Sick swap

I think i have a great idea!!!!

I want to mate an s10 with a fiero....HOW COULD YOU DO SUCH A THING?!?!?!?
Heres what i what to do. I want to take the whole drivetrain from a fiero including all suspension, and wheel assemblies, and put it into the bed of the s10.
the rear wheel base of the fiero is 61'', and the rear base on the s10 is 60''. I plan on a rear mount for the radiator and would like some help on a good spot. One thing i didnt think about was power steering. I dont know how i would work that out yet. I dont really want the lines running to the front. I dont know tho, thats the glory of this project. The end result of this will be me putting a 350 to the fiero tranny. but that will take atleast two years for me to get up the money after this swap. I am completely serious about doing this and would love the imput from you guys and gals.
Great or what?
Give all of your feelings guys and i will try to answer any questions that i have thought about.

I think i have a great idea!!!!

I want to mate an s10 with a fiero....HOW COULD YOU DO SUCH A THING?!?!?!?
Heres what i what to do. I want to take the whole drivetrain from a fiero including all suspension, and wheel assemblies, and put it into the bed of the s10.
the rear wheel base of the fiero is 61'', and the rear base on the s10 is 60''. I plan on a rear mount for the radiator and would like some help on a good spot. One thing i didnt think about was power steering. I dont know how i would work that out yet. I dont really want the lines running to the front. I dont know tho, thats the glory of this project. The end result of this will be me putting a 350 to the fiero tranny. but that will take atleast two years for me to get up the money after this swap. I am completely serious about doing this and would love the imput from you guys and gals.
Great or what?
Give all of your feelings guys and i will try to answer any questions that i have thought about.
WHY?

i would imagine becuase i like s-10's and i like the drivetrain setup of the fiero. I think that saving a drivetrain and suspension from a wrecked fiero would be a good thing to do. if you cant save the car then why not use the parts to do something fun with them. I am not trying to hack apart some beautiful car, i am trying to do something i have been dreaming about. I am one of those guys that thinks that driveshafts lose horses tot he wheels. Everyone is taking and putting v-8s in s-10s and that is old hat now. I want to pioneer something different and have something unique til i get my idea ripped off. I dont even care if someone does it before me. I just want to do this for the sole fact that it gets accomplished what i have been dreaming about. i have put alot of research time into this and dont want to give up on it. I am just looking for some extra ideas even some dimensions of like the engine cradle and stuff like that. Im sorry if i offended you with what i worte about the swap, this is what i want to do and i trust the information i get from this site.

just wondering more pwer to you just a waste to ME but i'm nobody. I can dig the unique thing I'm just about racing for money.

Well if you are about racing then you understand about the need for speed. I want a truck thats unique and goes fast. The end result of this truck is to have a chevy v8 bolted to the fiero tranny. It would be one sick ride. besides curb weight of the
>>1985 MODEL YEAR<<

MODEL CURB WEIGHT
2-door coupe (2PM37) 2505.0 lbs
SE (2PF37) 2505.0 lbs
GT (2PG37) 2572.0 lbs

curb weight of the 2wd 1992 S-10 shortbox is 2600ish pounds...
so really i am not disturbing the ratio much. Plus with the removal of the stock gas tank and exhuast,in conjuction of adding the fuel cell and shorty exhuast, it should even out.

I am also looking for a way to keep the front wheels on the ground. Witht the removal of the stock engine and transmission, im lifting the front of the truck un-naturally. Wheelie popping is fun but i want to drive this as much as i can. So goatnipples if you have any suggestions i would appreciate them.

put in a turbocharged 350 and call it a day. Your wasting time and money. And why a fiero tranny its a FWD tranny. Whatever its your time and money.

thanks but no thanks on your imput to this thread goatnipples. You have been a drain on it from the begining. please do not post in this thread anymore.

Putting a FWD tranny on a RWD car sounds like you haven't done some research. last post

listen all i want to do is buy a fiero. So if you know someone with one near nebraska then help me out..thanks

Well, the project sounds interesting enough to me...maybe I can be of some assistance? I have seen a similar project done before with a dodge dakota, only the owner had BOTH engines and transmissions working together to create an all-wheel drive system, and the only way the two where connected was at the accellorator, which was TOUCHY let me tell u! Another idea would to be takeing the entire front end out from under the S-10, and upgradeing the steering to rack and pinion, getting the front disks and a-frames from a buick skylark (81 to 88) as well as the axles, break cylinders, etc.... you could also use that out of the Fiero. I know this works, because I did it with an 81 Buick Skyalrk subframe, 2.5l engine, TurboHydramatic trans, axles, struts, brakes, and wheels. It was easy, i thought, but I'm sure that v-6 would be a whole different story. E-mail me if I can be of any assistance.

