So after having my 90 Camaro RS for about 5 months and transmission wont shift into 3rd. Its probably mad easy to fix for anyone with a clue but I have none and Im so frustrated with buying new parts constantly for the thing that ima just sell it for something new. Since I have one of the very few 3rd gens in my area buying another 3rd gen just isnt happening. Specially since most i've been offered is like 500 bucks. Which makes me wonder if buying the car and putting a new exhaust on it and everything was even worth it. But my question is should I sell it to buy a 85 Fiero GT for 1000 ( has a bad clutch I guess ? ) or just keep it and try to magically fix the tranny? If i sell the car I can get the Fiero if i keep it Ill somehow have to magically fix the car because atm I cant get to to work and I have no extra money to fix it. My mechanic didnt look at the tranny but the ATF fluid smelled burnt and was like pitch black ( stupidily I checked it before but for some reason I just never thought to go get it changed IDk why dont ask me ). the car will drive up to 2nd gear then just rev like its nuetral. If someone knows a magic fix for it thats free plz reply? if not Ima just sell it and take a chance on a even bigger money pit Fiero.

 

I've seen used trannys from repidible sellers go for like $150. It would be a lot cheaper than rebuilding a burned out one, which is what your is.

 

yeah man i know that but I have no mechanical skills I could not install it myself nor have anyone who can do it for free. the nearest shop is one I use all the time and known the guy forever would still charge me about 400 bucks all together to do the job maybe a lil more depending on how long it takes. I just Dont see the point in continuing to rebuild a car only worth a measily 1000 bucks. ive already dumped 450 for a new exhaust which itself is ****ed up because the garage I went too ****ed it up and cracked my panels on my passenger side ****ers. Im just sick of this car and was just wondering if yall think Fieros are even worth buying I found one for 1000 but he says clutch is bad. It drives but apparently its hard to get in gear. Very vague waiting till he gives me better explanation but Im figuring a clutch is gonna run me like 100 bucks and the install can be done by my friend whos done it before for free. the engine has 40k on it and lots new parts so that would be only thing id need to do for awhile.

 

If your not willing to fix the camaros transmission problems, why are you willing to fix the fieros' transmission problems? Especially when it would be easier to put a used tranny in the camaro, than it would be to put a new clutch in a fiero, which could have alot more problems than just needing a clutch. Being hard to get into gear is not generally a clutch problem. There could be a problem with the hydraulics, or transmission internals.

Do yourself a favor, and just sleep on it. I've been where you are, it sucks, just think about it.

 

thats if I even get the thing i doubt it at this point im going to lookat a 4th gen tommorow but I doubt id get it cuz its ugly maroon 6er convertible.

I just know if I fix the tranny in this thing something else will break. not to mention the new stock exhaust I had to put on ****ing sounds like garbage. It sounded better with the massive exhaust leak it had lmao scared kids when i drove by and sounded more beastly than my neighbors shelby cobra. now it sounds like a lil toyota and just puts along. Not to mention the garage cracked the passenger side panel and the car was in accident repair slightly ( everything was fixed and replaced but if you pop hood you can see the front end is mangled and held together with zip ties and **** plus the hood doesnt sit right ). IDK the car is slow mad slow keeps turning into a money pit I just think im done with it. IDK what ima do yet.

 

give us the specs on your car(like t-tops, convertable, leather interior?) it might be worth more than you think.

 

Dude, you drive a 20 year old car; Hell, the Fiero would be 25 years old! Any car of that age (even some 5 year old cars) have lots of problems.

Instead of trading to all kinds of cars, what you should do is get some mechanical skills. I started like 12 years ago changing an alternator, having no clue what I was doing. Since then I've done all kinds of work, engine swaps, etc. Right now, my boss and I are putting a Cummins diesel and Allison 6 speed auto into his 1997 Suburban. The worst thing that can happen is you have to pay someone to put it back together - In most cases, that won't be an issue.

If you aren't mechanical: LEARN. If you plan on driving older cars and don't have the money to pay someone else to fix it: LEARN MECHANICS. Its not terribly hard, just nuts and bolts and some other stuff... Don't be intimidated.

