The new life of the formula fastback

[Fierofool]

Something I was told by a friend at my local radiator shop:  Most Fiero radiators of today come set up for an automatic transmission.  This means there's a chamber in the bottom with a heatsink assembly inside.  If left unconnected, as in a manual transmission application, moisture and dirt can get inside and cause corrosion and eventually a leak.  He suggested filling the chamber with transmission fluid before installation, then plugging the inlet and outlet transmission lines. 

BTW, NoMad, my daughter sent me a text at 11:45 this morning telling me she saw you on 316 at Bethlehem Road.  She was in an NGMT ambulance. 

[mweldon]

NoMad,

If you do replace your radiator for the LQ1 swap but want something with a bit more cooling capacity than the Champion, let me know.
 I'm going to attempt a Griffin radiator install.  It's been done before on a track fiero and worked nicely.  Maybe we could bump our heads together and do a bit better install.

[NoMad]

Ya, car is running well but might be a touch lean. Will keep checking in the morning after cool down to see if my suspicion is right.

As for the radiator swap, will really depend on what I find when I get the temp gauge running and get a chance to see if cooling is okay. That said, before the turbo it would be a near certainty to change out so we should talk about this plan...

[GTRS Fiero]

Was it lean?

[GTRS Fiero]

Any new changes, or just working on runability?  After you mentioned using it as a daily driver, it occurred to me that it must be together and presentable.   I hadn't seen pics for a while, so wasnxt sure how far the body mods had gone.

[NoMad]

Been taking care of some other life tasks so I haven't driven it for a few days. Plan to check the plugs before I head to town in a little bit.

I daily drive it despite it being so many colors and only partially done with the hood mods. I have spare panels I am prepping for paint and will be getting them all complete before I make the big switch.

[NoMad]

The car is driving great. Went ahead and flushed the thermocool and refilled with 50/50. I know this will leave the coolant super low on antifreeze but I plan to run it for no more than two months before I drop it again and refill with q concentrate mix or have completed the engine swap at which point it will get all new proper coolant mix.

Fogot to check the plugs but will do so tomorrow. Planning to drop the exhaust once it cools down some tonight so I can clean it up, check for leaks, and paint it. Might also go ahead and remove the CAT at that time if I do have to do any welding on the pipe anyway.

Got most of my prep supplies now so I will probably prep a panel a night for the next few weeks and then set up the spray booth in the garage and get to work. Have to test the paint I bought and see if it is actually what ai am hoping for. If not it will have been a pricy experiment at the cost of Sherwin Williams automotive paint.

[GTRS Fiero]

50/50 should be fine, there.

[NoMad]

Little lite on corrosion inhibitors when you think of all the hard water trapped in the system from the flush. But will be fine ofr the next few months till the swap is all done.

[GTRS Fiero]

You didn't use distilled water?

[Fierofool]

50/50 Glycol Base should hold it to about -35 F.  Even with residual water, it won't weaken it enough that the engine will ever freeze as long as you don't get above the Mason-Dixon Line.  The 50/50 should also inhibit corrosion, too.  None of my engines have ever had discolored coolant in them. 

[NoMad]

Ya, as shown on Facebook, my coolant was foul!

[GTRS Fiero]

If you don't want me to see it, facebook is the place to put it.

[NoMad]

Just the easy place for me to post the pictures as well as keep the friends who have asked to be kept up to date on the car in the loop.

[NoMad]

Well just a few updates.

Plugs look good but it is driving like it is lean so I am guessing this motor really is on it's last leg. Going to really put my butt in gear to get the LQ1 ready PDQ.

Used a couple different products to try and strip old paint off the fiero to get down to a good surface to prime and paint. The "Aircraft" stripper method from the tech tips secrion did not work well at all. I ended up going out on a limb and trying an enviromentally safe, biodegradable, plastic and fiberglass safe stripper I bought at Sherwin Williams. Since the caustic nasty one failed to work much at all I figured this had no hope. It worked awesome! Was totally shocked. Once thw heavy top layers were pulled I started blocking it down to a nice surface to prime. Doing some filler work to really smooth out the panels for a really nice paint finish. This will be my first full paint so wish me luck. I expect to start painting on Tuesday if all goes well. Monday will be trying to finish preping the last panels and finish my hood mods. This round of paint will not include the sail panel sode scoops as they are not going body color and I am modding them before they get painted.

Lots of little stuff to go but one day at a time.

As for the motor, the milage has plumeted despite less pressure to the injectors so I am going to do another compression check but at this point it is all about getting the LQ1 ready and in rather than rehabing this 3.3L.