I have owned my 1985 SE V6 since new- Ordered it from the factory with the V6, the handling suspension, and nothing else; It weighed 2580 then...Now, with some mods (88 rear suspension/subframe, 3.4 long block, Getrag 5 speed, and some body mods (But it looks like a Fiero still!) it weighs 2640- that includes a tool kit and 1 (spare) gallon of antifreeze. (Note; I designed and made the "B" pillars out of aluminum- The lower scoops were made by a fellow Fiero owner)
Only 5000 of the first year's 110,000 had the possibility of catching fire- The rods could break from low oil and cut the oil pan next to the Cat. Only 260 had this happen- That number vs the 110,000 manufactured in 1984 gives it a better than AVERAGE fire rate! The V6s never had that problem, and they were as fast as a normally aspirated RX7 or 300ZX of the 80s.
The overheating problem could be traced to two situations; 1) Jacking the car up could crush one of the stainless coolant tubes cutting off coolant flow (I have NEVER had a problem with this) and, 2) If you fill the coolant system from the front only, you will leave an air bubble- cutting off the flow also. (I am careful to fill the system properly)
Also, the Fiero was the first American car manufactured using Edward Deming's TQM system (Total Quality Management)....What is TQM and who is this Deming guy? He was the AMERICAN who taught the Japanese Quality control in the 50s and 60s....That's right, an American taught the Japanese Quality control! TQM is now used by Every car manufacturer in the world......
If you read the R&T and Motor Trend tests of the 1985 GT, it sounds like a world beater- then in 1986 the magazines all started bombing it, and even the much improved 1988 GT was bombed while the MR2 and CRX were "gifts from heaven".....The only good tests of the later Fieros was a Motorweek comparo between a Fiero Formula and a MR2 Supercharged and the R&T 1987 Sports & GT Special test by Peter Egan "There may still be a few of the small details to be refined, but Pontiac has done it's job on the important things. What more can you ask of a real sports car than you get from the Fiero GT? It looks racy and exotic, sticks to the road like glue, sounds good and gets you from one side of the mountain to the other quicker than all but a few cars on Earth- for $13,489."
