A Few Pictures Of My V8 Fiero Project
This is a very prelimary page. When
I have the time I will add more pictures and documentation. Eventually I
plan to do a detailed description of the entire rebuild process.
My Fiero
I bought my Fiero GT brand new in 1988. It was a neat looking little
mid-engine sports car at a modest price. In fact, the Fiero is the only
mid-engine sports car ever made in America. The '88 model had been completely
reengineered by GM and was a much better car than in earlier years. The
suspension and brakes were some of the most notable improvements. But due
to weak sales the '88 was also the last year Fiero ever produced.
I have always liked my Fiero, but felt that it had two significant
flaws. The first is that the stock V6 just didn't pack enough punch. The
second is that it tended to wash out the front end.
When 100,000 miles rolled by I decided that rather than buy a new
car I would rebuild my Fiero and bring it "up to spec." To fix
the lack of power I put together a 406 cubic inch small block Chevy. To
fix the handling I replaced the springs, installed polyurethane bushings,
put Koni shocks and I plan to put 17" wheels and premium rubber all
around. Eventually I plan to repaint the car in white pearl and add a flame
job.
Here is a picture of the one time
I took my Fiero out to an autocross. It was taken before I started on the
engine conversion.
Here is a more recent picture
with the engine installed, new wheels and tires installed, but no paint
yet
Building the engine
As I mentioned above, I put together a 406 cubic inch Chevy. I'm
shooting for 450-470 horsepower. Components include an Edelbrock RPM cam
kit, manifold and Q-Jet carb. In the bottom end I used TrickFlow 5.7"
rods, a duel idler gear drive, Total Seal rings and KB pistons. I decided
to go with a set of the TrickFlow heads. The engine was zero decked, stress
honed, all clearances were double checked, and the cam was degreed in.
I had to internally balance the GM crank because there was not enough room
for a 400 balancer. I paid a lot of attention to details, such as deburring
the lifter valley and hand fitting a crank scraper.
When I have time I'm going to do a complete photo
essay of how this engine was built.
My Home Built Headers
Most people who build V8 Fieros use cast iron manifolds. I put enough
money end effort into this engine that I was not willing to give away the
30-40 horsepower that stock manifolds would cost me. So I decided to build
myself a set of headers. Running the math I came up with the fact that
a 1 3/4" primary tube about 41" long would work well with my
engine design. Studying the engine compartment layout I decided that my
best bet would be to run the tubes over the top of the transmission. As
long as they were all in the same place, I decided to use a 180 degree
design, to emphasize mid-range power. To protect all this work and to make
them look nice I had the headers ceramic coated by the folks at Jet-Hot.
The engine is almost ready to go in
Lots of nice shiny parts, just waiting to get
dirty
The engine in place
My wife Janet didn't believe that the engine would actually fit until
she saw it with her own eyes. Now she describes my car as an "Engine
with a Fiero shrink wrapped around it." In some places the clearances
are as close as a quarter of an inch. I do feel that its a credit to my
creativity that I was able to find a place to make everything fit.
Amazingly, the engine actually fits
The Exhaust System
At first I planned on using two 2 1/2" exhaust pipes, but after
studying things I realized there just wasn't room to do so. A single 3
1/2" exhaust pipe has the same area as two 2 1/2" pipes and probably
flows better because there is less surface area.
My first goal was to get two 2 1/2" pipes running off the collector
and merge them into a 3 1/2" pipe while changing direction in a very
tight area. This is what I came up with:
Getting the Moroso electric water pump
to fit.
This took two attempts. The first time I tried to mount the pump
on the block with pipe, but things didn't align up right. The second time
I built a mounting bracket for the pump and moved the water through hoses.
The bracket attaches to the fire wall, the wheel well, the right side of
the engine compartment and next to the frame.
Misc. shots:
My picture
wid a gweat big puddy tat!
Click Here
This Pontiac
Fiero WebRing site owned by emarsh@inetport.com. 
