Barn find 84 Fiero SE. 55K miles. I know nothing.

[Chaimstein]

A friend of mine has a 1984 Pontiac Fiero SE. It has been sitting in her garage since 1991. She knows zero about it. She didn't know what year it was. I was hoping for a 1988 V6, but no luck. Still it only has 55k miles on it and is in cosmetically perfect condition. It belonged her her husband who died two years ago. She has no idea why he stopped driving it.

I looked at it today and the first problem is it has no key. She has no idea where it could be. Of course the rear deck lid needs a key to open it or use the electric switch on the dash. The battery is long dead. It might even be from 1984. It looks like a keyed ignition switch is both available and cheap. I hope replacing the ignition switch is straight forward. I can pick some locks so I am going back tomorrow with my lock picks and have a go at it.

I suspect all the gas is evaporated but if not, I will have to drain the tank. I don't suppose there is a nice drain plug in the tank. I wonder where the fuel filter is.

Gonna need brakes. Rubber brake hoses should be replaced. Any other ideas about what to check before starting? Oil, coolant, and fuel system are obvious. Any rubber parts that might go bad? Since it's in a garage and not a barn in cool Washington State the rubber parts might not be too bad.

At 54k miles it had recall work on it for "fire". I found the receipt. Anyone know what that was about? I mean, I heard of their problems with fire. What was the fix it the recall.

My intention is to maybe buy the car. But I want to see how big of a project it is. If I can start it without too much trouble, it's a really nice car. Great car for gas mileage with gas so high. I have no idea what it is worth.

In thoughts or comments are welcome. Thanks.

Jeff

 

[melsg5]

You can check NHTSA for recalls.
Once you do the items you already mentioned you will be in a better position to know if anything else is required such as cooling system hoses.

 

[cammerjeff]

The "fire" recall was about fixing oil leaks, I believe it was the valve cover gasket that was replaced, but there may have been more to it.

Mid engine cars have hot engine compartments, and any oil leak can become an issue. Good luck with the project, you very rarely see 84 or 85 Fiero's anymore. I always preferred the cleaner lines of the early cars.

Fiero's are not worth that much $$$, and the 4 cylinder cars are worth less than the V6 cars. But if it is running well, and in good shape with no underlying chassis rust issues (the body panels will not rust, but the steel chassis they mount to will) I would say the car would be worth $4-6K. Maybe more but hard to estimate without seeing it, or at least pictures. Also is it a Automatic or manual transmission?

As for what to check before starting it, I would pull the plugs and spray some oil in the cylinders, and turn the engine over manually before cranking it with the starter, just to get some oil on the cylinder walls before cranking, and check to see if the engine turns over smoothly (plugs removed)

 

[92 Sunbird LE]

Tanks are available new ( if needed )on the Fiero Facebook group..looks like fuel filter is near the valve cover on a 2.5, underneath the car on a V6....( YouTube videos available)

Doug in P.R.