Anyone on here ever own one? The Department of War and Finance (wife) wants one for something to do. Anything to look for in one? Weaknesses? Should she come to her senses?
Early ones had lots of problems. Later ones are much better. By the time GM got the problems sorted out, the Fiero had gotten such a bad rep that they were hard to sell. 2M6 are pretty quick. 2M4s are not.
Now, for some reason, I've ALWAYS had a soft spot for the GT model, the real rounded one. Something about that car. Anyway, alot of people do a SBC swap in them. What I heard about the Fiero was that there were two different groups working on it at GM for some reason, and these groups both wanted their designs to win, so they spent alot of time sabotaging each other. Something like that anyway.
A friend of mine bought one new, the last year they were made. It is a GT and actually a pretty good looking car, plus its fairly quick and handles great. He has had very few problems with it, and other than replacing the clutch once, I don't think he has had any mechanical problems at all. Last time I asked, he had just over 200k miles on it.
I'm not lying at all here. Right as we speak we're calling up someone to tow away my brother's '86 Fiero GT. It's been sitting dead in my parent's driveway for at least 8-10 years. For some reason my mullet haired brother refuses to get rid of it, but finally my mom put her foot down and told him it has to go. This thing had more problems than Anna Nicole's brassiere, everything you can imagine, AC, electrics and finally the engine blew up. I swear to God the cooling fins on the engine cover are warping and rotting like wood, even though they're made of metal. It must be some kind of high wood pulp content metal, some sort of sub pot metal. And all the supposedly rust free plastic panels are being recalled by Mother Nature. Their inherent lack of quality can be ascertained by the way one's eyes open up on the sight of seeing one being driven on the road. I saw one that had been turned into a faux miniature Ferrari rotting away in a person's driveway the other day.
Fieros were a bastard car that utilized "off the shelf" stuff from other low dollar GM vehicles assembled on a unique and different platform. The front suspension and steering is Chevette/T1000 stuff, almost a complete carry over, and the rear axle/engine combo is Citation stuff...they didn't look too far to find what they needed to build these cars as cheaply as possible! First couple years involved hard fuel lines that would flex and split...creating spectacular roadside infernos, and the insulation in the engine compartment also poses a fire hazard as the miles rack up. Driving one is quite an experience. The seats sit low on a flat floor, and your feet go straight out in front of you. The center console feels awkwardly high, and the speakers in the headrest are more annoying than functional! They aren't very comfortable, and only the last ones with EFI V6 power were ever any fun at all to drive...and a stock 305 Camaro would still outrun and outhandle 'em! They're interesting little oddities...seems GM likes to try the cheap mid or rear engine car experiment every couple decades or so...from the Corvairs in the 60s to the Fieros in the 80s...both have cult followings, but are largely regarded as Edsels in the mainstream world!
there is a guy in minneapolis that has a 450hp Northstar powered one. thats a wild ride, its the newer one too. talk about hauling ass... Cant remember his name, he has a Fuiel Injected 409 powered 59 elcamino that made alot of mags.. he is a Fuel Injection specialist along with trannys... went to a seminar at a carshow with him doing it.
I sold my 2M4 [1984] to the neighbor kid a year ago. Only charged him $500 for it with a miss in the engine. Turns out the head was cracked full length and after he replaced the head, he drove it around for 2 months before it got hit while parked. His insurance gave him $1200 for it. Thank God it got hit before the weather got too hot. I told him the cooling fan didn't work but he'd have driven it in the 100 degree heat anyway....prolly crack his new head. Kinda fun to drive but not worth the headaches IMHO...
Well, in the Fiero's defense, the Citation was a piece of shit, too, I know, I had one. In fact, wasn't EVERYTHING that came out of GM in the early to mid 80s SHIT, except the SBC powered full sized cars and trucks?
In '88 when we were at the SAFCU credit Union I looked thru the book they had that listed the price mark-up of every car and every option soald then. I was shocked to learn that while the dealer price markup on the Astro Van we were buying was around 17%, the mark up on the Fiero was a lousy 6%...That's less profit margin than the fucking state of California makes off the deal in sales tax! Tha'ts also why dealers wouldn't order any more of the bastards than the factory forced them to take. Why stock a car that's going to cost you to keep in inventory and people are going to get mad and not believe you when yu tell them there ain't no profit to discount? Besides that, I truely believe they only built the car as a real time test car to get some on the road info on the plastic body on steel skeleton construction that they were planning to bring out soon on the then yet to be produced Saturn cars. I prefer the nose of the original car and the rear end of the later GT... I nderstand they weren't real popular with women because they didn't offer power steering and men thought they were, how does this board usually describe it, GAY. They are the basis/chassis of a lot of "kit cars" though! I think I'd be steering her toward the first generation Toyota MR-2 Fieros make Fiat X-1-9's look good
Here's another true story. I call this one "open mouth - insert foot". I picked up a Fiero for one of my old repo clients, and the remarketing manager for the company calls me to ask about it. What does it look like? Does it run? How's the interior? What do you think it's worth? Finally I tell the guy "Dude, come on. It's a Fiero for God's sake. As far as I'm concerned they're all worthless pieces of shit." At which time he says to me... "Uhhh, I drive a Fiero. What's so bad about 'em".
Ok now it's official I know to much about shitty cars. But if your gonna get a Fiero there is no real choice but the '88. It's not a Chevette front suspension. But I believe the transaxle is still derived from the Citation. I found out about this through a friend that races one in the SCCA. I'm not sure what year they changed but I know the '88 is supposed to be the cream of the crop so to speak. And the Northstar swap is not really that hard....
