17th ANNUAL RUN FOR THE HILLS--SEPT. 14-16. 2012

[GTRS Fiero]

Found it.

[Fierofool]

I don't know who Fiero is.  Fierofool?  My understanding is that the 3.4 with high-volume oil pump, the baffles in the oil pan, clean journals, a good pickup, and deep galleys oils very well.  With a 4-speed ant 4.10 final drive, it'd be a blast.  Fierofool had some driving instruction, I think.

Does your Fiero have the SD heads?

I think he was referring to me, just didn't complete the spelling.  Spellcheck sometimes does that if you aren't paying attention.  The 87 and 88 2.8 had improved oiling.  Subsequent variants of the 2.8 block also got improvements in the oiling passages and pumps.  The 3.4 high volume pump will mount into a 2.8 but the pan baffle needs to be trimmed for clearance of the pickup. 

There is very little difference in the 2.8 and 3.4 pans.  Both engines call for 4.5 quarts oil with filter.  I normally use 5. 

I had a 4:10 in one of my 85's for a brief period.  It's quick once you get into 2nd, but the engine runs very high rpm.  It's a decent track transmission in the 2.8 but the 2.5 is getting up around 3500 rpm at 60 mph and the 2.8 tops out at about 70 mph with that transmission. 

My drivers training was taken at Old School.  You drive by the sound of the engine and the seat of your pants.   Your ears and butt will tell you what the car's doing. 

[GTRS Fiero]

Spell check is terrible--especially on an apple.  Very entertaining.

I belive the 3.4 oil pump pumps the wrong way.  The 3.4 oil pan needs a bit of encouragement to fit in a Fiero.  I thought the 2.8 oil pan didn't have baffles.

So, yours is the 3.4?

Is RFTH over 70MPH?  Somehow, I thought it was mostly under 60.

[TopNotch]

Is RFTH over 70MPH?  Somehow, I thought it was mostly under 60.

RFTH is... You see a tight curve posted at 15MPH. You take it at 30, 40, or whatever you can. At least, that's the way the maniacs do it.

[GTRS Fiero]

Posted, as in warning, or posted, as in invite to the policemen's ball?

[Fierofool]

No.  The pump is just a bigger version of the 2.8.  The drive from the camshaft is in the same direction. 

Both pans have baffles.  When using the 3.4 pan, a small dent is required in one of the front corners in order to clear the Fiero front mount.  I'm not sure, but it may only be needed on the 88.  I don't recall my 87 having been a problem. 

RFTH speeds vary.  The Dragon speed limit is 35 mph for the full 11 miles.  We often hit 65 or maybe even more on some of the short stretches.  I commonly run The Dragon in 3rd gear to a max of about 65 before upshifting.  I seldom get down to 2nd gear.  Some roads we have used portions of like I-40 are 70.  Passing through a business district or school zone can be 25 mph.  Think back about your trip you related where your GPS took you through some very winding roads.  You encounter all kinds of speed limits.  On the open road, we don't necessarily observe the limit.  Again, it isn't a race.  People drive to enjoy, stay together, but still be safe. 

[Raydar]

Posted, as in warning, or posted, as in invite to the policemen's ball?

Yes.

To the earlier discussion... Fierofool is definitely one of the maniacs. He, Fierochild (aka Chuck - a sometime SCCA racer) and I, did a scouting trip one year, through the Dragon. Charlie ran off and hid from us. Chuck was second. I brought up the rear. (They were running 2.8s. I was running a built up 3.4. Probably had a 20-30 HP advantage, but my "bearings" just weren't as large. )
By the time we finished, there was tire dust all over the rear quarters and bumpers of our cars.

[GTRS Fiero]

Posted, as in warning, or posted, as in invite to the policemen's ball?

Yes.

Some help!

I don't mind opening it up, but I don't want any velocity check slips.  I got busted for a speed that exceeded good, bad, and terrible judgment, years ago.  A judge gave me a suspended sentence, due to circumstances.  One of the circumstances was that the guy I was racing turned out to be HP.  His Corvette topped out at 182, and he was a bad loser.  The original judge ruled not an isolated incident.  Apparently, at 40 over, you lose your license and go to jail.

The roads my GPS took me on were gravel, through the middle of cornfields.  No posted speed limits (IL), but probably supposed to be 25 or so.  The gravel roads had names, and occasional stop signs.  It was night, with no lights.

Our bad roads (old logger trails) are still 60MPH, but sometimes turns have warnings (yelow signs with speeds down to 5MPH).  If they say 5MPH, it's best to stop, because you'll need to 3-point the turn.  One section had so many deaths every year that they made bypasses, then fixed those 5 miles or so.  I think it was called bloody alley.  There used to be a big sign.  The problem is that you can't see if someone ahead of you is slow in or after a turn.  The deaths were not from rear-ending, though.

[Fierofool]

In reality, RFTH is a bunch of Fiero and/or automobile enthusiasts who get together on a weekend each September to take a cruise on a route that Georgia Fieros has laid out with planned hotels, restaurants, fuel and restroom stops.  People are free to drive it as they see fit.  We just ask everyone to stay on their side of the center line and be safe. 

[f85gtron]

I would say the 85 4 speed and v6 tops out not at 70, but when the headlight covers pop up and you have to stop to change your underwear. I don't know what speed that is because my speedometer had rolled back over, so maybe 10-15mph?

[GTRS Fiero]

CowsPatoot broke a rear hub on the convertible but handled it well enough that it almost looked like he decided to pull to the side to rest.

I think I found it.  How did he continue from there?

[GTRS Fiero]

Fiero's car has a 3.4, I think.

This is a 3.4, whomever it belongs to.  Nice run, but I'd have stayed on it through the straights more, and freaked out on that right turn, when all those cars and people were just dead ahead.

[Fierofool]

That was up in cowspatoot's home area near Boone, NC.  I didn't make that run but I believe they rode back with someone, got his truck and trailer and retrieved it.