Say what you want about the old Iron Duke V6, for this IMSA Pontiac Fiero is said to feature a heavily modified 3.0-liter I4 and put out around 300 horsepower. Best of all, this mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive Fiera is freaking rally racing! In Canada! In the ’90’s! Today is just full of surprises.
Have You Ever Seen A Pontiac Fiero Rally Car? (Video)
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No news here as there were several Fiero’s rallied back in the day and I know a couple that are used yet today.
Pontiac supported a couple back then to a limited extent. There also were a couple Showroom Stock cars too. One was done by Herb Adams of the Trans Am and Grey Ghost 1964 GTO/Lemans Trans Am racer. I have his suspension on my Fiero today. It makes a world of difference.
You may also want to correct the story as the Iron Duke is not a V6 and is a 4 cylinder. The one I am sure they are using is the SD4 engine that is not what I would term a stock Iron Duke. GM used it much in IMSA and Sprint car racing back in the day and even won the GTU championship with Huffaker Racing. It was a special block, head and crank with other goodies to keep it from throwing a rod as the stock Iron Duke was noted for.
There was a V6 but it was just a Pontiac version of the 2.8 Chevy.
Just telling on how a Race 4 cylinder from the 80’s was 300 HP and my daily driver Ecotec 2.0 today is 290 HP and 315 FT LBS in my daily driver.
I own a Fiero and love it but it would not be my first choice for a rally car.
Also this car has the IMSA panels but is a SCCA class car as IMSA did not have rally classes.
Beat me to it about the Iron Duke =4 cylinder. There were some Fieros in the IMSA series back in the day. My V6 Fiero sounded so sweet even in stock form. Miss that car!
wow that looks fantastic
The body panels here are the DGP panels used on the IMSA GTU cars. This one is a early one as it has the Stage 1 coupe nose. This was used in 84 and was not around long.
You can still get these panels today as the street car used the same panels and it is an easy conversion. There are many around yet today.
The Scoop is the Indy pace car scoop that was intended for the IMSA car but was not ever made legal to race. I have one on my Car. Here they used it offset to the left but normally they were in the center of the deck lid. These are also still available. I did get the last one from DGP back in the day.
The car had to have a lot of suspension work as the early cars had a lot of understeer and on a slippery surface the mid engine could turn into drop throttle oversteer.
Just because a car is mid engine does not mean much. Now balance and the proper suspension tuning means much. It took a 1 1/4 inch rear bar to make my car neutral and I still have to watch if I drop the throttle mid turn it can step out unless I get back on the gas. The Bump steer is not great either and solid rear bushing will fix it. The 88 did not have these issues and had lighter steering.
The Fiero was far from perfect and is a car that you have to work hard to make it go fast but to me that is the fun of it. It is like an English sports car where the flaws make it fun. Todays cars have such good handling and high limits it is difficult to have fun on the streets as it get down right unsafe if you try reach them. With my car you can have fun but not get to the point it is unsafe.
It is my go cart and I have a blast.
Wouldnt the 3.0 be the V6…
The Iron Duke (also called the 2500, 151, Pontiac 2.5, and Tech IV, though the decal on the air filter assemblies actually reads “4 Tech”) was a 2.5 L (150.8 cu in) I4 piston engine based on the 301 Pontiac V-8.In fact it was half of a 301 much like the Trophy 4 that was half of a Pontiac 389. All Iron Dukes were built by Pontiac beginning in 1977 and ending in 1993. After this time, the GM 2.2 L OHV 4-cylinder replaced it across the entire lineup of vehicles that offered it.
The Iron Duke really has its roots back to the 60’s and hold some similarities to the old Chevy 4 in the Chevy II.
Lets call it a cousin.
It suffered from refinement issues and quality issues over the years. They all leaked oil and were not the smoothest engine. The power was ok and they were heavy. But it was the 70’s and 80’s and GM was mostly V8 territory.
As time went on the Tech IV version got balance shafts and improvments. While it still liked to leak oil out of the poorly shaped Valve Cover it became a better engine.
There were a lot of block casting issues as well as Rod issues in the 80’s too.
The engine was 2.5 but the Super Duties were mostly used at 3.0 liters. Sine were even near the end fitted with a DOHC 16 Valve head. I just found one of these about 2 years ago new in the box.
This engine was an example of the best and worst of GM. It made a good race engine and by the time they made the engine right it was replaced.
