A New Formula In Our Stall

[Fierofool]

Reference the passing of Lee Charles for some background. 

His Daughter, Leslie Charles, has notified us that Lee wanted us to have his Formula when he passed.  He asks that it be raffled or auctioned and the money go to the club treasury.  Leslie has sent some pictures of the car.  It's been sitting for at least 4 years, apparently in the back yard.  It's very dirty on the outside, but it appears the tires are still inflated.  It will need a very thorough scrubbing or two.  She says that the car was running at the time Lee parked it, so only the usual wake-up things need to be done, like getting all the critter nests out of the hidden places, draining the fuel tank, replacing oil and filter, new battery and a few other things.



I have a contact name and number where we can go see the car, in the Ellijay or East Ellijay area.  I would like someone to go with me to evaluate what we need to do to retrieve the car.  It's an automatic, so it will need to be hauled, or pulled very slowly in order to get it to Pat's house.  He has agreed to take it in. 

We can view the car any days except Monday, but need to make an appointment with our local contact.  Leslie will be up from Florida during Thanksgiving week, but we need to be prepared to move it before or no later than that week.

Anyone want to go with me?

[Fierofool]

I was just browsing through some of the photos of the car and laying on the center console where the power mirror and window switches would be, is one of the decals that I always give to those who successfully navigate The Tail of The Dragon.  That was likely one of the last Fiero events he attended.  His Fiero baseball cap is also sitting atop the rear console. 

[GTRS Fiero]

Something odd about the driver's door and the corner of the hood by the headlight.  The left rear tire doesn't match.

Check the spark plug wires and other wiring for chewing.  Bare wires can cause fires.  For some reason, varmints chew on the wiring.

Donating that car to the club probably saved it from going straight to the crusher.

[Fierofool]

That's a leaf stuck in the corner of the hood.  Other pictures we have show that.  The rocker panels are aftermarket.  Not stock for a Formula.  They do make the door look a little strange at the bottom.  I think those were patterned after the Cavalier rockers.  It also has the aftermarket intakes on both sides.  The left rear tire is a black lace wheel.  It just has a lot of dirt on it.  Presumably from the dirt you see around the left rear wheel area.  Probably rain splatter.

I think this car was pretty much his daily driver until he became too ill.  In that respect, he kept it operational. 

[f85gtron]

Is that a cb antennae emerging from the back deck, or is a flying kite attached to the end of a string?

[Fierofool]

It is an antenna.  Since he was a Law Enforcement Officer, I don't know if it was CB or something related to work.  It's mounted on the grill mount.  I believe on the rear inboard screw. 

[Fierofool]

Today I went up to meet Lee's girlfriend, Heidi, and take a look at the car.  The car is pretty much as the picture above.  Apparently, it's pretty recent. 

Several of the tires are a little low, but look to be in good condition, but because the car's been sitting for 4 years, mostly inside, but more recently, where it now sits, I wouldn't trust them. 

The car has Beechwood cloth interior and it's in pretty good condition.  I didn't see any worn spots on the seats.  Only a few stains that should come out if the covers were removed and run through a gentle wash cycle.  I've actually done this on another set of tan seat covers. 

There was a slip-over headrest cover that had shed all it's black foam rubber lining onto the console and seat.  The pictures made me wonder if it was home or bathroom to some kind of bigger animal, but that rubber can easily be vacuumed out without issues. 

The bad part is that there have been and are mice in the car.  The floor is covered with droppings, and when we opened the front compartment, there was a mouse crawling around the master cylinder and spare tire.  Amazingly, it didn't have that strong urine smell inside, possibly because moth balls had been placed inside.  I would guess there's a nest in the steering column cover above the pedals, but the dash should be removed to inspect wiring and to clean out the HVAC system and ductwork. 

Paint probably will be stained, even after a good scrubbing and there's the customary chips in the surface of the hood, around the headlight doors.  Heidi tells me that there are other Fiero parts in the garage that will go with the car.  Lee's daughter will be coming up during the week of Thanksgiving and we will get the keys and paperwork at that time.  The car will need to be rolled down the drive, past a narrow tree-lined curve before loading onto a dolly or trailer. 

All body panels are good without any damage from contact with other objects.  Heidi said there were some scoops that went with it, but she didn't describe them.  I don't know what other parts are in the garage. 

Willing to take along a passenger sometime in early December to pick it up and bring it back.  Volunteers?

[Drewbdo]

Currently, I'm available December 3rd. Subject to change based on work schedule.

Are you planning to tow dolly or trailer? I don't have either at this time, but I can offer help rolling it down the drive way, and someone to talk to on the drive. lol

[Fierofool]

Thank you.  Unfortunately, I will be in the beginning stages of prepping for my annual colonoscopy on the 5th..  Gotta stay close to home. 

When we get it I will probably use Roger's dolly and install a couple of good tires on the back of the car.  Two of the last 3 Fieros I towed, I had a blowout on the trailer once and on one car, a blowout and then a flat just as I pulled into ThaDriver's shop. 

I'm open all Thanksgiving weekend as we're celebrating this coming Saturday. 

[Drewbdo]

Thanksgiving weekend might work, depending on the day you choose. I am booked to DJ a wedding on Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, but I might be able to sneak away on Saturday or Sunday.

What time of day are you thinking, and how long do you think we'd be busy?

[Fierofool]

I can probably set it up with her for Saturday.  We may have to jack and change some tires, and try to get the engine bay open.  Also load whatever spare parts are there.  It's just off I-575, so you could drive straight up.  Three or 4 hours at the most.  I'd like to be there early, maybe like 10AM. 

[Fierofool]

Andrew and I (and Andrew's family) met today to bring the Formula down to Pat's house.  Unfortunately, that didn't happen.  We encountered a number of obstacles.

