Q:
i hear these are junk. dose anyone have any experience with them. any major problems to look for. i can buy one for a decent price and the car looks to be in really good shape. its been garaged alot of its life. and the interior in really nice with the exception of the headliner. just woundering if anyone had any info about these cars. the one im looking at is an 87 4cyl
75 280z
76 Fairlady (no its not LHD its a real one. It looks like its been sleeping w/ the titanic for a few years
A:
There is a company that makes a kit to install a Northstar V8 in them. I hear they are really fun to drive then... There is another company that makes a chevy small block V8 fit too.
The early one's (84-85) liked to catch fire. The problem was fixed by 87 though. The sunroofs are known to leak when the seals dry out and be sure to check the front and rear subframes for rust out. The body is plastic, so that isn't a concern. The engines are pretty good. The 4 cylinder engines were of the "iron duke" era and were some of the toughest GM 4 cylinders made. Not overly powerful, but reliable.
1972 240Z 4-speed, header, 3.54 R200, Crane XR-3000 Ignition, 280Z tach, Tokico Blue Struts, Suspension Tech Springs, Poly Bushings. Visit me at my website for your custom EFI & restored Datsun parts
A:
The 4 cylinders were dogs. The 6s weren't bad, but no Z car, that's for sure. Have no idea of the kit cars, but I did see one locally converted into a horrible replicar of a Ferrari Testarossa -- with a Buick big block 400. Total franken dog to drive, according to the owner/builder.
Too bad they never performed as good as they looked.
Alex
'77 280Z
'69 2000 roadster (fathers, but I'm the pseudotechnician)
A:
I've seen one with a 3.8 V6 in it, that would've been a fun car to drive. But one with a Northstar would be pretty awesome.
Chris
76 280z --- turbo in the works
A:
If money is not in the equation get one w/kit asap, is one hell of a ride, in the OEM form the v6 was a lil troublesome to work on due to space limitations..I can't imagine a v8 in it..unless the kit include some sort of pop up/out tail section.
Have you shared the left lane today?
A:
there is a guy in my gaming community that has one and put a northstar v6 supercharged...
here is hes article....
Post Edited (Apr 30, 6:49pm)
A:
I had an 86 GT with the V-6 that was practically given to me by a co-worker. His wife had run it low on oil and then promptly turned a rod bearing and continued running the motor for another week.
I had to lift the motor, cut the exhaust in two places, remove both the alternator, and the starter to get the oil pan. Evidently to pull the motor, you must unbolt the undercarriage, and then lift the body off of the motor/running gear to work on it.
There is virtually no luggage space in the "trunk" up front, or any room for anything other than two people in the interior......better hope you don't need to take your wife shopping, or a buddy to the gym.......just no space.
No need to talk about the cheesy fit, and finish of the plastic body, or the clunky interior........not impressive.
A:
The car was designed as a sporty commuter car, but everyone was sure by it's looks that it was a real sports car. When they found out otherwise, the car started getting a bad reputation. Couple that with needing above average care, due to it's mid engine design, and the luster wore off for Jack and Jill America, even after they worked the bugs out.
If you view it as a neat little runabout, and you're willing to pay attention to it (as I'm sure everyone on this board does to their cars), it should be a pleasurable experience.
If you have eyes on modding the crap out of something, you might do better elsewhere.
(if you do end up with it, I do know one useful mod: If the steering feels heavy to you, remove the steering stabilizer/shock. GM put it on to deaden feedback for the average american. Removing it livens up the steering a good bit...)
"The Law of Logical Argument: Anything is possible if you don't know what you are talking about. "
Early 74 260Z
90 5.0 Mustang LX vert (7up edition)
86 Isuzu Trooper
85 Kawasaki 900 Ninja
A:
that thing give me a sick feeling looking at it...
