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1985 Fiero - Last Hope

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  • #46
    Originally posted by hauen View Post

    As the English kids say nowadays, "Brilliant, yeah?"

    Should be....."Brilliant innit ?

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    • #47
      Oh you crazy Brits. Two great cultures separated by a common language (or something like that). Churchill, wasn't it?

      Hope things in Barcelona are groovy. I think I'd like to visit there based on the travel shows on the telly (speaking a little Brit right there!).

      Dan

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      • #48
        Nice idea about using old brass as a gasket hole punch! It's perfect!

        Finished my mad mad steering wheel redux. I'm in love with it, in that superficial sort of usage of the word "Love". I've done some gutting of the interior and found that a good deal of water was sitting in the floor pan. Gross. The pan seems to have held up well, all things considered, but the seat nuts on the driver's side are rusted round. I think I'm gonna have to cut them off with a cold chisel, as I can't see fitting a grinder down there without starting one heck of a fire.

        This week I plan on getting this intake/throttle body back on and turning the key (fingers crossed) and getting that driver's seat out, come hell or high water. In the meantime, here's the steering wheel, complete with still more .303 shells (I think it's becoming a motif).






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        • #49

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          • #50
            You can call the car "Smelly" or SMLE (I'm sure you already knew, but that's the abbreviation for your .303 rifle "Short Magazine Lee-Enfield") Your very own "Short Mad Light Experiment"

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            • #51
              Awe man, and it's too late to get custom plates too!

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              • #52
                Guttin' Time!

                I ripped out most of the interior this week (absolutely failed to re-attach the intake, as the gasket is crawling through the mail).

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                Stripped bare!

                The driver's seat gave me trouble, but nothing these boys couldn't handle:

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                The seat belt anchor bolt (seen above in the pic) was one of those T45 Torx bolts, and it was rusted up completely. I rounded out my first torx bolt :o(

                Fortunately, it had a massive pan head and I cut it into a 15mm hex bolt with an angle grinder. Problem solved!

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                Seats out and ready for whatever re-upholstery job I end up doing on them. The rails on the driver's side we so messed up with rust that I tossed them in the junk bin. Not sure what I'll end up doing, but my guess is that I can fab something up, it just won't be adjustable.

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                Fig. 1.1, Seat rails fit for a garbage can.

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                Got a hole in the chassis that needs some weld attention (weldtention?) and the floor pans on both sides will need wire brushing and a few coats of primer/paint. Not looking forward to that job...

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                On a major note, I'm really digging how the cockpit is starting to shape up. Painted the cluster face plate bone white and did some weathering on it to make it match the general neglect level of the car (can't have shiney bits on a turd). Grenade air freshener is for air freshening purposes only.

                Thanks for looking!
                Attached Files

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                • #53
                  I love beater projects.Keep up the good or er...bad work!
                  Tom
                  Overdrive is overrated


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                  • #54
                    Every time I start the Duke it sounds a little better. Did new plugs last night and drained all the coolant. Almost added new coolant but thought "Hey, why not take the whole system apart."

                    Well, I'm glad I did.

                    Didn't take long for me to find superficial issues, like this cracked overflow tank:




                    Oh no! Now I'll have to make a custom one out of something totally rad!

                    Does anyone know if the Fiero coolant overflow tank is pressurized? Is that cap a relief valve? Or do I simply make a thing that can hold stuff and route a tube to it? I did some light research and it seems that the simple answer is the one.

                    While I was wrenching on the front end, I decided to just take everything out. It was all caked in old dust and seed pods, and a good deal of it is going to be replaced/reconfigured. I started with those iconic 80's pop up headlights.



                    Pictured: Oedipus the Car.

                    The light assemblies themselves are trashed with rust. the motors make noise, but don't open the lights, which makes me think they have the iconic 80's pop up lights with a stripped gear syndrome. I'll find a way around it. The sealed beams will most likely be replaced by a pair of projectors each, and the opening of the lights reduced by some factor. Lots of fabrication and mods before that happens, and lots more to happen on the car before that's even a remote priority.



