Filed under: Aftermarket, Car Buying, Coupes, Auction Action, Etc., GM, Porsche
eBay Find of the Day: 1986 Zimmer Golden Spirit
Be prepared to 'go for baroque,' because we know you've always privately lusted for a bold restyling of Pontiac's Fiero. Always keeping our readership in mind, we couldn't wait to pass along this minty-fresh red Zimmer Quick Silver now at auction. The 1986 model seen here is motivated by the General's 2.8-liter V6, and sports a full red-cow interior, along with plenty of timber paneling. As it has yet to hit its reserve price on eBay, perhaps someone will be able to catch a small bargain.
As the seller notes: "PLEASE NOTE: This is a professional restoration shop quality, factory quality refinish, NOT a Bubba, low cost slam some paint on it respray."
Interested parties are advised to bid now, before West Coast Customs catches wind of this chrome-dipped mid-engined oddity. If the Quick Silver's styling is a bit conservative, might we suggest this Elvis-approved Stutz Blackhawk instead?
[Source: eBay]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Mal Fuller 5:31PM (3/26/2006)
Boy, was the Fiero ever a POS. No mechanic ever paid full dues unless he had the joy of putting a clutch in one of these junks.
Yes, GM did call them mid-engined, but this only proves what liars they were and are. They were rear-engined. With their 3 quart oil capacity the motor oil would often heat to the flash point and set the car on fire! Larger 4 quart pans were issued as a part of a recall. But the ones that burned proved a better value for their owners!
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Bob Schindler 5:34PM (3/26/2006)
The only Zimmer that came close to being good looking. It has an amazing amount of front overhang, especially considering it's rear engined! Fashions change. There's nothing all that exciting about the chassis and engine. I reall most that the small fuel tank limited the Fierro to about 150 miles cruising range.
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Joel A 6:15PM (3/26/2006)
Whoa. That front looks like fangs. And I though the front fascia of the Dodge Magnum and Charger was imposing.
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hyperv6 6:29PM (3/26/2006)
If you do not know what you speaking on please pass on making commnet.
The Fiero was midengine as the engine was transverse infront of the transmission just the same as in the 308, MR2 and X 1/9.
Also the pans were not changed on the cars as they would hold 4 quarts and the early cars just needed their dipsticks updated to reflect the extra quart and larger oil filter.
Fires were more common than an Automaker would like but a lot less than many other cars that also had fire problem.
The Fiero was not perfect but is a reliable and fun car for the money. Many are still owned and driven yet today many that would trailer present day cars with their V8 conversions.
Check out Pennock Fiero forum with over 10,000 members of a cult car classic.
As for changing a clutch, It is no different or harder than any FED car around.
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Michael Karesh 6:36PM (3/26/2006)
I'm a bit concerned when a mechanic doesn't know the differenence between a mid-engine and a rear-engine layout. In the Fiero the engine was mounted ahead of the rear axle, clearly making it a mid-engine car.
Perhaps you're thinking of the 1960s Corvair? With a flat six mounted behind the rear axle, it was the only rear-engine car I believe GM ever produced.
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CTFiero 6:55PM (3/26/2006)
150 miles per tank? Well, that sounds about right when I'm hitting it real good in my V8 Fiero for the whole tank!
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siredmond scoot 7:03PM (3/26/2006)
[quote]1. Boy, was the Fiero ever a POS. No mechanic ever paid full dues unless he had the joy of putting a clutch in one of these junks.
Yes, GM did call them mid-engined, but this only proves what liars they were and are. They were rear-engined. With their 3 quart oil capacity the motor oil would often heat to the flash point and set the car on fire! Larger 4 quart pans were issued as a part of a recall. But the ones that burned proved a better value for their owners![/quote]
you sir are a douchbag who needs to learn more about cars before you open your cocksucker.
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Mal Fuller 8:35PM (3/26/2006)
"If you do not know what you speaking on please pass on making commnet."