 

Alot of jobs may seem hard starting out, but ya just gotta do them.
Do you have any pics of the car to post up, so we can evaluate how good/bad of condition it's in and what it's worth?
The thing about the Fiero is it'll probably be no less of a money pit than the Camaro. I like Fieros and considered getting one in the past, they're cool little cars. But generally, Fieros are treated the same way f-bodies are, bad. I guess I'd say if you think the devil you don't know is better than the one you do, go for it.

 

Man I agree with you. Sounds like the OP is just frustrated. But you will be in the same boat if not worse with a Fiero. There are not as many of them as there were thirdgens which means parts will be hard to find as will be mechanics versed in repairing Fieros.

Thirdgens are a labor of love. It does not sound like you have a passion for these cars therefor any repair will seem like a pain. As far as that exhaust problem you need to take it back and make them fix whatever they broke. If your paying money then it should be done right. If you don't like the stock sound then get a Flowmaster 80 series but then again it will cost a little more than stock. On third gens you get what you pay for. You can sound better than your neighboors Shelby and even run faster than it too. You just got to be willing to spend to do it!

What I don't understand is what makes you think that buying a $1000 car will be problem free? Most repairs on a thirdgen are typical with their age and once fixed will last as long as the mileage at the point you fixed it. I guess it all depends on how much you are willing to do to RESTORE the car. You can buy a mint thirdgen for approximately $4,000 to $6,000 and not have to do any repairs. Or you can buy a fix er upper for $500 to $1,500 and repair up to mint status. Your choice. Post pics of your car and for the right price I might even take it off your hands....lol.

 

Chrisht--
Where are you located?

 

Mass. the thing is gonna need lots of body repair you cant tell because outsides fixed but soon as you pop hood you can see the frame all mangled being held together with blocks of wood and twisty ties. and i already was told its gonna be mad expensive to fix since its all rusted and so twisted.

It would be worth fixing it if it had a v8=P but the 6er is so dam slow. The fiero is just one option im selling some of my guitars if i manage to sell em and get enuogh money ill fix the camaro but if something else happens im done with it. I didnt want a money pit when i bought it and thats all its turned out to be. If i was in my 40s and had money i wouldnt care but im not I cant even get to work right now because I dont have a running car.

 

Heres pics I got lots but heres ones I was gonna use to sell it. I already got offer from my friend who use to have a 4th gen bought a trailblazer and hates it=P








I keep good care of it when i bought it it was junk heap I detail it almost every other week and I try to keep all fluids up and everything other than fact the under carriage is a rust house because of fact I live in MA and the thing has been driven through the winter all winter the salt obviously will eat away at it. But the body has no rust except the very tip of the hood on left side where the accident happened. Other than where that accident happened the bodies solid Ill take picture of the spot im talking about later. I have tons more but they are big and I dont wanna downsize them I have em this big for a reason. If you want more drop your email down I just dont know what ima do since I have almost no money left to fix this thing.

 

I've got a Fiero and a Firebird in my garage/driveway. We've not had the Fiero long but I've already started working on it. I've had several thirdgens as well. Let me tell you that if you don't have the skills to work on a Firebird the Fiero is RIGHT OUT. That thing is an even bigger nightmare to work on and there isn't as much information out there about them as there is for the thirdgens. Beyond that the Fiero's are much more rare than Firebirds and Camaros. Parts availability isn't that great. Add to that the fact that the Fiero uses a trans-axle setup. If you aren't prepared for dealing with a Camaro's transmissions forget about owning a Fiero.

And unless you just like the body style the 1985 Fiero isn't a very good choice amongst them. The 1986 to 1988 cars are much better looking and handle worlds better. The 1988 Fiero GT being the best of the bunch.

 

Lol i know dude.. Ive owned one before. I was just saying in general thats one car Im looking at. My mechanic has 3 fieros and 2 corvettes.. He has abundance of parts for Fieros I already asked him. Thats only reason I even considered buying a 85.. thats not only car I was looking at there are nice z28s I was looking at but they are 4th gens. I Just want to know if its going to be worth fixing this thing. I dont have enough money to keep having to fix it right now. If i do fix it I need to know its going to last atleast for few months. I went to highschool at a trade school that has its own auto shop and body shop and they charge like 8 an hour the only thing is they let the kids do the work and idk if they do it quick or not or take 5 days to do the work so. If it is true I can probably easily get it fixed. Idk im just stressed lmao and needed to vent =P so I figured id vent on you guys. I would love to fix this thing up get some T=tops 350 in it maybe a 5 speed manual something idk but I just had it break like 30xs in a row in course of a week and it just drove me over the edge=O

and I could do it myself but learning requires someone to teach you which A i do not have and B. I have no tools I dont even have a jack the car never came with anything so if i ever get a flat or something Im ****ed until I get new ****

