My first Fiero was…a learning experience. I drove it about 5 hours home, without lights or brakes, and no chase car. It died on me, in the middle of nowhere, but started up a few minutes later. On the trip home, it went through several quarts of oil that leaked out everywhere. What a mess! I did a lot of work on the car, spent lots of money, and became extremely frustrated.
About this time, my wife and I were blessed with the births of 2 children, and I went through some unrelated major health issues.
I’ll just state this plainly. You don’t realize how truly lucky you are to have other Fiero people around to support and revitalize your interest as pertains to your Fiero(s). I see this as vital. Even if the person is just there to hand you tools, go out to dinner with, or lend an ear to your frustrations, you’re ahead. In addition, you can pick up on the excitement of other Fiero owners, and use that to overcome short-term obstacles in your efforts.
There were so many problem areas with my Fiero, and I didn’t finish one before starting on another. Worse yet, simple projects turned exponentially more complex. No one I spoke with would touch a Fiero, nor did they have anything good to say about them. There was no one nearby who knew about Fieros. I’d gotten in way over my head, and there wasn’t a good way out of the hole I’d dug. I suck at body work, and couldn’t find a place that would do it. Eventually, just looking at the car depressed me. I didn’t see how I’d ever get ahead of the rust. The more I took apart to fix, the more rust I found. After taking most of the rear apart, I finally managed to get it reasonably restored and back together. I started on the front, and the thought of repeating all that work filled me with dread. I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. Yes, I turned into a quitter. I considered what it would take to finish the car, and decided a replacement was a more financially-responsible decision.
Meanwhile, I’d gone through a few other Fieros, briefly, while the original Fiero sat for a year. They were better cars, but I bought a GT to flip, a 4.9 that I was told was a bad idea, and the other was really more than I could afford, but a really nice car, with a nice V6 from a Turbo Buick, as I was told later.
The people I sold my first Fiero to were so happy that ”all the hard work was done”, and were going to complete the restore. I gave them the grey GT wheels and torsion springs I’d purchased for it. Note that the car was still drivable when it was sold. It was just that it would randomly start overheating and boiling the coolant out. This could happen after 10 minutes, or wait for more than an hour. I just got tired of seeing the smoke pouring out of the engine compartment. I wish the new owners the best with that Fiero, but I’m emotionally over it. I washed my hands of it, I suppose, when I gave them the remaining pieces I’d purchased for it. They live about an hour from here, but I’ve never contacted them since the sale.
So, the first one was a humbling experience. On to my “second” Fiero.
With a more thorough understanding of Fieros, and a reality check on my lack of abilities, in 2013, I went looking for this:
but got this, instead:
Notice, both cars are parked in the same spot. Probably fewer invites to the policemen’s ball with the one I got.
I get a lot of comments from people who bought their Fiero, which was parked in the exact same spot, like this one:
Pics of my car when I bought it:
It needed a lot of work, as you can see. The engine bay was dirty, the front compartment was dirty, the HVAC control was broken, the interior was warped, the sunroof was falling down, the sunshade was in terrible condition, the paint was chipped and faded, the wheels were a mess, the glove box was broken, etc. It had an aftermarket keyless entry system/alarm. A number of the panels didn’t line up. The steering rack had issues, and the brakes were messed up. The front shocks were in need of replacement. Lots of the rubber suspension components were just gone. The exhaust was in need of replacement, the tires were dry-rotted, and the steering wheel was oozing brown goo. Lots of sensors were not working, there were vacuum leaks, and the FPR was leaking. The fuel door latch/spring was broken. The dash pocket was broken. The tail lights had the usual delamination. Someone tried to fix a trunk leak with lots of silicone. There was lots of heat damage from interior light bulbs. The windshield had PONTIAC burned into it, but the decal was long gone. The headlights didn’t go up and down. The side decals were in poor condition. The side molding was peeling, and paint was missing from the door handles. The front parking lights didn’t line up with the holes. The driver’s door didn’t close properly. The aftermarket quarter windows were obviously not quite right. The intermediate shaft was very rusted. The mirrors needed to be repainted, and the passenger mirror glass was cracked.
