Real Fiero Tech

A $500 Fiero isn't that hard to find, but it might not be the best chump car...

http://jalopnik.com/5450420/results-of- ... 00-beaters

I don't know which engine would be better, the weak iron duke or the bad oiling design 2.8...

If you could sneak an engine swap under the judges noses, an ecotec would probably make a fairly reliable engine. Not sure about the rest of the car.

The '88+ 2.8's had the oiling system fixed and were MUCH better about... not blowing up... than the earlier years. I picked up my Formula 5 speed for $400.

The ideal engine swap would be an iron head 3.4 for the 2.8 cars. If you wanted to throw a $10K engine at a $1K racecar, you could probably get an SD4 to pass for an Iron Duck to someone who didn't know what they were looking at.

Fieros have a terrible record in LeMons, which is pretty similar, so I wouldn't bother. That goes for dukes and V-6s. You could try to slip an engine swap by them, but they've probably seen enough ratty Fieros in the series to know what oughta be under the hood. A pushrod 3.4 is about as stealthy as you're going to get.

No need to be stealthy if you're legitimately cheap. A POS '88 with a manual trans that doesn't run can be had for next to nothing if you keep your eyes peeled, $300 is easy. A junkyard 3100/3400 can be had for $150 or less at a you-pull yard when sales are running and they are fairly common.

That's the only way to do a Fiero in crap can racing in my opinion. If I found a great deal on a Formula/GT that ran and drove, I'd run the 2.8 until it ate the dust, then swap in the 3x00. The 5 speed coupe is more realistic to find in a reasonable timeline. Remember, the rougher it is, the better...garbage interior, horrible paint, missing body panels, salvage/lost titles, etc. are your friend!

Get a few spare front hubs or modify your front knuckles to accept rear hubs, that's the only real weak link on an '88 once you ditch the stock engine.

Bryce