New car...

Topic: New car... (Read 3714 times) previous topic - next topic

Reply #15 – May 01, 2009, 08:20:09 PM

Thanks again for the comments everyone! I'm glad you guys enjoyed my storytelling. No plans for the Cougar. I think I would like to keep it as stock as possible. I already have my 86 Cougar that I swapped a 2.3T into so that should keep my satisfied.

I have heard that the Quad 4 W41 engines are pretty awesome in these cars, but I think if I ever did so an engine swap it would have to be a Supercharged 3800. I've always loved GTPs so it only makes sense.

I plan on keeping the Fiero just so I dont have to drive the Cougar on a regular basis. I will try to get some pics of the Cougar in the daylight in the next few days too.

Ed

New car...

Reply #16 – May 01, 2009, 10:41:37 PM

i hope you did your research on the fiero. They're notorious about catching fire. dont hold me to it but from what i understand the headers are on the front of the engine and they'll catch the firewall heat shielding on fire. DONT LET YOUR GARAGE OR HOUSE BURN DOWN. im sure if you take care of the situation by looking it over and making sure the heat shielding is fine and whatnot you wont have the problem, but they've been known to burn 100% down to the ground b/c of these problems. i'd park it outside if you dont feel safe.

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Reply #17 – May 01, 2009, 11:01:33 PM

If I recall... one version of the Quad4 produced close to 200 horses naturally aspirated.

As everyone else said they're both awesome cars. Awesome wife!

PS - Duh... it's the W41 that makes 190 horses... I'm stupid.

New car...

Reply #18 – May 02, 2009, 02:16:46 AM

Quote from: ~AC;270127

i hope you did your research on the fiero.

From Wikipedia:
Engine fire reputation

Total production of the Pontiac Fiero over all 5 years was 370,168.[4] Regarding the number of cars which suffered an engine fire, we have the following two references, one from NHTSA and one from Pontiac Division.
"The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration...said it has received 148 complaints regarding [Pontiac Fieros catching fire] including reports of six injuries...Low levels of engine oil may cause a connecting rod to break; allowing oil to escape and come into contact with engine parts. The oil would catch on fire when it contacted the exhaust manifold or hot exhaust components...David Hudgens, a GM spokesman in Detroit... said, 'If you ran out of oil, and then that coupled with some aggressive driving perhaps, and maybe not changing the oil very often, you end up with a broken rod, and that's where the connecting rod came in, it is still the owners responsibility to check the oil.' "[5]
"GM tests have shown that running these 1984 cars with low engine oil level can cause connecting rod failure which may lead to an engine compartment fire...Pontiac is aware of 260 fires attributable to the condition, along with ten reported minor injuries."[6]
The larger of the two reported numbers of cars with fires (260), amounts to 0.07% of Fieros produced. The fires affected almost exclusively the 2.5 L engine, and mostly 1984 models. (Note that there may have been additional occurrences after the above reports were published.) The primary cause of engine fires was a batch of poorly cast connecting rods which failed when the oil level became too low. The faulty connecting rods were produced in GM's Saginaw plant. The theory is that the sports car styling attracted buyers who would drive the car hard, most notedly over-revving the engine. Another factor was the misprinted three quart oil capacity, the actual oil capacity was 4 1/2 quarts but a misprint in the dipsticks and the owners manuals led to people running three quarts and perhaps a leaky valve cover gasket which would allow the oil level to decline over time to a dangerously low level. If the proper oil level was not maintained, the bearings could seize, snapping the porous castings of the connecting rods resulting in punched holes in the engine block, thus spraying oil onto hot exhaust components where it could ignite.
Most vehicles existing today have been serviced by GM during one of the safety recalls on the car. On the fire-related recall, shields and drip-trays were added to prevent leaking fluids from contacting hot surfaces. The presence of drip shields between the engine block and the exhaust manifold are a good clue that the car was retrofitted. The addition of the longer AC Delco PF51 oil filter and a re calibrated dipstick added extra oil capacity to the oiling system, and enabled running 4 quarts of oil in the crankcase instead of 3 quarts to help prevent oil starvation to the rods. Certain vehicles had their connecting rods or entire block replaced.
Another theory is that some fires may have been due to the engine wiring harness being located in the center of the engine bay above the exhaust manifold, where the heat could theoretically melt and ignite the wiring. Also, the 1984 model had a magnesium grille over this area. In later models, this was improved to some degree with much better heat shielding wrapped around the wiring harness.
A third cause of fires was due to the method used to cast the engine block and possibly overtorqued head bolts. Some engines developed cracks in the block that would leak coolant and/or oil, sometimes accompanied by broken head bolts directly above the crack. The leak would spray coolant or oil, the latter of which could result in a fire if sprayed onto the hot catalytic converter and exhaust manifold located at the front of the engine compartment. This was believed to be the cause in several cases.

