first test drive....3500 fiero

[ForcedFirebird]

Nice!

[zofo61]

Thats a nice....vera nice

[Joseph Upson]

Now that's how a V6 Fiero should sound, headlight doors usually come up around 100 mph maybe a little more so if you had a head wind going given you probably have 0-60 time of about 6 seconds and the run was a rolling start I'd say you hit at least a relative 100 mph or more.

Now the big question, does it run stronger than the iron head 3.4 version you tricked out.

Excellent job and I'm proud to have played a big role in encouraging you to go the 3500 V6 route. I like that rev limit hit in the second video. Hopefully by the time it's fully tuned you'll get even better performance. Be sure to post the video link on the Fiero forum for the iron head crowd.

I would like one more run like the first one except from a stop, then wind the gears out a little further. You appear to be out in the woods so looks like you can do a few runs without endangering anyone else out on the road.

[IsaacHayes]

Leaking! A little on the conservative side don't you think.

Ok, so it's dripping.

I'd say it's probably a lot faster than the iron beast that was in there.
That thing looks faster than I would expect for a 3500 power plant!!!! Wow.

[Joseph Upson]

I have no doubts it's faster than the iron head 3.4 he had in it but I want to hear his opinion on the difference. His run in the video reminds me of this:

http://videos.streetfire.net/recentvideos/2/4bff0888-9f8e-4e4f-b723-98350052a4a6.htm

All he's missing is the turbo, as much as I've raved V8s in the past, I have to admit the sound of a high reving V6 with the right exhaust note is music to my ears.


Yes I know the Porche has a flat 6 but it still has six cylinders and six pulses easily identified by the exhaust note that is not unlike the V6.

[merlot566jka]

well thanks everyone....i wish i was at nurburgring and had a 600hp porsche...lol but im in oklahoma witha 230hp pontiac.

it blows that iron head into the stone-age....where it belongs.

im a little chicken shit to push this thing al the way, i still dont have all the bugs worked out. i got the y pipe done today...that wasnt cheap. and discovered the exhaust is touching the oil pan and hanging retarded low because of the pan....i now have $8 to my name, and no money coming in for a few weeks.
on a huge side note (I just got a job today when i was trying to get my y pipe fixed....the place i went to just happened to be hiring and the owner was prior military....i made a good impression! my wife just got a job this week too....getting out of the navy was my worst mistake ever!)

my neg batt cable is loose...it wont charge all the time and dies at stops, when i go to restart, i get chug....chug.......chuuuuugg...no start. then i have to call my wife to come out and give me a jump. but the good news is i have cables to fix it and i will be driving this to work in the morning. when i jiggle the neg batt cable the idle comes back up and i have no issues till i floor it again.

the alt is hitting the old upper motor mount on hard deaccel. ive got a fix planned, but i have to wait till i have enough time to do it.

well im off to go work on it and gather some tools for my new job

[Lilchief]

How well does it idle, smooth,rough,choppy,radical. A sound clip idleing would be nice, sounded like it ran pretty health on the video. Good job, I need one for my 88 coupe.

[merlot566jka]

idles kinda rough....i think the map may be leaking...i rigged the old style map on there, and i think its not sealing well

regardless, i belive the cam will make it idle pretty rough. its not to wild, but its healthy...comparable to the crane 272.

yes you need one...this is freaking fast. even with it running like poo today, i took it to and from work and every time i got a safe area (with room to pull over and break down) i layed into it. its so exciting to drive now.

ive got afew issues to work on tomorrow, the cradle feels like its moving a bunch, gonna snug up the cradle bolts with an impact tomorrow.

the rr rotor shield is rubbing

the ebrakes need to be adjusted

theres an exhaust leak at one of the headers..cant tell which one, but im sure there is carbon all around the leak

ive got to rtv up the map to insure its sealing in the plenum properly

re-adjust the idle set screw and check linkage for excessive play

ensure the car is going to WOT (5v at the tps) and the blade opened all the way

replace the shift cable, the select cable is brand new, the shift sticks untill its warm.

the coolant temp for the guages isnt reading at all. it slowly degraded untill it now reads nothing, even tho i have heat through the heater core and there is flow on the outlet pipe.

rig a bracket to go around the alt, and to the stock dogbone mount area. the alt is slaming into shit!!

remake and tac new motor mounts. i have one bolted to the rr tie-rod mount....i think that is causing some issues. im goung to use my poly dogbone and another rubber dog bone and make some good motor mounts. the ones i have, just arent going to cut it.

small problems for a big swap. who needs a sc 3800 or a v8, ive got all the performance of both, plus it sounds good and looks better.

[ForcedFirebird]

Just noticed in your sig that you used a 70mm TB from a 4.3, did you make an adapter?

[merlot566jka]

yup. it was really simple. made templates out of packing tape. then stuck them to a 5 by 5 piece of alum .25 thick. drilled the holes, and discovered that the adaptor can be bolted to the intake with the top two bolts, then you can drill out the manifolds bolt patern right through the tb and there is no problem. the two lower intake studs are what holds on my tb, and the one upper tb bolt is botled into the adaptor.

kinda hard to explain, but it works out nicely. i guess a pic would do justice. when i get a new linkage for the tb, ill post pics. my linkage has alot of play, so im going to get one from kinsler racing.

and i used a roll of gasket paper for a gasket

[MidnightriderZ24]

im going to start producing these things again this summer. i had to stop making them when i moved to chicago for school.

[IsaacHayes]

Idle adjust screw? You mean throttle stop screw? The IAC adjusts the idle. The IAC counts should be around 25 at idle. So if it's less, that means the throttle plate is open too much letting too much air by. If it's higher then it means the IAC has to open more to keep enough air to run, the plate is a little too sealed.

How much does your Fiero weigh? I know they aren't as light as everyone thinks but it's in the 2000's.

How did you cut the bore hole for the TB? I'm thinking of using the 65mm 3.5L TB possibly if I can find a cheap aluminum plate to mod again, and possibly rig my cruise to the linkage.. If my other plan doesn't work out.


Heh, gasket paper, I need to get some of that. I'm using the thin cardboard spacer that game in my FelPro gasket kit to cut gaskets out of LOL!

[ForcedFirebird]

LOL ^^^ I've used a Buwiser 12pk box, Frosted Flakes box, and the same cardboard you are taliking about. Just rubed some motor oil on them to soften them up a bit and they lasted quite some time.

Funny the things that can be pulled off in a pinch.

Thanks for the heads up on the TB Merlot. Just got one off ebay for $25

I will then write a CNC program to make an adapter in case one is needed later.

[ForcedFirebird]

im going to start producing these things again this summer. i had to stop making them when i moved to chicago for school.

What TB is that?

[IsaacHayes]

That is the 4.3l 70mm TB. ^^^^ EDIT: It may be 75mm performance version but is a 4.3l TB for sure. Several TB's have been used on the 3500 plenum, some overbores. I think Mars_Man is using a bored mustang TB that's 70 or 75mm. The mustang bolts up without an adapter but has no IAC.

Yeah I put motor oil on them too. Keeps them from sticking so you can re-use them LOL. Plus I didn't trust the white clay surface on one side of the cardboard and didn't want it stuck to the metal to clean off later.