He had quite the personal museum of rare and odd Fiero items as well as 2 Indys.
I'm wondering what ever happen to his collection of items? Like the prototype fender he had?
When I was in Michigan I visited Harold and his American Fiero museum that was on his property. Harold had the largest collection of Fiero literature and memorabilia that I have even seen and would ever see. He had just about every Fiero promotional item in existence. Dealer showroom banners, cups, pens, models, dealer displays, preliminary factory service manuals, issued manuals, service bulletins, dealer price lists, brochures and catalogs on every aftermarket Fiero equipment maker around. He also had an 84 Indy in showroom condition (60 miles on the OD) and a vintage Mustang. Harold was a nice guy and very hospitable. His home and museum were open to all visitors. Harold Hooten passed away about 10 years ago and I was told that everything that he had was auctioned off. His 84 Indy remains in the hands of a private collector today. As for the other stuff, I would guess that its spread about all over. With his passing there is no longer a Fiero museum left. Phil Huff still has lots of Fiero cars and tons of stuff left over from when he ran the infamous FOCOA but its sitting in the sun in Las Vegas or rotting away in storage.
------------------ " THE BLACK PARALYZER" -87GT 3800SC Series III engine, custom ZZP /Frozen Boost Intercooler setup, 3.4" Pulley, Northstar TB, LS1 MAF, 3" Spintech/Hedman Exhaust, Autolite 104's, MSD wires, Custom CAI, 4T65eHD w. custom axles, HP Tuners VCM Suite. "THE COLUSSUS" 87GT - ALL OUT 3.4L Turbocharged engine, Garrett Hybrid Turbo, MSD ign., modified TH125H " ON THE LOOSE WITHOUT THE JUICE "
Harold's family might know where much of his collection went. He liked the Indy model so much that he insisted on keeping his 60 mile car completely stock and would not even allow the recall mods to be done. I don't believe that he ever drove that car. AFAIK it was a trailer queen. It is a shame that such a vast collection of Fiero memorabilia could not be maintained in one place. There is no longer any Fiero specific museum and its sad that owners of this car do not have this resource.
------------------ " THE BLACK PARALYZER" -87GT 3800SC Series III engine, custom ZZP /Frozen Boost Intercooler setup, 3.4" Pulley, Northstar TB, LS1 MAF, 3" Spintech/Hedman Exhaust, Autolite 104's, MSD wires, Custom CAI, 4T65eHD w. custom axles, HP Tuners VCM Suite. "THE COLUSSUS" 87GT - ALL OUT 3.4L Turbocharged engine, Garrett Hybrid Turbo, MSD ign., modified TH125H " ON THE LOOSE WITHOUT THE JUICE "
Harold's family might know where much of his collection went. He liked the Indy model so much that he insisted on keeping his 60 mile car completely stock and would not even allow the recall mods to be done. I don't believe that he ever drove that car. AFAIK it was a trailer queen. It is a shame that such a vast collection of Fiero memorabilia could not be maintained in one place. There is no longer any Fiero specific museum and its sad that owners of this car do not have this resource.
I would have loved to have the car and his stuff in a museum. It should be shared.
I wasn't aware (or I forgot) that he had two Indys. If he did, the other one was already sold, or given to a family member.
The one I bought is a 4 speed that had around 15,000 miles on it. It now only has just over 16,000 miles on it. I don't drive it much, on purpose. I'll post some pictures later.
There is a FIERO Museum. Tim Evans has a large amount of fieros in his collection. Many are for sale. He has parts, large collection of Fiero collectables, Has a low mile Indy, and large collection of Indy memrobilia. Go to FierosForever.com for info It is Sanford MI.
Ron T Indy #305 Historian
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signature by F-I-E-R-O (My Indy on right / #1 IMS)
Mine if I ask how you aquired it? How did it become available and when?
A forum member (I think it was Cheever3000) told me Harold had passed away, and his family was looking to sell the car and collection. I contacted them, and flew out to the Detroit area to check it all out. I liked it, and agreed to buy it all. I asked if they could hold onto everything for a few months, until I could get out there with a truck and trailer to pick everything up and haul it back to California. They did.
I ended up timing the trip so I could stop at the Fierorama show in the Chicago area. This was in 2005.
I have entered the car in various shows in California since, although I haven't had it out of the garage for at least two years. The Fiero Westfest shows haven't happened since 2009, due to falling attendance. I trailered it everywhere except one show in Pacific Grave (near Monterey), when I drove it the 40 miles to the show. That's the longest drive I've taken it on. The sad thing is, it's a really nice car, in perfect condition, but I'm afraid to drive it. I don't want it to get scratched up or, God forbid, there be an accident. Although I'm preserving it as is, it seems like a waste to have it sit.
