Anniversary of sorts...

[Raydar]

...
Raydar, are you going to have an XD4?

I dunno.
There's a guy who has an essentially completed one for sale. (9.25:1 compression, ported stock head, and a cam similar to Pat's. Just needs the balancer/oil pump assembly.) but I'm kind of on the fence.
I'm one of those "If 'more' is enough, then 'too much' is just right." kind of guys, so I'm sure I would be wanting to do something else, before too long.
I bought the car to do a swap, but now that I've rebuilt/reworked the suspension and fixed a multitude of oil leaks (it's no longer The Fiero Valdez) it really runs so good that I'm in no hurry to take it apart. Has 150K on the odo.

[TopNotch]

There's a guy who has an essentially completed one for sale. (9.25:1 compression, ported stock head, and a cam similar to Pat's. Just needs the balancer/oil pump assembly.) but I'm kind of on the fence.

What kind of rockers does he have? As you know, the stock rockers on a duke are not adjustable, so I'm not sure how a ground cam would work out.

[GTRS Fiero]

From the pictures, I really like TopNotch's XD4.  Even better, it's street legal, so he can drive it whenever.  It'd be really cool to open the decklid and have that sitting in there, shining away.

[Raydar]

What kind of rockers does he have? As you know, the stock rockers on a duke are not adjustable, so I'm not sure how a ground cam would work out.

They look like stock rockers. If they're not stock, they're not "fancy".
Here are some pics of his engine, including the cam specs. (There are some other VW pics, at the beginning of the page.)
https://www.flickr.com/photos/30128663@N06/

I'd be interested in any thoughts that you may have.

[TopNotch]

The engine is clean and pretty, but it's more "stock" than mine.
1. The valve specs are milder.
2. The head is stock. Mine has a 91-92 head, which flows better, and has valves with longer stems, which means longer valve springs, which means more valve travel is easier on the springs.
3. The cam gear appears to be the stock fiber type. Mine's aluminum.

[GTRS Fiero]

I went back and looked through the member postings.  Of those who joined this year, only MikeMac and GTXVette are still active.  Most of the active members have been here since 2008.  There are exceptions, like fiero128, ron768, and RobsFieros.  There are other members like CowsPatoot who still drop by.

Don't misunderstand.  I enjoy my Fiero on my own, but most people I meet have no interest in Fieros--or cars, for that matter.  What is the point of having a Fiero, if you can't share it with someone who gets Fieros?  I'm just saying.  Imagine that you climbed Mt. Everest, ran a record-speed marathon, successfully conquered time travel, and found Solomon's mines...but you're the only person on Earth.  Sortof takes all the fun out of it, doesn't it?  You'd probably paint a face on a soccer ball for company, and call it Wilson.

So, yeah, it seems to be an achievement for recent members to stay here for a year.

[GTXVette]

 
  there are several reasons the P car gets no love,  right now they are re emergeing and as you have noticed most are getting more modern engine transplants. like pontiac may should have done along with not cutting them out,
  in 1984 they were kinda like a Chick's car,or the way the first Porsche Boxter is, I really do wish I had stayed in the Sporty car world instead of racing stock cars.
 It does take LOTS of effort to keep Intrest up  and a web site like this Very Local to even just North Georgia and about a 100 mile radius. Got to get some young blood in here. OR  Make our Presence Known. People Show them They Race them and they modify them, but don't really know where to look other than Pennocks

[GTRS Fiero]

There seems to be a thing lately, where kids in their 20s don't want to drive.  They're interested in things that don't require responsibility.

Also, cars are a huge expense.  They detract from disposable income.  There are often unexpected expenses with cars--particularly old cars.  Whatever you think of the Fiero, there have been an abundance of cheap imports that just don't last, and certainly take the joy out of car ownership, due to constant problems and a short life.  I understand that kids nowadays just don't want to deal with the problems they've seen their parents have with cars.  Cars now aren't designed to last, so the mentality is that, if a car that's 5 years old is ready for the junkyard, a car that's 30 years old will be worse.

[Raydar]

The engine is clean and pretty, but it's more "stock" than mine.
1. The valve specs are milder.
2. The head is stock. Mine has a 91-92 head, which flows better, and has valves with longer stems, which means longer valve springs, which means more valve travel is easier on the springs.
3. The cam gear appears to be the stock fiber type. Mine's aluminum.

Thanks Pat.
I knew the cam was a bit milder. Figured the porting would help a little bit. Hard to tell with the stock head (and those pics - or lack of pics) however.

[GTRS Fiero]

My reason for the original post was that I didn't know if the invitation to join was open-ended.

Anyway, no one said ”no” to me staying here, so I'll stick around.

[GTRS Fiero]

Dang.  3 years, already!  That may not seem like much, but I've been going back through my posts.  Ugh!

[GTRS Fiero]

Start arranging a babysitter for the kids right now, and bring the wife.

Well, still trying to figure out logistics...and I have another wedding anniversary coming up.

[GTRS Fiero]

Friday marked 4 years here, for me.  Time flies.

[GTRS Fiero]

Oops!  It turns out that yesterday was one of my anniversaries.