Pontiac Fiero

[red rocket]

I was thinking of buying a cheap used car for some fun weekend driving and abuse. Does anybody have any experience with the Fiero? I've seen a few 1984-1988 Fieros for sale. What's you opinion on the car?

[Kitt]

Try to go for a 88 gt with 5speed and V6. Fieros had a problem with thier front suspension, cant remember if it was bad under or oversteer. In 88 lotus made better front suspension for the fieros. Plus you can always drop a GTP engine and have fun.

[red rocket]

Can someone like me (6', 200 lbs) fit in one of those cars? Didn't they have very high and wide consoles in them? Would the Fiero be a death trap in an accident?

[Molson]

I have information on the kit to drop a Chevy 350 into it. Now THAT would be fun!!:thumbs:

[Panacea]

Well, I'd say go for it if you want to mod it! They have conversion kits to fit a Caddy Northstar engine in them and have some sweet body kits... Only problem is that it costs a lot of $$$.

[NoMo69]

well the guys im probaly goin through to do my custom turbo kit. They make TT's and Single turbos for Fiero's...Do a search on www.google.com search for pontiac turbo kits

[dearim]

Originally posted by red rocket
Can someone like me (6', 200 lbs) fit in one of those cars? Didn't they have very high and wide consoles in them? Would the Fiero be a death trap in an accident?

My dad fit in one just fine back in 1988... he was 6' 275lbs at the time.

[Mystery8]

Whoa...do not abuse a fiero.

The Fiero, during its lifetime, has been required to suffer from lots of speculation, bad press, insanely high insurance rates, and general midunderstanding of the car. Part of this caused its untimely demise in 1988, but also it was taking away from Corvette sales and prototype turbocharged next-generation Fiero autos were outperforming GM's flagship Corvette as well.

The V-6 Fiero hit .84-.86g on the skidpad (4-cyl was roughly .80-.82g)
Porsche 911 Carrera -> .85g (the Carrera 4 was at .83g)
Ferrari Testarossa -> .84g
Lotus Esprit Turbo -> .86g
Lamborghini Diablo VT -> .87g
Acura NSX -> .87g
Acura Integra GS-R -> .82g
Pontiac Firebird Trans Am/Formula ('93+) -> .82g-.85g
Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX -> .86g

How's that?! :)

Check out this link, for awesome facts on the Fiero. (http://fierodude.hypermart.net/interestingstuff.htm)

[helmet1978]

I say buy one for sure...then again I'm a bit biased :D

http://www.raceme.cc/helmet/9-20/cars03.jpg
http://www.raceme.cc/helmet/9-20/cars08.jpg

The general concensus is that the 88 models are better handling and for a stock-stock comparison and that is usually true. If you are planning on modding the suspension, etc you may want to consider a pre-88 car since aftermarket suspension components tend to be cheaper and you can make the earlier year cars handle better than the 88's (aftermarket vs. stock).

Here is some more info for you to peruse:

http://www.fiero.nl - Largest Fiero Internet forum
http://www.heldmotorsports.com - Aftermarket brakes/suspension
http://www.fierostore.com - Factory replacement and aftermarket parts.
http://www.raceme.cc - My site :) I have some info on there
http://www.raceme.cc/fiero/members/paul/paul.html - Page for my car

[Panacea]

http://www.v8archie.com/

Do that!!! Definately! Those kits look so sweet!

Definately like the Finale Body kit..

[red rocket]

I have not seen a 88 for sale anywhere. They must be rare.

[Kitt]

I found a couple in ATL and one in NC lol

[SC/T02]

Hey. I have had two fiero's. In 84' The Fiero had a fire problem. The one you were looking at is an 86+ car. The GT with teh V-6 is a quick car. I loved my 85 2M4 and 86' GT. I ended up putting a S/C 3.8 series II GTP engine in it. I changed the nose cone and pulley. Got A reprogrammed computer and the car was putting 309RWHP. It was faster than fast.


I was kicked out of the 1/4 for not having the right gear. I ran a 9.988 at 117.2MPH. I did not have a roll cage in it, nor did I have a flame suit and helmet so I was kicked out and told not to come back until I had those mods. If I took the spare out from under the hood the front tires would get about 6" off the ground.

I say get it. my 2.5 was stock and it was not bad at all. The 2.8 V-6 was so much faster though. They get all kinds of looks. I say 86-88GT cars are great. People told me that car did not look dated at all. Very ahead of its time.

I am 5'11" and 175LBS and I had more than enough room. The passenger side has even more room than that.

[shawn2ktats]

adam do you have any left?

[Acckbar XXL]

Originally posted by SC/T02
I ended up putting a S/C 3.8 series II GTP engine in it. I changed the nose cone and pulley.

I was kicked out of the 1/4 for not having the right gear. I ran a 9.988 at 117.2MPH.

Where can I find info on the L67 conversion? I am courious to see how much it would be to get one for a daily driver.