Wait a minute.....my 2m4 had that same 4-cyl, turbohydra and suspension assembly......DUH! There's no reason it shouldnt work! God I feel like a goober!

the fiero is not just a car body on a frame like the s-10 is a truck body on a frame. the fiero is plastic body pannels attached to a super structure, it has steel under all the plastic. it is posible to do but not for someone whithout a lot of noledge in a lot of areas.
you will need to be;
1. a body man
2. a fabricator
3. a mechanic
4. a electrical man
5. a suspention engineer
6. a NUT
mostly 6. to do what you are suggesting is a logistical nightmare. it is possible but to take the fiero body and put it on a s-10 frame first you would have to cut the lower subframe out off the fiero that holds the engine and trans. not hard thats how you change the clutch.
then you need to find some way to attach the fiero superstructure to the s-10 frame. loose the front wheels and steering rack. providing the wheel base is the same you then need to fabricate some sort of way to attach the steering system to the fiero steering wheel.
if you plan on really doing this i would suggest you go to a local body shop and see if they will call you when a fiero comes in for some real seriose body work.
underneath all that plastic is one hell of a lot of steel, the doors are all steel under that plastic outer pannel. the fiero was built on two seperate assembly lines subframe and engine/trans and all driving components then it was driven to the next line where they put all the plastic pannels on.
good luck dude, but i still say you got to be NUTS!

I'm confused..... can i ask a few stupid questions ?

1) how do you hold the big square truck front end on the road at highway speed without the weight of the engine and trans ?
2) do you get any airflow through a radiator that's tucked in the bed ?
3) how long will a tranny off an 85 horse 4 banger last when coupled to a 350 v8 ? wasn't mating it up with the MFI 6 cylinder already pushing it ?
4) how much stuff can you haul in a 1/4 ton truck with a V8 in the box ?

Lets start with some clarification to this one. I would like to take the drivetrain and all of the components attached, such as: suspension, wheel and brake assemblies, and the engine cradle from the fiero. My hope is to find a wrecked 6 cyl fiero, as a donor. I am planning on taking the bed off the s-10, and then cutting to fit back on, to make room for the swap and ease of access. I want to take the engine cradle and place that inbetween the frame rails to harness the engine and tranny from the fiero. I chose the fiero for its GM setup. If i had the money i would love to tear into a porche. Thats not going to happen tho. Thats why i went with a fiero. Rear engine setup. I have a automotive electrician and a knowledgable fabricator. I dont however have a fiero. Its hard to find a wrecked fiero in nebraska, when the junkyard is paying anywhere from 150 to 250 for cars. I dont want to use the whole fiero just the full rear engine setup.

radiator: You luvere the bedside and attach the radiator to the inside of the bed. (sorry being general)
v8 fiero (http://www.v8archie.com/v8fiero.htm)

You could do what I am doing to the fiero in the s-10, Go get an old eldorado cadillac and cut the frame off. Weld the frame to the S-10 frame. It has been done before and it works. Besides IT"S CHEAP!! Find an old 500 eldorado, 1970 or so. The power will be there with the least hassle of all.
Good luck.
P.S. My 88 fiero is getting the trans/motor setup only.

I don't know if you are still checking this thread or not. Sounds fun what you are wanting to do I often wanted to make a fiero be all wheel drive. As far as keeping the nose down try some traction bars, add weight to the front end I know you are concerned about weight but if you drop a V8 in there it won't matter. I had an idea before about putting an s10 blazer on a fiero frame. My idea was to just to cut the body off the S10 frame and reattaching to the Fiero setup. If you read up on the mods to do the Fiero for handling it would be a sweet setup and probably less mods than putting the cradle in the frame of an S10. When you do a kit on a Fiero you cut the frame and extend it so I imagine you would need to do the same to fit the wheelbase of the S10. Just some ideas. As far as getting a fiero look on ebay but look also in the parts part because they list parts cars there and they are usually cheaper. Also find all the forums that are out there Pennocks is a good one because they have members in about every state and usually Fiero owners (like myself) have more than one. A lot of Fieros come out of the Midwest I've seen a place in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania and they are always getting rid of the stuff you want. I'm about an hour south of Chicago and I've got one you can have for next to nothing. A place in Ohio has a motor and cradle only for sale on ebay right now. I just bought a 2.5l duke from Idaho had it shipped it cost $150 or so maybe the cradle from Ohio shipped would still cost you less than $200 or $250. Last thought you could probably weld some motor mounts and cross member into your existing frame and drop about any front wheel drive setup in there if you read up on the Fiero thats about all GM did and to get the Fiero to drive and stop well you have to modify what you have so I say go for it on the idea but research your donor vehicle more so you can make a better assement. I've seen people just eliminating the long drive shaft getting a bad ass rearend and bolting a 350 straight to it in the bed of a truck.

I have always believed in the ole saying that there is no such thing as a stupid question....


WELL......I SEE NOW I WAS WRONG.................LOL

I just dont get it......

im trying....i really am...

but i just dont get it....