86 Fiero SE

[l82roadster]

I have just become the owner of an 86 SE. I am a demolition contractor in the metro Atlanta area and my 86 was sitting in the driveway of a house I am scheduled to demolish in East Cobb county.My car has been sitting since 1992 and has 62,000 miles. I know it has a v6 but haven't really looked into what it will take to get driving again.Now all I have to do is get my 67 ski nautique stored somwhere(also a barn find that I am restoring) so I have space next to my vette to work on it.The ironic thin is I looked at these cars when new and decided on a cavalier z24.

[TopNotch]

If you need technical help, we have experts. And feel free to come to our club's Christmas party, even if your car isn't ready yet. A car sitting for that long will probably need some work.

[Fierofool]

Welcome to our little niche in the auto world.  Sounds like a good find, if the car was only driven for 6 years, though apparently, it had some problems if it was parked.  

I've never pulled one out of storage that's been sitting that long, but 2 obvious things that need to be drained are the oil pan and the fuel tank.  I think I'd pull all the plugs, put some auto trans fluid, Lucas Oil or Marvel Mystery Oil into each cylinder, let it sit for a few days, and try to turn the engine over by hand.  If a manual, put it in one of the higher gears and try to move the car forward by hand.  If an automatic, you'd need to put a wrench on the crank and turn it.  I think I'd do that at least once a day for maybe a week, rotating it maybe a half dozen times each day.  For a manual, you're probably going to have some issues with the clutch master and slave cylinders, too.

After you've changed the oil and got the engine rotating smoothly, pull the distributor, and drive the oil pump with a power drill to get oil circulated throughout the engine.  You may have to fashion a drive rod to fit into the oil pump.  Next, I'd probably replace the screens on the fuel pump while the tank's out, and replace the fuel filter.  

In all probability, the front brake pistons are stuck.  The 86's used phenolic pistons which were bad to stick after sitting for a while.  Often, the rear ones work just fine.  

Our club is fortunate to have 2 members who work on Fieros, and they often have replacement used or rebuilt parts on hand.  One of them is over in Douglas County.  We also have a cash account set up with Main Auto Parts which will give you a discount on new parts.  

Don't be afraid to ask for help.

Charlie
VP-Georgia Fiero Club

[l82roadster]

Thanks Y'all.I was a chevrolet technician in the early eighties,But I am sure I will have tech questions.Looking at the production figures Pontiac made quite a few of these little cars.I think I saw 32,000 Se's were built in 86. I talked to the guy that used to own the car, and he told me he parked it because it had electrical issues. I had just graduated with a four year degree in electronics when I went into Auto mechanics school, so in 1982 when the old mechanics were scratching their heads I was diving head first into Computer Command control systems and the first throttle body injection systems with ease (I was also a diesel mechanic working on 5.7'sand 6.2's). I left the chevrolet dealership and went into a John Deere industrial dealer in 85 where I started as a mechanic and worked my way up into branch management and sales. Now I own a demolition company in Metro Atlanta. I make all kinds of interesting finds in the demolition business. In september a found my 67 Ski Nautique in need of a ground up rebuild , but my nautique will be on the back burner until I get this little jewel purring. I also have a numbers matching'74 Corvette 4 speed posi equipped L82 Roadster. I'll let y'allknow what I find when I get into this little project car.
 Charlie, I wasn't aware of the phenolic pistons, I guess this means I will not need to bore the engine as I wouldn't think the phenolic would wear the bores.The car is an automatic so I imagine it has a 175 trans.I am in Paulding so I am close to Douglas county.I imagine I will have to go thru the calipers,and make sure that the slides are nice and free.Can the fuel tank be drained in the car(I doubt it) I will probably change all of the fluids, and put some dexron in the sparg plug holes and get it to soaking before I even attempt to turn it over at the crankshaft.Dexron or any ATF for that matter is an excellent cleaner/solvent. I will do a compression test before i install new plugs. Thanks for the warm welcome ,I am sure that I will be asking lots of tech questions pertaining to this little poncho.

[Fierofool]

Hey, it's the front brake calipers that have the phenolic pistons.  The engine has aluminum pistons.  All Automatic Fieros were equipped with the TH125 transmission.  Some have installed later model FWD electronic transmissions, especially in the 3800SC, LS and LT1 and 4.9 engine conversions. 