For the time it did the job but GM was behind on times and they needed a light more efficient aluminum 4 like most others had. Even the first attempt at this did not go well with the Quad 4.
At least they did finally get to the Ecotec and it has served them well.
The reason so many Fiero’s have V8 engines is the 4 blew up and was replaced with a V8 Chevy or Northstar. Also they see a lot of 3800 SC engines. Now some are installing the Ecotec. The supplier for the rods and block had casting issues in 84-86 and they would throw rods or the block would crack. I have had many friends have this happen over the years or bought one cheap to replace the engine.
Scott, Thanks for the info. Very interesting… I absolutely love Fiero’s. I often look for them online but the wife would never let me buy one… 🙁
I have an 85 fiero, that I use as a winter car. I would have loved to bring it back to a new condition, but the undercarriage is Midwestern rusted beyond belief. With studded tires, I can drive in the worst of conditions. The little is a dog, but due to a limited low RPM, I get 34 miles per gallon Consistently. With rear engine, rear wheel drive, this little car starts every time and is a blast to drive.
Some yahoos are putting North star engines in the fieros… wheelies at 100MPH anyone???
Not quite but they do make fun cars to drive. Right now a LS engine is a sweet option.
What I would like to do is a LNF 2.0 Turbo Ecotec as with some simple programing it can be pumped to 400 HP easily and would reduce weight.
Yes winter does a number on the space frame. So many people think the plastic body makes for a perfect car but they space frame will still rust and come apart.
I have seen many cars where the only thing holding the back up is the molded fiber quarter panels as the metal in between can be rotted away.
If you are going to buy a Fiero pull the carpet in the trunk down and look on the sides to see if there are holes. Too often they will be large holes here and you should walk away.
I have been able to preserve mine to the point that I can polish the pan under the car. It has taken two top 5 Ames Pontiac awards at the Pontiac Tri Power Nationals the largest Pontiac show in the world. Generally they have around 600 plus show cars and 600 Race cars all Pontiacs.
The turbo ecotec makes a lot of sense. Sounds like you have a sweet one.
When the General be to let the Pontiac line go, my wife and I couldn’t believe it… so she bought a G6 convertible, and I bought a Solstice. It’s amazing how many little things they carried over from the original fiero. Its seems that even though with all of problems the fiero had, it is still liked and driven today. I’ve had many late teens and early twenties say how much they like that “little car.”
I find honesty with the Fiero is the best policy. I have collected Fiero Items since 1980 and owned my car since 1985 but I will be the first to admit the car was flawed and not perfect.
Now there were many good things on the Fiero but in the end the lack of support and money from GM hurt the car and by the time Pontiac got the cat in 1988 to where they really wanted it from the start the damage was done.
While GMs lack of support hurt Pontiac did a lot of damage by moving ahead with the car too. Building it in the large numbers in the first few years is a killer to a car that is really a low volume car but they were committed when they sold it to GM as a commuter car. Two seat cars are difficult to sell as a long term car. The Miata is limited in sales and the Corvette is one of the few rare two seat cars that has lived so long.
I am a long time Pontiac fan but I could see the end coming when they killed the Trans Am. We had a Performance division with no RWD or no real performance cars?
Lutz came in and tried to save them but even he knew it was too late. The Solstice and G8 at least gave them some dignity in the end.
The reality is Pontiac was almost gone in the 80’s and cars like the Trans Am, Grand Am and Fiero gave them a reprieve and put the spot light on Olds for a early death.
The world of making cars has changed and most automakers just can not offer 4 versions of the same car any longer. It is the reality that you can no longer run a car company today like you did in the 60’s.
While we may not get any new Pontiacs we still have a long legacy of some great cars and we still can enjoy them. I am reminded of that at the Pontiac nationals every year. I note at this largest Pontiac gathering that few show sorrow of the death of Pontiac. I think most of us saw it coming and many even thought Pontiacs soul died in 1979 with the last 400 powered Trans Am.
My car is not perfect but it is different and special to me. I bought it new, crashed it, rebuilt it, made the cover of a magazine, showed it, Won with it, lapped Indy at over 100 MPH and have had a blast with my car. I have owned some very special cars over the years and many fast cars but the Fiero has been the most special and that is why I still have it today and may always keep it.
Excellent and informative Scott.
It will be a fortunate person, who is the recipient of your great “little car “.