I would say a spring clamp in that spot never hurts, I am used to seeing them on other cars, I a$$ume the techs would slide them off before adjusting tie rods, but you could always do that yourself prior to bringing it to the alignment shop if you were concerned they wouldn't do it. I run zip ties on the rack boots on the WRX and have had no issues for 150000 miles. I use 2 zip ties next to each other with the heads offset to ensure a good seal all the way around. I have had terrible luck with alignments recently at all the budget places, next alignment is going to be at a race shop, or I'm going to buy everything I need to do it myself. I have aligned the Fiero myself in the past but I only align toe. I need a fancy camber/caster measuring device and some raised stands with levelling ability.
String and calipers works pretty well, just don't trip over it after spending 40 min to get it all perfectly square and even and level. A level floor is a must.
Eventually, when I build a garage, I'll be thinking about a flat floor for alignments. I might want the floor to be planar, but still tilted in one direction (aligned lengthwise with the car) to allow water to drain. Or maybe completely flat, if I want to be able to leave the car in neutral without having it roll away...
I don't have a good flat area at the moment.
A local Fiero owner's son is a good mechanic, and has aligned a few Fieros before, so I may go to him.
I just ordered a spring clamp assortment from Amazon. The boot measured about 18.1 mm in diameter, so I suppose that the 18 mm clamp should work. If not, I'll try one size up or down.
I like the idea of the spring clamp, as it is easy for a mechanic to apply/remove, and it cannot get lost, as it remains captive on the tie-rod.
The spring clamp also applies a force that is operator-independent (more idiotproof), unlike something such as a worm clamp or Oetiker.
I'm pretty sure there was never a clamp there, and it was just retained by the lip of the boot into the groove of the tie rod. It's not like that seal is has a hard life
