Fiero
 

Anybody know anything about these cars? I'm thinking of running one in the 24 hours of LeMons. I've found one with a knocking engine that I think I can get for $200 or so. I have also read that you can swap a 3.4 V6 or a 3.8 supercharged V6 into them with out much difficulty. I should be able to find one of those at the local U-pull it where engines cost $175. Should be reasonably fast with that kind of motivation. :cool:

oh yeah.

my first car. cracked exhaust mani, wierd egr problems, and prone to engine fires!!! the body is fiberglass and incredibly light.--- just don't get hit.

stock engines on the lower models peak at about 98hp... you better swap it. Look for the model with the 'aws' on the trunk lid. This indicates all-wheel-steering and is a higher model. but the steering mechanisms are known to age poorly ,but worked ok in their prime. I never did any swaps etc.. with this car.

def a fun ride.. even w/ 98 my little ponies

They came with 2.8 L V6's from the factory, so anything along that line will bolt in without too much difficulty. I think even the 3.4's from later camaro's are in that ball park. I believe the 3.8 is a much different (wider) animal, with it's DOHC and all. For ease of everything, I'd probably cam up a 3.1.

Width does not seem to be a problem, some people stuff a LS1 in them! :eek:

Put a Diesel in it.

http://members.tripod.com/~A350Diesel/dieselfiero.html

Good luck finding one of those engines around. :D

I always liked them - the V6 has a throaty growl. I also think the 2.5l has pretty good performance parts support. I read an article years ago in a magazine that did a performance buildup on one. They got about 250 NA HP out of it.

As I remember, the body panels are made of something they call "endura-flex", a plastic composite. You can take all the panels off the car and drive around on the space frame alone!

They'll run pretty fast with a bigger motor. The v8 swap is not really difficult but some of the parts are kindof expensive.

The front suspension is chevette so go through it and be sure its not overly worn.

They aren't made really well but they are fairly normal for a us built car of that era....except they do have a rep for catching fire.

They handle really well.

For the 24 hours you may find some disadvantage in the gas tank size....i bet its not much over 10 gallons.

Tom W

Engine Fire
 

I had a Fiero and one night driving home from work at 2am I saw flames shooting out of the engine comp in my rear view mirror. Just an FYI...

The 3.8 is a pushrod engine unless there is another im not thinking of. Tough engine used them in the buick grand nationals turbo charged. That would be a good engine for a fiero.

only the early fiero's had that issue and it was far and few in between that did it. Not all fieros randomly burst into flames


here is a great Fiero forum for you to reference

http://www.fiero.nl/cgi-bin/fiero/Ultimate.cgi?action=intro

i happen to have 2 of them,and of all things i had the celebrity wagon running just yesterday.

You think a $200 chassis with an engine of unknown history will last 24 hours?

The original engine was def a pushrod engine. I am not sure a doc engine will fit.

I was wrong on the displacement, I meant 3.4 liter, such as this.

http://dtcc.cz28.com/Customer/3.4DOHCFiero/index.htm

3.4 DOHC swap: http://dtcc.cz28.com/Customer/3.4DOHCFiero/swap.htm

3.8L Supercharged swap: http://home.neo.rr.com/fieros/3800sc.htm

I've read the early engine fires were mostly caused by running the engine low on oil, throwing a rod, and spraying oil on hot exhaust bits.

Why not? My $400 benz with a junkyard engine swap is still going strong.

The Fiero looks like a sporty little car, but did you notice the curb weight? That thing is heavy.

BG, I beat you to the link by three minutes.. lol

That was an issue that was criticized, people thought having the "space frame" and the plastic body panels attached would make a lighter vehicle. But it turns out in order to make the car stiffer you had to make the frame thicker. It would of been lighter to build the car from uni-body standpoint, hence you don't see cars built entirely the same way today.


On a side note the 2.8, 3.1, 3.4, and 3.4 DOHC are all in the same 60º cylinder bank engine family to fit into tighter spaces. The 3.8 is a 90º engine.

I saw three Bonnevilles yesturday in the junkyard with engines... so they are easily had

2700 Lbs or so? That's not too bad. It weighs less than my third chouce a 280ZX, but more than my first choice, a MR2. It should have more power too.

They're kindof heavy for what they are, but the mid engine makes them handle pretty well.

