Another Fiero & the family Truckster. 56k go draw a bat

[jstillwell]

Ok, I signed up last night, and haven't had the chance to look around too much, but I've gotten 3 things so far. 1, It seems like y'all are a friendly bunch. (So far). 2, There are some real ballers in the group. Wow, there aer some really nice nice nice cars. I hope you have meets, I want to go for a ride in some of your cars. And 3, Bullshit is not tolerated! Oh Joy! It's amazing how many 16 year old kids have Lambos. Not that there aren't any younger people fortunate enough to roll like that, but there's a lot of bullshit artistes on the net, so I appreciate "the rule"

In that spirit I present my custom shots and some of my car porn. I live in the Monterey Peninsula, so I get to take a lot of pics of cars that aren't mine, but I never claim them, I just like to post them.

Customs first.

1986 Fiero GT
http://www.supermotors.org/getfile/271819/fullsize/IMG_3163.JPG

Powered by 1997 Pontiac L67 Powerplant (Supercharged 3800 with 4 speed automatic transaxle)
http://www.supermotors.org/getfile/271825/fullsize/IMG_3169.JPG
http://www.supermotors.org/getfile/265528/fullsize/officialdynorun.jpg

Glamorshots.
http://www.supermotors.org/getfile/198435/fullsize/IMG_0661.JPG
http://www.supermotors.org/getfile/198512/fullsize/IMG_0679.JPG
http://www.supermotors.org/getfile/264128/fullsize/IMG_2854.JPG
http://www.supermotors.org/getfile/272039/fullsize/IMG_1490.JPG
http://www.supermotors.org/getfile/272040/fullsize/IMG_1497.JPG

[graywolf624]

Not a bad install job. Who would have thought the 3800 would fit in a fiero.
Certianly not a revy engine but quite a bit of torque.

[TT]

Welcome onboard and nice little Fiero there. Too ften the Fiero is attacked and hated by ppl, mostly because used as a base for Ferrari replicas, but well, when it's kept as it should and improved in the right direction I see nothing bad with it ;)

thanks for the custom shot!

[nthfinity]

wow, it almost looks like the 3800 series 1? engine is a tight fit!
its a good engine, especially in such a light-weight car :) welcome to JW :)

[ZfrkS62]

Welcome J! Thanks for reading the rules (its nice to get an intelligent member once in awhile :lol: )

The Fiero crowd definetly seems to be growing in the last couple of days.

I've seen a Fiero with a 400 Small Block somehow shoehorned into it, so a 3800 Series engine isn't too surprising. Must be quite a pull on the old butt dyno :D

[Vansquish]

Nice install job man, and welcome to JW, hope you stick around and waste as much time as the rest of us do here lol.

[jstillwell]

Wow, lot of replies already! I was adding a post about my other car when my browser crashed, but I'll answer questions first.

The engine is actually a Series II 3800, and the very first Series II swap done into a Fiero back in 1997. The previous owner was my father, whom I bought it from in 2003. In 97, he was working for a Halliburton company in Riyadh and left his previous commute car with ACE Engineering in Durango, Colorado. ACE was a fancy name for the shed of one Roger Clutter. I have the receipts from the install, it's pretty obscene what was charged for the swap. It still took quite a bit of further engineering from West Coast Fieros in Marina Del Rey, California to get it right.

The powerplant used was taken out of a brand new Bonneville SSEi pulled off of the assembly line for QA puproses. At least, that's how it was sold. Since the Series II Supercharged engine was new for 97, I can see that happening. That does occur.

So, by the time it got around to me, it was fairly well sorted out. My dad got a bit old for this car, it's not a polite car. He has a C5 Corvette now. Nice car, but I can't fit in it. (6'6")
http://www.supermotors.org/getfile/251412/fullsize/IMG_2328.JPG

So, check back later for my PT Cruiser and some random car porn. Thanks for the welcome.

[jstillwell]

Ok, the Family Truckster. Our 04 PT Cruiser Turbo GT.
http://www.supermotors.org/getfile/272041/fullsize/IMG_3162.JPG
Driving my four-legged son around.
http://www.supermotors.org/getfile/247076/fullsize/IMG_1569.JPG
http://www.supermotors.org/getfile/118172/fullsize/P1010107.JPG
http://www.supermotors.org/getfile/118173/fullsize/P1010109.JPG
http://www.supermotors.org/getfile/118171/fullsize/P1010117.JPG
http://www.supermotors.org/getfile/144226/fullsize/P1010103.JPG
My mom visiting in her 04 Dream Cruiser.
http://www.supermotors.org/getfile/133325/fullsize/P1010213.JPG
My dad's shop shuttle. Subtle, ain't it?

A weekend spent detailing...
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b11/jstillwell/IMG_1515.jpg
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b11/jstillwell/IMG_1514.jpg
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b11/jstillwell/IMG_1505.jpg
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b11/jstillwell/IMG_1511.jpg
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b11/jstillwell/IMG_1513.jpg

I dare you, find dirt anywhere.
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b11/jstillwell/IMG_1516.jpg
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b11/jstillwell/IMG_1520.jpg
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b11/jstillwell/IMG_1506.jpg
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b11/jstillwell/IMG_1507.jpg
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b11/jstillwell/IMG_1508.jpg

No mods at all. Just imagine if they made an SRT-4 station wagon with a tiptronic style automatic. Oh wait, they do!

[ZfrkS62]

hahaha, love the sunglasses on the dog :D

[RC45]

Another nice clean Fiero... I knew they had to be out there.

[SilviaEvo]

nice fiero man! my dad had one a while back but sold it. i hear PT's are actually pretty nice to drive.

