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Fiero GT Cross Country Trip to Las Vegas! by Scooter_86gt
Started on: 08-20-2015 07:15 PM
Replies: 12 (451 views)
Last post by: tshark on 08-23-2015 08:13 AM
Scooter_86gt
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Report this Post08-20-2015 07:15 PM Click Here to See the Profile for Scooter_86gtSend a Private Message to Scooter_86gtEdit/Delete MessageReply w/QuoteDirect Link to This Post
I have a burgundy GT with a 3.4 conversion and an Isuzu 5 speed. I just drove out to Las Vegas, worked for a month then drove back to NC. The car did great with no major issues or breakdowns. I changed the belts in Vegas, an expected maintenance, and an exhaust bracket broke on the way back due to the rough roads and my yet to be refreshed suspension. No big deal and an easy fix. The AC is cold but sitting in Vegas traffic it was mildly cool.

I visited the Fiero yard in Vegas out toward Nellis and chatted a fair bit with Dave.....he helped me fix my door hinge, and has a very cool way to pressurized the system to show vac leaks. I have been chasing what I thought was one but he found three I would never have found. Dave is a wealth of knowledge and a great guy. They have around 20 to 30 fieros, tons of parts etc. If you need a part call Dave at the fiero yard because they ship everywhere and have tons of parts. A couple fieros are for sale and the bonus is they are rust free cars.

I averaged about 70mph. I got around 25 miles per gallon. I refilled the tank every 175 or so miles or right around a quarter tank. I ran her almost out once and got close to 225 miles out of the tank....just to see how far I could get. I think I had 1.5 gallons left.

I drove about 10 to 12 hrs then stopped so the trip took 3 days out and 3 days back. Weather going out was epic but coming back was intermittent rain all the way with hard down pours thru the eastern mountains but the car handled it great....though I do think I would have liked newer or faster wipers? Maybe I will look into better wipers.

I also had just put in a universal electronic cruise and it was freaking awesome! Those long stretches would have killed without it.

My spare is trashed so I took it out and packed my low profile jack, jack stands,car tools, tire repair stuff, road flares, spare parts etc in the front.

I carried a medium size hard sided suit case and my work tools in the back with smaller soft sided bags and a large back pack in the front seat. Plenty of room for one person but not sure two people with enough stuff for that long would have worked. Maybe if I didn't have tools for my work there would have been room?

Here are a couple pics from the trip....of the car of course.....mostly! :lol:

Navajo trading that you can see from I-40 in New Mexico

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Horney Mikes Bus at Kounts Kustoms in Vegas....a great shop and tour of cools cars!


A Masarati Merak....random mid engine!


A cool shot at a truck stop in the mid-west


Windmills i the mid west. There are fields of these things that go into the horizon. You really need to see these giant things in person to appreciate the visual.

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In Albuquerque I just missed being part of this accident by 30 seconds or so. I am 6 cars back from it. A semi hit a pedestrian trying to cross 40?? :roll: The cops had us turn around and go the wrong way on 40 to the previous exit. The crazy part was watching the tractor trailers turn around....crazy.


A cool rest stop in Texas.

Here is a photobucket link to more pics:
http://s279.photobucket.com...%20Road%20Trip/story
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notwohorns
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Report this Post08-20-2015 07:45 PM Click Here to See the Profile for notwohornsSend a Private Message to notwohornsEdit/Delete MessageReply w/QuoteDirect Link to This Post
Thanks for sharing your trip with us. Very interesting
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Scooter_86gt
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Report this Post08-20-2015 08:00 PM Click Here to See the Profile for Scooter_86gtSend a Private Message to Scooter_86gtEdit/Delete MessageReply w/QuoteDirect Link to This Post
Yes it was an awesome trip! Lots of people along the way asked about the car and I even got pulled over on the way back just outside of Tennessee by two cops who wanted to ask about the car!

Oddly I did not see any fieros on the trip, other than the fiero yard in Vegas, until the last 60 miles back to home when I saw two close together. One in a parking lot and one on the road. We saw each other and waved.

It is my daily driver so I am motivated to keep her running as best I can and I am proud of my work so far allowing her to run so strong and reliable on such a long trip.

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Jfrost
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Report this Post08-21-2015 10:50 AM Click Here to See the Profile for JfrostSend a Private Message to JfrostEdit/Delete MessageReply w/QuoteDirect Link to This Post
Very cool! Glad to see you and your car made it without major incident. I'd love to do something like this one day, thanks for sharing.

------------------
Project L67 Fiero

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exoticse
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Report this Post08-21-2015 04:43 PM Click Here to See the Profile for exoticseSend a Private Message to exoticseEdit/Delete MessageReply w/QuoteDirect Link to This Post
Good stuff ! Looks like it was a fun trip. Thanks for sharing.
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Scooter_86gt
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Report this Post08-22-2015 11:18 AM Click Here to See the Profile for Scooter_86gtSend a Private Message to Scooter_86gtEdit/Delete MessageReply w/QuoteDirect Link to This Post
Yes it was really fun! There is just something about driving cross country in a car you have put a lot of time into that is not like all the other cars on the road.....along with knowing that you can fix most of the problems that might arise. If not I have triple A!

