Big fast, Little money Fiero

So poor we breast feed the cat but I have to have speed! So been searching for: LIGHT WEIGHT. Low cost. Easily modified. 50/50 weight distribution or close. Able to scare overly inquisitive family members. So I just bought an 88 Fiero Formula at a great price. And am thinking LS series V8 power or L67 3800 Supercharged. I don't think there is significant difference in weight between them. 2700 lbs wet and 375 hp at the wheels ought to do it. What of braking and suspension though? What wheels will fit? The goal is to use verrrry reasonably priced parts to achieve all around excellent performance at verrrrrry low cost. Like maybe Corvette brakers and wheels...

If swap a whole Corvette rear end if it fits. Then you just leave them the same. I would be more worried about the suspension. Then worry about front brakes. Good luck.

the LS4 might be a good fit, aluminum, 5.3L 300ish HP, and all the accessories are shortened up on the front so it fit better when its mounted in the wrong direction in all their production cars. it came in the last impala ss and monte ss too i think.

In reply to WilberM3:

In the Grand Prix GXP too. Late model Bonneville GXP have a northstar V8 however.

I can't seem to get the image of the GRM cover car CRX with 86 Corvette wheels out of my mind.

WilberM3 wrote: the LS4 might be a good fit, aluminum, 5.3L 300ish HP, and all the accessories are shortened up on the front so it fit better when its mounted in the wrong direction in all their production cars. it came in the last impala ss and monte ss too i think.

I noticed some are mounted 180 while others are 90. Maybe this is the reason. Regardless, there are always ways to make it fit. Had to use a sledge hammer on my S13 to fit the i6 in her.

I'm not up to date on the Chevrolet engines. Need to pull out this months issue for reference.

My former boss had a fiero that he managed to get down to 2000lbs. He was able to run 17x9's in the rear and 16x7.5 in the front. It wasn't easy to fit those rear wheels, but he did. I think the sc3800 is a great choice for the fiero.

I imagine if you can get the rubber to fit, any engine would be fun:)

It was the kit car platform of choice for much of the '90's, so there's plenty of go fast parts available for the Fiero. There was a company that would make tubular A-arms in any length you wanted. Big brake kits were another thing they carried. Some careful searching of the internet might turn up some stuff.

http://www.fierosails.com/fierosecrets.html

Good site w/ a lotta links

I agree with wilbur, LS4 would be the hot ticket, a V8 already setup for a sideways mounting, in the back of a fiero with some super short pipes would be awesome. Those engines had the cylinder shutoff system, which would help highway mpg's. It shares lots of stuff with the standard LS, too.

However, being a 1.) newer and b.) rarer engine will make it a little more pricey than a 3800SC, which has been around in varying forms FOREVER.

I'd also like to know how you breast feed your cat.

What about a 2.7 or 3.3 super duty engine. There is a Fiero in Flint that runs a 2.7 in autocross. He is quick, the Corvette club does not invite him to their autocross anymore.

Bench Racer (BowtieBandit) wrote: I'd also like to know how you breast feed your cat.

In reply to fasted58:

Wow what a great site.Way more info than I could have imagined. TONS of links, thank you.

In reply to pilotbraden: I'd love to know what his suspension setup is. It is just hard to beat a light car. If I had your money I'd score an Ariel Atom or maybe a beasty FF GTM. Am looking up the 2.7 and 3.3 now, Thanks!

Very carefully ...

The Fiero store in Connecticut.

Also try V-8 Archie:

V8 conversion site for kits

In reply to vwcorvette: I LIKE the looks of that.Looks a little underpowered but there are ways to change that. Too much = almost enough... Thanks for the info!

the fwd LS4 5.3 also has the proper fwd 60 degree V6 bellhousing pattern, so no adapters would be needed.. the front of the cranksahft is a bit shorter than a regular LS engine and all the accessories are tucked in closer, too.. it might be fun finding a real manual trans that would hold up to it, tho, if that's part of the plan..

In reply to ls1fiero: I saw a friend of his yesterday and the car has been sold, but I will try to find out what suspension he used.

There is a guy in NY that built one almost exactly the way I want to with my black 88 Formula. He calls it Fiero 2M8. An LS4, Big brakes, Lots of rubber, Coilovers, Leather, AC,killer stance!... Much love! Yes, a manual trans would be mo fun! And maybe much mo hard to do.

http://s752.photobucket.com/albums/xx161/2m8/ Pics of the dream result. Does not look like a lot of budget challenges here.

looks like a nice conversion. I always liked the looks of the Fiero.. they seem so hard to find in decent shape anymore

Been doing some imagineering. Put Fiero and GNX into blender. Retro and wayyyy fast. Like!