Toronado.org

Well, I kinda stopped paying attention here for about a month or so... and figured I'd share the reason why... In addition to my Toronado, my other great automotive loves are the El Camino's, and the Pontiac Fiero. I now have 2 of each of the latter...

My new Fiero, an '84 SE, has the very rare T-Tops installed in them. Picked the car up in St. Cloud, and managed to limp it back home to the Iron Range in a very frightening drive, as the car barely opperated. Though, I managed to fix it to near perfect running condition with a couple of hours work, and almost no parts needed. (Had a hunch when I picked it up this would be the case)

It also has the 'performance' 4spd behind the whopping 80hp 2.5L Iron Duke L4 engine. Allowing it to pull a quarter mile in a blistering 20-ish seconds It doesn't get the 40+ MPG of my '86 with isuzu 5spd, but it's a heck of alot more fun to drive. Truth be told, I find it more enjoyable to drive than my 66 Toronado >_> But, they each have their own flavor of fun.

Nice Fiero!

They really are a special rarity in the GM universe these days; and no doubt great fun to tool around in.

Congratulations!

Sounds like you are having fun!

For whatever reason I like the other model that has the fastback. Not sure what you call it. And with the 2.8l 6 squirrel engine option; thrash those squirrels in such a small car and it has to do better than they did in my 88 Gran Prix 5-speed. Those poor squirrels in my car just could not keep up except in 3rd... Of course, you would never know it when I flipped the thing at 100 and lived to tell another story...

BTW, once I report back next year with the feel of the new steering box you may change your mind about which car is more fun... of course I am heavily biased toward monster V8 motors and the super smooth yet firm ride of the Toronados. I am still amazed at how well my car handles and with so little roll for such a large car!

Looks like you have your winter projects lined up nicely.

xgecko wrote:Sounds like you are having fun!

For whatever reason I like the other model that has the fastback. Not sure what you call it. And with the 2.8l 6 squirrel engine option; thrash those squirrels in such a small car and it has to do better than they did in my 88 Gran Prix 5-speed. Those poor squirrels in my car just could not keep up except in 3rd... Of course, you would never know it when I flipped the thing at 100 and lived to tell another story...

You're right on, they're called fastbacks... I prefer the notchbacks though. The fastbacks aren't as distinctive imo...

Next year or so... I plan on buying a 2.2L ecotec, and F23 manual transmission from a Cavalier and dumping it into this fiero... Will give me more HP than the 2.8L, and I'll still get 40+ MPG out of it Plus, there's an available kit to turbo them, and I'll be pumping out 200+HP... she'll fly!

Fiero can definitely pull tighter turns than our toro's... esp. the '88s which had vastly superior suspension to my cars. Plus, both of mine have manual transmissions, which are just hard to beat for fun... Wish there were a manual I could shove in my Toro But, seeing as how I'd have to butcher the entire car to do so, it's going to stay auto.

I do not doubt the Fieros must handle better, but something about how such a large car handles so well is just so cool to me. And the fact that they represent a time when cars became sophisticated enough to be truly awesome while remaining simple enough to take completely apart and put back together without too many special tools or expensive parts.

Of course when I get around to my Riviera project where I hope to transplant a modern Camaro drivetrain and, ideally, the IRS module into it, I will have a very nice blend of the modern and the classic. This car is intended to be the long-trip car where I get decent mileage on the highway due to the 6-speed and variable displacement. The Edelbrock supercharger should knock that down a bit but bump HP up to something well over 550...

Enjoy!