73' 240z: F54 4.2L, OS Giken LY DOHC Crossflow head, 17:3comp.ratio, N33, Tripple SU's, T10 Hybrid Draw-Through TT @ 47pds, Roots&Centrifugal Type supercharger, 3-2-1 headers, Centerforce 4 clutch, 6oz flywheel, R300 differential, Super-Hicas
A:
If safety is a concern for you, dont even look at a fiero. They are firetraps.
1991 NA 300ZX (z32) Slicktop Coupe, Cherry Red, Pacesetter Monza Exhaust, JWT Pop-charger intake, stainless steel 3" midpipes with high-flow cats.
A:
"There's this cool Eurodude named Xander thet I met @ Tony D's. He worked at some place that ONLY works on Fieros, in Holland. He said he has the record for removing the motor in 25 minutes. He also said you have to lay on your stomach, on the seat facing down, just to remove a couple of the spark plugs. I used to work at this place where a guy had a new Fiere with FOUR exhaust pipes. TWO never got black or even dark inside. "EL FAKE-Os" Norm K
Norman Krell
A:
My roomate back in the 80's had one. Absolute piece of crap. Cheap all plastic interior, gutless engine, ugly exhaust note, the whole 9 yards. My other roomy in his 924 and me in my RX7 use to win every race against him.
1991 300ZX N/A Slicktop
1970 240Z
A:
haha i was at a vw meet yesterday and a fiero pulls up with the ferrari kit on it. he had the motor pumped up to around 200hp but y would u put all that money into a fiero? i couldnt help but laugh.
-1988 300zxt Shiro SS edition, 120,000 miles
A:
...they remind me of the Fiat X1/9, which if I'm hearing right had another
cheap looking interior....Saw one last fall with a V8, no rear deck, and
a blower sticking out the top facing back. (I presumed it doubled up as a spoiler too!) Reminded me of the MicroMachines my kid had....
'73 240z, sitting 16 years in garaged storage...Spring 2005 endeavor...
Twin Cities, Mn
A:
Posted by Zombie:"If safety is a concern for you, dont even look at a fiero. They are firetraps.
You are completely wrong.
The 84's had a fire issue which was addressed and fixed.By '88 Pontiac had the bugs ironed out and it was a good car.
I've seen a 2M4 go 13.8 in the 1/4.In addition to the Northstar swap,i've seen a front drive section of an Olds Tornado with a 455 in a Fiero.
Faster than a Motorola
A:
I am the owner of this car and the President of the Cleveland Fiero group. I am surprised at how fast a few beat up on this car. I run low 12,s in this car and love it. I have owned many expensive cars over my 40 years and this was a fun project. It is a tough dependable engine and I worked the car over a bit.
The fires were in 84 as Arubabill stated and I thank him for how he didnt jump the band wagon of hate. There fires were in a few at the factory testing but fixed quickly due to a low level oil of 3 1/2 quarts. They recalled it putting a shorter dip stick in and more oil. The Fiero was the safest car in 1984 if you read the data you can find on the internet. I will not waste time linking it as you can search to see how wrong you are.
They were not death traps as everyone can see fire and get out of a car. The Fiero didnt lock the doors once on fire so you could get out did it??
It did not have power steering due to length of hoses and cost. Once driving,, the car handles well it is only tough moving short distances like backing into a car show. Removing the strut is not a good idea either trust me but replacing it is. That is the problem due to people never changing suspension on these cars and going well into the 100,000 mile range and higher.
The best thing about this car is I am 6'4" and fit in it well. They do not catch fire and if you see cars that had problems the Fiero is very low on the list compared to many other dangerous cars. Don't get me started on Pintos or the LTDs by Ford that is a huge lawsuit with many Police departments at this moment from cops burning to death in them. No one here can name a dead person in one Fiero as I have seen many crushed ones that people walked away from as it was a complete steel undercarriage and surrounding frame. It is the only car you can remove all of the body panels and drive leagally on the road. This car is used for more Lamborghinis and Ferrari's than any other car and super close copies when done.
It is best before a rumor is spread that a person honestly does there homework instead of spouting off humped up rumors.
