The Pontiac Fiero was put into production in August 1983 and by early 1984, the first Fieros began to hit showroom floors. Trouble began brewing immediately, as customers were upset that, despite the Fiero's marketing, which showed the car as a fast, sporty track star, it was merely an underpowered commuter car in running clothes.
True - I was a ‘fan’ before the first Fiero hit our local dealer showrooms, and I was one of those disappointed. My ’84 ‘Iron Duke’ 2M4 was slow, but my real 'beef' was the BIG 3rd-to-4th gear jump!
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1986 The Fiero also gained a fastback body style option in 1986, which included upgrades such as a spoiler. Reportedly, many onlookers thought the new fastback Fiero was actually a new Corvette. The four-speed Muncie manual transmission used in 2.8-liter V8 applications was replaced with a five-speed unit, as well.
I traded my '84 too early in '86 to get the V6 as the 4-speed 3rd-to-4th gear jump was better with the more torque before the 5-speed was offered. Damn, I wished I got the V8!
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1988 The final year for the Fiero. A new suspension configuration debuted, which was meant to have been the original suspension setup in the Fiero from its design phase all the way back in the late 1970s.
True Pontiac enthusiasts recognize that the 1988 model IS the Fiero that GM should have built in the first place!
They’re highly sought-after due to the comprehensive suspension; steering and brake revisions which are all notable superior than the previous years.
I love my '88 GT, the ride is smoother with better control; the efforts of low-speed handling are easier plus a tighter turning radius too!
The GT has been under 'Refurbishment' - the last chapter will be the interior; dew wipes, slow power windows, headliner, ect.
When my GT hibernation is finally on the road again, I'll be going back in time and driving with a smile on my face!
{I'm hope that I will be able to afford gasoline in the future before California bans it...}
------------------ Original Owner of a Silver '88 GT Under 'Production Refurbishment' @ 136k Miles
[This message has been edited by Vintage-Nut (edited 01-12-2025).]
Ugh... you know... I have a hard time with these. Most of them are written by really young people who don't understand "the time."
Like this statement: "Also to blame was its rather underwhelming performance that even the 2.8-liter V6 couldn't rectify."
... in the mid 1980s... the 2.8 V6/60 in the Fiero was quite powerful. The Fiero was at least as fast as everything else that was available at the time. 87-88 was really a refresh year for a lot of cars, and you had really high performance cars like the RX-7 Turbo 2, or the SuperCharged MR2, or the Supra Turbo... or the Starion AWD Turbo, etc.
But from 1985-1986... the Fiero was one of the absolute quickest non-super cars out there. All the other normal sports cars that an average person could buy, the Fiero was much quicker.
I also don't expect these article writers to get everything correct, but there's always mistakes in them... like saying the 1988 Fiero was the first year to get the 120mph speedometer. Sigh...
Say what you want about how fast/quick the V6 Fiero was - or wasn't. My 85 4 speed GT was about an even match for a Monte Carlo SS, for the short time we were on the same road. (His lane ran out, and he had to turn.)
I have recently started to write for a web site. I may see if they will let me write a multi piece article on the Fiero.
One to se the truth about the car good and bad.
Second I want to include many things even Fiero owners don’t know.
I want you to cover things like the plastic wheels, the fact the mid engine idea came from the GM tech center as a rejected Corvette proposal. Porsche engineering helped tune the 88 suspension and Jim Hall the Chaparral racing team owner wanted yo buy the Fiero and plant to build a Chaparral street car.
But I would like to set straight how and why they had fire. Also set straight the mistakes Pontiac made and how Corvette people brought on the end.
Might add how the Fiero also contributed to the C5 Corvette in a number of ways. Also how it was canceled and hidden like the Fiero till they had a running car.
True Pontiac enthusiasts recognize that the 1988 model IS the Fiero that GM should have built in the first place!
They’re highly sought-after due to the comprehensive suspension; steering and brake revisions which are all notable superior than the previous years.
I love my '88 GT, the ride is smoother with better control; the efforts of low-speed handling are easier plus a tighter turning radius too!
The GT has been under 'Refurbishment' - the last chapter will be the interior; dew wipes, slow power windows, headliner, ect.
When my GT hibernation is finally on the road again, I'll be going back in time and driving with a smile on my face!
{I'm hope that I will be able to afford gasoline in the future before California bans it...}
Most Fiero owners know that the 88 suspension was designed to be used from the start but they lacked the money to finish it. It was in the plans from the very start.
Originally posted by 82-T/A [At Work]: Ugh... you know... I have a hard time with these. Most of them are written by really young people who don't understand "the time."
Like this statement: "Also to blame was its rather underwhelming performance that even the 2.8-liter V6 couldn't rectify."
... in the mid 1980s... the 2.8 V6/60 in the Fiero was quite powerful. The Fiero was at least as fast as everything else that was available at the time. 87-88 was really a refresh year for a lot of cars, and you had really high performance cars like the RX-7 Turbo 2, or the SuperCharged MR2, or the Supra Turbo... or the Starion AWD Turbo, etc.
But from 1985-1986... the Fiero was one of the absolute quickest non-super cars out there. All the other normal sports cars that an average person could buy, the Fiero was much quicker.
