My 88 3800SC coupe SCCA racecar thread

[sccaSSM1]

Hello all, I am new to this forum, and here is my first thread, the build thread of my 88 Base Coupe, converted to SCCA racer.

The car:

88 Base coupe
Originally 2.5 5speed. I Bought the car in Lexington, KY, it was originally from somewhere in Michigan. The car belonged to a older man who parked the car 8 years ago in favor of a minivan, and he died 3 years ago.



Current Mods:

Current weights:
2638lbs with 1/2 tank
43%F, 57% Rear

Drivetrain:
3800 Series II SC out of a 2003 GTP
3.4" MPS
PP Blower and intake
ZZP 1.0 tune
3" FWI
3" Magnaflow exhaust
Pacesetter Headers
F23 5-speed Trans, custom mounts
278WHP/334WTQ
Best ET 12.81@110mph

Front Suspension:
2005 Buick Rendezvous rear springs cut 2 coils, 670lb rate
Bilstein 46mm AK Series shocks for 73 Chevelle(Direct bolt-in)
Prothane Black Poly Bushings
New Ball Joints

Rear Suspension:
QA1 12"x2.5"ID 400lb springs, 55mm ID acme sleeves. WCF upper spring hats
Koni Reds
Prothane red Poly bushings in lateral links, Stock rubber in trailing arm

Brakes:
Stock AcDelco rotors and Hawk HP+ pads all around.

Misc. 2 1/16" Oil Pressure and Boost Gauges, Aeroforce Interceptor OBD2 scangauge in center pod.

Car was in rough shape, faded clearcoat, old siezed brakes, seized engine, flat, dryrotted tires. Sagging, nasty headliner. I bought the car for $600, which is a hell of a deal for an 88, even with all the problems.

So, with the demise of my old car, an 86 Fastback, which I also raced.



I was bound and determined to create a monster for Autox and road courses. My 88 weighed in at 2560lbs, no options, basically the lightest fiero available. I picked the car up in November 2013, threw it together, and it was on the road in June 2014. Now comes all the fun in tuning and treaking lol.

Some recant autoX runs:

Wilmington, sealed lot with 255 RS-3s
https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10 ... 2458239020
Wilmington, sealed lot with 225 slicks
https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10 ... 7775079376
Wilmington Solo Nat Tour, on 225 slicks, Inside View
https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10 ... 3456020549
Wilmington Solo Nat Tour, on 225 slicks, Quarter Panel View
https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10 ... 1547994372



Old car:
As you can see, this was a hard loss for me.



ET Slip, 12.81@110


Current Alignment SPecs



Build Pics:







https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net/ ... 6745_n.jpg?































Finished and ready to hit the road!






First AutoX of the season:





SCCA Solo National Tour, Wilmington, OH
Rained out


Lifting front wheel





AutoX Raw Results form a more recent autox with the new setup and 225/40R15 slicks


New Rota G-Force 17x8, 48ET, 56,1 hub bore. (I had to remove 1mm from each bore with a flapper wheel on a drill for them to fit.) They are wrapped in 255/40R17 Hankook Ventus RS-3s.

[Shaun41178(2)]

Excellent first post. Welcome. How does she handle? What about street manners with springs that stiff?

[The Dark Side of Will]

Nice first post.

Been a lurker long?

[sccaSSM1]

The car handles like a dream, but it pushes under braking in corners. I have cut bump stops, and I'll see if It helps at this Sundays autox. I've been around the forum for awhile, and steven snyder convinced me to join and make a build thread lol.

[draven]

Very very nice..

Two questions:

Was your 88 cradle from your 86 as it doesn't have the "extra" 4cyl mount?

Did you use the F23 gears that come with the metric pattern bellhousing or did you swap bellhousings with a cobalt or similar final ratio? Looks like the jbody gear housing as it doesn't have the three bolts on top behind the select/shift levers

Where did you source your select and shift cables?

[sccaSSM1]

The 88 cradle I have is original to the red 88 car, and doesnt not have the extra 4cyl/auto mount bracket.

The F23 I used was from a 2002 Cavalier, and has the 60degree bellhousing (bolts directly to the 3800) and it has 3.94 FD. Personally, I think the current gearing is too short, and I will change over to the ecotec gearing of 3.63, I just have to switch gearboxes around on the 60deg bell.

I got my cables from a company called California Push Pull. Great quality, and they are the same company that makes all the cables fro Rodney and TFS. I think I paid $220 for both cables. The select cable is stock length, but the shift cable is 12" longer to fit my custom shift bracket. They have all the dimensions on file, and all you need to say is Fiero F23 swap. They will know what you are talking about lol

[The Dark Side of Will]

Was your 88 cradle from your 86 as it doesn't have the "extra" 4cyl mount?

As OP mentioned above, the extra mount was used with 4 cyl/auto applications... not sure if it was used in V6/auto apps or not. It was not used with any stickshift apps.

[fieroguru]

Originally 2.5 5speed. I Bought the car in Lexington, KY, it was originally from somewhere in Michigan. The car belonged to a older man who parked the car 8 years ago in favor of a minivan, and he died 3 years ago.

I think I know that car. Was there an 84 fiero at the same house?

I spoke to a recent widow in Lex (about 25 miles from me) a few years back where her husband past away and she was wanting to sell both Fieros and had a 2.0L turbo engine in the garage that could be had as well. The 84 had the rare 3.32 4 speed and the 88 was a base model coupe. The 88 had more rust in the DS corner of the trunk than I was interested in dealing with and the titles at the time were still in his name and she hadn't got them transferred to her yet.

Anyway, cool car!

[shameless plug]
You are missing a brake upgrade and a lateral link relocation kit...
http://fieroguruperformance.com/
[/shameless plug]

[sccaSSM1]

Yessir. Those are the ones. I bought the 88 and my buddy ron bought the 84 for a winter car. Nice lady for sure. I wanted the 2.0 turbo but there wasn't any room left on the trailer lol. She used to love in michigan. The old man actually autocross ed the 88 back in the early 90s. As for the rust, it isn't bad. Just a small patch. It is a racecar so I dont care that much haha.

[Shaun41178(2)]

I see you removed the rear metal impact beam. On my 88, that impact beam had holes in the bottom, where the bottom of the bumper would attach to the car.

My question is since you removed that impact bar, how is the rear bumper attached on the underside of the car now?

[sccaSSM1]

I see you removed the rear metal impact beam. On my 88, that impact beam had holes in the bottom, where the bottom of the bumper would attach to the car.

My question is since you removed that impact bar, how is the rear bumper attached on the underside of the car now?

I actually have a steel belly pan now that covers the cradle. I extended this back and drilled holes so the original clips would hold the bumper to the sheet of steel

[sccaSSM1]

I see you removed the rear metal impact beam. On my 88, that impact beam had holes in the bottom, where the bottom of the bumper would attach to the car.

My question is since you removed that impact bar, how is the rear bumper attached on the underside of the car now?

I actually have a steel belly pan now that covers the cradle. I extended this back and drilled holes so the original clips would hold the bumper to the sheet of steel.

[The Dark Side of Will]

You must have extended it a lot and drilled a lot of holes.

[Shaun41178(2)]

pics of how you made and attached the belly pan?

[sccaSSM1]

You must have extended it a lot and drilled a lot of holes.

I didn't have to extend it that much, and there are only 5 clips. I drilled them to 3/8" and it works perfect. My computer messed up and posted 10 times lol

[Emc209i]

Welcome aboard. Nice build!

[sccaSSM1]

Thanks! It has lots in store for it this winter

[Shaun41178(2)]

what was done to that white vette you raced? was it stock? it sounded like it had an auto.