Gm stopped making this car due to many reason with one major one being that the car was half the cost of a Corvette and they caught there test guys putting V 8's in them and running them on the test track. It almost got many fired. Remember Buick is the only car GM let beat there Flagship car.
I honestly could go on but the sad parts is someone found my car interesting and a few decided they would just attack it instead of saying something nice like,, """"Wow someone turned a Fiero into something nice""" or maybe """ I hate those cars but see someone worked one over"" But to just go prejudice right off the bat shows low quality in a person. I could rank on cars I don't like all day but I don't I try to get facts about a problem car before rumors.
By the way my 1969 Corvette could burn and was a rattle trap that every time I tuned a corner and hit a bump the hood would pop open. It was slower than this car and I always had a back ache when I went on long trips but I loved it as it was fun to get all the looks from those who thought Corvettes ruled. My Fiero rides better once I replaced the old suspension that very few ever do from all the cars I bought and stripped from abusive owners I found the orignal suspension on all of them. Maybe you drove some of those cars?? Rick B
A:
a friend of mine in high school had one (4cyl). it wasn't as fast as he liked but it was nice. never looked at the engine but if there was space you could add a turbo and really get it to move. wouldn't be to much different than the 2nd gen mr2.
'79 280zx driver/project
'90 240sx sold :-(
A:
I had forgotten one thing that Rick mentioned:One of the major reasons it was $hit canned was it was on the verge of becoming a Vette killer.And all the GM brass got in the "protect our inferior flagship mode".
Then Toyota copied it(MR2) and made a killing.
Faster than a Motorola
A:
As a guy that owned a bunch of early 70's "Z" cars in the mid 70's, a few Datsun 1660/2000 and who is still fond of them, I find it funny that so many "Z" car fans find it so easy to pick on another car. Yes, the Fiero had some issues, but it was what it was designed to be, a fun commuter. Thanks to a fanatical fan base, it has thrived long after the last one rolled out of the plant.
The "Z" car has a long racing heritage and has been around the block just a few years longer than the "P" bodied Pontiac. The car line still runs at the factory as well. On the other hand, the Fiero had a short run and you have to scrounge to find any factory parts. 18 years after the last one left the plant, you can still find them running strong and the base of many superb build ups. On top of that many independent businesses and individuals are thriving on providing OEM style parts.
Take the most desired Fiero, the 88 GT with a 5 speed. In stock form it isn't exactly the commuter it was designed to be, on the other hand, it is a blast to drive in any circumstance. How about those upgrade options, like early "Z" car owners who opted to stuff 327 cubic inches of Chevy under the hood, there are sweet engine change options and almost all are well documented. For example, without trashing the nearly even F/R balance you can stuff a Northstar, 3800 SC (or NA), various 350 mills, 3400, 3100, Quad 4 and come up with a fast car that handles well. Easier upgrades that maintain decent gas mileage and that just about anyone can do can be done with the 4.1, 4.5, 4.9 Caddy motors that pretty much just bolt in. Since these motors are low revving, this isn't the "go fast" mod of choice, but it does provide a light, torque, 30mpg fix that is decently quick. Other super easy upgrades can be done based on the 3.4 found in the early 90's Camaros. Just drill some new starter holes and it is a drop in replacement for the 2.8. Of course like the "Z" owners have always done, you can stroke out the 2.8 and if you have the cash, there is the "Super Duty" that can do 275hp+ out of a Iron Duke derived block.
Then there are the bountiful upgrades that are available for the brakes and suspension. You already have a well balanced, mid-engined car that even in it's most miserable, non-GT stock configuration drives fine and gets decent gas mileage. Factory brakes were weak, so a trip to the junk yard can net you many options to upgrade. Of course if you want the really heavy duty stuff, you have options ranging from Corvette brake kits to wicked, Wildwood stuff that will bring the brakes up to snuff to stop your 300+ HP powered pocket rocket.
