My '88 Fiero - The Never-Ending Saga

[GTRS Fiero]

Are these back wheels a greater diameter then the fronts?

[Fierofool]

Last Fall, I was driving my Fiero home from work, when I happened to look in the mirror and see smoke coming out the right decklid vent.  It was hot out, so I had the AC on.  I had to wait through the stoplight, but then pulled over at the fire dept nearby.  The smoke seemed to be coming from the area of the AC compressor.  I turned off the AC, and the smoke stopped, although the air was still cold.

I drove my Fiero with the AC off, and all else seemed to be OK.  I was told that I probably had the black death.  I was disgusted, and parked it for a month or so.  Knowing the work I planned to do, I decided to live with it.  So I drove it to Davenport, Iowa.  That wasn't bad.  Then, I drove it to San Antonie, TX.  THAT was HOT!

We'll see how bad things are.

The red car wheels do look staggered.  Some companies like Boyd Wheels used to make staggered sets if you had the money.

Not long after I got my 87, I was driving along when there was a loud explosion and smoke boiled out from the rear of the car.  Somehow I managed to get off into the grass and out of the car before it fully stopped.  I just knew it was that dreaded Fiero failed engine and fire thing.  Luckily, the pressure switch blew out of the compressor and the cloud was a combinarion of R12 and compressor oil that was spraying on the converter.

[Raydar]

I had a similar experience coming home from the 30th.
Loud bang under the car. Lots of smoke out through the vents. Figured that I had blown my engine.
Once I got myself pulled over, I realized that my engine was still running just fine, but my A/C was starting to blow warm.
I drove it on home and checked it when I got there. I had blown the high pressure line off of my compressor manifold.

Curious thing about the Fiero Factory 4.9 swaps. There are no pressure switches on the Caddy compressor, which is retained, and TFF doesn't bother to add any.
The pressure/cycling switch in the front serves as the low pressure switch.
The high side...? The popoff valve on the compressor. Or the high side hose. Whichever goes first, I suppose.

When I rebuilt my A/C, I rectified that situation.

[GTRS Fiero]

Somehow I managed to get off into the grass and out of the car before it fully stopped. I just knew it was that dreaded Fiero failed engine and fire thing.  Luckily, the pressure switch blew out of the compressor and the cloud was a combinarion of R12 and compressor oil that was spraying on the converter.

THAT took some doing.

How likely is the Fiero engine to fail?  I just spent $$ on mine.  For me, any engine failure/fire is dreaded.  I had 5 mazda engine fires, and one in a Dodge.  Not fun.

[Fierofool]

With regular service and maintenance, I think the V6 is a pretty tough engine.  Keep the tach under 5K.  The 88 engine may be a little more forgiving due to the balanced crankshaft.  Both 87 and 88 have improved oiling.  My first 85 has over 300K on it and it went through a lot of Run For The Hills.  Robbie had to park it due to his accident but he still starts it to keep it limber. 

[GTRS Fiero]

I brought this over here so I didn't mess up the other thread.

Your exhaust manifolds and intake tube look way nicer than mine.  I see a nice new coolant tube coming off the thermostat housing.  Is that an MSD didtributor cap?

I see the stainless vacuum tubes.  Did you eliminate some vacuum tubes?

[GTRS Fiero]

The crossover could have cracked at the Y like Roger's Formula did.  The honeycomb heat shield has to be removed to repair it.  That usually destroys the shield.   

Is this a frequent thing?  Maybe I should have mine welded while it's out.

[Fierofool]

I don't know what distributor cap that is.  Just one that came from the auto parts store.  The hoses are all original and are still on the car.  The only thing currently different from the picture is that I've reinstalled the recall strip on the deck lid and the dogbone has been upgraded to poly bushings. 

I refinished the intake and valve covers while the engine was being prepped for install.  It got a new crankshaft kit and cam bearings.  The heads remained on the engine while that was done.  The intake and covers are actually not that orange.  They look more similar to the distributor cap.  You can see the darker color on the valve cover flanges where the sun doesn't shine so strongly on them.  Some of the shine on the engine is a result of using CD2 Engine Detailer. 

I don't know if the cracked crossover is that frequent, or not.  Apparently it's common enough that TFS offers a replacement for the 88 but not the earlier years.  The most common exhaust break throughout all years is the front exhaust manifold tends to crack around the number 6 exhaust runner where it joins onto the log.  I think that might be a result of a poorly supported exhaust system possibly combined with weak or broken transmission and engine mounts.  I've had one that cracked in that area and the car needed mounts and had some exhaust support springs missing.  It was mostly hanging by the rearmost springs and hanger straps around the muffler and the downpipe flange. 

[GTRS Fiero]

TFS carried an '88 crossover pipe, and an '84-'87 crossover pipe.  I wanted one for my '88, but they were out.  TFS said it sold so poorly that they won't order more.  They claimed the earlier one could be made to fit.  I wanted a new Y-pipe, but the correct one.  Not buying from WCF.

I had my exhaust manifolds welded a bit to keep them from cracking.

My Fiero came with a poly dogbone.  I'm replacing with a rubber dogbone from Rodney.  I also installed his dogbone cover.

I read about a bunch of issues, and am trying to address them while my cradle is out.  The cradle will also be treated for rust.  No time to sandblast and make it nice and shiny, unfortunately.  Pickup may already have to be pushed back a month.

[Fierofool]

The early one can be made to fit, though I don't know how an 84 pipe would ever work out since it never had a V6.  The difference in the 85-87 and the 88 is the length and angle of the downpipes but that can be addressed by cutting and welding. 

[GTRS Fiero]

You're right.  85-87 V6.

I want the correct part.  And I like my shield, although would've gone for the heat coating.

[GTRS Fiero]

I refinished the intake and valve covers while the engine was being prepped for install.  It got a new crankshaft kit and cam bearings.  The heads remained on the engine while that was done.  The intake and covers are actually not that orange.  They look more similar to the distributor cap.  You can see the darker color on the valve cover flanges where the sun doesn't shine so strongly on them.

I tried to get mine powder-coated the stock red, but they didn't offer that color.  I know some people painted theirs, but mine will be powder-coated.  Not sure of the pros and cons of paint vs. powder-coat.

[GTRS Fiero]

Interior pics of my Fiero from September:




The left side of the steering wheel is oozing above the horizontal spoke.  Also, the top of the wheel is sun-rotted.

TFS-style glove box.  I've added thickness to mine, because it's very fragile.

I fixed much of the warping in the interior, but I'm not really happy with the job I did.

The white faces on the gauges aren't the right sizes, and don't match up with what's behind them.  I lined up the holes.  For anyone else puttoing these on, make sure to put them on using backlights to address this.  Also, remove the black needle covers ONLY--not the orange needles themselves.  You can gently remove the needle covers with a small flathead screwdriver.

[GTRS Fiero]

These were the decals on the car when I purchased it:




The sun had taken its toll on the decals, so I tried to have them replaced.  They botched the job.  It took me 2 years to find a place to do a better job, but I haven't gotten there to have it done.

[TopNotch]

These were the decals on the car when I purchased it:
The sun had taken its toll on the decals, so I tried to have them replaced.  They botched the job.  It took me 2 years to find a place to do a better job, but I haven't gotten there to have it done.

Have you tried fierosails.com? They do custom decals. They did my custom wheel centers, and the "XD4" you may have seen in other pictures.

(Old picture, before the repaint)
Of course, you would have to put on any decals you had made yourself.