Real Fiero Tech

Hey folks! TY for having me.

First let me start with some back story. I/we have been in the Fiero game for about 8 years. Yes a relatively short time compared to some. We have learned a TON about cars and engines and fieros. We currently own 3. Have owned 6 thus far. And I have a TONS of parts (FS BTW!). One we currently own is a 87 w/27K original miles that sat in a shops driveway for almost 18 years. We pulled the motor and went over her completely. She rides like a true dream! No squeaks, rattles or wanderings. Smooth like a new car should be. We are the first registered owners. Another we currently own is a 86. It has been through more hands then a door knob. However I have spent the last 7 years fixing her up a little at a time. Lowered it with coilovers, added 17's, sanding previous owners rattle can paint job off. EGR. Water pump. Alt,. And a TON of stuff I am not going to bother typing. We have DD'd the 86 for around 6 years. It is/was our first Fiero. However it's a true northern Fiero with all it's glorious rust. So I been buying parts here and there to try and restore the rusted parts that I can. I purchased a less rusty cradle in the hopes of replacing the one that is about to break any day now. And this is where our story takes a turn!!

Well there is a local to me guy that is/was getting out of Fieros and I was buying a lot of parts of him. Every time I went to visit he would tell me about this 84 he has out back. And I would just tell him I'm not interested. Well early spring and I am at his house and he shows me the car and now its sitting in front of my house!!

84 with a 96 Monte Carlo 3.4L DOHC all swapped in.

But this is where it gets interesting. The guy I bought it from purchased it from a shop in NH. The guy that built the car either worked or owned the shop. The builder apparently got real sick and passed and the car supposedly sat for around 10 years at the shop. Well the guy I bought it off went to look at it and they had it on a lift. Someone reached up and jumped the starter and started the car for a few seconds. So the guy I got it off bought it and brought it home. It sat at his house for about 1 year. He tried everything he could to get it running. He couldn't figure out why 'no start' and I guess he gave up. Guess he put it on his trailer and parked it out back of his house where it sat some more.

So I get the car to my house and I start trouble shooting. I can see for a fact that the car did indeed run at some point due to the chaffing of plug wires on the pulley (which I need to replace). Everything is there. Fuel pump is priming, CEL is working. Just no crank or start. I spent a few hours over a couple of days looking over the builders wiring diagrams and pinouts and everything looks good. So I'm sitting in the car, wracking my brain, "what am I missing". When I look down at my feet and see it!!..

Clutch safety switch was unplugged!! facepalm...

Even the folks at the shop couldn't figure it out. PO couldn't figure it out. Guess I either got real lucky or perseverance paid off! Either way it now starts, runs, shifts, drives, stops just fine. I mean it needs some tweaking but its all there! Happy me!! Pissed off PO. Poor guy! Lol.

Oh and the PO kept telling me it's a 95 Grand Prix. He swears it. But EVERYTHING I am seeing is leading me to 96 Monty. Oh and it's mated to a 5spd Getrag.

I posted a few first run vids on Youtube and 'slowV8' or something like that keeps pointing me here to RFT. So here I am...

Now the questions will commence...

1. What is the i.d. of the coolant return hose coming off the motor? I need to cut an inline filler in and am having a bear of a time finding this info. I need one of these as seen on Summits website. IDK if my link will work...
http://www.summitracing.com/search?Sort ... e%20filler

And I am going to have a TON more ???'s. So please bear with me.

Again TYVM for having me! Happy wrenching!!
Andrew

1.5 inches I think. you need the OD measurement though as that is what the hose slips over.

Shaun41178(2) wrote:1.5 inches I think. you need the OD measurement though as that is what the hose slips over.

Well I'm planning on cutting the T into the hose that connects to the Tstat housing. So yea I think it must be 1.5". Pisser is that none of the details show how long the T's are on Summit. They only show i.d. and o.d. Not overall part length. Best as I can estimate I have around 3" of space to work the T into. Too much more and stuff starts to get REAL crowded!

Also I have 2 separate engine codes on OBD2 scan. One is TCC and other is cooling fan 2 and 3 relay. I know the TCC code is there BC it's a 5spd manual now and not the auto that the motor used to be mated to. The cooling fan 2n3 relay code I can trick the ECM by adding a light bulb to the circuit or find the correct resistor. The TCC code correction I haven't figured out how to solve yet. But I'm working on it.

TY and HAGD everyone!!
Andrew

So the person you bought the car from didn't have the insight to trouble shoot the clutch safety switch. That doesn't bold well on their behalf.

Emc209i wrote:So the person you bought the car from didn't have the insight to trouble shoot the clutch safety switch. That doesn't bold well on their behalf.