Unsafe, more misinformation. At 2700 lbs there is plenty of steel in the cage that surrounds you. In 84 it was rated as safe as some of the larger Volvos of the era, which happened to be the standard of safety back then. The fire issues were managed very early and I don't know of any Fiero owner that died in a fire due to the oil issues. On the other hand, I know a few that took on trees head-on at 60mph and walked away.
Finally, there is not one chassis that is so supported and lends itself to partial or complete facelifts. Does someone "personalize" one to the point of ugliness? Sure, does that happen with a "Z" car occasionally? Absolutely.
Those that slam the Fiero barfed out a lot of ignorance here. Dropping a motor cradle for the average guy is a 2 hour job, many do it much faster. Pulling an engine out of the top is an example of another lack of information. I don't know what seat someone has to sit on face down to change a spark plug. That is just pure crap. Having owned Fieros with 350+ HP 350 Vette, 2.8 and 2.5 stock mills, I have never run into a situation where I had to do any gymnastics to change a plug.
Overall it is a fun and can be an inexpensive car to play with. With some light mods, it can be scary fast and handle as good as many cars produced today. With a modest budget you can build a car that will challenge anything on any kind of track.
I do miss my old '72 240. It was a fun car. The fit wasn't anything great, it was cramped, hard to upgrade the stereo and the fuel delivery system was not always the friendliest to tune. Still, it was a great car. Today I am waiting for my newest Fiero to be delivered. A stock duke powered, 84 coupe with factory leather, enough creature comfort options and one of the few that was "factory" modified to have T-Tops. It is even an automatic, not the most desirable tranny-engine combo. Still, I'll enjoy tooling around in it until I figure out what will get stuffed under the hood when the stock motor gives out. Maybe I will just rebuild another duke, warm it up for fun but not enough to kill the good mpg.
Check out my site for a gallery of plain to wild Fieros and maybe you will think twice before hanging on someone else's BS story.
P.S. Anyone looking for a "Z" project in the midwest:
http://stlouis.craigslist.org/car/154077595.html
City Editor
www.stlouismojo.com
84 SE T-Top
86 SE (Caddy Power upgrade in process)
A:
Quote"
"The 6s weren't bad, but no Z car, that's for sure."
Sorry to disappoint but back in 1986 the 300ZX was not any faster.
1986 Nissan 300ZX 2+2 (Normally aspirated)
165hp
8.8 seconds 0-60
16.5 seconds 1/4 time
1986 Nissan 300ZX Turbo
205hp
3643 lbs
7.6 seconds 0-60
15.7 seconds 1/4 time
1986 Pontiac Fiero SE V-6
140hp
2850 lbs
7.7 seconds 0-60
15.7 seconds 1/4 mile time
Road and Track rated the 1985 Fiero GT in February of 1985 at 15.4 seconds for a 1/4 mile and 7.3 seconds 0-60
So they were equally fast.
700ft Slalom:
1986 300ZX turbo
62.4 mph
1986 Fiero SE
63.9 mph
But the Z lacked a little in the handling due to it's 3600 lbs weight.
In 1986 the RX-7 was also equally the same in performance as well.
Fiero's were rated number 2 in crash testing with 5 stars front and 4 stars side, Number 1 was the Volvo with 5F/ 5S and the 300ZX had 4F/3S. So it was a safer car than the Z as well.
Pretty funny how a "sporty economy car" that was 1/3 less price than the "Z" sportscar had the same performance and better safety.
Yes, I drive a Fiero.
A:
Its funny how the guys here are claiming "its not as fast as a Z car". There wasn't a Z car made that was seriously faster than a Fiero V6 until the 1990 turbo 300ZX. No "Z" car wasn't even close to being even with the Fiero in performance until the 1985 300ZX. And the Fieros were much faster than N/A RX-7's until 1991, well after the Fiero was discontinued in 1988.
A:
Anyone serious about Fieros will tell you that they are absolute junk out of the box. The 4 cylinders have all the integrity of a house of cards, and it's difficult to make a 6 cylinder less efficient.
