My name is Quad Raider, and I'm a Fieroholic. You say, "Hello, Quad Raider." I can't stop buying parts for my Fiero, which is stuck in the middle of the world's slowest engine swap. I bought my '87 coupe on New Years Day 2011 from the original owner. The plan was to swap the solid Quad 4/Getrag combo out of my rust bucket '92 GTZ and be able to drive it within just a few months. The plan called for changing its maroon paint over to blue, refurbishing the interior and upgrading the tires and suspension only AFTER the car was back on the road.
First, the Quad's timing chain tensioner wore out and chewed up the cam gears while it was still in the GTZ. But the real problem began when I started finding great deals on non-engine-related parts. For instance, I bought a better front fascia and a V-6 rear fascia with the two exhaust cutouts from a forum member. I bought a complete '88 cradle and rear suspension for $120 and I'm not even using them in this car (yet). I found a sunroof car in my favorite salvage yard this spring and allowed myself to be convinced that I needed it. Months later while visiting a salvage yard in Oklahoma City, 130 miles from home, I bought a second sunroof "just in case". There have been many other examples of my inability to stay focused, but the biggest one came Sunday. I went to a salvage yard to just LOOK at an '88 to see if its sunroof seal and tracks were in good shape. I left with this:
The thing is, I liked my car without a wing. I also liked it without a sunroof. But my addiction prevented me from passing on these parts. The good news is, I've actually made progress on the swap. The plan has changed quite a bit, but at least I'm making progress. I got my salvage-yard GTZ wheels painted and two of the tires mounted over the weekend and they look even better than I expected. Sorry the photo is blurry but I wasn't wearing my reading glasses.
My name is Quad Raider, and I'm a Fieroholic. [Someone posted something like this and even registered the name Fieroholic in 2006, but I don't care, I'm posting about it, too. It's THERAPY.]
[This message has been edited by Quad Raider (edited 08-27-2014).]
lol ! Yea my wife wanted me to get help but if I went to meetings with other fieroholics Id end up buying even more parts.
He he. I have so many parts now it's hard to work on the car because the shop is so crowded. I have two extra Quads, two extra seats, two extra doors. One of the strangest purchases I ever made was the foam rubber blocks that hold the sunroof under the hood. At the time, which was just a month or two after I bought my Fiero, I didn't even know what they were, but when I saw them on a car in the salvage yard I got them because they were in perfect condition. Three years later, after deciding to put a sunroof on my car, I'm glad I did. Now if only I could find them in the shop.
A lot of people think that I have a Fiero problem.....They say that I talk about Fieros at parties, at clubs, at get togethers, in line at the grocery store....... So what! I just talk Fieros socially! I do not have a problem.
I don't have a problem, either. It's normal to spend every extra moment doing Fiero stuff. I have bought about 100 of the wing nut screws for decklids (can't find most of them), many pairs of door sills I haven't used, extras of every sensor, etc. Sometimes, I buy parts just to have an extra spare, or because the part is hard to find. How many steering racks do I need? I have spspension parts, heater cores, starters, AC systems, solenoids, relays, switches, consoles, covers, valves, gaskets, filters, trim pieces, and sunshade bags. I have spindles and knuckles. I have lights, tubes, and lines, seats, distributors, coils, ECMs, IACs, ICMs, exhaust systems, and carpeting. All sorts of stuff. I wouldn't want that last air space in the basement to be unused. Actually, if I had some motors, frames, engines, trannies, fuel tanks, windows, and tires, I could build some running Fieros. They wouldn't be complete, though.
As for help, since some claimed I needed it, I joined this forum. I've started attending Fiero events. I don't think I need help.
If you break down this addiction word, it starts with ”add”. It's like addition. Addition is a positive thing--otherwise we'd call it subtraction. It's not as if adding will eventually put me in the negative.
I realized maybe a month ago or so what I was doing and stopped buying ahead of time because it's a good price. I have enough stuff bought to keep me busy for awhile. Maybe I will finish one thing start on the next and then buy the another planned item. The money I was using to buy ahead I really needed for what may happen when fixing or changing the first thing I am working on.
Wait till you find yourself buying and saving cool parts you found or got a great deal on, to use on your next fiero, when you still haven't finished the first darned one ! Wait a minute,..i am already too late !
[This message has been edited by exoticse (edited 08-28-2014).]
1 Find and purchase a fiero. 2 Decide to fix just a few things to make it run better and look better 3 Completely disassemble fiero in your garage. (and piss off wife) 4 Join PFF to help put car back together 5 Fix the endless rust you keep fining 6 Buy a second Fiero for spare parts (piss off wife some more) 7 Now the original engine is not good enough so lets do an engine swap 8 Rebuild suspension, brakes 9 Begin body work 10 Spend hours looking hardware and parts you thought you kept in safe place 11 Finish car 12 Decide to buy another Fiero cause you know you can make the next one even better!
1 Find and purchase a fiero. 2 Decide to fix just a few things to make it run better and look better 3 Completely disassemble fiero in your garage. (and piss off wife) 4 Join PFF to help put car back together 5 Fix the endless rust you keep fining 6 Buy a second Fiero for spare parts (piss off wife some more) 7 Now the original engine is not good enough so lets do an engine swap 8 Rebuild suspension, brakes 9 Begin body work 10 Spend hours looking hardware and parts you thought you kept in safe place 11 Finish car 12 Decide to buy another Fiero cause you know you can make the next one even better!
It's pretty close to me, too, except for the finish-the-first-one and buy-a-second-Fiero parts. But I've already started thinking about the next Fiero I will get. And I often find myself driving past salvage yards that aren't on the way home.
It's a damn cool car. It's not my fault. Just when I thank I can kick the addiction (NOT!), I take a drive around and pull up to a stop sign and two 11 or 12 year olds sitting on a pond pier yell great things about the car and give me thumbs up! I'm 60 years old today and that was a great birthday present. Two kids happy to see a 26 year old car! I am going to probably be buried with the car. Now that is some serious addiction.
