I recently picked up a 1984 Fiero "Esprit" parts car and have not been able to find any information on that Esprit model. Can anyone gill me in on what, if anything, is unique to this car.
The "Esprit" logo is along the bottom of the door and rear wheel panel. If one looks closely at the rear bumper on the left side one can see the "Espirt" title. If I could figure how to add pictures here I could easily send detailed pictures of the panel and the car.
Pontiac Firebird had an Esprit model in the 70's and early 80's. The logos you see on your car are likely from the Firebird. The Esprit was a more upscale trim package than the regular Firebirds. Lotus made the Esprit model from 77 to sometime in the early 2000's as I recall. I owned a 79 for nearly 20 years. Guess that is how I got stuck on the mid engine concept.
You probably bought a car from someone who wanted everyone to think he had a Lotus Esprit. I love the first generation ones. The bumper pad Fieros bear some resemblance to one if your not too familiar with them.
I have always loved the Fiero but only now after I retired can I afford to have one. I am, however, making up for lost time and testosterone. I've got a nice 1987 gt and I am having a 3800 super charged drivetrain dropped in. I'll be doing all the body work and interior so all this is new to me. I'm having a great time learning new things and I am sure I'll turn the heads of the finest looking 60 year-old hotties!!!! Sadly though, it seems most won't fit in the seat. Oh well, they would just slow me down anyway.
I have always loved the Fiero but only now after I retired can I afford to have one. I am, however, making up for lost time and testosterone. I've got a nice 1987 gt and I am having a 3800 super charged drivetrain dropped in. I'll be doing all the body work and interior so all this is new to me. I'm having a great time learning new things and I am sure I'll turn the heads of the finest looking 60 year-old hotties!!!! Sadly though, it seems most won't fit in the seat. Oh well, they would just slow me down anyway.
Welcome to the forum!!!
Make sure you hook up with the OKIE club we do a yearly meet with them called the Red River Ruckus. Most years it's in Texas but we do head up there when someone volunteers to take the duties of host. Ruckus is always in October so plenty of time for you to have that bad boy ready.
My mechanic is The Auto Clinic in Edmond, OK. Over the years I've found them to be meticulous, honest and up front about their work. They are letting me do some sweat equity on the drive train by letting me clean and paint the engine and the engine compartment. Is that supposed to be fun???
I got my donor engine from B&B salvage and I can't say enough good things about these guys. I've gone to a few salvage yards and always found them to be dirty and less helpful. This place was like going into a real pro shop. The place was clean and the yard organized.
I am sure, like most of you, are getting most of the conversion parts from West Coast. I've amassed quite the list of places to get all my parts and accessories. I'm using the "Esprit" Fiero as a test bed for learning fiberglass work and as a donor car and then when I am done I'm going to turn it into a little trailer for those longer trips.
I'm looking forward to contributing to the forum where I can.
kgoodyear, you have a PM. I'm with the OKC group and for my troubles(I guess some one is mad at me) I'm the top banana for the group. Sounds like you know what you want. Good luck...BTW, what transmission are you using?
Everything is coming from a wrecked 98 Grand Prix. It is an automatic transmission but I will be using paddle shifters from Master Shift. These are superior, and more expensive, than ones that shift the transmission electrically, These work just like the lever linkage. These eliminate the need for a shifter in the center console and use the engine compression as an aid to braking and perhaps blowing up your engine. I might add here that I need different axles then the ones that come with the Grand Prix. I am not real sure why though.
I will have a complete history of the build with pictures.
I have yet to figure out how to upload pictures. I've loaded the Image poster but can not seem to get it configured. I've approached the moderator with hat in hand for assistance but have not heard from him yet.
This is my donor car. I will use this as a test bed to practice my fiberglass work and will likely cannibalize it for some parts. It is unlikely I will restore it though having two Fieros can only be better than one.
Finally, here is a photo of the extremely rare "Esprit" model that started this forum.
As a sidebar, today I went to the tag agency to tag the "Esprit" for salvage (black tag here in OK) and it appears it will cost over $250--the same I paid for the car. I didn't black tag it. What a racket. The black tag on the 87 Fiero, however, will only cost $22 (for a black tag) though because it came from a different state. Go figure! I guess I will dismantle the carcass of the Esprit when I am done and bury it.
