1986 Fiero GT (from Cali)

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Hi folks!

I have been on the hunt for a decent Fiero - it is very hard to find a good shaped one.

Today I took a look a gentleman's 1986 Fiero GT white-beige from Cali (he drove it up here in 2003) and he mentioned some one on this forum helped him "rebuild" the engine when it developed a knock.

Currently the vehicle cannot start - it absolutely does not get any power - no dome lights no dash nothing when you turn the key. His name is Ross if that helps trigger a memory bank :D

I was hoping the person who helped him might be able to help me with providing more knowledge about his Fiero - he sent me here :)

We looked at his wiring harness and I cannot find the "fuse link" which has broke a few times on these vehicles. 

Basically if we can get this Fiero running I would like to take it off his hands as a project car. There are quite a few cracks and dings in it and so forth but all in all it is "ok".

Any help would be great!

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phr1sk37 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 09 September 2007 Status: Offline Points: 7	Post Options Post Reply Quote phr1sk37 Report Post Quote Reply Topic: 1986 Fiero GT (from Cali) Posted: 09 September 2007 at 4:11pm
	Hi folks! I have been on the hunt for a decent Fiero - it is very hard to find a good shaped one. Today I took a look a gentleman's 1986 Fiero GT white-beige from Cali (he drove it up here in 2003) and he mentioned some one on this forum helped him "rebuild" the engine when it developed a knock. Currently the vehicle cannot start - it absolutely does not get any power - no dome lights no dash nothing when you turn the key. His name is Ross if that helps trigger a memory bank :D I was hoping the person who helped him might be able to help me with providing more knowledge about his Fiero - he sent me here :) We looked at his wiring harness and I cannot find the "fuse link" which has broke a few times on these vehicles. Basically if we can get this Fiero running I would like to take it off his hands as a project car. There are quite a few cracks and dings in it and so forth but all in all it is "ok". Any help would be great!

Dr.Fiero Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Post God Joined: 12 February 2007 Location: Canada Status: Offline Points: 1726	Post Options Post Reply Quote Dr.Fiero Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 09 September 2007 at 4:24pm
	If you're planning on doing an engine swap ANYHOW... it'd be a perfectly good car. The fusable link is in the harness that goes from the terminal block right behind the battery, towards the engine (it kind of hangs in space).

phr1sk37 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 09 September 2007 Status: Offline Points: 7	Post Options Post Reply Quote phr1sk37 Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 09 September 2007 at 4:32pm
	Wow thanks for the quick reply! I should have posted with my PDA when I was out there LOL. I am thinking of an engine swap but still researching. I do not know if I have the means / skills to do it - I am a hobbyist not a mechanic :p Here is a photo of where I was playing around with: what scares me is that there is a sound system and alarm in the vehicle. Electronic things that I did not install worry me :( I know of all the corners people can cut or the "fantastic" idea at the moment for install that may cause issues. The vehicle already a quite a lot of problems but he took care of them in the past.

Dr.Fiero Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Post God Joined: 12 February 2007 Location: Canada Status: Offline Points: 1726	Post Options Post Reply Quote Dr.Fiero Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 09 September 2007 at 5:01pm
	Ok, in your picture... See his big fuse holder? Look just down and to the right (in the picture) - there's two small black plastic thingies. The wires coming out of them to the right (in the picture) are orange. INSIDE the orange wires are the fusable links (yeah, it's stupid).

phr1sk37 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 09 September 2007 Status: Offline Points: 7	Post Options Post Reply Quote phr1sk37 Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 09 September 2007 at 6:10pm
	You mean the bottom of the two black tubes with the orange one is the fuse link? damnit - I looked in there - it means I dont know what I am looking for LOL. OK I will see if I can look in there again - where else might I look? Just curious can I treat it like a block and replace the whole harness to be up and running? There is a bit of work to do on the vehicle - even the doors dont close well :( PS - the big fuse holder is for the amps - that is coming out if I get the vehicle as you can see I already unplugged it from the battery.