The ignition and trunk keys couldn't be found.  The door key, which doesn't open the trunk was the only key we had.  There's also a locking gas cap that we will have to deal with.  The car has had the steering column replaced with a manual column, so it was in Neutral.  Applying power through the cigarette lighter gave the vehicle power, but the trunk release solenoid wouldn't open the trunk. 

We inflated the tires to move it out so we could better get it on the tow dolly and replace the dry rotted rear tires for towing.  Another obstacle.  The car has security lug nuts on each wheel and we couldn't find the lug wrench for them.  Lee's daughter's boyfriend has offered to have the car hauled to Lawrenceville via AAA.  We will have to make space so it can be offloaded and rolled straight into it's temporary parking place.

We did collect some of Lee's collectable items.  The following is a listing of what I brought back.  There are more things to pick up when she gets things sorted out and grouped together. 

Inventory List:

48 yellow HotWheels 2m4 Fieros.  Some with lace wheels, some with 5-spoke.  #463
1, 1:18 Silver 85GT Road Signature Collection, Unopened
Small Crystal case with a black #48 and red #86 Track Fieros
HotWheels Pavement Pounders transporter with Exclusive HotWheels Fiero (Special Graphics on side and hood) Item 89850-92
Serial # 1730RE, unopened
84 owner and Maintenance Manuals
Fiero Parking Only metal sign, Unopened
Fiero Blvd aluminum street sign
88 Pontiac Product Literature in loose-leaf binder (all models)
Fiero, Pontiac's Potent Mid-Engine Sports Car by Gary Witzenburg, unopened
1988 Pontiac Road Cars magazine, unopened
1988 Pontiac Road Cars magazine, unopened
Pontiac Fiero 1984-1988 magazine, Brooklands Road Test, includes Turbo, GTU and new model reports, unopened
Hot Rod Magazine, March 84 Featuring 140 mph Indy, sealed
88 Owners Manual
Fiero Connection 2nd Quarter 1998 featuring Marianna Martin's "White Horse" and First Ever Fiero Factory Swap Meet
1988 Fiero Helms Service Manual
Haynes Manual containing information specific to this car.
Fiero Owners Magazine, 3 magazines, 1st Quarter, 2nd and 3rd Quarter, and 4th Quarter 1999
Fiero Store Catalogs & Price Lists, 1995-1998
Several iron-on and sew-on patches
One pair of 88 Notchback 3ngine vents with fasteners. 

If anyone has any knowledge of the value of any of these items or would like to do some research to find out, please let us know what you find.

There are other Fiero models, with Fiero Transporters, Indy's, IMSA's and a large glass-front wood display case with a number of these in a beautiful display, suitable for wall hanging.  That remains to be picked up later.  There are also tools and Fiero parts.

[GrannyLinda]

Let Me Know When It Is Coming Here,
And There Will Be A Place For It.
The Day Before Would Nice.       

[GTRS Fiero]

I don't know about the steering column, but the other issues aren't so bad.

For the locking gas cap, it's cheap and easy to replace.  The ones I've seen have fingers sticking to each side to hold it in place.  Cut (not drill) on either side of the lock in the part you grab about half an inch out from the lock down to the fingers.  Bend the fingers down on both sides.  Remove cap.  Altertatively, cut the sides of the grab part by the lock off.  Remove lock.  Use 2 small flat-head screw drivers to release the fingers.  If you want to cheat, buy a locking cap to practice on.  They're $8-$28.

For the trunk and ignition, a competent locksmith can make keys for cars of that era, without removing the tumblers or the lock cylinder.  Of course, it's like $60 per key.

For the locking lug nuts, most of them just require a funky socket.  As long as these nuts are of that type, as opposed to the variation that have other things holding them in place, you're good.  There used to be a tool sold that was basically a socket with a bunch of small spring-loaded rods in it; you'd just push this special socket onto the nut you wanted to remove, and it would make itself fit.  Barring this, you can always spot-weld an old wrench to the nuts temporarily.  The the nuts and wrench will be destroyed, but they are very replaceable.  Another alternative is to just get the proper socket.  There was a thread on PFF a year or so ago, where someone mentioned a company that can provide the socket for your security nuts.

We used to set our broken sockets aside, so that when people brought their cars in with the rusted, stripped lug nuts, we could weld the broken sockets to the lug nuts, spray them with penetrating oil, and remove.  The customer was told beforehand that they would be charged for a set of lug bolts, a set of lug nuts, and misc hardware (a new socket).  The heat helps loosen the nut, anyway.  The welds must be done quickly, and you should really cover the rest of the wheel.  I'm not a good welder, and sometimes there are little pieces of weld splatter.

If you use one of those sockets with the rods, they aren't designed for a lot of torque.  You need to make sure that the nut isn't rusted on.  Don't (for example) put an 8-foot pipe on your wrench.  I don't know how much torque this is, but I used some pieces of 2x4, some chain, and an 8-foot bar to straighten a steel bumper on an '85 LTD.

[Fierofool]

I have two or three of the style sockets that fit the lugs.  They're the style commonly provided by GM.  Once we have the car relocated, I can start work on it.  There is a socket with reverse threads that's like an external easy out.  Fits over the lug and bites into it.  Doing a search, I couldn't find a socket of your description, but I've seen them advertised on TV for removing rounded nuts. 

The locking gas cap is a Stant.  Instructions printed on it say to turn the key 1/4 turn counterclockwise then back, then remove the cap.  Otherwise the cap will just spin, so I don't know how we would locate the fingers other than looking at another Fiero filler to see where they'd be located.  They had a Stant key for another vehicle, but it wouldn't work on this one.