Iron Duke Fiero 5spd any Fun?

The iron duke was the cheapest, most fuel efficient 4 banger they had at the time. That's what the 4 cylinder version was supposed to be, it was supposed to be a fun economy car. The V6 was what you got when you wanted the "better" engine...it was better, even if it wasn't great. Like I said, GM started coming out with some cool engines only a couple years after the end of the Fiero, they just didn't have much to work with in the mid 80s (like pretty much everybody back then). It's ancient history now, the best we can do is drop the cool newer GM powertrains in.

Bryce

Thanks for the input everyone. I am going to look at the Fiero in the morning. It may be a fun and cheap little car to mess around with.

As for the "truck" motor... As other folks mentioned I can think of a few other sporty cars with "truck" engines...not including the ole' Brits. There is the 2.4 I4 in the 240SX, the Starion/Conquest motor was the Mitsu truck motor (minus the turbo), and of course the VQ in the 350Z and G35...that engine is in trucks, sedans, "cross-overs" etc.

I have a feeling that the super low revving nature of the Iron Duke will make me steer away from the Fiero. Although the low end torque may be a nice change from my Honda screamers. What is the safe "redline" shift point for this motor? Is it 4500 rpm or is it even less (4000 rpm?).

Thanks again,

Ray

wow, I have trouble thinking about an I-4 with that low a red line. thats not much higher than the ford 300/6. i would still like to find a fiero and put in some newer drive train

I know they rev higher than that. I had more than a few S10's with them. There is nothing wrong with the iron duke, as long as you realize that its a pushrod 4cyl. I liked mine, and saw quite a few make good power in mini stock, and mini mod cars. There used to be lots of performance stuff available for them.

ohhh, push rod. that exsplains a good bit

from someone who has built a couple iron duke/chevy ii four bangers. work on the head. you can port it a reasonable amount (pocket and port match) and get a good HP increase out of it. while your doing that, 1.95 intake and 1.60 exahust valves will help even more. milling the head for a little more compresion helps also. consult your machineist on how much to cut. speed pro used to make a good street cam. use it with recomended springs.i can't recomend a good intake manifold because i always made my own. same with exahust. for ignition use the approprate accel coil and wires.. if you can find a larger marine version engine at a reasonable price that is a good place to start. and if you can fnd a superduty head eather AL. or iron that will REALLY wake the motor up. but then the crank and rods become an issue.

Iron Duke? I hate'em in anything. Really.

Fiero? Sure, why not. I love the 80's. Back in the day I stopped by the side of the road to check a strange noise eminating from the engine bay in the 2.8/5 speed, & a chick in a BMW stopped to ask me if I was OK and offered to let me use her car phone. The Fiero had that kind of effect on people. And it was good.

Car turned out to be an '84 4 speed 2M4 which has not been on the road since 2004 when it failed emissions testing. It has not been started in two years and was sitting outside half covered under a tree. It was a mess. I said thank you for your time to the elderly woman who is selling the car and was on my way...

Yeah, avoid the '84 like the plague, they were all sorts of bad news. Quite possibly one of GM's worst vehicle launches in modern history, but the EV1 could arguably take that spot as well. Funny enough, even though '84 cars were the worst, they sold the most in the first year...goes to show you people wanted the car, GM just didn't deliver until it was too late and the car already had a reputation.

Bryce