Colinb17's Little Red Rocket Build: 1988 Fiero

Did a few laps around the neighborhood this evening. Drives well, even with the front end not done yet. Man does the new clutch bite!

Oil pressure rose while driving, but still capped out at 40 psi. If you go by the old 10 psi for every 1000 rpm, I gues I'm good, but it's be nice to have a true and constant 50 psi. Spoke with my uncle again, who informed me that with the finicky sending units, simply cleaning the terminals on the plug to the sending unit could fix a faulty reading.

Ordered an oil pressure test gauge kit just in case.

Wife's out of town tomorrow, so I'm hoping to do the suspension and brakes on the front.

 

Just ordered a new sender. Equal effort to change the sender vs cleaning the terminals. So between the new sender and test gauge, I should be able to narrow down the cause of the low reading.

 

Got one side of the front suspension/brakes done and started on the other.

Stock springs next to the new ones.



Brakes, spring, and shock fully installed





And then I quickly realized that I have a severe case of first world problems. The big bad truck jack doesn't fit under the car. Had to go buy one of those low profile aluminum ones

 

headed to the autoparts store tonight for some bushings, and the hardware store for the other bits and pieces needed to build new swaybar links.

had to cut out the old ones last night for the suspension install. the bushings were hard as rocks, and the thru-bolt was completely seized.

 

Need to get a hockey puck for your jack, bro.

 

purpose built #fancy

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=hydraulic+jack+pad

 

a little tutorial on how to build a pair of custom length swaybar endlinks from off the shelf items.

you need some high grade threaded rod (try to stay away from the low grade galvanized stuff). I went with 18-8 SS. a high grade bolt is the most desirable option, but finding a 3/8''x10'' grade 8 bolt can be hard to do at most hardware stores. you'll need some small DOM tube, properly sized to sleeve the rod/bolt. then you need a swaybar bushing kit. most autoparts stores stock these. comes with 8 poly bushings, and 8 cupped washers. lastly you'll need some nuts for each end of the rod. you'll want a locking nut of some sort, or to double nut it.

you'll cut your tube to set the length of the link. don't forget to factor the height of two washers and two bushings into it, so that you get the correct overall distance of the swaybar to spindle/suspension arm. after you've cut the tube, slide everything onto the piece of threaded rod, account for the thickness of the swaybar and whatever else you're going through, and then cut the rod to length. install everything, and then trim down any excess rod if needed.

using this method to build your own endlinks will not save you money. it will cost about the same as buying a pair of links from a company like Moog. the difference is that with a lowered car or raised truck, it is far easier to build your own to whatever length you need, vs scowering the internet to try to find the exact size you need.

all parts separated for one link


DOM tube sleeved over the rod


fully assembled


installed

 

That's pretty sharp, probably a lot stronger than the extended ones I made by just cutting the originals and adding a dom sleeve to lengthen.

 

the tensile strength of the rod is far more than required. the weak point is in compression. it's relatively easy to fold a swaybar link of this style as opposed to a balljoint style found on 2nd gen tacomas, since the bushing can put a significant bending force on them when the suspension is not at ride height. that's where the DOM sleeve comes into play. if it bends as is, you either get a thicker wall tube, or sleeve the small tube with another tube.

with a 2000 lb car however, I don't foresee that being an issue.

 

Great way to explain exactly what happened to those swaybar links I made. It was on my 97 F350, and I parked at a crowded event on a sidehill, where my passenger side front tire was three feet higher than driver side rear. I came out a couple hours later, and took off, not knowing I had broken a front and rear link. Suprised the crap out of me on the freeway flyover when I thought the truck was going to roll over when I took the ramp too fast for no swaybar. The didn't break at the weld, they broke at the flange for the bushing.
You probably won't ever have that problem with the fiero. Looks like fun, hope you have a blast driving it!

 

Almost ready for a drive this weekend

 

That's sexy.

 

got the car back on the ground last night, with everything fully installed front and rear. the picture is frech off of the jack, so the suspension may settle a hair lower in the front after I move the car.



good news, everything fits.


lugs protrude to flush with the outermost part of the spoke, so I only kind of look like a douche bag.......


the lowering kit yields a nice, relatively even stance. front and rear fender gaps are nearly identical.

ground clearance is about 5 inches to the bottom of the pinch weld. the "frame rail" portion of the unibody sits a hair lower at a couple points, but everything vulnerable is tucked up and protected quite well.



for some perspective, I have size 9 feet, and my work boot does not fit under the car......
guess I'm gonna have to get used to taking speed bumps diagonally.

 

#stance

 

Have fun! Hope you don't run into to many speed bumps!

 

I hope I don't run into too many twigs a on the ground

 

This last week has been a very bittersweet one. I've driven the car a lot, and done some more work to it, but that was greatly overshadowed by a loss that is hard to even type about.

In the years time that I spent in Houston, I made a number of great friends, some whom I believe will be lifelong. but one friendship was a little different. I met Jeff through member on here. Though you may be able to figure it out, out of respect, I will not name this member, unless he so chooses. He and I became great friends over the course of that year, and through him, I also became very good friends with his roommate and lifelong friend, Jeff. Jeff was killed in a car crash one week ago, today.

Jeff was the kind of person whose heart was as big as his ear to ear smile. the type of person who cannot be done justice through words. because of this, I will not try to describe him, but instead, tell you a little about the impact he had on me.

So why am I talking about Jeff in this particular thread? Simply put, Jeff has had a bigger influence on this build than anyone. He and his roommate built their cars for the track. His friend ran a high-powered Tacoma, and he........a Scion TC. Quite the contrast between the two, almost comical. But that never stopped him. Video after video, you see a big man in a little car, giving it his all, putting down solid lap times, and hanging with (or passing) cars more advanced and powerful than his. Through some well thought out, but relatively simple modifications, mixed with pure driving skill and technique, he was able to out-perform many, with a car so few would have expected.

when I saw this fiero on craigslist, Jeff and his little white scion, flying around the track, was the first thing that came to mind. This is why I have said multiple times in here, that a V8 is not for this car. Jeff showed me what could be done with proper weight distribution, good wheels and tires, a properly tuned suspension setup, and driving finesse.

every time I bought a new part for this car, from the heavy duty clutch, to the heavily bolstered seats that allow you to focus on driving, instead of trying to stay in your seat, I always thought back to jeff and his TC.

After getting the terrible news late last sunday, I couldn't do anything but think about all of the late nights wrenching in the garage, trips to watch the formula drift circuit, and late night runs to the taco truck.

What I quickly discovered while reminiscing, is that we were so busy enjoying life, that we never even had time to take a photograph. It's very fitting then, that the only photo I have from our friendship, is symbolic of his new perspective, looking down on us all from above. a snapshot of one of those perfect days of wrenching, with the Tacoma and scion, side by side (sort of).


For Jeff. Love you and miss you