This could be either body and interior or electronics, but I have the feeling that people who surf in here will have a better understanding of what I'm talking about.

I'm not sure if anyone here has worked on a first gen Fiero headlight system, but it had a problem with stripped nylon gears. A fellow fiero owner who owns a machine shop mills brass gears and offers them for sale (see attached). They look really nice and work extremely well (I have two in my Fiero). They should also last until the car rusts away (a few more decades).

Is there something along these lines available for whatever system is in a 88 Firebird? I'm looking at rebuilding the motors and would just assume do everything at once. Even if it doesn’t need to get done now, it will save me hassle in a few years when parts are harder to find.

If no one makes a metal gear, where can I buy replacement nylon gears?

Edit: look, even the 4th gen guys have their own metal gear: http://www.bfranker.badz28.com/headlightfix/

 

In the 87-92 Firebirds the motors used three plastic bushings that were designed to break under situations where the plastic gear would become stripped. The reason no brass gears are made for these motors is that the plastic bushings are incredibly cheap to replace.

I heard of one guy who chopped up a gluestick for a hot glue gun and used those in place of the bushings. But if you prefer a more professional approach(as I did), Rodney Dickman @ www.rodneydickman.com sells replacement bushings for $5 a motor.

 

If you click on the TDS link at the top of this page, you'll find replacement gears there. TDS makes them and sells them in rebuild kits with instructions, gaskets, screws and lubricant.