 

Cars cost money. If they are new or used. If you don't have the money, time, patience or energy not only will this car be a money pit but all cars will be. Yes you are frustrated. That is obvious. But that can also cause you to make the wrong decision. I say first decide if this Camaro is a car you want. If the answer is yes then it won't matter what it cost. If the answer is no then sell it and move on. Sounds like you need a reliable daily driver and I bet neither the Camaro or the Fiero is that, at this point. To get a reliable car you will spend more than a $1000. so either way you have to spend money. There is no way around it.

 

lol how is a dinky 3.1 L v6 camaro not a good daily driver? these things rarely have many problems until later in their life Im just hitting a brick wall of bad luck with this one because the 20 year old parts finally decided to start dying out now. this thing gets great gas mileage sometimes better than some of the lil 4 cylinder I use to have. PLus I dont drive that far to get to work or college. I like this car Always did its only reason I bought it. Its not that I dont want it its fact I feel bad that I can't fix it up like someone else could. Lol to be honest I actually feel like Im letting the car down by not being able to fix it.

 

Key word being "reliable" daily driver. Just fix it up if you like it. Make it reliable. Sounds like you know that you are at the point with your car where it is time to make an investment in some long overdue repairs. Either you will make them or the next owner will.

And if you make them will you have a reliable car is the real question? If the answer is yes then drop down the cash and get 'er done. Personally I would never drive a V6 Camaro. But that is me. My Daddy told me not to have any car I can't afford the gas for. And since I like power I need 8 cylinders, minimum. Nothing worse than looking like I should be going fast but can't. It's a six cylinder designed to be a daily driver from the factory. That is why you posted the car was SLOW. It is designed to be slow. If you want speed then you don't want gas mileage. The two don't go together.

 

I think its more accurate to say that either you choose performance with fuel economy being secondary or you choose fuel economy with performance as a secondary quality. Modern cars can have both. Unfortunately you need more money for a modern car.

 

Lol Gas mileage dont bother me I didnt buy the car for gas mileage I bought the car because its only thing I could afford that was in decent shape and I liked. there are hardly any 3rd gens around here. Theres **** load of New camaros and 4th gens riding around but I have one of 4 3rd gen Camaros within 50 miles in my area. 2 of them are Irocs that have been restored and sold to ****ing spoiled rotten gangster kids who drive em around like *******s speeding all time and other is owned by a kid I know who takes good care of his but his is also a 6er. I have seen others but they are complete rust buckets and destroyed and i personally dont consider them to count=P

Its not hard to do a engine swap if you have some money for this car since it was made for a v8 with a v6 stuck in it. If i had the money and the opportunity id take a Iroc or z28 but The closest chance I had was my friends 93 Formula Firebird LT which he was selling mad cheap but some collector bought the thing and is gonna convert it into a drag car ( STUPID ) but w.e


I wanna fix it but I dont know where to start lol. Should I just go to a junk yard and ask if they got any 700R4s lying around lol?

 

Yes. Get a used 700r4. If not from your local yard then get one shipped to you like from Thirdgen Ranch. Those are pretty easy to find. Get a warrenty with it and then just save to get it installed.

I would make a list of everything the car needed to be mint and just start knocking them off one by one. I would put the list in a priority first way too.

 

lol alright thanks everyone for helping me through my mid car crisis=P the car doesnt need alot of work other than the exhaust the thing was in good running condition when I bought it. What it really needs is someone to fix up the body. If i can somehow fix that **** up from the accident the hood will sit right and the car would basically be ready to go. New paint tighten some things up and it be fine. Its just time and money and i have bunch other **** going on so I was just getting stressed out.

