1987 Fiero GT

For as long as I can remember, I wanted a project car. For about four years it was almost always on my mind. The idea of owning a truly cool car motivated me to work as many hours as I could so I could eventually afford one.

After years of debating hundreds of different models and even using a decision matrix to compare them, I finally settled on a 1987 Pontiac Fiero GT. The car felt special to me. It was unique, and its design just made sense in my head. I loved the simplicity of the pushrod V6 and distributor ignition. But more than anything, I loved that it was mid-engine, manual, and built around the idea of balance rather than raw speed. Speed didn’t matter to me then, and it still doesn’t. What mattered was that it felt like mechanical beauty that I could actually afford.

Once I had saved enough to buy a cheap Fiero, I started searching. After a few months I finally found the right one. It was only sort of running, but it was in my budget and had all the options I wanted. After shipping it from about seven hours away, I discovered it wouldn’t go into gear, so I had to limp it home.

From there the real work began. I replaced the clutch master and slave cylinders and carefully bled the system, which got the car moving almost normally again. I adjusted the shifter linkage so it could shift properly, changed the transmission fluid, and inspected the entire vehicle.

During that inspection I realized the front suspension and brake lines were far from safe. There were missing bolts, strange angles, and even cuts in some components. I ended up replacing all the ball joints, bushings, and any missing hardware. While doing that work I also replaced a torn tie-rod boot and all the brake lines.

At one point during reassembly I accidentally stripped a brake caliper, which meant I had to track down a replacement. It was frustrating, but I managed to get a new one installed by the next day.

After that came many smaller repairs and adjustments: an alignment, securing the throttle cable and battery, replacing trim panels, fixing the wiper motors, and solving a long list of little issues. Eventually the car was running close to how it likely did when it left the factory.