1984 Fiero pace car

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Ccrussell

Ccrussell

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Hello,
I have an oppourtunity to buy an 1984 Pontiac Fiero for 2500. Mileage is at 75 k, overall very clean and driver quality. Paint is “checked”, so would require a respray.
There were only 2000 of these built.
Is this a smart purchase? Any room to make some money reselling?
I cannot find any forums about these cars, wondering if anyone knows these cars.
Didnt know where to post this. Any help would be great.
 
Sounds like you’re going into this with the lens of wanting to make some money/profit rather then being a fan of these cars and just enjoying it. It’s a pretty limited market/demand for Fiero’s so you’ll very likely be disappointed if you do this to make money. However, if you do like Fiero’s and have always wanted one, then buy it and enjoy it.
 
Mid engine RWD. If nothing else it should be a hoot to drive. I always thought they had a lot of potential myself.
 
If they had worked out like GM intended they would have been a hoot of a little car. They didn't.
 
At worked at a dealer back in the late 80`s and they had several recalls I did. They had problems with underhood heat and exhaust leaks causing fires.
 
Ok thanks,
Yes was hoping to pull a few bucks out of the car after a little fix up.
I too have always liked these i guess i thought i could play with it awhile then pass it on with a little profit .
Ill wind up keeping it, selling would never happen.
Lol
 
I liked those cars, especially the later slant back models, whatever they were called. I remember an article in Hot Rod or one of the other rags back in the 80's where they stuffed a 400ci Pontiac V8 in the back of one. Went like a raped ape but I think it had "issues". At this point in time, I don't think there is a very strong market for those cars unless you had a very low mileage one.
 
The only new car I ever bought - a 1984 Fiero. Loved how it looked. Mediocre performance. Terrible to work on. Great idea, but execution was very lacking. I saw one that had a Grand National engine installed in it. That thing must have been wicked fast!
 
My son had two of them and we did engine swaps in the fieros a few years ago. He had two 1986 v6 models. The 84s are the least desirable as they are only 4 cylinders and have some issues that were fixed in later years as noted above. They are fun to drive, especially if it is a stick. Like driving a roller skate. There are a lot of forums out there, as they are still popular with the kit car guys. Google Fiero engine swaps & you will get a bunch of stuff.

Drive it around some first. See if you like it. It is not for everyone. If it runs good, you could probably drive it & enjoy it. Parts are cheap. There is not much upside to the value unless it is a v6 Gt model. Even then the market is very limited & it takes a real cherry to get over $5k. If you want to make money, probably not realistic. If you want a fun little car to drive & don’t mind working on something where the motor is down around you knees, enjoy!
 
Remember a build in Hot Rod in the 80’s where they stuffed a 350 with a tunnel ram in there mid engine and sideways. Guessing that was a hoot to drive!!
 
I worked on many. Around here, if you were on the highway and saw a car fire, most of the time it was a Fiero 4 cylinder. Like stated, oil leaks and exhaust leaks packed in that little compartment caused most of them.

The V6 GTs did run pretty well, especially with manual trans.

I did have the displeasure of working on and driving a GT that had 308GTB conversion with a warmed over 350 and stick shift. It was squirrelly as could be, overheating issues due to loooong cooling pipes and too small of radiator and very insufficient brakes.
 
I worked for Pontiac Engineering at that time. I actually Dyno'd the REAL pace car engine. It was a 2.5 liter stroked out to 2.7 liter. We made 210 HP. The motor in the car you wanna buy? 92 HP
 
Wasnt 84 the 1st year? I read somewhere the 1st year were claimed to be the worst car of the year. Buy a Matador
 
We put a 3800 supercharged motor in my sons 1986 GT 4 speed. I was a blast to drive. It was a great learning experience for him as we had to work on about everything on the car, made motor mounts, fabricated wiring harnesses and exhaust. Everything can be done on the cheap since it is all GM junkyard level stuff. It is a great platform for engine swaps and kit cars. Interesting to drive when you are so low you can’t see over a fender of a Toyota at a stoplight. A little hard to get in and out of for an old guy like me.
 
Mike69cuda said:
Interesting to drive when you are so low you can’t see over a fender of a Toyota at a stoplight. A little hard to get in and out of for an old guy like me.
Click to expand...
Like an X19
I was working at a bike shop in the early 80s and one of the elder owners drove one of those azz-draggers. It was kinda fun watching this tall skinny old man,fold and unfold himself to get in/out of that low-rider, IMO at the time, pos little car. Kindof like the grade 10 English teacher and his TR6, or the history teacher and his MG-whatever. I loathed those wee turd cars at the time. I thought I was King of the hill with my 340Swinger. I was so naive and so opinionated, so young, so smart..... and so so indoctrinated.I have no idea why my wife said yes on the day I proposed to her. Except of course she was similarly naive...... etc.
Ah, the memories.
 
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GM did the Fiero just like they did the Corvair. The last yr of production was the best and definitely had the best suspension. 88 had great suspension. Many engine swaps have been sucessful. I always thought a Northstar would make a great transplant. If you don't plan on any body panel changes I wouldn't go with anything but a GT.
 
I’ve wanted a Ferrari or Lambo Fiero based kit car since we did the Fieros. Looked at a few, but either the quality or the price wasn’t good enough. Probably be in divorce territory if I brought home another car anytime soon....
 
Wow ,
Alot of good conversation about this!
Man i sure would like to do a motor swap, but haha it would be behind so many other projects wonder if it would get done? Bet its light body with a turbo six would be a blast.
Ok ill stop now.
 
One of the big issues with those cars was the Fiberglass plastic/urethane body panels. These are what degraded over time and caused most of the paint issues. Many cars found now have the issue that the body panels are oxidizing and surface cracking making repainting and restoring the body difficult and very intensive.

The panel substrate needs to be properly restored before paint will turn out well...or last.
 
We got to the point where we could pull the drivetrain in a couple hours, take the engine wiring, cables, brake lines & struts loose & the whole thing drops out the bottom with 4 bolts.

The 88 Fieros have a cult like following. The last year was definitely the best.
 
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