[jstillwell]

Not bad not bad. I agree with TT completely when he says most of us (me included) hate the Fieros just because they're the base for many ugly Ferrari replicas... but once it's well mainained, keep in good shape and modified in the correct way - they're not bad at all

Oh absolutely. I think there's nothing more dreadful then a slapped together bastardization of Enzo's children with some anemic 4 cylinder engine, usually plastered with more prancing horses then the whole Ferarri F1 team. That's replacing the wrong part of the car.

The Fiero represented to me a tug of war between what the accountants at GM would allow, and what the car guys at Pontiac could get away with. From the outset, the Fiero team designed the car to accept a multitude of GM powerplants and left the fenders open for some big rubber for the mid eighties. By the time the 88 model came around, it was redesigned to eliminate the concessions Pontiac had to make in using existing parts bin materials giving thr Fiero it's own specially designed suspension. By that time, though, the Corvette folks who realy weren't getting the engine they should have had in the eighties were a bit nervous about getting their halo knocked askew. So in classic GM fashion, by the time they got it right, they killed it.

The 88 is allegedly superior to the previous years, however, the 85-87 Fieros can be upgraded with GM parts bin parts still. My car uses ventilated discs from a baretta, for example, but upgrades using Corvette, Cadillac, and Chrysler LeBaron parts are available to go up to 12" rotors. Of course, the kit car industry has been kind in that there are companies that produce high dollar chassis upgrades that can also be installed in a factory bodied car.


The PT is my wife's car, but I've had a thing for them since they first showed the showcar for them in 99. It just has good lines, for a people hauler. And I'd actually much rather drive 100+ mph in the PT then the Fiero. Behaves much better at high speed then my nose happy mid engined car.

[MidEngine4Life]

http://4thgear.mafiamods.com/fierocolumn.jpg

A shot I took of his car on the California Coast Run

[spanky]

Guys Im a bit curious about the motor.. Is that 3.8ltr V6 a buick made motor? Im wondering as it looks very similar to the supercharged motor in one of our cars over here in Australia...

[graywolf624]

Its a pontiac engine but its used by all of corporate.

[Yablokov]

grats with the fiero!

thos dyno stats are amazing! i can only imagine how fast it flys. (adding thta it weighs almost nothing).

enjoy your stay m8!

[jstillwell]

Alex, thanks for the welcome. It's definately not a high speed runner, on a long trip a Honda Odyssey minivan could leave it behind. The suspension and aerodynamics really need some work before I'm confident in driving it faster then the 120 mph speed limiter that the Bonneville computer is equipped with. But in my area, I really don't have any business going that fast. But it does like to accelerate. I took a video of my speedometer accelerating from 0-60 mph in 5.8 seconds before I had my cold air intake fabricated. Up to that point it was breathing through a factory airbox that was designed for a normally aspirated 2.8. The new intake added about 30 hp, so I'd be interested to see what she does now. I know she's MUCH faster.

Old pre-intake dyno...
http://www.supermotors.org/getfile/189627/fullsize/p1010336.JPG

Some interior shots.
http://www.supermotors.org/getfile/271823/fullsize/IMG_3121.JPG
Ghetto Alcantara.
http://www.supermotors.org/getfile/271824/fullsize/IMG_3146.JPG
My sexy amplifier.
http://www.supermotors.org/getfile/272368/fullsize/IMG_3128.JPG
The Unabomber at the wheel. At 6'6", I'm a tight fit, but actually quite comfortable in my little go-kart. I think that's one of the reasons I love it so much. It's as close to a motorcycle as I'll ever get.

[Banchi105]

Interesting that you can fit in the fiero, but not a c5?

[nthfinity]

Interesting that you can fit in the fiero, but not a c5?
my brother cant fit in a c6, but can in a c6 Z06...

the cross member of the frame is quite intrusive to tall people... i can fit in it, but only just... a helmet might be pushing it :lol:

the zo6, being a solid top doesnt exist

[jstillwell]

Yeah. We took the Corvette to Las Vegas. I was miserably uncomfortable the whole way there. Don't get me wrong, the Corvette is a better car in every way, although the mid engine flavor of the Fiero really can't be compared. But I was definately happy to get out of the car, and I'm not in any hurry to get back in one. Same thing for the 4th Generation Camaros.

The head engineer, I believe it was, on the Fiero development team, is my size. Therefore the car got designed to hold someone of a taller stature. It's actually a very roomy car for it's size.

[Banchi105]

Yeah, I guess that makes sense. I am 6'3" myself, but can usually find a way to squeeze into a car if I like it enough. I drove a 99 prelude 1.5hours a day for about 6 months. Now I look back on it trying to figure out how I did it.

Anyways, thats a nice Fiero. I don't think I've ever seen one that looked nice and just wasn't rotting in front of someone's trailor.

[jstillwell]

Thanks. Actually mines pretty much a beater. It's a true daily driver with an Earl Scheib paint job that gets parked in the driveway. There is actually a pretty large group of pretty rabid hobbyist when it comes to the Fieros. Some are pretty laughable, but others are sublime.

Witness my friend Rick's 88 GT. Essentially it is a rebodied Oldsmobile Intrigue with a 3.5 liter DOHC "Shortstar" V6 and all of the Olds' electrical and instrumentation with Fiero chassis.
http://www.supermotors.org/getfile/264127/fullsize/IMG_2851.JPG
http://www.supermotors.org/getfile/264133/fullsize/IMG_2862.JPG
http://www.supermotors.org/getfile/158206/fullsize/IMG_0249.JPG
http://www.supermotors.org/getfile/158207/fullsize/IMG_0250.JPG

[MidEngine4Life]

I love the extra vent Rick added on the decklid. Looks so good.