Does anyone know if there is postings on this car? Any idea what it should sell for? It is build on an 87 with auto V6 with less than 35,000 miles on it. Thanks,
Obviously I don't know who built this one and hopefully it was built properly, but too many of these kit cars are what I call "Parade Floats". They look good on the outside but underneath they are a cobbled together horror show.
Thanks, I am going to take a look at it tonight and I will try to look for the small details and any short cuts. I am planning on taking more pictures but only will have about 20 minutes to look at it.
I think that body style may have required a 'stretch" ---- If so, take a good look and clear pictures of the stretch ------- and ebay kit's and replica is a good source for pricing on the asking price of kits.... good luck!
I think that body style may have required a 'stretch" ---- If so, take a good look and clear pictures of the stretch ------- and ebay kit's and replica is a good source for pricing on the asking price of kits.... good luck!
There are three ways to deal with "the stretch" . One is to stretch the frame 3". One is to stretch the engine cradle 3" and move the top of the struts3" rearward, and one is to mold the rear fenders with the wheel well 3" forward. The other thing to look for is whether the rocker panels are part of the door. Does the door gap go all the way to the bottom? That was the first version. IFG and it wasn't very high quality. There aren't very many, but the best body out there hands down was by Air Dynamic, by John Watson out of Tenga Ga. I've already got over $20,000 in mine and I'm not finished. If you can get it cheap enough it might be worth overlooking some of these things.
[This message has been edited by dratts (edited 08-03-2015).]
Thanks everyone for the info. When to look at car and below is what I found. I asked if it could see it uncovered because the pictures they took were not good enough and I had left work early to come see it. The lady I was talking to was the one that took the pictures and was offended. I then explained that the car had been stretched and I could not decide the value of it unless I saw how it was done and the work quality. Of course this meant nothing to her and then I was told it will not be uncover until the day of auction. From the pictures they took and from the few I was able to take from below it’s defiantly a stretch and I think a wide body. There are 2x2 steel tubes running from behind the front wheels connecting into some type of frame that the cradle is connected to. You with experience with stretches can look at the pictures and can judge what’s going on better than me. Everything detail looks ruff from interior finishes to the welds on the tubing. If it sells cheap enough I may buy it, but looks like almost a complete tear down in order to make it something a person could be proud of. I would love more information about this car or more pointers on things to watch out for and I really have no idea what its worth.
The under door tubes can be square or round tube and theyre needed because of the convertible top. Dont mean much to the stretch. Some 355s are stretched and some are not. I dont know if there is a 'wide' body or not, dont think so. Makes me leery that they wont let you see it under the cover...do they have something their hiding, like shabby work. If I was there to see it in person and they wouldnt let me look it over, even start it up, Id run away. As far as value, ive seen them everywhere from $8500 to $35,000. I had over $30,000 in my 308, and sold it about 8 years later for $10,000. The fun all that time was worth the $20,000 loss
Most convertibles conversions have a x-frame that runs under the gas tank --- I don't see one on the pictures provided ---- If the person selling the car won't let you see it I'd be more than a bit 'concerned'.
There is no way I'd even consider making an offer on a car that the seller refused to let me look at. IMHO, don't waste your time, move on to the next.
I will get to look at it the day of the auction and I will defiantly look it over using all your advice of course it will be in a crowd of 100 other people. I doubt I will be the high bidder because I am thinking of only going to about 4 or 5 grand and that's only if I don't see something real scary about it. Thanks
------------------ ∇PONTIAC∇ “The difference between a Fiero owner and genius is that genius has its limits.”
Based upon the concave rear deck, and door sill in the passenger seat photo, I'd say it's an IFG, probably a splashed IFG. It is (as are all the 355s) a wide body, in that it's wider than a Fiero, but probably similar to actual 355. Probably requires a good going over to make sure the frame was strengthened properly for the top removal.
Looks like someone did put some money/effort into it at one time. Might be worth what you're willing to pay.
It does look like it was driven quite a bit. I hope I can get it at decent price because I think it would be fun to redo and make it mine. My luck there will be someone that will either not know what it really is or hope to sell it later to an unknowledgeable person and bid it way up.
