New owner

[GTRS Fiero]

I'm now the new sortof owner of an '84.  No pictures.  The vehicle isn't here.  It's black, manual, and apparently drove to its current location.  The powerplant is a 2.5L L4.  I'll probably get to see this Fiero later this week.

This Fiero sortof fell into my lap.

[pgackerman]

Another Fiero adventure begins!

[GTRS Fiero]

I got an email to come get it, along with a basic description.  Still no pictures.  I have a feeling this isn't a show car, but it drove, so must be running.

Since we're trying to move, and buying land, and doing some other things, probably not the adventure you'd expect.

[GTRS Fiero]

I saw it, today, and gave it a quick lookover.

It does start and run.  When turning the engine off, it runs for a while.  There is a major exhaust leak.  It has a high idle, and a miss.  The miss is every few revolutions, which makes a stuttering sound.  When it warms up, the engine exhibits a hunting idle.  The engine oil is filthy, but the transmission fluid looks/smells good.  The engine oil dipstick is missing the part with the fill/full marks.  No oil shows on the dipstick.  No idea how it runs on the fuel in the tank.  The fuel smells very old.  The engine runs pig-rich.  The oil gauge needle is broken off, but someone mounted a gauge in the dash.  The fuel gauge is incorrect.

I think anyone getting near this Fiero should be sure their tetanus shots are current.  The floorpan is mostly gone. 

The tires are aired up, but are dry-rotted.  He claims the tires are new, and certainly they have plenty of tread.  No way I'd drive anywhere on them.  Get this.  The wheels are painted white, but are rusty!  Clearly steel wheels.  The car does move under its own power.  In fact, the engine fired right up.

The brakes look as if they were siezed, but it seems someone bashed the brakes loose with a BFH. 

The windshield is very cracked.  Most of the exterior lighting is broken, cracked, or missing.  The sunroof is caucked, but the seal is gone, leaving very rusty tracks.  The door seals look as if something ate them.  The battery tray is gone.  Some pieces of wood hold the battery in place.

I did push the car, and things are so loose the front wheels toe in and out when moving backward and forward.  If it drove to its current location, it can't have been more than a few feet.

The carpet is torn.  The turn stalk is missing.  The guy insists that the car has cruise, but there is no canister.  There is no radio, and the HVAC controls are missing.  The guy insists that the radio works, and seems to genuinely believe that the radio still exists in the car.  I tried explaining that the missing piece is the entire radio, but we'll just have to disagree on that.  There were cranks for the windows, but the crank handles were removed.  Someone installed power window switches.  They cut holes in the plate, and screwed the switches to the top of the plate.  The switches don't do anything.  Under the dash, there are some levers and buttons.  No idea what any of those do.  On the passenger side, someone screwed a glove box to the dash.  Someone secured the vinyl with screws.

Did I mention that this "manual" is an automatic?  Having "neutral" does not make it a manual.  This is another thing on which we just had to disagree.

The air filter housing has no intake hose; it just ends with a blunderbus opening.  The air filter is filthy.

The decklid vents, screws, and mounts are missing.  There is no center vent, so the deck lid must have been changed.

The door panels are falling off the frame.  Most of the belt trim is cracked, broken, or missing.

The car itself was supposed to be black, but was painted white, except for the roof, which is silver.

I thought the headlights were sealed, but they're full of water and condensation.  The headlights are fixed in the up position.

The rearview mirror was broken off the windshield.  The right mirror glass is missing, and the left mirror appears to have been ripped off.  The paint is oxidized and cracked.  The rear fascia is bashed in on one side.  So much for no accidents.

The steering wheel only has 2 spokes, like an upside-down V.

No keys work in the door or trunk locks.

The car lists to the right.

The tub in the front is missing.  The entire engine bay is coated in foil, as is the underside of the deck lid.

To review, this was supposed to be a black Fiero, manual transmission, good condition, drivable.  It is white, automatic, not drivable, and in what I would describe as poor condition.

[Fierofool]

Does it come in it's own coffin?

[GTRS Fiero]

No.

The guy recently bought a BMW 330 GT, which probably cost more than a Fiero, so likely could have fixed this.