Dr.Fiero Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Post God Joined: 12 February 2007 Location: Canada Status: Offline Points: 1726	Post Options Post Reply Quote Dr.Fiero Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 09 September 2007 at 6:56pm
	Pull on the orange part - if it's blown, it will pretty much just crumble apart (they corrode, which drops their carrying capacity, then they blow the first time you flip on the fan or some other higher current device). You need to replace them properly, or change them out for a SEALED fuse holder (30 amps or so I'm thinking). As for the doors - it's probably just the usual dead hinge pins/bushings.

phr1sk37 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 09 September 2007 Status: Offline Points: 7	Post Options Post Reply Quote phr1sk37 Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 09 September 2007 at 7:34pm
	OK just to clarify ... there are the two black tubes the first is the thick red wire and the second is the orange wire below it right? I was actually able to take apart the black tube with the orange wire and when I looked into it I saw round pin, male to female - does that sound right? For a sealed fuse, should I cut the tube off and soldier to wires to fuse? Besides this fuse which I read up on searching what else might cause the Fiero to have no electrical power at all? (yes battery is good and jumped lol) Thank you for all your time - it is appreciated.

Dr.Fiero Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Post God Joined: 12 February 2007 Location: Canada Status: Offline Points: 1726	Post Options Post Reply Quote Dr.Fiero Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 09 September 2007 at 7:42pm
	From the sounds of it (and I'm not trying to be condescending!) I think you should decide if you want the car (forget about the engine side of it - I know it needs to be replaced) then get it towed somewhere that's qualified to do this stuff. I just don't want to start leading you down a path you might never be able to find the end of...

phr1sk37 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 09 September 2007 Status: Offline Points: 7	Post Options Post Reply Quote phr1sk37 Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 09 September 2007 at 9:45pm
	That is good advise ... but I do not know where is a qualified Fiero place :) I am still entertaining the thought of buying and towing to my parents' place to troubleshoot. Technically if a different engine goes in this problem probably go away.

Borteep Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Member Joined: 16 July 2007 Location: Canada Status: Offline Points: 88	Post Options Post Reply Quote Borteep Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 10 September 2007 at 12:05am
	I've seen the ads for this car. It looks to me like it'd make a great project for someone that realllly wants to tear apart a Fiero and spend a year or two making it perfect. Somebody that wanted to take apart and reassemble a Fiero so badly that they were willing to spend a lot more money to do it then it would take to get a really good runner. There aren't really any good cheap V6s for sale around here right now, but they come up. Unless the vehicle is very rare, you're feeling very rich and have a lot of free time, I generally feel that it's a bad idea to pay for a car that can't get home safely under its own power. Esp. when you could get something like this for so little more.

phr1sk37 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 09 September 2007 Status: Offline Points: 7	Post Options Post Reply Quote phr1sk37 Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 10 September 2007 at 7:00am
	Hi Borteep - That is my exact problem ... I dont have a place to strip it down for two years (now for some of you pros it wont take that long! LOL) and at my parents places lets just say the 1986 Jag V12 I worked on for pops took a lot of on and off time - so mom wont be thrilled. Hmmm. I have entertained myself on looking further but I have never got a vehicle over the border and dont know what to expect.a

Capt Fiero Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Admin Group Founding Member Joined: 12 February 2007 Location: Canada Status: Offline Points: 4039	Post Options Post Reply Quote Capt Fiero Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 10 September 2007 at 4:30pm
	Well being a Cali car, you can't ask for better or cleaner undercarriage. Seeing as the previous owner has already brought it into Canada and had the MVI (motor vehicle inspection) done to the car its pretty much the same as buying any BC car. I brought my 85GT in from Oregon and for all intensive purposes it is now a BC Car. Registered in BC, insured in BC and I even converted the gages over to Metric. As for Ross's car. As as I said on the phone, the last time I saw it, it was in very good condition. So even if it is dirty looking, you can look forward to a nice looking car once you clean it up.
	Capt Fiero 88 Fiero GT 5spd V6 Eight Fifty Seven GT V8 5spd.

phr1sk37 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 09 September 2007 Status: Offline Points: 7	Post Options Post Reply Quote phr1sk37 Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 10 September 2007 at 11:25pm
	Uh, I dont think I was the one who talked to you on the phone ... ? Thanks for the encouragement. BTW your Fiero looks nice!

Borteep Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Member Joined: 16 July 2007 Location: Canada Status: Offline Points: 88	Post Options Post Reply Quote Borteep Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 11 September 2007 at 2:24am
	I've imported a few vehicles. If you're serious I don't mind helping you out with understanding the regulations. Right now it seems like the quickest way to get a daily-driver ready Fiero V6, although Capt. might know something about this car that the rest of us don't.