I also don't expect these article writers to get everything correct, but there's always mistakes in them... like saying the 1988 Fiero was the first year to get the 120mph speedometer. Sigh...
I used to run yuppies in 944 non turbo cars and beat them in my 1985 2m6 SE. is was slow but I would pull past them and there was nothing they could do. Back then 185 hp was a lot.
Ummmm....They state "1 in 400 Fieros were catching fire!"....so with 136,840 produced in 1984, that would point to 342 catching fire....but NHTSA records state only 170, and GM records list only 260 catching fire....Also, that pic of a Fiero fire is most probably due to the headlight motors....when they get over 30 years old, they can go bad- and take the car with them.
The Fiero performed as good as the 300ZX and RX-7 in their Normally aspirated versions....and a fully loaded Fiero GT cost around $14,000 while the Nissan and Mazda cost $16,000 plus!
[This message has been edited by cvxjet (edited 01-12-2025).]
There will always be positive and negative articles on collector cars. The Fiero only had fires on the 1984 model year and it was estimated to be about 1 out of 400 produced. That info was incorrectly used in articles that described the rest of the Fieros 85-88 production. Another lie is that even in the final year the Pontiac Fiero never lost money for GM The total production run was 370,167 and that was a successful production run. IMO, the best thing about a Pontiac Fiero was its timeless styling and the rust resistant exterior body parts used. Its a fun car to drive and with an engine swap, you could have a high performance car.
Originally posted by 82-T/A [At Work]: Yeah, if I remember correctly, it was the HVAC element... whatever that coil thing is that gets filled up with leaves and catches fire.
The resistors for the fan blower speeds. They look like little coils of bare wire.
I just watched the video and actually remember seeing this video back a few years ago- and it was definitely the right HL motor....
I installed a solenoid in the power wire for the motors- so there is NO power at all if the key is off- also have a switch that allows me to shut the power down while driving in case the motor goes bad....But I also was able to get a front-lights wire harness and switch to the later model (87-88) HL motors which are much safer.
Originally posted by maryjane: The resistors for the fan blower speeds. They look like little coils of bare wire.
I don't have an EE degree... but is there a reason why they are designed like that? Can't they be replaced with a different kind of resistor that doesn't have to protrude into the HVAC space... or is there a point to them being designed like that?
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Originally posted by cvxjet: I installed a solenoid in the power wire for the motors- so there is NO power at all if the key is off- also have a switch that allows me to shut the power down while driving in case the motor goes bad....But I also was able to get a front-lights wire harness and switch to the later model (87-88) HL motors which are much safer.
What exactly happens that they catch fire? Is it that they continue to run after the engine is turned off and the owner has walked away? ... causing them to overheat and start a fire?
Don't get me wrong, I understand about the resistor fires in the HVAC but that isn't what the Fieros were crucified for; it was the engine fires. Thus the irony..
I don't have an EE degree... but is there a reason why they are designed like that? Can't they be replaced with a different kind of resistor that doesn't have to protrude into the HVAC space... or is there a point to them being designed like that?
What exactly happens that they catch fire? Is it that they continue to run after the engine is turned off and the owner has walked away? ... causing them to overheat and start a fire?
The resistors get hot, so either they need to be connected to the frame as a "heatsink" or be actively air cooled, you have a flow of air right near where the fan and it's wiring is, so it's convenient.
The limit switches get stuck and don't deactivate the motor, therefore electricity is continuing to be sent through the motor windings of a stalled motor, there's a circuit breaker in the motor (glass tube thing), which will turn off, then back on every few seconds (that produces the click of death, as the motor clicks on, and clicks off), there's also the fuses, fusible links and a circuit breaker in the cabin headlight switch itself, depending on what position it is in, but sometimes the motors won't draw enough to pop a fuse, instead just getting hotter and hotter, or the wiring gets to hot, then something starts to melt/burn. This can happen at any time, engine on, off, owner there or not, but it won't happen by itself, it needs to be triggered (a parked headlight can't spontaneously re-engage and catch fire, unless the knob is turned, or the switch is cycled, and the limit switch malfunctions and the headlight doesn't "park"). So, if your headlights are clicking (once every 10 or so seconds) then a limit switch isn't engaged and it's stalled, best case scenario the circuit breakers keep the temperature low enough, and you get a dead battery, worst case scenario, fire.
I go a go ahead to write a multi piece story on the Fiero for an automotive web site. I will get it started and it will be posted in part every couple months if it works out.
My goal it to get the story right and also include some of the things many Fiero people don’t even know much about.
I have gathered info from a number of GM people and even some tech center and Corvette people. I have posted much of this here at different times but I can get it into one story.
I go a go ahead to write a multi piece story on the Fiero for an automotive web site. I will get it started and it will be posted in part every couple months if it works out.
My goal it to get the story right and also include some of the things many Fiero people don’t even know much about.
I have gathered info from a number of GM people and even some tech center and Corvette people. I have posted much of this here at different times but I can get it into one story.
I will post a link if we get it done.
could you find out what pontiac did about the 1984 oilpans?