It looks to be an early IFG model as in the second spic, it looks like the rocker panel is connected to the bottom of the door Your convertible frame won't be very water tight as the door seals I see there are flaps of canvas and maybe some filler or possibly smaller rubber seals but they don't look like they are backed up by solid frames around the windows In your later pics, it looks like a stretch as I can see the lower frame rails piece that was inserted and welded up. The bar running down the frame looks to be not bad and they at least put it on the outside of the seam and raised it up into the rocker. The frame that raises up to the upper frame (in the back) will need some better reinforcing and gusseting to provide better support for the rear fame and cockpit The control arms look original and untouched so that speaks to wheel spacers both front and back. That changes your steering geometry at the front. 355 rear width is about 3-4" wider each side and front is anywhere from 1"-2" depending on rim offset. Interior could use a new centre console and a freshen up. Dash looks not bad as that is a replica 355 dash from what I can see
What to look for when you get a chance:
Is there wheel spacers? If so, bearings might be wearing out and check the scrub on the tires. On the stretch, check the upper and lower frame rails as best you can for how the stretch was done Check the reinforcing tube and upper tubes to see how they are welded in and if there are any other reinforcements you can't see in your current pics Check the door gaps. When stretch isn't done well, the cockpit will sag a bit in teh door jambs so you end up with smaller gaps at the top of the doors than the bottom Check overall fiberglass quality Bubbles in the paint, overall smoothness of the panels, the doors on early models had a coke shape curve in the doors. This is hard to get rid of.... Fit of the panels to the car. Are they well secured or fairly loose. Does the body line go straight end to end? Some had poorly formed panels that had the body line above the scoops go in several angles instead of straight from front to back.
Most of the panels and interior etc. can be fixed but really pay attention to the stretch and frame shape.
Good luck with the auction Don
quote
Originally posted by Imnuts:
Does anyone know if there is postings on this car? Any idea what it should sell for? It is build on an 87 with auto V6 with less than 35,000 miles on it. Thanks,
From the 2pc up from the bottom, It looks like the whole engine cover (trunk) is sunken in at the middle. It should be flat or bowed slightly up at the center. It also looks like its pulled the rear of the cover up so it dont line up with quarter panels very well at all. It was either missformed when made or heat has caused it to warp down. Since the wheels are not deep, Ill guess its got a set of 4" thick adapters. Thats the only way you could not use deep wheels unless you did it the correct way and had custom longer length control arms since the Ferrari has a wider track than Fiero. On my Ferrari and Lambo, I just used deep offset wheels to bring the tires out to the fender line so I could keep all the suspension stock.
[This message has been edited by rogergarrison (edited 08-06-2015).]
I found out they are going to uncover it today so hopefully I will be able to post more pics later on today. I think it is what some of you refer to as a parade float.
It was as if it were sitting on rails when I push and pulled on the wheel to check for bearing and suspension problems. The body seemed to be attached soundly, but it pretty much went down hill from there. The quality of workmanship on what is hidden beneath is sort a like a horror movie. In order bracing for convertible, cradle extension, upper frame extension, 10" wheel spacer, door alignment looked great, deck lid. It is defiantly a parade float. I like taking my Fiero to car show but this one only would look good going past you on the street. Too much work for me. The engine bay I would not want anyone to see.
I had stated earlier if I saw something scary about it I would not go over 3k for it, but now I am sitless. I still might go to the auction to see what someone else will pay for it but not going to be me! Thanks for the help in keeping me out of trouble.
Man..........so much bad on this. 10" adapters....just wow. Welding is terrible. Clamps rusted to the point of breaking. By all the duct taping, I see a mount for something that has bolts that are not even finger tight...washers are loose. Whats with the metal sheet screwed to the bottom of the engine cover ? Keeping all the heat inside is whats warped the lid all to crap. Might be a good project car for under $3000. Some nimrod there will pay a lot for what he doesnt realize until he takes it to his mechanic. With those adapters, Id even be afraid to tow it home. Definitely an accident looking for a place to happen as is.
I'd probably only pay about 5-7k.. it should be worth more but whoever did the work mutilated the car and caused a lot of damage and issues that take a lot of labor to address.. prolly not even worth that much.
The car ended up going for $5,300 not to horrible for someone that wanted a project car that had a lot of time on their hands. It was not something I was really looking for in the first place. I ended up Saturday night with my 88 in a parade of cars that ended in a small mid-western town of Bellefontaine Ohio along their main street and had pizza and ice cream. Like in most car shows my Fiero was the only Fiero there out of almost 400 other cars. They do draw quite a bit of attention and had long discussions with 3 other Fiero owners that wished their cars looked as good as mine.
[This message has been edited by Imnuts (edited 08-11-2015).]
The design has issues... the sagging on the rear deck is common for some (early?) kits. If people remember, the original car was built for the the movie "The Rock" and the car was destroyed (vs the real 355). The company began selling kits from it, and then people splashed those kits....
The design has issues... the sagging on the rear deck is common for some (early?) kits. If people remember, the original car was built for the the movie "The Rock" and the car was destroyed (vs the real 355). The company began selling kits from it, and then people splashed those kits....
there was a coupe made for " the Rock" several years ago (10-11) One of them was on a back lot of Universal studios in Orlando parked in the grass beside a pond with coupe other cars... Or there was just one and that was it..?? I asked the tour guide about it they said it was from "The Rock" and not for sale..
------------------
87GTseries 1 3800sc (7.597 @88.53 1.579 60ft) (series II swap in progress) 85GT Northstar/ 4t80e Northstar Rebuild
sitless. I still might go to the auction to see what someone else will pay for it but not going to be me! Thanks for the help in keeping me out of trouble.