While I'm not sure what a commnet is, I am sure that the engine was not "in front" of the transaxle as you describe, hyperv6. Since it was "transverse" (as YOU mention) the transaxle and engine were NEXT to one another. It was just a FWD set up installed in the REAR, tie rods and all! And the clutch was a much bigger job than on GM FWD models because, for one thing, the entire exhaust was wrapped around everything else in the rear. The recall absolutely DID include a larger oil pan. I do agree that too many caught fire and I agree the cars wern't perfect. As I said they were a POS.
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Aki 9:55PM (3/26/2006)
Wow, I never heard "reliable" and "Fiero" in the same sentence. One of the crappiest cars of that decade. But silly me, must be myself succumbing to hype and media.
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Jon 9:59PM (3/26/2006)
The recall absolutly did NOT include a larger oil pan.
"Mid-engined" means between the front and rear axles. Yes, the Fiero's engine was transversly mounted, so the engine and transaxle were next to each other, but the engine was in front of the rear axles, making it a MID-ENGINE setup.
Also I did a clutch job on a Fiero last winter. It took about a day and a half, and was one of the easiest clutch jobs I've ever done. If you've never worked on one before (or even seen one in your case), don't pretend to know everything.
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Stoneman 10:16PM (3/26/2006)
LOL.
Calling a Fiero "reliable" is sort of like associating performance with "Hyundai Accent". Both statements are complete and utter bullshit. The only thing more hilarious is seeing a "Ferrari" Fiero. Crap is crap.
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JamesCurtis 10:31PM (3/26/2006)
Mal Fuller, I'm not sure what your arguement is on the fiero being a rear-engine car. The engine is in front of the drive axles, and behind the front wheels, therefore making it a mid-engine car. I've driven a fiero for 3-4 years now, and other than me being an idiot and running it out of gas, it has never left me stranded. The fires that were mainly publicised were associated with the 1984 models, and only about the first half of 1984, but by then the damage had been done.
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MaxAncasteerfiero 10:37PM (3/26/2006)
Well let take a look in my bag and see if I can shed some light on teh rear engine midengine debate
Yep looks Midengined to me IDIOT
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MaxAncasteerfiero 10:44PM (3/26/2006)
Well let take a look in my bag and see if I can shed some light on teh rear engine midengine debate
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y64/Ancaster/Strut.jpg
Yep looks Midengined to me IDIOT
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Rene Curry 11:28PM (3/26/2006)
One thing about the Fiero was that it was easy to adapt different bodies to it. Something the automakers need to re-visit.
Make a high volume rear drive frame and internals, but have totally different niche bodies across many divisions. Solstice, Sky are kind of like that, but the frame & internals are low volume.
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Mal Fuller 11:39PM (3/26/2006)
Oh! Since some FWD engines sit BEHIND the centerline of the front drive axles I suppose those are mid-engined too! Yeah right!
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Yugosrule.com 11:49PM (3/26/2006)
"cult car classic" - is there a full moon tonight? The scenario - you're a redneck, you're 17, someone GIVES you a Fiero so as not to spend the $50 to have it towed to the junkyard. You proceed to dump 2 years worth of minimum wage paychecks to get and keep it running continuously without catching on fire. You realize you've just invested 10k in a $1500 car. You start a Fiero lovers website. Misery loves company. . .
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4schizzle 11:58PM (3/26/2006)
Guys - If there really is a Fiero cult out there, I think it's time to break out the Kool-Aid.
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CrazyEP 12:15AM (3/27/2006)
Mal -
In fact, yes, there are goodly number of front mid-engined cars, where the engines mounted behind the center line of the front shock towers. Check out the Aston Martin V8 Vantage, Mercedes-Benz SLR, Honda S2000, Ferrari 612 Scaglietti, etc. for examples. Great for handling, not so wonderful for interior packaging.
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pauln 1:59AM (3/27/2006)
I've really enjoyed following this mid-engine - rear engine semantical pissing match, and while I always thought of the Fiero as mid-engine, Mal's latest post is a zinger: according to the "mid-engine crowd", then FWD cars where the engine sits transversely behind the axle line are now "mid-engine" cars (no, #19, we're not talking about RWD cars in this debate)
Mal you've convinced me; from now on the Fiero is equally rear engined as well as mid-engined. Hey, it's got great company (Lamborghini Miura, etc.)
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