Sorry!
88 Fiero GT $4,500, 91K miles
We did a little article on them.
Also, you need to watch this series.
Lean in, and learn to love the Fiero. EMBRACE THE FIERO. BECOME THE FIERO.
In reply to trucke :
Is that yours? It has been for sale on craigslist forever. There was also that zz4 4speed manual autocross Fiero that was for sale earlier this year.
Endorse her decision making. Tell her to go buy one. Stay out of it altogether.
Pete
I've owned 2. Autoxed and track dayed them also.
I personally prefer the handling of the pre 88 cars. They are more lively and I feel have better turn in. Rear bumpsteer is the disadvantage people talk about but I never really had an issue.
The steering is heavy, the clutch is heavy, the throttle is heavy, the breaks are heavy and the shifter is vauge. If you can deal with that the cars really handle pretty well. They take muscle to be able to put in the inputs required to stay ahead of them but if you have it they are rewarding to drive. The shifter is not great but the 4 speed trans is robust and I was able to noclutch downshift and LFB mine at trackdays with no issue.
The pre 88 stock brakes are aweful. They are non vented discs with weak calipers. Great news though Mid 90s grand am front brakes swap super easy. You angle grinder away the fiero rotor in the front (integral to hub) and the rest is a bolt on affair. I swapped mine to Grand Am brakes and impressed the 911 driving instructor at my track day with braking performance so there is hope.
The 84s wireing harness is unique and should be avoided if you are planning a swap. The main harness routes through the center of the firewall instead of the side. This causes grief and headaces as it occupies the space V engines want their exhaust to live.
Rust is an issue in the chassis. Check the battery tray and area behind the carpet in the trunk. They are reasonably rust resistant as they were dipped in Ecoat but it's not like galvanizing from a rust inhibitor. This was one of the big advantages of the every chassis is black..
Operating costs are low, the V6 sounds the business and I never really had any issues with mine in ~75k miles. I miss them sometimes and think about buying one before they are all terrible.
Has she driven one yet?
They tend to sit lower than most women find comfortable in this day of suvs
1988RedT2 said:I think Curtis was looking at one with an engine transplant. He probably knows something about them. He seems to know a good bit about most everything. Quite the Renaissance Man, that Curtis.
Blushing.
I did have a huge love for them back in the day and one recently came up during my 350z/Miata/MR2 search that had me giddy as a school girl. 3800 supercharged swap, really nice upgrades, sweet paint. It caused me to go way down the rabbit hole again and remind me of the stuff I had learned back in the day.
The Fiero gets lumped into the rest of the malaise era GM junk, but it isn't. Rumor has it that assembly and quality was overseen by the same person that did Bowling Green. They did Corvettes a whole different way, and Fieros were a much different thing than a Grand Am or a Bonneville of the same 80s period.
Suspensions aren't inspired, but easily upgraded with ridiculously cheap parts. The 88s got a whole new suspension that is better, but good luck finding parts.
The 2.5 Duke is a wheezer, but honestly in comparison to an MR2 of the same era, they likely had about the same HP/weight ratio. Fix the oiling issues to prevent the (way overhyped) fire danger, and it will likely run for 750k miles. There is a reason the USPS still uses them. They are about as reliable as you can get. Shifter throw is long, but the aftermarket has you covered.
The 2.8L V6 was always a great little engine, and it opens you up to a few hundred combinations of GM 60-degree V6 swaps. SBCs, LS1s, and LT1s fit with very little headache. I saw a yellow Fiero once with a 400 SBC that had trouble keeping the front wheels on the ground when he could get the wrinkllies to hook up.
If I were buying something newer, I'd choose an MR2 over a Fiero, but the lines, design, and options that lay before you with the Fiero are hard to ignore. One of the sexiest cars I know is a fastback Fiero. One of the ugliest is a notchback Fiero. MR2 never struck me as an attractive car. Fun, yes... not attractive.
It sounds like your wife has good taste. I did some digging a while back, I really like the way a 1st gen MR2 looks but the Fiero is supposed to be easier to wrench on and maintain. One thing I had read was the engine bay in an MR2 is a box with square sides whereas the engine bay in a Fiero has some taper to it which gives you some room for *ahem* modifications.
As others have mentioned, the pre-88s are very much parts bin cars and this includes the GTs. The 88s are what the Fiero was supposed to be but, they only sold approx. 8 of them and parts are collector items. If I had the money and time, instead of being a 20-something trying to get by, I'd buy a late model Fiero and go through with updates. Disc brakes all around, modern-ish suspension, a decent engine...