Tom W

I too had a Fiero as a first car. Mine was an '84, red with a luggage rack (yuck). I put a nice Clarion stereo in it and remember loving the headrest speakers. 10 gallon tank, back when RUG was about 85 cents. Awesome handling, very very fun to drive. Mine had a 4 speed. But power? Not so much. I had the I4 which, as stated previously, had only 100 horse. The plastic panels were the experimental precursor for the plastic used by modern GM vehicles like the Saturn. There really weren't any safety issues with the Fiero, but somehow the buying public at that time was not ready for a "plastic" car, so this feature hurt the Fiero's reputation somewhat. Go figure; nowadays people buy Saturns left and right and actually LIKE the plastic because it is marketed as ding and dent free... I was rear-ended by a 3/4 ton GMC conversion van at about 45 mph sitting at a light. Because the Fiero was so low, the van actually got somewhat up the trunk and rode the rear driver side quarter, clipping up to the pillar just behind and to the left of my head. But I came out fine, and the car was fine too. Drove it for another couple of months with no problems until I got rid of it. I'd buy one again if it was in good condition and the price was right. Then again, no, I don't think I would. I've owned a Miata for a few months now and, while it has nearly the same handling as the Fiero, its mechanicals are bulletproof and it has the added bonus of being a convertible.

I've never driven a Fiero but after having a miata I bet you wouldn't think the fiero is equal in handling.

t_walgamuth, you'd be surprised. I have a Miata, and I had a Fiero. I remember the Fiero well. The driving dynamics and handling are very very close to those of the Miata. Although its overall design and technology are not on par with the Miata, the Fiero had a couple advantages. It was a hardtop, with a very stiff chassis compared to the Miata. It was also mid-engined. Believe me, mine handled pretty well.

One major difference between the two would be that the Fiero tended to understeer, while my Miata tends to oversteer. Oversteer is definitely more fun, but up in the snow belt where I lived when I had the Fiero (Chicago) believe me you'd rather have understeer. Another major difference was power-to-weight ratio; the Miata wins handily. Both cars have about 100 horses, but the Fiero was a much heavier car.

My 99 Miata has about 2250# and 140 hp. The steering is razor sharp and the way it has been set up it will spin on a dime and give nine cents change!

I put on a larger front bar and disconnected the rear and am going to go pick it up tonight or tomorrow. I can't wait to try it out next weekend at the autox.

I have a 90 (first year) with the 1.6 and 100 horses, just over 2,000 lbs. My car is more similar to the Fiero than yours. My steering is also razor sharp. Again, trust me - the Fiero is very similar.

LeMans huh?.
Well, just watch the chicanes as they can play hell with the most poorly engineered Detroit steering geometry.

Hell,I knew a guy ran it in a Chevy Citation,ripped the whole goddam subframe out! BE CAREFUL!

Well I got it for $200. Now I have to find an engine. It should be quick with 240HP if I can get a 3.8 in there and gut it out.

OK.. I admit it... I owned a Chevy Citation in High School.... I beat the crap out of that car. But good memories to say the least.... Somehow, cousins and uncles of my local family ended up owning some sort of variation of this car the X-body. Celebrity's, Olds Ciera's, Fiero's, Buick Skylarks, and etc. And somehow we all ended up working on each of these pieces of...

As far as the cradle (as noted above as the subframe) is concerned, they are known to fatigue and crack with the early fwd X-Body and A-Body (share the same cradle with the Fiero). Early 90s A-body cradles were improved.

But I would guess that the Fiero's cradle wouldn't have a problem because it does not handle the steering also, which adds stress to it. Just make sure the cradle mount bolting area are not too corroded. That would cause issues..


Sounds like fun! A stock supercharged 3.8 would get you that power, if you can get it cheap.. But I wonder if bay area would clear the belts?

I've seen how to remove a fiero engine. you've got to lift the entire back end about 3-4 feet into the air.

It's quite fun

Just like a VW bug.

We got the stock engine running, it pours out white smoke. The headgasket is so shot it squirts water when you pull the spark plugs! :rolleyes:

Porsche 914 . . . Fiat X1/9 . . . Pontiac Fiero . . . fastest hibachis sold in the US. ;)

The Fiero running gear is just the front wheel drive system out of a GM X-Body car (Citation/Phoenix). If you can get one in good condtion you should be able to transplant most of the running gear from one into the other. The tie rods are even attached to a fixed "steering knuckle" and are used to set the alignment.

The 2.5L Tech-4 is a gutless wonder. I got almost 200K out of one that was installed in my old Buick Somerset - but power was never something it had a surplus of.

gut it out and put a hayabusa engine in it