So I want to do a manual transmission for my 87' Fiero SE. It currently has the 2.5 Duke and the 3-speed auto and I was thinking about swapping in a 2.2.L Ecotech with a 5-speed manual. The thing is I can't get a hold of a donor fiero with a manual tranny and was wondering if it is going to be possible to get all the components I need out of the same car I'm getting the engine and tranny. I'm not afraid of some fabrication as obviously I'd need to do some for this to work.
Do you think you can find a donor car that has the engine in the back? Or are you thinking you will just mount the shifter rotated 180 deg?
Are you ready to do extensive modifications to your under dash pedals to make the ones from your donor car work?
Many donor cars don't even use a hydraulic clutch. Have you thought about that?
On the other hand I bet there must be thousands of junk yards between MA and TX that have bolt in parts directly from MT fieros. I would even think if you went to the mall section of this forum you could get bolt in pieces for cheap.
[This message has been edited by phonedawgz (edited 07-07-2013).]
You might be able to get what is fiero specific from people in the mall. Maybe even find some one who wants to convert to an Auto and do some even swapping of parts.
Unless you have some personal attachment to the car just sell it and buy one with a stick in it. You will save your self a lot of pain, suffering, time and money. Larry
Sure when you think about it going manual with a non stock engine and tranny there is different parts needed so all that you could use from a parts car would be the pedals and a 5 speed shifter which you can get from others in the mall section. The mounts and shifter brackets and possibly cables from a parts car are not much use with a swap like this. Things like the hydraulic lines should be replaced with new parts any ways to make your car that much better and a nice new Rodney Dickman aluminum slave cylinder is much better then an old stock unit and new shifter cables is always a good idea. Dan.
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DARN Cars now open with Over 30 years wiring experience between cars and trade as an avionics technician in both Canadian Air Force and civilian aviation. Over 25 years experience building and modifying cars. Over 10 years of full Fiero engine swaps and harnesses building and still going.
The idea is to use the engine, transmission, wireing harness, fuel system, and computer out of a cavalier and modify it to fit in the Fiero. When I started the project I looked for a few months for a manual Fiero but where I have the car is in the middle of Nowhere Texas so a donor wasn't and still isn't available. I was hoping there is a way to rig the shifter backwards and convert the system to work forwards but if this sounds like a stupid idea that's cool just let me know. What I'm really looking for is the most strait forward way to get a manual tranny in a Fiero without having a donor mt Fiero. If there is a better engine/tranny combo for this I'd love to hear about it. Thanks for all the suggestions!
Yes It's very possible, I got the Fiero specific parts I needed here at the mall (Clutch and bake pedals and brackets). I swapped in a 1998 2.5L Duratec engine and 5spd from a Contour (I wanted all Aluminum) I'll be posting the full tread here after I finish the interior. Since the engine is in front of the front wheels in the donor car, it swaps over nicely to a mid-engine layout. I've actually been surprised at how easy it has been to do, and as far as I know I'm the only one to do this swap. So yours should be even easier.
Thanks that's really encouraging! Here's a fun fact by the way: this won't be the first time this has been done. Over in Europe Opel used the same engine and tranny I'm planning to use in the mid engine Opel Speedster, weird but hey, whatever works.
Originally posted by Treep78: ...The thing is I can't get a hold of a donor fiero with a manual tranny and was wondering if it is going to be possible to get all the components I need out of the same car I'm getting the engine and tranny...
The car was built for 5 years and was more popular with women who favored an auto. For the following 25 years it has been favored by young guys who want to play with a stick.
Do the math and you’ll understand why it is tough to find a donor car for a 5 speed.
Ecotech is a better engine. Plus if I'm using the drivetrain from a single car I don't have to mess with the computer. Though I may end up using a 2.4l dual cam just cause the donor car will be cheaper for the same power.
get a spare cradle. do the swap on that. drive the car while you are swapping it. You will not need ANYTHING from your old drive line so you don't need to take it out to start this.
Unless you have some personal attachment to the car just sell it and buy one with a stick in it. You will save your self a lot of pain, suffering, time and money. Larry
I thought pain, suffering, time and money was what owning a Fiero was all about. Did I miss something????
FFIEROFRED Member Posts: 626 From: GULFPORT, MS Registered: May 2008
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07-08-2013 05:47 PM
get a spare cradle. do the swap on that. drive the car while you are swapping it. You will not need ANYTHING from your old drive line so you don't need to take it out to start this. IP: Logged
I don't actuall drive the car so it's not I problem. The engine didn't turn over when I bought it, which didn't matter to me since I wasn't planning to use it anyway.
Ecotech is a better engine. Plus if I'm using the drivetrain from a single car I don't have to mess with the computer.
True only if you are keeping the anti-theft-VATs, BCM, traction control, dash?, evaporation controls including the fuel tank vent solenoid, the evap solenoid, the fuel level sender that runs to the ECM, not the dash, the pollution controls including upstream o2 sensor, the CAT and the down stream O2 sensor, the tire size and steering column from the donor car.
In other words, plan on messing with the PCM. It's easier.
[This message has been edited by phonedawgz (edited 07-08-2013).]
The Opel, Nice! Yeah I'm basing my swap off the Noble M400 Idea, euro sports car inpiration, right on. I have to admit I cheated a little too, I got the ISIS Power electrical system for mid-engine cars. I'm an Electrical Engineer and I still would rather pay for a wiring kit rather then do the full integration to a modern harness myself. Tip: Keep everything from your engine wire harness and computer and power it with the kit, it makes life much easier.
[This message has been edited by pttransamdriver (edited 07-08-2013).]