Solely based on looks, I prefer a 1st gen MR2. For a car to own, drive, and wrench on I would prefer a Fiero.
plus 140 horsepower in a light car is peppy enough for modern traffic
They actually ran mid 15s with a stickshift. Anyone who has seen a V6 Fiero launch hard can probably relate to this statement: They don't look like 140hp when they're launching. It'll be really strong in the <50mph range and 'feel like 140hp' after that. If you want to get a bit of an upgrade without changing much of anything (besides a chip tune, preferably), you can swap the iron block 3.4L bottom end (circa 93-96 v6 F-body) under the stock fiero top end and get good seat of the pants gains.
I once did a 2.8-3.4 iron block swap on an 84 Jimmy (s10 blazer) and even without touching the stock carb i felt it was worthwhile. This one:
In reply to trucke :
It's amazing how good those cars still look (the GT at least). GM actually had its E36 M3 together styling-wise back then, I guess. Must have had a whoooole lot of people retire between the Fiero and (just giving one example here) the Pontiac Sunfire.
In reply to Error404 :
Interesting post on Mr2. Inam completely opposite. I wouldn't take a MK1 mr2 for free, I think they are horrendous looking
By the time the ugly Spyder came out, I couldn't stand the ugliness and moved to miatas and s2000.
to me mk2 is the sweet spot. Gorgeous, fast, reliable
I think MR-2s are pretty hideous, inside and out and in every iteration. Just so awkward-looking.
The MR2 and Fiero are on the list of "Cars That Couldn't Be Made Today". By the time you add in all the mandated blindspots, fake panels, battery packs, touchscreens, and 2 3rd rows of seating you would have something so bloated and ugly as to be unrecognizable as a fun car.
With that crankiness out of the way, I just dig the lines on the 80's MR2s, the 90's just don't do it for me as much. They're not bad but they're missing character, IMO. The Fiero is big enough to have room to work but still shares some of the same quirkiness and fun appeal to me.
So why a Fiero? I had one, converted it to an EV, good car for that.
How about a 914, they are still cheapish and going up in value.
p.s. I bought a 71 Pinto from a guy who said they were going to make it a race car, but his wife didn't like it, and she wanted a Fiero instead,
so that is what he got.
I have owned several and enjoyed them a lot. (85 4 cly, 85 V6, 88 Formula, 88 W/ V8 swap)
Buy a clean car. Interior and body parts are hard to find in good shape and there are no re-pops. Mechanical parts are fairly easy to get.
Get a V6. The 4 is just slow and noisey.
If you're not racing it, leave the brakes and suspension alone as far as modifications. Just freshen it up with good parts.
Put her in an early one and add a little wet road and see how long it is before she puts it in a ditch.
Yes the Fiero really is that bad.
I agree that the 88 is the one to own - the handling is significantly better (I owned an 87 and an 88 at the same time, plus I have a few decades experience setting up race car suspension, so have the basis for a proper comparison).
And don't even consider one with the Iron Puke engine - garbage and except with the last year, mated with the inferior early suspension. They were trying to sell the model to management by calling it an econo car built on the cheap using a Citation cradle moved to the back of the car and a Chevette front suspension, neither of which were exactly state of the art. And then, GM being GM, they finally got it right in 1988 and then canceled the model.
Here's a load of Fiero stuff, take your pick.
https://columbus.craigslist.org/pts/d/westerville-fiero/7011748629.html
it's only $1299 plus whatever it costs to get it to you:
https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/cars-sale/34-v6-fiero-price-drop/160715/page1/
That 3.4 swapped Fiero is a smokin deal if that shortblock is ok. It's already been both upgraded and simplified, depending on how you look at it.
You ever Wake up and wondered how the crapcan you got there ? Never thought about the fiero until my wife asked about them. We found a nice 87 GT local and took it for a spin. It sits low, the steering is heavy and it reminds me of my brothers old 73 Corvette, without the power. Wife is on the fence about it....but me and my 14 year old son are looking at engine swamps. Forget the v6, how hard will be to put a lx 4.8 in the thing ? May be a bad idea but let's throw it out there.
In reply to scottdownsouth :
Why not FWD 5.3 from whatever they were installed in? Bring the transaxle along, with that much power it would still be entertaining even with the automatic.
The fwd 5.3 has the same bellhousing bolt pattern as the stock 2.8. Whether that means you can hook it to the fiero transmission, i dont know, due to starter location and exhaust routing and stuff like that. Im sure someone knows.
I want a 4.9 Fiero. Funny thing is, having driven both a 5.3 Impala SS and a 4.9 Deville, the Deville honestly felt about as powerful as long as you didn't go past like 4000 rpm. I didn't find the 5.3 fwd too compelling in stock form, just 'better than a northstar caddy by like 10% i guess', but the mod potential is the attraction. If i had a 4.9 Fiero i would cam it and do E36 M3 else. Just the ~5l of torque launching an MR car and the all around 80s-ness and non-ls-ness of it would make me happy.
You'll need to log in to post.
