New 84 Fiero Owner

Patrick wrote: Welcome to the forum, Keith. What part of the country are you in?

I'm from Port Alberni, BC

Keith

Now that I am a 4 month "expert" on 84 Fieros, here is what I suggest:

• Ask capt fiero for his electronic library that contains the 84 GM shop manual, the Haynes Fiero manual, plus lots of other really good stuff. The shop manual is poorly indexed, the instructions are frequently poorly detailed, it a challenge to read, but it is complete. The Haynes manual is decently indexed and I now go there first.
• Check for rust: see photos in my "Indy" thread. The one that is most frequently described is either side of the rear trunk and concealed under the trunk liner, at the top. Just fold it back and hope for the best. The rusting would have to be quite extensive for it to be structural. Both my indy and my 84 SE parts car had extensively rusted battery shelves and both of them had fist sized holes in the body immediately below that were quite obvious when I removed the plastic inner fenders (or whatever they are called). The top end of the front suspension is quite rusty on the SE but the rust is restricted to one bolt-on part.
• Join Pennock's or at least visit it (you will do that frequently), since pretty much anything that you will encounter has already been sorted out by other Fiero owners. The search engine is very good. If you don't find what you are looking for in the active forum, go to archives. To find "forum" go down the left column to "fiero search" link. Your apparent headlight problem would be a good place to start. I had a headlight problem and I was able to quickly diagnose and fix the problem thanks to Pennock's.  
• Buy a parts car if you can. 
• Ask questions of the WCF club members.
• Capt Fiero has lots of parts.
• Look at the RPO "build sheet" in front truck left side to answer the earlier response about the original transaxle plus other not so obvious installed options. The "option code" is in the capt'ns electronic file and can by found on Google. 
• Do a dry / wet compression check on your engine, since as dawg suggested, if it is orignial and not rebuilt, it has high mileage. I was never able to find the service limit in any of my Fiero manuals. I understand that as long as they are +/- 20 % at 100 psi or more, you will know that the cylinders and valves are OK. It does not mean that the bottom end is OK, however.

Cheers

Gary Hawthorn in North Vancouver @604-986-8199