[The Art Doctor]

Sounds like some I have gone to see with a similar description. I assume you left it there?

[GTRS Fiero]

Oh, yes.  It will be going to the junkyard.

[MikeMac]

The first Fiero I ever looked at for purchase, I opened the drivers door and it fell completely off. I kept looking.

[GTRS Fiero]

I have had that happen to me, but not on a Fiero.

[GTRS Fiero]

I had driven there in my Fiero, and gave the guy's oldest son a ride.  The boy liked the Fiero, and is studying to be a mechanic.  He is 15, and wants a Fiero.  We agreed that I'll help him fix this up, then sell it to him.

Today, we ordered various interior parts, door panel fasteners, a dogbone, various bushings, tie rods, belt trim, side markers, a radio, a blinker stalk, HVAC controls, exhaust parts, the correct engine dipstick, the correct air filter housing, the front tub, headlight motors, an instrument cluster, a rear fascia, trunk seal, all sensors, all relays, various fasteners, side mirrors, solid headliner, wing stand gaskets, battery cables, starter wiring, new carpets, new coolant reservoir, new washer fluid reservoir, new wiper motor, brake lines/hoses, various seals, new shocks/struts, control arms, ball joints, new ground wires, heater resistor, blower motor, sail panels (with frames), arrow and front emblems, dew wipes, door felts, fuel lines/hoses, and decklid vents/screws/mounts.  They picked up rebuilt brake calipers.  Used tail light housings/lenses were ordered.  All new bulbs, new plugs and wires, new wiper blades, new belt, water pump, pads, rotors, and a new injector were picked up locally.  I am providing a set of door weatherstrips.  The steering wheel likely came from a Chevy van.  I am providing a steering wheel from a Fiero I used to own.  I am also providing a fuel fill tube.

Most of the nasty white exterior paint was powerwashed off.  The car is now black, again--except for the decklid, which is actually white.

The guy has a large garage, so we tried to drive the car into the garage.  No dice.  Don't you laugh, but they certainly did.  The Fiero went everywhere but where I wanted it to go.  After I'd tried several times, the guy came over and laughingly told me that I needed to steer it toward the garage.  Thanks.  Really helpful.  Eventually, we put the front end on a dolly, and pulled the car into the garage.

The seats, headliner, door panels, and most of the interior were removed.  The remnants of the exterior lighting and belt trim were removed.  The front and rear fascia were removed, along with the front hood.

The sunroof was removed.  The windshield was removed.

The front and rear wheels and brake calipers were removed.  The wheel well liners were removed.  Everything in the trunk was removed.  The wheels were taken to be refinished and get new tires.

We cut out the rusty parts of the floor pans.  The battery box was cut out and replaced.  All visible frame rust was cut out.  The rear bumper was removed in its entirety.

We detailed the car as best as possible.

The Fiero is sitting on wood blocks in the garage.  Lots of newspaper is under the car.

The fluids have been drained.  We cleaned out the ducts, heater box, and squirrel cage.

I'll be darned, but maybe this Fiero did have cruise control.  There is a spherical plastic thing with a vacuum hose going to it.  I have not found a cruise solenoid.

This thing has the wrong plugs in it.

[GTRS Fiero]

I think the plugs, air filter, and some other things are from a V8.  It would seem that the carb would be larger on a V8, but this is all wrong.  The plug wires are the wrong lengths.

We got an appointment for inspection on 8/6.  So, it needs to run and drive by then.

Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to remove the windshield, just yet.

[GTRS Fiero]

We sourced a rear fascia and the black crate stuff that goes behind it, locally.  Only thing is, this fascia is a red color.

[GTRS Fiero]

We sourced window crank handles.

[GTRS Fiero]

This is not as bad as it seems.

This will be the son's first car.  The father is paying for all the parts and outside labor, but the son must actually buy the car with his own money.  The son is also required to work on the car.

When the change happened, I told the dad that this Fiero would cost $12K to $15K to fix to a reliable, safe vehicle, IF most of the work was done by him and his son.  After the Fiero was ready to drive, it'd be worth about $800.  I agreed to orchestrate getting the Fiero fixed, including helping with finding parts.