You're right, but you're wrong, lol :hick:

New car...

Reply #19 – May 02, 2009, 06:10:29 AM

Before I owned my Monte Carlo I had an Oldsmobile Cutlass Calais I-Series with a W41 Quad 4 in it. After new headers, a mild port job on the heads, and a set of more aggressive cams, the motor put down 234 H.P. naturally aspirated with a redline of 8 grand

Probably one of the most powerful 4 cylinders ever built, and it was manufactured in the 80's

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Reply #20 – May 02, 2009, 12:31:51 PM

I'd still rather get an L67 motor out of a GTP and throw a 3.5" pulley on it. With a few extra tweaks you can achieve 275 Hp easy. Even the stock 240 hp is great in a Fiero but having more would be awesome in a tiny little Fiero.

:D I've kinda gotten into the GTP world since I bought mine and was suprised with how well it responds to even little mods such as a cold air intake.

New car...

Reply #21 – May 02, 2009, 12:37:40 PM

Very nice cat,congrats on a great find.

New car...

Reply #22 – May 02, 2009, 01:18:28 PM

Quote from: FordTruckFreeek;270145

From Wikipedia:
Engine fire reputation

Total production of the Pontiac Fiero over all 5 years was 370,168.[4] Regarding the number of cars which suffered an engine fire

You're right, but you're wrong, lol :hick:

lol i said dont hold me to it.. i didnt do the research and my info was from word of mouth. push rod failure seems to be the common factor. crazy.

New car...

Reply #23 – May 02, 2009, 05:07:01 PM

I did know about he possible fire hazards, but thanks for mentioning it. The Fiero sits outside anyways.

Took one more pic of it today.

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Reply #24 – May 02, 2009, 05:56:05 PM

God that thing is in beautiful shape!

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Reply #25 – May 02, 2009, 07:18:37 PM

Before you do anything with that car... enjoy it for a bit. Just as I enjoyed the special chance to drive Eric's 84 GS Cougar over the weekend of CJ. I could never imagine a 1984 V6 car to be such a pleasure to drive... but after driving an '05 neon for a few years it was a breath of fresh air. It made me remember why we love these cars.

New car...

Reply #26 – May 02, 2009, 08:53:11 PM

I don't intend to do anything at all to it. Your right, I never imagined an 84 V6 car would be so nice to drive, but its great. My other Cougar was origninaly a 5.0 car before I swapped the 2.3T in and it never rode or drive this great.

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Reply #27 – May 02, 2009, 08:59:58 PM

Maybe you'll have to make a 3.8 SC car out of this one to add to the interesting swaps?

New car...

Reply #28 – May 03, 2009, 12:36:00 AM

If you feel line playing with the 3800 and have a spare arm and leg lying around...

http://www.3800performance.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=CT-TURBO-KIT

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Reply #29 – May 03, 2009, 12:40:42 AM

Thats silly, the M90 on the GTP engine is more than enough for a fun time.