G.T. Fieros

There was no real need for the 84-87 or the 88 struts to be perfectly vertical. There is so much odd movement (and play) in both those suspensions that it hardly matters as much as the inboard dimension. Basically the farther you can move the strut mount inboard the better the geometry. Unfortunately we have a motor in the way on one side. The packaging is definitely a problem.

So what GM did originally doesn't really matter. As long as you don't use all rod ends you won't have a problem with it.

I'm not really surprised the 88 suspension moved the bottom of the strut and the top of the strut a different distance. They may have been correcting something or avoiding something. Who knows.

Aaron

.

I took advantage of the warmer weather and decided to finish painting my strut bodies.


While the paint is drying, I drilled holes for the struts in their new locations.






I'm now going to sandblast the rear coil springs and get them ready for powder coat.

Man, if I got a dollar for every time this thread was viewed...

Onto the completion of the struts, shall we?
Here's the completed strut adapter's with studs installed.




Added some paint to the strut adapter's and picked up the powder coated rear springs.


Between the strut body and coil spring adjuster, I applied some black silicone to keep out water and other unwanted matter.


Assembly of the strut starts with adding the steel washer and my modified bushing.


Coil spring gets slid on next.


Along with the adapter and top bushing.


Then the flange bolt gets snugged up.


I chose to install a bump stop that I had laying around. It's not Fiero but it'll work.


I cut a slit in it, slid it over the strut shaft and placed in tightly into the pocket as seen.




Here's the completed coilover's. Ride height will be adjusted on the car when that time comes.




Then I installed the new rear hub bearings and seals.

I fixed my headlight motor the three little cylinder things were all warped causing the headlight to flap down like the car had a twitch lol. Any how light fixed and then I went for a good two hour drive in the country first time this year, so happy spring is finally here.

_________________
SaturnTO
Alliston
Ontario

car looks good Brian

Did you ever sort out that nightmare bird's nest of a harness??

I really hope that the picture you just posted is not showing your tightie-whities drying on a clothes line in the garage. I know you live in Alliston, but come on!!!

Alliston tightie whities = loin cloth

_________________
Mark
1984 Indy Fiero
B O A T - Break Out Another Thousand

he forgot to mention his first drive was...in the nude!

hence the springtime heart on

_________________
SaturnTO
Alliston
Ontario

After getting my rear strut angles finalized, I knew there was no way I'd leave the old hole exposed. It just looked unfinished and ugly.


I had a plan though. Grind the hole flush with the body leaves a bigger hole.


Laser cut two 18 gauge fillers.


Tack in place.


I fully welded the circumference and ground flush. It's difficult to snap a clean shot of a surface that has been ground. This will look good once I get some filler, primer and paint on it.




I had a clutch master from Rodney. This was for the old setup with the larger hole to fit the earlier cars. Since my clutch pedal was bent, I swapped to the newer setup that I had. This created a problem. The new style arm has a smaller pin. We can't have that. A new brass bushing was made, simple. Problem solved.


Here, a new clutch is waiting to be installed.


The flywheel was in great shape and as seen here, torqued to spec with a drop of Loctite on the threads.
1st pass, 39 lb-ft
2nd pass, 25°


Kevlar impregnated clutch disk installed. Here you can see the centering tool in place.


Followed by the pressure plate torqued to 18 lb-ft.


Of course, a new concentric slave cylinder had to go in.


From here, I will verify the clutch depth and measure the throw out bearing range. It's always good to be sure.

I picked up an 88 cradle from a member on here.


This obviously won't work for my needs, so it too will get modified. Sorry guys, turn away if your squeamish about hacking up a perfectly good 88 cradle. I cut the front and rear sections out as all I wanted are the side rails.




I then spent some time removing all the offending areas and excess brackets/mounts. I will be making something that fits my needs and wants. Before you ask, I did make a fixture/jig that will allow me index the key points. This will also hold the rails in the factory position for when I weld in the new rectangular tubing. I'll post pictures when it's done.

In time, I'd like to modernize the lighting on the car. This is the start. A set of LED side marker lights.


These are sold by member Danyel and can be seen here -> http://www.fiero.nl/forum/Forum4/HTML/066792.html.
These were very nicely made and packaged with clear instructions too!
Very professional and I recommend dealing with the guy.

Thank you Danyel for an awesome product.

Hey Shayne

what happened to that nice custom cradle you built because you didn't like the stock Fiero cradles?? I wish I had known that you were planning to chop up a perfectly good one- there is one near me that has been hit in the area that you plan to discard- the rest of the cradle is good..

Hi Pete.

Back in the day, I didn't have a "good cradle". That was the reason I decided to make my own. I picked up this 88 unit because I have an idea for a future project in my head. I would like to know more about this one that you mention. I sent you a message.

I cleaned out the front trunk for the first time ever and put in my new spare tire cover, head over to pinnocks to pick one up for yourself.




They are made by Fiero Thomas
http://www.fiero.nl/forum/Forum4/HTML/041732.html

_________________
SaturnTO
Alliston
Ontario

Despite the heat, I got a few more things done.
I took the Ecotec started apart and cleaned it in the solvent tank.


Once clean, I put fresh grease on the moving parts, installed a new solenoid and installed it back onto the Ecotec.


I had previously installed the clutch so what better time than now to install the transaxle? A little supplied grease on the input shaft and it's ready to go.


The two are now married again. I will pressure wash the components before installation.


These ugly shock towers in their naked form.




I picked up some supplies for the occasion.


Shock towers and aluminum diamond plate now blackened.


Towers seam sealed. I know, the sealer is a little ugly at this point. It will all be covered soon.






I like the black textured look. That's what I was going for.




Even the trunk got a vacuuming and seam sealer treatment. I've had enough paint fumes for one day. I'll coat the truck tomorrow.




I swapped the truck lock assembly over onto the the better deck lid. I managed to free up the key as well.


To conclude, I started making a fixture for the 88 cradle. I will use this to locate and index all the critical suspension pick up points and such. I'll also add legs to this so I don't have to work on the ground. This will be a nice jig to have and I'll certainly use it once I get back to the F23 project, which will be soon.

Today I prepped the trunk and coated it with rocker guard.








Then I chose to clean the dirty trunk carpet.
Before:


After:

Before installing the fuel tank, I had to make sure the sending unit and fuel gauge were going to work together. I knew the sending unit was 0-90 Ω but I wasn't too sure about the fuel gauge. The part number was smeared and I couldn't look it up. Do I have another option you ask? Why yes, yes I do.

The solution is quite simple. Use a spare computer power supply and hook the assembly up and see what happens.
Here is the gauge that I'm using. Equus 8000 series.


PC power supply.


Jump the two terminals as shown to "turn on" the power supply.


If you probe the yellow and black pins, you can see 12 volts is present.


With this simple circuit wired up, here is my progress.
Fuel sender in the "empty" position.


Fuel sender in the "half" position.


Fuel sender in the "full" position.


Here's a little video to show the smooth action of my hybrid sending unit in action.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pIfChI56P8&feature=youtu.be

Now that I'm certain it works, I put it back inside the fuel tank.