I'm looking for a cheap second car that's good on gas and reasonably reliable. I'm liking this local car for sale, but there is a nasty clunk when putting the auto trans in any gear. Only drove it up the the dude's steep driveway. Tranny fluid is clean and and high, checked not running. I'm fine with the 2.5 Iron Duke though. Car has been sitting, but no smoke, although it idles at 2K. He says it lowers when warmed up.

Next to a stock Karman Ghia, (lust) this may be the worlds second slowest sports car. Read lot's online, solid collectable, but the big question is: What's causing the (almost) no grinding clunk into any gear? My guess is a soft engine mount, or maybe too much fluid? I hope it doesn't need a new or rebuilt trans, would like to get this 'lil bugger in my driveway tomorrow. Big thanks for any advice

There was some Fiero talk on here a while ago, but I don't know where it is.

Could be a LOT of things, but a soft engine/tranny mount would be the cheapest.

Might be a bad CV joint or even a loose caliper (from worn guide pins or bushings), even a bad ball joint... these things make neat noises since their rear suspension is basically a front suspension, and there's not a lot of dampening between any worn part and the passenger compartment.

Make damn sure the subframe isn't rotten... they're notorious for that.

most likely it's a broken doggy bone... the great thing about that vintage Fiero is the rear subframe is the front subframe out of a Chevy Citation/Celebrity (X/A bodies).
as for a transmission for that thing... TH125's are bulletproof. If the transmission shifted well and didn't hesitate, it's most certainly a mount/suspension component.
Parts for that car are retardedly cheap... PROVIDED, you know what you're looking for.
that high idle thing is a sensor gone, but I can't remember which one.

as a funny haha, the first engine I ever rebuilt was a 2.5L out of an 84 Fiero.

Thanks a lot for the great advice. I should ship it to you guys for restoration!

Cheers. A

Isn't the northstar V8 out of a Caddy a pretty easy swap? I mean ya will have to work on it every 3 weeks but for those 3 week stints..........

Posted by jeepdave Isn't the northstar V8 out of a Caddy a pretty easy swap? I mean ya will have to work on it every 3 weeks but for those 3 week stints..........

the northstar isn't all that great an engine... a better fit is the 3800 SC out of a W-body or a 5.3L out an Impala/Monte Carlo.

i agree with 3800 and its stupid amounts of torque in a fiero

Posted by Nismo i agree with 3800 and its stupid amounts of torque in a fiero

the downside is no manual transaxle, though.

jesus. the fiero.


these cars definitely reside in a soft spot of my heart, but good god man. theres a reason why of all the fieros at junk yards, none of them seem to have been wrecked.

Posted by Durdan jesus. the fiero. these cars definitely reside in a soft spot of my heart, but good god man. theres a reason why of all the fieros at junk yards, none of them seem to have been wrecked.

LOL, QFT.

I used to work with the president of the Ontario Fiero Association. He has about 20 of them I think.

He always said "They're made of plastic, so all they can do is appreciate in value!", so one day while we were at the scrap yard, I saw a pile of Fieros and said "Look, they're appreciating as we speak!"

But yeah, I agree with Durdan, they're a neat little car, I've always liked them, but they certainly aren't what you'd call good.

Aren't the '84 4 cylinder ones the Fieros that catch on fire?

yeah, pretty sure that was the problem year for that.


also, "cheap" and "reliable" arent typically synonymous with early 80's american cars.

just sayin'


gonna spend a grip replacing all those worn suspension parts, brake bits and have fun diagnosing the electrical issues when they arise

Posted by Durdan yeah, pretty sure that was the problem year for that. also, "cheap" and "reliable" arent typically synonymous with early 80's american cars. just sayin' gonna spend a grip replacing all those worn suspension parts, brake bits and have fun diagnosing the electrical issues when they arise

you've gotta be fluent in GM to really know, love and understand a Fiero.
it's nothing more than a one night stand between a Celebrity and Chevette. Think of the Fiero as nothing more than an engineering love child. It's electrical system is right out of an A/X body... the headlights were swiped from the Firebird, the front suspension has more Chevette in it than GM wanted anyone to know about and the ass of it is the nose of a Celebrity/Citation.

the only car that was a dedicated Fiero was 1988... and that was the last of them.
one of the more interesting speculations was that as the years went on, the Fiero got better and better, so the Fiero started eating into Corvette sales and well, GM couldn't have that, so... Adios, little unloved Fiero.

the Fiero will ALWAYS have a softspot in my heart, even though I can't fit in one.