In 2003 after the 20th Annv show in MI, me & George Ryan (cadero2dmax) & Chuck Hodges (cheever3000) stopped in to visit with Hoot. He spent about an hour with us visiting and showing us numerous items of his collection and story. He had only the one Indy... And I recall it had about 12,000 miles at that time. He even had a video of where it went through the assembly line (fully assembled) a second time as some sort of promotion.
Here is me bending over checking out the no recall differences and George in the background... Lol... I forgot I shaved my head before the 20th... It was so dang hot in Texas and I was tired of my once long hair always being in my face as I was prepping for the trip.
Here is another shot of his two room carpeted detached garage, Chuck looking at some Fiero tech documents in the corner... In the background you can see a red '55 T-Bird that had like 60k miles and was unrestored and immaculate. That thing had more awards than the Fiero!
------------------ <---- did you buy Cliff a beer? ......................................................www.northtexasfieroclub.org
Harold was a man who was very proud of his collection and wanted to bring people to his museum so that he could talk Fieros and show them all of his curios. My family stopped there on a road trip one summer. It must have been in the late 90's . I have an old VHS video of the museum and of Harold explaining how all of his artifacts came to be. He was very cordial, never charged anyone a cent and really enjoyed talking about Fiero history. Harold was a kind and decent man and I learned much during our visit. I am happy to hear that his entire collection ended up in one place.
------------------ " THE BLACK PARALYZER" -87GT 3800SC Series III engine, custom ZZP /Frozen Boost Intercooler setup, 3.4" Pulley, Northstar TB, LS1 MAF, 3" Spintech/Hedman Exhaust, Autolite 104's, MSD wires, Custom CAI, 4T65eHD w. custom axles, HP Tuners VCM Suite. "THE COLUSSUS" 87GT - ALL OUT 3.4L Turbocharged engine, Garrett Hybrid Turbo, MSD ign., modified TH125H " ON THE LOOSE WITHOUT THE JUICE "
FieroBear, you should display it here, they will display poples things for 1 year then they switch it out (at least they do that with cars and I'm sure they would do it for display items as well. http://www.pontiacoaklandmuseum.org/
There is a FIERO Museum. Tim Evans has a large amount of fieros in his collection. Many are for sale. He has parts, large collection of Fiero collectables, Has a low mile Indy, and large collection of Indy memrobilia. Go to FierosForever.com for info It is Sanford MI.
A forum member (I think it was Cheever3000) told me Harold had passed away, and his family was looking to sell the car and collection. ... This was in 2005.
Yes, that was me. I was thinking we discussed this in PFF pm's but my messages "only" go back to 2006. I don't remember what initiated the contact between Harold's family and myself at the time. I've slept since then. As the others have said, I'm still very glad you got the collection, but I hope it wasn't a burden for you.
Harold was a terrific gentleman, one of those gems of the Fiero family. I've still got about a half dozen of his American Fiero Museum business cards. I just can't bring myself to get rid of them.
Yes, that was me. I was thinking we discussed this in PFF pm's but my messages "only" go back to 2006. I don't remember what initiated the contact between Harold's family and myself at the time. I've slept since then. As the others have said, I'm still very glad you got the collection, but I hope it wasn't a burden for you.
Harold was a terrific gentleman, one of those gems of the Fiero family. I've still got about a half dozen of his American Fiero Museum business cards. I just can't bring myself to get rid of them.
No, not a burden. But I wish the car and collection was somewhere that people could enjoy.
No, not a burden. But I wish the car and collection was somewhere that people could enjoy.
As suggested contact the Pontiac Oakland museum and find out if they are interested in hosting an exhibit sponsored by yourself. Itemize everything, ship it out fully insured and let the museum exhibit everything. It is common for collectors to LOAN their collections to museums for exhibits. The property will still be yours. The museum will display it in show cases as on loan from the collection of Mr. xxxx. It will be insured taken care of, protected and on public display. You can take a tax deduction for this work. How do you think that the rich people operate?
------------------ " THE BLACK PARALYZER" -87GT 3800SC Series III engine, custom ZZP /Frozen Boost Intercooler setup, 3.4" Pulley, Northstar TB, LS1 MAF, 3" Spintech/Hedman Exhaust, Autolite 104's, MSD wires, Custom CAI, 4T65eHD w. custom axles, HP Tuners VCM Suite. "THE COLUSSUS" 87GT - ALL OUT 3.4L Turbocharged engine, Garrett Hybrid Turbo, MSD ign., modified TH125H " ON THE LOOSE WITHOUT THE JUICE "