runs good now that I have cleaned the throttle body and removed the intake baffle and egr and the stock restrictive cat. The car really surprised me on how peppy and fun to drive it is, especially after reading so many threads on here calling the duke engine a POS.
I understand your reasoning. My 85 was a one owner car that sat parked outside for at least 7 years. No rust in trunk and very minimal surface rust on frame. The motor runs good now that I have cleaned the throttle body and removed the intake baffle and egr and the stock restrictive cat. The car really surprised me on how peppy and fun to drive it is, especially after reading so many threads on here calling the duke engine a POS.
I love my Duke. Despite the abuse, it is still running almost flawlessly. It's slower than a salted slug through the 3-speed slush box, but it's pretty much immortal.
The fact that your windows won't defog may be a sign of the heater core needing replacement. Do you smell coolant in the interior? I had the same problem recently, replaced mine and resolved the issue. There are great instructions on this forum on how to do it.
I think the 3 speed automatic preserves the duke, with the 5 speed like mine has some people will over rev the motor and hasten its demise.
If I keep it floored, it will hit almost 5800 RPM before shifting. I haven't done that since I was a teenager though. Did it once, never again. But! I do believe running this motor carbed and open-header backed by a 5-speed longitudinal trans in a 1949 Fleetline rat-rod would be pretty awesome.
The heater core may be bad. Don't really have a coolant smell inside though. The heat does blow nice and hot when 'vent' and 'htr' are selected. It just doesn't allow a defog.
The heater core may be bad. Don't really have a coolant smell inside though. The heat does blow nice and hot when 'vent' and 'htr' are selected. It just doesn't allow a defog.
So you are saying the air doesnt blow out the windshield vent at all? That would be a door open/close issue in the vent system I think.
So you are saying the air doesnt blow out the windshield vent at all? That would be a door open/close issue in the vent system I think.
It blows toward the windshield and de-ices no problem. It's when the inside of the windshield gets foggy that it does zero good, usually because the air it's pushing is moist. Had my AC been working, using that in conjunction with the defrost would likely work.
Could be an issue of too much humidity in the car, damp carpets or floormats, etc. Maybe it cant keep up with it? Its even fogged in the picture you posted. Keep the windows down while parked inside may help it evaporate.
[This message has been edited by 2.5 (edited 04-02-2014).]
Could be an issue of too much humidity in the car, damp carpets or floormats, etc. Maybe it cant keep up with it? Its even fogged in the picture you posted. Keep the windows down while parked inside may help it evaporate.
The picture was taken literally 3 minutes after getting it in the garage after the road trip home. (Started on Long Island, weather was nice until southern Maryland, then it was snow, sleet, then heavy but barely liquid rain as I drove further south, arriving in Garner.) The fog wasn't unexpected considering I went from warm, moist air to cold, very moist air while it was still muggy in the car. It was the heater's inability to subsequently subtract the moisture that bugs me. Heater core may be shot and needing replaced. Wouldn't surprise me at all, considering the residue left on the windshield after the trip.