I really hope to get a 4.9 upgrade or other engine etc so I can upgrade to more current tech, computer, gauges and so on and also add a trailer hitch so I could travel with a passenger. The only two challenges are fuel capacity and luggage. I want to add a front fuel cell and trailer for more luggage.

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tshark
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Report this Post08-22-2015 12:43 PM Click Here to See the Profile for tsharkSend a Private Message to tsharkEdit/Delete MessageReply w/QuoteDirect Link to This Post
Thanks for sharing. Is that paint or plasti-dip? You had 1.5 gallons left after 225 miles? That's about 22.5 MPG.

I was through there about 25 years ago. Very pictureqsue. Ended up in Mesa Verde, Palo Duro, then back to the Canyon. Some years previously, I went on a trip in winter through Oklahoma, and there was black ice. The big rigs were having trouble.

It seems that last time I was in NC, there was a hurricane.
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Scooter_86gt
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Report this Post08-22-2015 05:29 PM Click Here to See the Profile for Scooter_86gtSend a Private Message to Scooter_86gtEdit/Delete MessageReply w/QuoteDirect Link to This Post
No plasti dip. The car was painted by the previous owner. It is not a good paint job. It is a "50 footer"....up close there are lots of bad spots. I think it is a early 2000 Mitsubishi metallic red?

The rims are 17" XXR 530s in a metallic gun metal....I think.

Yea.... I wasn't sure I did the calculations right for mileage? I also wasn't 100% sure if it was a gallon or a gallon and a half I had left in the tank so I rounded up to 9 gallons used. I couldn't find the receipt and did not do the figuring until I was in Vegas two days later. I divided 225 driven (trip meter) by 9 and came up with 25. I wasn't sure if I should have divided the 9 or so gallons of gas I used or the 10 gallons overall the tank held because if I would have driving out the last gallon that would have also been more miles driven? LOL....so confusing??

[This message has been edited by Scooter_86gt (edited 08-22-2015).]

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johnyrottin
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Report this Post08-22-2015 07:03 PM Click Here to See the Profile for johnyrottinSend a Private Message to johnyrottinEdit/Delete MessageReply w/QuoteDirect Link to This Post
What did the Counts Kustoms guys think of the Fiero?

[This message has been edited by johnyrottin (edited 08-25-2015).]

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Scooter_86gt
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Report this Post08-22-2015 07:37 PM Click Here to See the Profile for Scooter_86gtSend a Private Message to Scooter_86gtEdit/Delete MessageReply w/QuoteDirect Link to This Post
I got to Kounts about 10:30 or so on a Tuesday. They have guys who guide you in and tell you where to park. It is a free self walking tour. It is worth the time as his collection is cool and the vibe is cool as well, just like it looks on TV.

None of the guys from the TV show were there. There were a couple of workers but none I recognized. I wanted to mention about my Fiero but there was no one there to talk to about it.....maybe I will go back in the future.

You could see into the area where they bring the cars out of for the reveals but nothing was really going on. I guess it was a slow week but also I think they do all the reveal stuff on weekends.

The whole area is smaller than it looks on TV. It is still very cool though and I recommend it. They have a cool merchandise area too, but I was low on cash so couldn't get anything.

I also want to visit gas monkey garage in Dallas....I think they will get a bigger kick out of the Fiero than Kounts would!
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Report this Post08-22-2015 09:35 PM Click Here to See the Profile for notwohornsSend a Private Message to notwohornsEdit/Delete MessageReply w/QuoteDirect Link to This Post
What did you wrap your dash with. Looks good
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Scooter_86gt
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Report this Post08-22-2015 09:58 PM Click Here to See the Profile for Scooter_86gtSend a Private Message to Scooter_86gtEdit/Delete MessageReply w/QuoteDirect Link to This Post
It is an inexpensive perforated vinyl I ordered on line. When I got the car the dash was super fragile and cracking. Also the interior was red on red on red and in bad shape. I figured black on black was a quick easy solution. I ripped out the original center console , built my own custom center console and covered the dash in the perforated as well as the console arm rest and door bottoms. I covered the new dash edge with teh trim in the existing indention that runs around the interior.





I still need to do the seats. They are from a trans-am with few options other than to get recovered at $300 a pop.

The door cup holders are from a trans-am as well. Yes they are in the way if you are not conscious of them. The entire interior was a bit of a test and I will probably re do some of it to improve the fit and finish after living with it for a while or hopefully put in Amids super cool euro style dash if I can save enough up.

Below is a link to some of the build:
[url=http://s279.photobucket.com/user/tjh70/Red%2086%20GT%204%20speed%203_4%20conversion/story][/url]

[This message has been edited by Scooter_86gt (edited 08-22-2015).]

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tshark
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Report this Post08-23-2015 08:13 AM Click Here to See the Profile for tsharkSend a Private Message to tsharkEdit/Delete MessageReply w/QuoteDirect Link to This Post
Your MPG calculations were correct (dividing miles driven by gallons used). I figured 11.5 gallons, minus 1.5 remaining, leaving 10. Easy to move the decimal on 225. Actually, probably an 11.7 gallon tank, but anyway...

Yep, too much red.
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