Yeah I have seen the Northstar/Fiero cruising University a couple of times. Man that thing hauls!! Not a real big fan of em but my parents did have the X11 when I was growing up. I got to see Foot Loose in it at a drive in. Ah memories... Justin
The Fiero was GM's compromise with Pontiac on a 2 seat sports car. Wangers always wanted to have a car like the Corvette, but Chevrolet was so powerful in GM that he'd never get it. Theres a few pix in a book I have that are Pontiac's version... with the OHC Sprint 6! Pretty cool looking ride too. Anyways, GM finally relented to Pontiac, but they probably didn't give that big a budget. And remember the early eighties were all about fuel economy... remember the 52 mpg J-2000? Neither do I. I was like, 5?! The only Fiero story I have is that my dad used to sell cars at Waldecker Pontiac/AMC/JEEP/Renault in Brighton, and he had one overnight, and I got to ride to school in it, in like 4th grade. It was thunderstorming that day, and lightning struck the road in front of us, and that freaking car was so low to the ground I swear I got burns on my ass. True story. Don't ask. Jay
[ QUOTE ] Nads? Since when do you have a brother? Tim MBL [/ QUOTE ] Nads? Since when do you have a MOTHER? Bruce
Don't do it. Just don't do it. I had one. The first car I bough with my own money. It was in the shop 27 of the first 30 days I owned it. When I drove it off the lot, it quit 2 miles down the road and I didn't get it back for three weeks. Caught on fire. TWICE. Don't do it man, don't do it.
Fieros are an aquired taste. They are building a cult following with really hardcore fans. They have weak clutches and aren't exactly the best handling or performing cars out of the box, but there are alot of things that can be "fixed". The most popular option right now is putting Caddy Northstars in them. After a shot in the arm like that you will need to purchase wheelie bars and an a penchant for adrenaline. Imagine that set-up with a 50-100 HP shot of NO2 on a progressive feed. FUN. I have also seen the famed Turbo Buick GN motor out into one of these cars as well. Don't totally shit on the idea of a Fiero, Model A's weren't exactly a performance goliath when new either....It takes a the mind of a Hot-Rodder to see through the factory flaws. Beauty is in the eyes and all of that mumbo jumbo...
My mom still has hers, bought it new, has about 40k miles, looks new except for faded speaker covers on the dash, Been garaged its whole life, and the only problems she has had with it is it broke a few exhaust manifold bolts once and the heater core just stafted leaking. It's a 6cyl auto GT, guess it all depends how they are taken care of...Toqwik
Exactly.... We don't think twice about spending a grand or more to buy a rotten, dented, twisted up and rusty piece of crap that we will proceed to tear down to the frame and start from scratch to re-build. In the process we will throw out almost all of the origional equipment and replace it with parts from other cars from other makes/models in an effort to make it cooler/faster. But we have reservations about buying a late model and "wasteing our time" on it? The funny part is, that you would not probably have to tear the late model down as far. In fact an engine transplant, a paintjob and a new set of tires would produce a killer ride. Dollar-wise you are probably in the same ballpark or cheaper than a vintage car. It depends on what you start with and chances are that you could find a Fiero a LOT cheaper and with no rust (for obvious reasons). It boils down to what you like. If you like Model A's, build one, if you like musclecars, do the same. There is no reason to avoid any car if you really dig them....People actually like those hideous Max Wedge cars for christs sakes, e-gad those are ugly.....to eack his own and so forth....
In 1983 I saw the soon to be released Fiero for the first time and fell in love. I had a 1969 Firebird convert at the time, completley restored, that was my everyday driver. I put my Firebird up for sale on the corner lot and it sold in a matter of hours. I then went to the bank and applied for my first car loan for the '84 and used the money from the Firebird as my downpayment. I got a red one. I loved that car. I can only vaugly remember having one major problem with it, it was a major engine problem and it was in the dealership for a couple of weeks. It was just past warrenty and my repair bill was alittle over $1000.00. A whole lotta money for a college student and I didn't have it. So I sold my snowmobile to pay for my repair bill. I was very pissed about it to say the least and I filed a complaint report agaist Pontiac with the automotive dept of the Detroit Area Better Business Burea. Within a couple of weeks I had a check for the whole amount, from Pontiac, for the repair reimbursment. I thought that was pretty stand up of them. In either 87 or 88 I sold it and bought a '86GT 4 speed that was a whole lotta fun. The only thing I can remember replacing was the clutch. I drove it for about 3 years till some asshole stole it and smashed it. They were both fun cars to drive 20 years ago or so, don't know if I would feel comfortable (safe) driving one today with traffic being so much heavier, faster, with cell talking, SUV driving, soccer moms not paying attention, if you get my drift. Spring break Daytona Beach 1985... even back then I put alotta miles on my cars
If you buy it take out fire lnsurance on it.I use to drive big truck on east coast and you would not bleave how many fieros i have seen burnt to a crisp roadside.Talk her out oe it.Dont feel bad as i had to talk old lady out of buying a pacer once.
Bruce, "everbody's got a mudder", you've seen Abbott and Costello. Yeah Tim, I do have a brother, really. He's been seen by very few of my friends, he's a secret much like The Swamp Cabbage Man. In my bro's Fiero's defence, it was pretty damn fast with the V6 engine, it's handling was something else though. A bit like trying to push a wheelbarrow full of cinder blocks in a straight line whilst carrying a drunk rockabilly chick on your back.
The Jalopy Journal