Still, the car seemed fairly solid. The spoiler was straight. The seats and body panels were in good condition. The engine ran OK. The rust wasn’t too bad. The weatherseals on the doors were still intact. The dew wipes were passable. When lifting the decklid, rust couldn’t be heard moving around inside. The underside was clearly that of a Midwest car, however.
I drove the car 5.5 hours home. This was a much more pleasant trip than my first Fiero.
I’ve spent several years tracking down parts and pieces, and have been slowly fixing the car back to reasonably nice. The steering rack and front shocks have been replaced, along with the HVAC control and glove box. The FPR and bad sensors were replaced. The fuel injectors were cleaned, and the intake manifold gaskets were replaced. The coil and tach filter were replaced. The annoying blue dingy thingy was installed. The Clifford remote has been removed. Most of the silicone was removed. Some of the paint has been fixed. The headliner continues to sag. Someone hit my rear bumper with a shopping cart, which caused spider-webs in the paint. I haven’t gotten to the tires yet, but have put about 7K miles on them. I’ve cleaned the car quite a bit. I’ve replaced lots of bulbs and the deformed interior pieces. I replaced the power window motors, the power lock actuators, and the power window switches. I replaced the faded controls on the dash, and the shift knob. I replaced or refinished all the bezels. I rebuilt the headlight motors. Did I mention that I converted the car almost completely to LEDs? I installed electronic relays for the blinkers and hazards, and replaced all the other relays. I did a rather poor job of fixing the warping in the interior. The cruise started having issues. I cleaned the gum off the carpet, and removed some spots (my wife since spilled coffee!!! on the carpet, and my brand new floor mats, and I haven’t gotten to that yet). I have taken some steps to retard the progress of the rust. I replaced the front end links and sway bar bushings. I replaced the brake pedal and the radio, and installed a TFS glove box. And I installed a self-dimming mirror. I installed side scoops. I recalibrated the gauges. I took apart the entire dash, and treated all the rust, removed trash, and replaced missing screws. I replaced most of the emblems. I spent a lot of time restoring the wipers and cowling. I rebuilt the headlight motors. The deck vents were in poor condition, so I’ve repainted them, but painting isn’t my thing, and I’m not happy with the results—particularly when I saw how well John WPB’s turned out. Honestly, I haven’t made much progress, thus far.
I’m afraid I mashed up the bottom of the front bumper cover, by hitting the ramps on a trailer. There’s red paint to show my mistake.
As of September, my car looked like this:
Right now, my Fiero is getting the brake lines, calipers, hoses, and booster replaced, along with a brake fluid flush. The e-brake is being fixed (it was damaged somehow). Also, the passenger-side coolant pipe was crushed, so that’s being fixed. My Fiero will get new fuel lines, new vacuum hoses, new cat, new muffler, and the rest of the exhaust “freshened up”. I’m hoping to get the intake and valve covers freshly powder-coated. The rear suspension components will be replaced as needed. Apparently, the rubber is completely gone from the trailing arms. I hope to get the cruise fixed. The ECU will be replaced, and I want to install the digital EGR. It’ll get a new fuel pump, new sending unit, new alternator, new starter, new water pump, new oil pump, new alternator mount bracket, underdrive pulley, an idler pulley, new AC compressor, and new belts. The manifolds will be checked for potential issues. The coolant will be flushed. All the unused vacuum tubes will be removed. The rear end links and rear sway bar bushings will be replaced. It’ll get new valve cover and manifold gaskets, a new timing chain, and…? I’m sure I’m missing some things.
I was recently told that I’m destroying the car, and don’t deserve it, because I don’t have a garage. Please don’t be too hard on my car. It represents a lot of hard work. I recognize that there is a lot of work remaining to be done. I haven’t done a lot of the cool things some of the rest of you have done, and probably never will.
Edit:
I found some pics of my old Fiero