9's at only 117? Seems a bit low on the trap speed for 9's. I have 2 friends with stangs that trap that and they are only going mid 11's

[peeps]

Originally posted by SC/T02
The passenger side has even more room than that. When I was in elemetary school, my friends dad would pile 3 of us kids (ages 6, 7, and 9) into the passneger side of his Fiero to take us to school on rainy days....:thumbs:

[DeuceGT]

my dad used to have a fiero. he always said it broke his heart to sell it, but me and my bro couldn't sit in the front seat together anymore. i think you should do it.

[VTECSiGAH8R]

www.fierox.com did an L67 swap.

About the sub 10 sec fiero with 309 RWHP, was that with severe weight reduction cuz I just don't see it happening on a stock Fiero unless you also had very very good grip and maybe a different gear ratio?? Or maybe you had more power than what you dynoed?? What's up with that?

Sounds like a badass car tho, do you still have it?

[SC/T02]

I sold the 3.8 Fiero for the right price a while back. I bought the car for $200.00, got the engine out of a rear end totaled GTP engine/ECM/PCM for $500.00 so for $700.00 I had most of the parts to start out with. I had a set of 16x10.5 on the back and 16x7 on the front. All and all I spent $8,000 when said and done. Someone offered me $12,000 at the track I ran it at. He fell in love with the car when I roolled up in it. Everyone was thinking when I popped the trunk they would see a 350 and then the little 6 is what blwe the doors off. They were ZR-1 Corvette style wheels. As far as gears I had a set of 4:10 final drive ratio. That is where I get a lower than 120 MPH 1/4 mile at that time. I used to have pics on the net. I will try to find them for you guys.


I loved that car and since I skipped on the heavy 350 and got a 3.8, the weight ratio was not way off from stock. about 65back, 35front. I got it a 309 wheel HP and 335+ at the fly. That was enough for me in that car. If you go the the PFYC for the GP. Since it is that motor you can connect any of those parts and go faster and faster.

The GTP motor had 31k miles on it and I rebuilt it before putting it in, bored it a little I think 20 over. Mild cam from the GP store custom motor mounts, custom Flowmaster exhaust, Reprogrammed PCM from GP store nose cone, pulley, and lifters. I think that is it. I want another to work on soon. No $$$ at the moment but soon. My 2.5 I sold not to long ago (few months back). Larger TB and a few little things not to bad for such a little car.I would like to do it all again. I had the G-tech pro in my car saying a 10.3 but the track said 9.988 which is faster than I could even imagine. If you live close and want to know what to do I can help you or give you ideas.

[Matt95GT]

Fieros are basass.

"- Two prototypes were made in 1986 of a Fiero with an aluminum frame. One of the aluminum Fieros had a 190 bhp Quad-4."
Mmmm... *drool*

Quad 4 swaps have also been done. That would be fun too... and I hear it really helps the weight ratio. :thumbs:

[VTECSiGAH8R]

Originally posted by Matt95GT
Fieros are basass.

"- Two prototypes were made in 1986 of a Fiero with an aluminum frame. One of the aluminum Fieros had a 190 bhp Quad-4."
Mmmm... *drool*

Quad 4 swaps have also been done. That would be fun too... and I hear it really helps the weight ratio. :thumbs:

Daamn, a little 4 banger screaming in your ears like that and movin out nicely...would be interesting to say the least.

[Formula88]

The 88 "Lotus Suspension" on 88 Fieros is a myth. I have no idea where it started, but Lotus never had anything to do with the Fiero. It is true that the suspension was totally new for 88, though. The front suspension was a new design, and about an inch wider than previous years with greatly enhanced geometry. The rear suspension went from the previous year's control arm setup to a Tri-link independant rear suspension setup, and the brakes were also new for 88, switching from solid to vented rotors for vastly improved braking. 88 was also the only year you could get a rear sway bar (they came in GT's and Formulas). 88 is the most collectible year, and tends to be rarer and more expensive. Parts can also be harder to find (especially suspension, brakes aren't too bad) and tend to be more expensive. If you're going to mod the suspension, there are enough options for 84-87 that you can make any Fiero handle very well.

Death Trap? During it's production run, it had a 5-star safety rating, and was the 2nd safest car, beaten only by Volvo. People who say they all catch on fire or are death traps are misinformed. They will have the mechancial problems of any GM car built back then. Remember, they are all at least 15 years old now. There was a problem with fires that was corrected with recalls.

My personal experience? I have an '88 Formula 5-speed with 130,000 miles and my "daily driver" 99 Grand Am SE1 with about 80,000 miles. My Fiero has been more reliable and has required less service and cheaper maintenance than my Grand Am. And it's easier to work on. Oh yeah, and the power window regulators haven't fallen apart on the Fiero. Something I can't say about the Grand Am's build quality.

Hands down the best place for info is Pennock's Fiero Forum. http://www.fiero.nl
If you do a search there, you can find info on any mod, any engine install, and just about anything else you can imagine. There's even a couple of people who've put the 3400SFI out of a Grand Am in one! :D