newbie, need to knows

[nonturbosupra]

ok, i just bought an 84 fiero 2m4 and i want to know what the most likely bad thing is to happen to this car, will it throw a rod or burst into flames, would love to know. heard some things and you guys would probably know. anything and everything please.

thanks.

[GoFast88]

Funny thing. I just outrun my flames. 

[nonturbosupra]

great. so what i have learned is that of the 12 that took a look at my post so far, one! said something, and even that wasnt productive.

well i did learn something from that post, aside from gofast88s sence of humor, and that is that i should buy a fire extinguisher.

thanks alot

[egirard]

The worst thing is the accumulation of lost oil from the motor. This accumulation can start a fire. If your motor did not lost oil, you should not have this problem.

Also, in the GM maintenance manual, they did not recommend to crash the car on a wall 

Cheers,

Eric
 P.S. Sorry for English mistake, I am a French speaking person

[FieroBUZZ]

After reading your sarcastic response, you may be an acceptable Fiero owner.  You need a good sense of humour and a fairly thick skin.

12 views?  Alas, it was just GoFast reading your post 10 times to be sure to answer correctly. (he works for the gov't)

We lovingly call the 4 cylinder the 'iron duke', I believe it has something to do with the prototype toilet.  If you drive it like a Toyota, you just may end up picking up the pieces.  These things are old and tend to suddenly decide to self-destruct.  The fires were largely a result of owner neglect and GM's desire to use the public as it's proving ground.

For a good discussion of the merits of your new motor see
http://www.k12.nf.ca/gc/Staff/Teachers/Crummey/fiero/index.htm

Fieros are lots of fun, and pretty adictive to boot.  This may have more to do with some faulty gene which makes us buy the darned things.  Anyway, soon you will realize that you can buy a whole 84 rather than that shiny part at the dealer and voila....your first parts car.

The 84 is a bit different than the 85-87 and the 88's are different again.  There was no provision for a v-6 in 84, so a lot of the wiring and some of the parts need to be modified to accomodate a new engine when you decide you want more power.  There are a wide variety of swaps and it seems a lot of us have started down that road.

We are not really a bad bunch, so feel free to ask away and be sure to meet us if you care to associate with the 'cheap' end of car enthusiasts.

If you have not already found it, the best resource site for us is the forum at www.fiero.nl

Gary

p.s. my Fiero is broken..........   

[2ML67]

You will find a lot of twisted senses of humour here but mixed in there is also a lot of good knowledgable people. Best advice for a Fiero owner is keep them tuned up and the oil clean. The cars were ahead of them selves in that the drive trains in the 80's sucked so best thing is up grade to a newer engine design.
Biggest problems were 84's but that is fixable. Heat is the killer normally these engines were in a front wheel drive car where a good supply of fresh air was blowing across them and the exhaust ran behind them not around them. Put that set up in rear and loose air flow and put catalytic converter in a very stupid place and crap can happen. Untuned not properly maintained engines run hotter then crap happens. Dan

[dguy]

Anyway, soon you will realize that you can buy a whole 84 rather than that shiny part at the dealer and voila....your first parts car.

Hey, you be nice to those 84's.  Kitten's made it down to Halifax & back without any problems, whereas mine decided to not only burn out the "start" terminal on the ignition switch on the way down, but the actuating rod for the ignition switch granted itself a divorce from the ignition lock cylinder on the return trip!   

My little sister happens to have a job at a garage for the summer, so I was able to have a new ignition switch waiting for me when we arrived.  Kitten didn't seem to find it very amusing to have to push-start my car after every fill-up from about the QC/NB border to my family's driveway however.   

For the latter half of our trip home I had the pleasure of bungeeing the ignition switch to the underside of the instrument panel so that I could reach it, and using a straightened-out paperclip to operate it.   

[2ML67]

So what you're saying is 84's are only good for parts cars or girl's cars.
Having owned quite a few 84's I would say you are wrong. There is nothing wrong with the 84's that can't easily be fixed. Most parts from 84-87 are the same only big difference is engine wiring at C500 connector. Dan

[GoFast88]

Or you can buy this hood  http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=2486436139&category=42611&sspagename=WDVW for the price of two 84's

[FieroBUZZ]

  Smartie!!!!  I meant that  there are a lot more 84 models around and most of them are flogged to the point of being parters.  For the price most decent 84's are advertised, you can buy an equally nice newer model.  Not everyone enjoys rebuilding crappers like you do, Dan.  Besides when you get done it rarely is an 84 anymore.

Kitten's car worked well because it's motor was going home.  Yours know how much you enjoy a challenge.  Beside a nice hubby would have pushed the car instead of sitting inside while the missus does the work.   

Brian, that hood doesn't fit a Fiero and it's also at about the price of 6 or 7 84's. 

[aaron88]

Depending what you want with the car it’s well worth your time to upgrade the powertrain, suspension and brakes, because otherwise the car has good characteristics.

Aaron

.

[nonturbosupra]

thank god. well bought it from original owner, she old now bought a lincoln. sat for a year after she payed to have the entire brake system replaced. only fatality of the sit was the ebrake. well as long as it lasts longer then my supra then im good, it lasted 20 days! never buy as-is unless you know what you're gettin into. and oh god i didnt.

sorry about the additude earlier, just trying to find another engine for my supra, and to be honest i cant afford the gas in my other car; a buick roadmaster... need i say more.

anyways, thanks. and as it is im in ottawa nearly every weekend i'll wave when i see a fiero. but i hate your city for one reason, i have been there a dozen times this summer and i have never left the same way twice! what the hell is up with your down town. i can never get onto the 417 i always have to pull a u-turn or just blatently ignore the law at lights to go left. i mean god damn and in a Roadmaster!

but beyond the roads and the bitter cold in the winter, 40 below! what the hell. if you guys have any tips on finding a parts car please tell me, other then ebay.

thanks again.

[aaron88]

One of the best places to look for a parts car is the "Sell your Car " section here.  Believe it or not we do look around for others and when something pops up we let everyone know about it.

Hang around for a while and you'll know exactly what to look out for.

Aaron

.

[mr.tourismo]

arggggg, welcome aboard the forum
i was a lucky one (i think) i got a 2 for 1 deal from my brother and these are what i ended up with. for 700$ and lots of extra parts.
<<<<<<<<<< (look at my ID pic)

I'm Alex BTW, nice metting you nonturbosupra.