I've heard of people jumpering the fuel pump and pumping out through a disconnected line, but you can't pump it out through the filler due to the anti-spill device.  It'd be best to remove the tank anyway so you could replace the pickup screens and wash the tank of all debris. 

ATF is indeed a good solvent, but one caution;  if it has silicone in it, you could possible foul the O2 sensor and the catalytic converter upon startup.  Diesel fuel is a good alternative, but if left too long, as you know, will absorb moisture.  Kerosene, not mineral spirits, works well, too. 

As for the calipers, Don Hulse usually keeps a couple of sets of rebuilt calipers on hand.  Relatively cheap, plus your old ones for core.  He's the one that lives out in Douglasville.

[l82roadster]

Charlie,I think the fuel tank removal is in order. I have worked on chrysler calipers with composite pistons and they would swell and stick, is this what happens with the phenolic pistons? I have read that the fiero shares brake components with the chevette.
I will pull them an check. Generally when disk brake calipers seize it is due to the o-rings in the calipers getting gummed up with brake dust(with floating calipers).  Thanks for your input, I will fill you in when I start getting into it.

[Fierofool]

Swelling could be part of the problem, but also moisture and sediment settles in the bottom of the piston bore and may cause the piston to tilt slightly.  The brake dust would only affect the sliders.  I don't know how the Chevette brake parts compare to the Fiero, but some are using the early 90's Grand Am front brakes as a replacement, and that gives them vented disks up front.  I believe the only thing you need do is to have a machine shop part the disk off your front hub, and install the Grand Am Disc over the hub, and the caliper is a direct bolt-on, having only to grind off one small piece of the caliper.  Fierostore sells the whole setup, ready to bolt on.

[l82roadster]

Charlie, I aired the tires up yesterday and tryed to roll it with three people pushing and it wouldn't budge, so I hooked my John Deere 200 to it with a chain and drug it the tires rolled and I was able to roll it by myself but it has sat in the same place for 17 years. I will take the calipers apart and check the pistons for fit. The veery first thing I plan to do is pressure wash everything. The lock for the rear hatch wont turn with the key so some wd40 is in order.

[oldone]

suggest you try PB BLASTER if the wd40 doesn't work that stuff is awesome, available at most auto parts stores - advance auto parts definitely has it ,  good luck   oldone in c'ville

[Fierofool]

And, if the battery is dead, and you can't get into the engine bay, I have a device that plugs into the cigarette lighter.  It will allow you to activate the trunk release, if you have one, without having to remove it from the instrument panel.  You may have to try both Advance and AutoZone to get the caliper rebuild kits.  I believe each carries one, but not the other.  When you rebuild the calipers, don't refill with the new DOT 5 fluid.  The master cylinder rubber isn't compatible.

[RobsFieros]

Is the car an automatic or manual?

[l82roadster]

Rob, The car is an automatic. Has anyone installed t-tops in a non t top car are the parts to do it available? are there any roadster/convertible conversion kits for the fiero? I am looking at putting a small block chevy engine in the car, but I want an open car. This little car has got some real cool possibilities.

[l82roadster]

suggest you try PB BLASTER if the wd40 doesn't work that stuff is awesome, available at most auto parts stores - advance auto parts definitely has it ,  good luck   oldone in c'ville

Thanks Oldone, I was thinking of that this morning, I have a can of pb Blaster, I used Pb when I redid the suspension on my vette and always keep a can on hand for hard to remove fasteners, or frozen up pieces.

[TopNotch]

Rob, The car is an automatic. Has anyone installed t-tops in a non t top car are the parts to do it available? are there any roadster/convertible conversion kits for the fiero? I am looking at putting a small block chevy engine in the car, but I want an open car. This little car has got some real cool possibilities.

There used to be a company that sold a convertible conversion kit. The most important thing you need is a frame brace to put under the car.
You might want to contact V8 Archie. They make roadster re-bodies.
Check Pennock's or Ebay from time to time for T-top "kits" (usually removed from a junk T-top car). Prepare to pay a lot. They're rare, and in demand. Practically no new t-top parts are available anymore.

[l82roadster]

The roadster would be the way to go then. I imagine this car is unibody with a rear subframe. Dos the kit come with prefabricated frame rails? I would imagine the car would need to be taken completely apart. I plan on putting a v8 in also so I will do all those mods at once. First I am going to get this barn find back to working order then mods and paint.I am going to let my daughter drive it for a little while in stock trim.