That being said, they're an awesome platform for swapping in different motors. Supercharged V6s, Quad 4s, Northstar V8s and Small block V8s.
I personally own an 85 Fiero GT with a chevy ZZ4 crate motor in it.
<click image to supersize>
This is a common swap. Check out www.realfierotech.com for more engine swap info.
-Fatz
p.s. There's another site out there called www.fiero.nl hosted in the Netherlands. We refer to it as NeverLand; caveat emptor.
A:
MNFatz wrote:
> Check out www.realfierotech.com for
> more engine swap info.
>
> -Fatz
I looked on your link and found nothing but slamming of the other website.
Why are so many upset they were banned from the other website?
I found very little tech info about your ZZ4 swap, Are you sure you didn't get the links backwards?
A:
Rborecky
you took the only word(fire) that one guy made, took it out of context n made a movie out of that (?) no one made a bad statement about your swap, which is a great one , probably as we "speak" there are 10 other sites talking about your swap, are you going to clash with all of them? enjoy your ride Bubba .
Have you shared the left lane today?
A:
No movie here and a V8 fits well with the two extra cylinders going to the right. It is the same as what I have in there just a tad longer touching on the strut tower. Nothing a hammer cant fix. You stated tail lights being moved but there is a large trunk between the engine and tail lights. Some remove part of the trunk for larger exhaust and not knowing how to put a exhaust in. The trunk between the engine and tail end is why this was the only Mid engine American made sports car. See even you answered with out knowledge and I am only posting because a friend mentioned he wanted to show the car. I stopped in to see what he posted and seen all the rumors being spread around.
No I don't care what folks say about my personal car, its been in magazines and that is more than most can say.
I posted on the false rumors about Fieros but see you can not see all the blasting on the car. I never once blasted your Z's now did I ?? I only wanted folks to do some home work before talking bad about a cars designs. I will say almost all of you who posted against it were dead wrong on your facts.
Don't take it personal when your wrong take it as a lesson. Rick B
http://www.fiero.nl/forum/Archives/Archive-000002/HTML/20031229-1-033971.html
http://www.crashtest.com/explanations/archive/crash.htm#anchor106731
http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/Track/3487/safety.html
http://formula.cryptnix.com/safety.html
http://members.fortunecity.com/lowkey88/crashtest.htm
http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=1984+fiero+crash+test&fr=FP-tab-web-t&toggle=1&cop=&ei=UTF-8
Post Edited (May 2, 8:46pm)
A:
From the Posting Guidelines page...
Car Talk Forum - This forum is for discussions relating directly to cars that do not fit any other forum. Topics may include those that might be found in a typical car magazine (Car & Driver, Road & Track, etc...). Standard Forum rules apply and this forum is not to be used as a soapbox, ***or to bash other makes/models/styles of vehicles.*** Only automotive related material will be allowed.
Nice of you to play fair and follow the rules...
mr_traxxas - "i hear these are junk." starts right out on the wrong foot
Alex280 - his post is a total bash on the Fiero
CKelly78Z - former owner, totally negative post
Datto240z - "that thing give me a sick feeling looking at it..." nuff sed
|-ZombiE-| - total misinformation = bashing
Zupp - more bashing
shiro300zx - further bashing
It's sad to see a forum bashing another make. Basically it's just a reflection on yourselves and puts you in a bad light with others. A forum is nothing without its members and the few bad apples do spoil the whole bunch as they are more vocal than the rest... tis the nature of the beast. Thanks to those Z-car owners that did speak up to help turn the bashing around... much appreciated.
For the rest of the forum, have a great summer and drive it like ya stole it!
Oops... I meant to say Drive Safe!
A:
hey FieroMojo let me go make a new sn so we can battle about forum posting guidelines!!!!! and no one will know who we are. that way people wont think we have no lives.... oh crap did i say that out loud???
75 280z
76 Fairlady (no its not LHD its a real one. It looks like its been sleeping w/ the titanic for a few years