                    For all the foul talk about the Iron Duke engine, I'm getting excited about making the most out of this one. Something about the Duke sings the tune of the underdog's ballad, and I like that. More to come!

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                    • #55
                      The overflow should not be under pressure. IIRC the cap doubles as a vent.
                      Chris - HRPT Long Haul 03, 04, 05, 13, 14, 15,16 & 18
                      74 Nova Project
                      66 Mustang GT Project

                      92 Camaro RS Convertible Project
                      79 Chevy Truck Project
                      1956 Cadillac Project

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                      • #56
                        Thanks for the confirmation 74NovaMan. With any luck I should have this coolant mess sorted out in 2 weeks and $200.

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                        • #57
                          can you rig the lights to be open partially all the time with the projector bulbs? sorta like the 240sx guys do?

                          Hellinor- 2005 Mustang GT-Bolt ons, in need of a turbo

                          War Wagon- 1966 Bel Air Wagon-355 Crate motor, 700r4, flies pretty good for a brick...

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                          • #58
                            Hey Shelty, good words on the headlights. I'm 90% sure that's the direction I'm going. Got a buddy with a box full of projectors and I'm gonna take a few and screw 'em on.

                            In the meantime, I've been checking the condition/integrity of the frame. I absolutely love the monocoque frame on the Fiero. Sure, it was way heavier than everybody would have liked, but dang it, the thing just looks cool. As evidenced by this shot:



                            I have some ideas on how to amplify my love of this frame in the build, but that idea is still raw and needs some detailed thinking. Could piss people off too, which is the idea behind hot rodding, which is a form of vehicular subversion.

                            Started doing that scary bit where you start cutting things. Had some massive rust under the battery box (suspect acid spillage) and in the driver's floor pan. Cut both out and had time to patch the floor pan, as that was the worst one to do (under the car, next to the gas tank, with a welder).





                            Cut out the old holes to make bigger holes, then weld new holes in those holes, except this time, without a hole in it.

                            Also did some front end work. Primed the rusty bumper frame, and stitched up the bumper body. No Bondo will be used in this build.





                            Christmas theme: check

                            Should be a good deal of frame restoration ahead. I'll try to only report on the exciting bits. The philosophy of this build is low budget, dependable, solid, and odd. The dependable and solid bit doesn't cost a lot, but requires a bunch of sweat and wire brushing. A good frame makes for a good car.

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                            • #59
                              Funky.....
                              If you can leave two black stripes from the exit of one corner to the braking zone of the next, you have enough horsepower. - Mark Donohue

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                              • #60
                                Too busy living to post, but much has happened to my dear Fiero since December 2015. Much abuse that is. Let's review:

                                Firstly, I put a Volvo spoiler on it because it was $25 at the junkyard. Fit like factory.

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                                Still gotta wire up the lights, but all good things in time.

                                After that, I redid the brakes, because the lines were rotted and the calipers were seized. Oh, and the master cylinder was shot. So basically, there was nothing good to be said about the brakes.


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                                New this...

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                                ...new that. Throw in some Russell braided lines, and a set of 1.5" wheel spacers. Done.

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                                Made some whitewalls, because folks need to know that you're running R14's.

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                                Installed the body work, added some grills to the signal lights and screwed an old sailboat rudder onto the bottom of the radiator mount.
                                Works as an effective way to slam air up into the angled radiator. Helps keep engine heat down.

                                While we're on the topic:

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                                I wrapped the exhaust pipes to keep heat out of the engine bay. Had to rebuild the pipes from the manifold back. It was all rusty and rattly and, moreover, went out the back of the car, with a very small pipe.

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                                I fixed that.

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                                Drove it to a couple meets. Raised a couple eyebrows. Turned down an offer to buy it.

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                                Redid the headlights, courtesy of $35 and an Amazon account. They don't flip. They just stay that way.

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                                Made a center console and a shift boot.

                                Made one of these:

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                                So I could install one of those NRG hubs the hip kids are putting on all their Civics...

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                                So that I could bring my steering wheel into the office.

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                                And just for fun, here's an old pic I like.

                                It has two doors now, I promise.
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