The New Life of the 3800 "Formula"

[GTRS Fiero]

Who wants to put pee in their car?

Dunno.  Fierofool's Fiero didn't like it, and pee'd all over Scott's floor.

[Fierofool]

Pat, I have a bunch of delay boards in a drawer in the garage.  You can try them to see if they will fix the problem. 

[TopNotch]

Out of curiosity, what is your highway RPM at 75 MPH?

The old tach was actually more than 2x high. I have verified the new one with my scanner. My highway RPM at 75 MPH is only 1900.

[GTRS Fiero]

Sounds about right.  8x MPH was 3.5K.

[TopNotch]

Corrected typo in my last message.

[TopNotch]

I knew this car had the beefier Formula/GT front sway bar and a rear sway bar added to "Formula-ize" it, but I never looked closely at the rear sway bar until  yesterday. It had no end links, but the ends were held up with zip ties to keep it from flopping down. So I got one of those generic end link sets with poly bushings you can find at parts stores and put them in. Now I'll have to take it out on the highway to see how it does.

[Fierofool]

He must have done that just as he was getting sick.  With the effort he put into the car, he wouldn't have left it like that,  otherwise.

[GTRS Fiero]

I knew this car had the beefier Formula/GT front sway bar and a rear sway bar added to "Formula-ize" it, but I never looked closely at the rear sway bar until  yesterday. It had no end links, but the ends were held up with zip ties to keep it from flopping down. So I got one of those generic end link sets with poly bushings you can find at parts stores and put them in. Now I'll have to take it out on the highway to see how it does.

The sway bar cannot possibly have helped.  I'm surprised the zip ties held.

[TopNotch]

The sway bar cannot possibly have helped.  I'm surprised the zip ties held.

The zip ties were loosely tied to the body, not the suspension. No stress on them at all.

[GTRS Fiero]

At least the sway bar ends did not fall down.

[TopNotch]

Observations after driving the car for a while:
1. When you push the GO pedal, it goes. I mean it goes more than I'm used to a Fiero going. You can find yourself breaking the law if you're not careful.
2. When you push the STOP pedal, it stops. I don't know what Lee did to the brakes because they look stock. But they stop better than either of my other Fieros (all 88's).
3. I haven't taken it on any hard curves, but with the rear sway bar connected, it feels nice and flat on what curves I have done.
4. With the cooling system cleaned up, it doesn't overheat. The fan hardly ever come on, unless you run the AC, which BTW, is working now. There's a switch wired up to manually turn on the fan if needed, and an LED which lights up when it comes on, either from the switch or automatically.

[GTRS Fiero]

I like the LED idea.  I wonder if the LED is wired in series with the fan.

[TopNotch]

I like the LED idea.  I wonder if the LED is wired in series with the fan.

The fan is turned on when a relay is energized. The PCM or the switch provides voltage to energize the relay, and that voltage also lights the LED.

[Fierofool]

Great job on that car, Pat.  Just work your way into the twisties.  I'm sure that one handles much differently than your other 88's. 

[GTRS Fiero]

I like the LED idea.  I wonder if the LED is wired in series with the fan.

The fan is turned on when a relay is energized. The PCM or the switch provides voltage to energize the relay, and that voltage also lights the LED.

Where is the LED located?