A number of years ago, my first car was an 84 Fiero SE that I purchased for $800. I did minor work to it, and drove it for a few years before moving on to something larger. Fast forward a few years, and I find myself helping a college roommate install a V8 kit from Archie's in his 86 GT. Now, my 12 (almost 13) year old son just purchased an 85 GT with a bad engine for a father/son resto project.
Overall, the car needs work. The interior is decent,with the exception of the wear on the drivers seat and some duct tape on the lower dash. Neither headlight motor works, even though they appear to be freshly rebuilt and re-installed. I found one area in the trunk (drivers side) that has a good bit of rust on one of the welded seams. The PO said there was a knock of some sort, and he parked it about 2 years ago. We tinkered a little over the weekend, but the motor is seized and my son has decided he wants to pull (or drop) the engine.
Our plan is to get the engine out this weekend, and make a plan on either an engine swap, or simply rebuild hat he has. If it were for me, a 3800 SC would go in, however I am not sure that is the most logical choice for a 13 year old. I look forward to working on it with him, and getting myself reacquainted with the Fiero. I have had several cars over the years, but my latest are a 1975 Corvette that I restored about 15 years ago, and a 2012 Centennial Edition Corvette Grand Sport. Also in my garage is a 20k mile 1969 Camaro SS that my father in law purchased new in '69.
I am sure I will be searching and asking several questions along this journey, so I thank you in advance.
Welcome ! Enjoy the madness! Before you guys get too deep into that 'ol 85GT,pull those plastic wheel well liners in the back and inspect that rust situation further. Also check the leg of the engine cradle under the battery location.. Previous acid leaks can wreak havoc on these poor little cars.
Thanks for the welcomes. We pulled the fender liners off last night to do some investigating, and found the frame rails to have some rust. Not exactly what I was hoping to find, but I have seen pictures of worse that have been repaired. I think the plan to pull (or drop) the engine may be put on hold, and instead we may remove the rear clip and get a better understanding of the frame repairs needed. I am attempting to attach some pictures of the rusted areas.
Not sure why the pictures are so small. I could not find a sticky or FAQ about attaching pictures...am I doing something wrong? They are stored on Photobucket. Let's try again...
By all means, fully inspect that frame rail, seen at the top of the rear wheel well photo. The other rust areas are not as important, structurally and safety-wise as that frame rail. Both sides. Battery trays, trunks and other parts are good indicators to look further.
This image, borrowed from Kathryn's rebuild thread, is a good example of what to look for.
[This message has been edited by fierofool (edited 05-20-2015).]
Had a busy week, but still had some time in the garage. Friday night we finished removing the rear clip to examine the rust areas. They are not as bad as I first thought...still need to be repaired, just not as bad as some pictures I've seen.
Last night, after spending all day at a car show, my son was very motivated to continue dis-assembly and get the motor out.
We had some difficulty with the cradle mount bolts. The two rear bolts spun the captured nut, but my impact was able to (luckily) spin them out. Re-assembly may prove more challenging now that the nuts are broken free...any suggestions?
Also had the driver side front bolt give us a head ache. The nut came off very easy, but the bolt rusted to the bushing. I had to cut the head of the bolt off, expand the bushing with a chisel, then force the remaining bolt out of the car (I wish it was as easy to do as it was to type!).
The other surprising obstacle of the day was removing the wiring harness from the passenger side of the car. The bolt that holds engine side of the harness together was stripped in the captured nut, and would just spin. We ended up getting it out without damaging wires, but the plug end is beat up pretty bad.
We had some difficulty with the cradle mount bolts. The two rear bolts spun the captured nut, but my impact was able to (luckily) spin them out. Re-assembly may prove more challenging now that the nuts are broken free...any suggestions?