During the last few weeks a lot of progress was made on the Fiero Rebuild.
Frank created his own paint booth in his backyard by using an old party tent. We’re pretty sure this party tent was white before the paint job started.
Frank’s hard work was inspected and approved. The frame is certified for 7,5 second runs. The certification decal was applied with proud.
Now the frame is ready, the re-assembly continued.
As indicated before the wheelbase of the Fiero will increase by 7,5″ to gain more straightforward stability. Easier said than done. However Frank worked hard during his Christmas Holidays and stretched the fenders by adding aluminum sections.
The hood was stretched too by using the front section of another hood donated by Dutch Fiero Forum members (Thanks again, guys)
Still many hours of wrenching, sanding and painting to go. But it ‘ll run again this season.
The engine was re-installed today, January 12th 2013.
Radiator and the Gas tank are back in
The welding of the frame has been completed. The Fiero’s wheelbase increased by 7,5″ and now measures 101″, which is similar to a 3rd generation Firebird.
After Frank crashed his Fiero at the Drachten Nationals we assumed the car would be beyond repair.The front clip looked awfull and we were considering which of our cars would be picked to get transformed into a race car for 2013.
We were so wrong. Okay, the nose, front suspension, some frame tubes, the radiator, two rims, etc. were lost. But the engine, transmission and rear axle were unhurt.
The car was disassembled completely and after measuring the frame it was clear the car can be rebuilt.
After reading about the crash, some Dutch Fiero owners contacted Frank and offered him spontaneously spare parts like hoods, fenders and nose. This will help a lot in refabricating the front end. Thank you guys!
The wheelbase of the Fiero will be increased to 101″ (was 93,4″) which is the same wheelbase as the 2nd generation Firebird. The increased wheelbase will improve the straightforward stability.
This is how the 2013 edition of the Fierce Fiero will look. We will try to maintain the Fiero’s sleek body lines.
We’ll keep you informed.
Since the Drachten Internationals were cancelled we joined the teams Pro-Truck and Warhorse and moved to Jade Airport in Wilhelmshaven, Germany.
We had a great time. After all the recent rained out events, we finally were able to use our sunscreen. The Dutch Hot Rod Association took care of the timing and scrutineering and enabled us to make as much runs as we would or could.
Eddy’s ‘Warhorse’ Nova could use some ignition advance. Note the burned spot in the pedalbox.
Drachten Finals 2012 CANCELLED
Dutch Dragracing Organisation Explosion stated that too many teams who applied for participation neglected to pay their entry fee. We are ‘NOT AMUSED’.
Drachten Internationals CANCELLED
Due to the bad condition of the grassed pit area and this week’s weather forecast (more rain) the Drachten Internationals have been cancelled.
After solving the issues we had at Bitburg and Santa Pod earlier this season we were able to use nitrous.
At the first run with 250hp nitrous we used 35% at launch and 100% within 5 seconds.
Since we didn’t qualify yet and we had one more chance, we changed the settings and used 50% at launch and the rest came in within 3 seconds.
Picture by Gregor van den Bosch
The car hooked better than ever but after 3 seconds the Fiero lost traction. The right wheel left the prepped area of the track. The car moved to the right, hit the lower bezel of the guardrail and went skyways. Video
The Fiero crossed the track and smashed into the left guardrail.
Frank got out of the car unhurt. The rescue team reacted immediately and with help from the track crew and fellow racers the car was lifted onto our trailer. Thank you guys !
After inspection of the Fiero we will decide which steps we will take to enable us to race again next season. We’ll keep you informed.
On Wednesday May 30th we took the Ferry to Harwich. A thunderstorm welcomed us and we drove to Santa Pod where we parked in front of the main gate. Next morning we prepared our pit area and collected the C14 racing fuel we ordered. That same day we made our 1st run at the Santa Pod drag strip.
We entered our car for Super Comp (8:90 index). Since we were not very happy with the ignition graphics (MSD Digital 7+) of our last runs and the faulty pressure regulator, we did NOT run the Fiero with nitrous yet. We decided to install a more basic Mallory Unilite ignition to test this setup. However the new ignition we brought seemed to be defective so we had to disassemle it and use the MSD again on Friday for qualification.
Since we did not want to risk using nitrous without being 100% sure of our ignition, we made 2 more runs on the motor on Friday to qualify (as 15th). We used Saturday for wrenching on the car. Ignition was replaced twice and we were able to sort out the issue with the pressure regulator we experienced in Bitburg 2 weeks ago.
Due to the weather conditions there were no qualification runs on Sunday. So we hoped we could race on Monday June 4th. However, due to more rain showers and some oil downs the Super Gas and Super Comp races were cancelled. A bit frustrating after waitng so long. Nevertheless we had a wonderful weekend.
In the video section of this website you´ll find a slow motion video of the Friday run.
Some pictures
Last weekend we went to Bitburg Germany to check the NOS set-up. This event was organised by 1on1-Motorsports. The weather was perfect and the 1on1-Motorsports crew enabled us to make runs whenever we want. Thank you Silke, Harald, Jochen and Benny.
Due to a faulty pressure regulator for the additional shot of fuel when the NOS kicks in we were not able to run our nitrous system at all. A new pressure regulator is ordered and will be installed before we head to Santa Pod next week.
The Pressure Regulator with its membrane removed. Even with the adjuter screw the fuel pressure climbed slowly to 13 psi.
The crew of Wishbone Racing came to Bitburg to test the blower set-up on the ’68 Firebird.