Am looking at a pristine low mileage (38,000 miles) 1988 Fiero GT 5-speed. Was wondering if it is a worthwhile car.
And just out of idle curiosity - would a supercharged 3.8 engine out of a Bonneville fit in a Fiero?
1988 is the year the Fiero received all it's updates. Vented rotors for brakes and a re-designed suspension. 88's are the most popular year. The only bad side is that since all the updates were only the 1988 model year, Some specific parts are getting difficult to locate. The good news is there is a place called "The Fiero Store"
www.thefierostore.com that is working on having some of the obsolete parts remanufactured.
As for swapping to a 3800SC, Yes they fit fine and the engine will bolt up to the 5-spd transaxle. In fact you can swap almost all GM engines into a Fiero. The 3800SC and the SBC V-8 are the most popular. You can also swap in Northstar's, Newer V-6's, and even the Ecotec 4-cyl engines. Many have been done.
If you are serious about swapping in a 3800SC there are two places that do excellent work and have all the knowledge and parts to do it. In California is West Coast Fieros
http://www.westcoastfiero.com/
and in the Fort Wayne Indiana is Sinister Performance.
http://www.gmtuners.com
So whichever place is closer I would contact them.
Ryan at Sinister Performance does excellent work and will make the install look and run just like factory. He can even install mods to the engine and tune it properly for the best performance.
Both places have done numerous quality swaps and can assist you with doing it yourself or doing the swap for you.