Question.. Is itpossible to actually convert the top into T-tops? Lol ive never really looked it up never really asked anyone because if I atleast had T-tops it wouldnt be so bad being v6=P

 

Anything is possible on these cars. The real question is it worth the time, money and effort? Do a search on the body board an you will find others that have thought of doing the same thing. Make your evaluation from their experience.

 

you would need a t-top donor car for the roof and interior panels, then cut and reweld, repaint. probly more work than you'd want. or find a good t-top chassis and swap everything over.

 

No offence Chris,

But why not save your money and buy a car that's not a complete piece of ****? If you keep getting these $500-$1000 cars, you'll have a lot of problems with them, and end up spending a lot of money...

 

Not true. My 93 Grand Prix cost me $450 and was just as reliable as my father's 00 was until it was totalled (the 00, not the 93). I only had to put a total of about what I bought the car for into it (hood latch and release lever, driver's window regulator with motor, outside door handles, power antenna, inner tie rod, driver's side wheel bearing,, and a set of tires), with most of the parts except the wheel bearing and the tie rod coming from a junkyard.

Chris, I'm in the same boat. I've finally got my car running pretty well, but due to a serious mistake the previous owner made with the right rear quarter panel repair, I'm not going to be able to drive my baby for quite a while until I can afford to either have the quarter replaced or the tools and other things to do it myself. At this moment, I've stripped the entire interior except for the dash (coming out soon with the entire wiring harness), and the front clip off to get ready for the rust repair. Worst case, I have to sell some parts, either as they are or for scrap (almost a full spare engine in my garage with the aluminum 3100 heads). It's not hard to work on these cars. You may think dropping an auto tranny out of an RWD (WITHOUT 4WD) is hard, try an FWD, or the MR (mid engine, rear-drive) Fiero. If I were you, I'd save my pennies and try to both find a temporary POS car to drive and get a trans for the Camaro. Luckily, unlike you, I can easily walk/ride my bicycle (yes, I still have it and actually have 2...good exercise) to work every day. Costs less on gas that way, you know?

And, actually, the hardest part about dropping the trans out of the Camaro is probably going to be either the torque converter bolts or the fluid cooler lines on the top. The rest is cake... 20-25 bolts, a couple of nuts, remove the shift cable and the cooler lines, (removing the rear springs helps A LOT) and slip the trans out. You just need a few extensions foryour ratchet or whatever tool and a u-joint swivel for it. You CAN do this on a normal floor jack, provided it has a wide plate for lifting.

Oh, and try changing your trans fluid... It could be that the trans fluid is so burned out that it's not doing its job anymore. ATF doesn't just lubricate the parts, it's also a friction modifier (kind of an oxymoron for it to do both, but it does).

 

It would be work a shot to change the fluid. When I bought my son's car, the trans did kinda the same thing yours is doing. I didn't want to spend the money on the trans right away, so I changed the fluid and filter, and put in a bottle of the Lucas trans conditioner. It worked great after that. Drove it for a while before we rebuilt the trans.

 

If u get the Fiero your best bet will be to swap in a GM 3800 series 2 motor regular or supercharged. Then you'll have a reliable daily driver with good gas mileage that can easily handle a good amount of mods.

 

I'm cheap, so I do the cheap stuff first. Do the suggested atf & lucas, you just might have a $50 fix.

 

That's what I'm looking to do to my girlfriend's car.

 

Chris-
If you were around my area, I would be able to spend a day with you Friday & pitch in some time with you doing what we could.
Good luck

 

I'm cheap to, so I changed the fluid and did the Lucas and it got me by. The car was new to us and untested. I didn't want to sink a bunch of money into the trans to find out there were other big problems. As it turned out, it seems to be a good car. Body is very nice and clean, so we went ahead and did the trans.

 

There has been lots of good points here but I just wanted to add a couple more here.

#1. I think a 3rd gen is a great car for somebody to own that doesn't have a lot of mechanical experience since these cars are pretty simple to work on. But with what you learn on this car even though it may seem expensive now could save you several thousands throughout your lifetime think of what a break job costs, I've never spent more than $75 on getting brake parts for myself. So as you do little jobs here and there, you will see how simple some jobs really are.

#2. Also to anybody reading this we already have the greatest tool available, and it is this website. A simple search and you will be able to find out pretty much anything about these cars and if you get stuck there are tons of people here who are more than happy to help.