Or the shop that he purchased it from either. Even they couldn't figure it out and had to jump it at the starter. I guess it sat at that shop for around 10 years supposedly. Then it sat at the PO's house for another year. None of them could figure it out. Lol. Pretty sad huh? But lucky for me!! :D:D

84w963.4LDOHC wrote:But lucky for me!! :D:D

Except for what it implies about the quality of the rest of the swap...

Series8217 wrote:

84w963.4LDOHC wrote:But lucky for me!! :D:D

Except for what it implies about the quality of the rest of the swap...

Well I had definitely considered this thought. However from what I am told the guy that built it was driving it and put around 10K miles on it. Then he supposedly became VERY ill and passed due to some serious illness. IDK if he was the shop owner or a long time employee. Well the car sat at the same shop for around 10 years. And that is when the previous owner watched someone jump start it on a lift and purchased it.

Its quite the story I know. But it would explain ALOT. Everything about the swap seems to be top notch thus far. Stainless steel battery box and air box all custom made for example. And the welds look great! All the brackets and mounts are top notch. I have TONS of diagrams and mechanical drawings from the builder as well. Pin outs, wiring schematics, and more. Even the labels on the wires near the ECM are a great clue. So I know whoever built it knew what they were doing. Just the guys after him were clueless I guess.

I guess the short answer would be... Maybe the idiots that sold the car didn't know WTH they were doing?!

84w963.4LDOHC wrote: I have TONS of diagrams and mechanical drawings from the builder as well. Pin outs, wiring schematics, and more. Even the labels on the wires near the ECM are a great clue. So I know whoever built it knew what they were doing. Just the guys after him were clueless I guess.

That sounds like it. Documentation with an engine swapped car is EXTREMELY rare.

Sounds like you're having a blast with it! Keep posting and let us know how it turns out.

Welcome to the forum!

The Dark Side of Will wrote:

84w963.4LDOHC wrote: I have TONS of diagrams and mechanical drawings from the builder as well. Pin outs, wiring schematics, and more. Even the labels on the wires near the ECM are a great clue. So I know whoever built it knew what they were doing. Just the guys after him were clueless I guess.

That sounds like it. Documentation with an engine swapped car is EXTREMELY rare.

Sounds like you're having a blast with it! Keep posting and let us know how it turns out.

Welcome to the forum!

TY and will do. How to post pics here BTW?

Is there a sticky on how to post pics and vids here?

Also... and this is just me looking for an easy answer... Plug #5's wire is chafed all the way down to the conductor and it is exposed. Causing a stutter and miss in that cylinder when under heavy throttle. What will I need to replace it? Will I need new intake gaskets?

A new T filler arrived from Summit Racing and I am planning to cut it into the hose near the Tstat. However it's pretty tight back there. The reason I am doing this is to facilitate getting all the air out of the cooling system. Either that or I lift one end WAY up and fill it that way. Would lifting one end really work? I know, I know noobish questions and I pretty much know the answers but am just hoping someone has some pointers or tips that I might have not thought of. This is a forum after all is it not?

TY and have a great weekend everyone!!
Andrew

if the center conductor is exposed it needs to be replaced. will you need gaskets replaced? I don't know as I don't know how your wires are run. if anything I am sure you might want to replace the gasket to the lower intake manifold when removing the upper if your intake is anything near stock.

I have lifted the rear up with a jack to bleed the sytsem of air. it does work.

posting pics is easy. it works just like every other forum. host the pics yourself, or you can attach pics to your post by looking under the "submit" button you will see an "upload attachment" tab. click it and attach the pic from your computer.

lemme try my PB here...just remove the url part.


First pic I took when we got her home. I need to upload more pics to my PB. I was hoping to not have to use PB as it takes a lot of time on my end to deal with. Time I could be wrenching.

Again please keep in mind that was first pics. I have since been tinkering and trying to straighten up a bit. Yes I have the air cleaner hose installed. Yes its now running great. Yes it's still dirty as hell. But it's a hell of a start.

Anyway isn't there an 'attach file' tab somewhere here where I can add pics quicker that way? Please bear with me and TY for your patients!

84w963.4LDOHC wrote:
Anyway isn't there an 'attach file' tab somewhere here where I can add pics quicker that way? Please bear with me and TY for your patients!

Yes.

On the screen where you're typing your post, right below the bar with the "Save/Preview/Submit" buttons is another medium blue box. The active tab is "Options" and has the check boxes for BB code and the like. The inactive tab is "Upload attachment" and lets you do exactly what you want. Just click on that tab.

Cool lemme try it out..

Dang it's doing something weird. Meh I will figure it out eventually but TYVM for the guidance!