Produced between 1983 and 1988, the Pontiac Fiero was initially framed as a two-seater “commuter car” that offered sporty, aggressive styling and an unorthodox mid-engine layout, plus surprisingly economical fuel returns. Originally equipped with the 2.5L “Iron Duke” four-cylinder (and later a 2.8L V6), the Fiero is just begging for more power to match its looks. It would seem as though the host of this particular video agrees, swapping in a turbocharged Small Block in a series of recent videos.
The car in question is a 1987 Pontiac Fiero GT, which came from the factory with the 2.8L L44 V6. However, at the outset of the video, we find the host has big plans for the two-door, as evidenced by the spread of parts laid out behind it.
The most important bit is a new 6.2L LS3 V8 engine, which will pair with a long list of go-faster engine parts, not to mention a humungous turbo, too. The builders also plan on upgrading the suspension and various drivetrain components.
After going over some of the parts destined for installation in the Pontiac Fiero, it’s time to haul the old V6 out. The hosts go over some of the car’s, uh, quirks, and well, the donor car is looking pretty rough. There’s a lot of rust and corroded parts, so much in fact that the crew decides to ditch the old car and go for Plan B – a second Fiero that was parked in the yard a few months ago.
This second Pontiac Fiero is also looking pretty nasty, but at least the metal underneath is in better shape.
The first video here is just the first steps of the swap, but the rest of the process is detailed in subsequent videos. The video tone is laidback and fun, so if you wanna see a turbocharged LS3 V8 Pontiac Fiero get built, go ahead and hit play.
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Comments
Very cool. The Fiero was such a fun car to drive. It’s too bad it didn’t have more power from the factory.
MIKE, the problem was the Corvette people interfering with the Fieros development. THE Fiero didn’t get the suspension it needed until the last model year, and the Vette people flipped out when a N * FIERO on a test tract blew away a Vette. THEN they started to demand the fiero be canceled. The fero had developed power steering for the late 88 model that got destroyed when it was canceled, and the 89/90 fieros were supposed to have an Olds Quad 4 in the base models, and a DOHC LQ1 3.4 as the top engine ( gm had to reduce the power on them from 275 hp).
This sort of demonstrates the flexibility of the small block V8 being compact enough to fit in the engine bay of almost any vehicle and with the return of $1.00 per gallon gas, why stick an expensive turbo-diesel when GM can build cars and trucks with V8 engines again.