Sam, why is it when GM starts to get something right, they kill it? I'm not being an asshole man but it seems like everytime they get something working just the way it should, they do away with it. It pisses me off no end, think of what the Fiero would be today, well, I guess it would be a Saturn Sky, oh, wait. Goddammit.

Posted by jeepdave Sam, why is it when GM starts to get something right, they kill it? I'm not being an asshole man but it seems like everytime they get something working just the way it should, they do away with it. It pisses me off no end, think of what the Fiero would be today, well, I guess it would be a Saturn Sky, oh, wait. Goddammit.

it's true... look at the Cobalt SS/TC. World class fwd sports car. And what does GM do? KILL IT and replace with a piece of shit korean designed fucking abortion called the Cruze.
fucking brilliant.

I agree... Cobalts aren't a half bad little car, especially for the cost... and they're replacing them with some shit Daewoo that none of the dealerships have fully compatible service tools for.

Posted by bandi I agree... Cobalts aren't a half bad little car, especially for the cost... and they're replacing them with some shit Daewoo that none of the dealerships have fully compatible service tools for.

the motoring scribes hate it. no one wants it. the dealers don't want it.
no one wants this little piece of shit but the ivory tower perchers at fucking colossus GM are CONVINCED that this little car will be the next Corolla.

i don't want a fucking Corolla... if I wanted a Corolla i would've bought a fucking Corolla.

My complaint about ANY car company (even my beloved Chrysler) is that half the time, upper management ends up being businessmen who are not car guys. These are businessman that would be fine running companies in other industries, but don't understand the difference when it comes to the auto industry.

Posted by Agent Skelly My complaint about ANY car company (even my beloved Chrysler) is that half the time, upper management ends up being businessmen who are not car guys. These are businessman that would be fine running companies in other industries, but don't understand the difference when it comes to the auto industry.

it came down to bottom line. The Cobalt was a North American car. Period. It's no sold anywhere else but North America. The Astra is an aging chassis, but sells well in Europe and Australia... as a Saturn, the Astra didn't sell well at all. So instead of actually engineering a new car, the high command decides that the car currently being sold as a Chevy Lacetti will be just perfect for north America.

have you guys seen this piece of shit?
http://www.chevrol...evy_cruze_pictures

just another anonymous 4 door people movie with the soul of a fucking cupholder.
oh joy.

fuck you, GM

The fire issue was a real shame, it scared people and lowered sales. It was only 0.07? percent of them in the first year, or some very low amount, almost all '84's with the 4 cylinder. Acura NSX apparently had a 5% rate of fires.

If the 4 cylinder Fiero was driven hard when low on oil, it could throw a rod and then oil would spill on the exhaust. There was some problem with dipsticks, so often only 3 quarts of oil was put in the engine. They had a major recall, and put in heat shields. There was a bad batch of con rods, so the cards added up. (Reminds me of the soft cam metal in my '77 Beauville 350) One cylinder had a compression of 50. Still that well used van ran great and never let me down.

I've just been reading a lot about them lately. Cool little car, but it could be a time and money pit, and even if I get it going great, (or buy one turnkey) there's still the small interior, can't carry much and all the other odd ball car issues.

Would be a great car to add to a collection, large or small, but I'll pass for now. Too bad cause I'm hankering for a rear engine car, maybe in a few years.

The seller is a very keen (ADHD?) 17 year old whose only driven the car a few times. He got an '84 'Bitchin Camaro', with a 350 soon after the Fiero. Nice kid, but maybe not the best idea to buy his first car...

Indeed the '88 last year Fiero realized it's potential as a proper sports car. I don't think GM could handle the idea of a rear engine car by the same company becoming a Corvette beater. The first year '84 Fiero was chosen over the Corvette as Pace Car for that year's Indy 500. Must have been a few noses out of joint over that...

The Fiero had it's flaws, but imo was a damn good creative effort by GM. Like the Citation, unfortunately it had technical problems which held it back.

This Daewoo replacing the Cobalt business makes me sick too. It's been said that the only real profit GM makes is from GMAC Financing. The new Camaro was probably wise, to bring in older drivers and younger who like the retro theme. And complete the Challenger, Mustang, Camaro picture.

Would be great if GM starts making their own, (or euro adapted?) solid line of reliable small cars. Cobalt and Cavalier was good, but how about a new hot hatchback, sporty wagon, etc. Wagons are making a comeback sort of, not everyone wants or needs AWD, or wants a low visibility over styled over priced Crossover. Just my 0.2 cents