There are times when I feel mildly sheepish about some of the cars I buy, largely because they tend to be major projects that, while they are purchased cheaply, may not be the soundest of decisions. However, I still enjoy rolling the dice on occasion because I’m rarely crossing the $500-$1,000 threshold in terms of the purchase price, unlike what someone might pay at a major auction house event like a Mecum or a Russo and Steele affair. This wild 1984 Pontiac Fiero is described as a modified “wheelie stander” that the seller’s friend’s father purchased at auction, brought home, and never touched again. Buyer’s remorse, perhaps? Find it here on craigslist in Cedar Rapids with no price listed.
While it may have at one time been a humble Pontiac Fiero EM4, those days are long gone. The Fiero is now powered by a running 454 V8 paired to a Powerglide transmission, with all that power put down via a Ford nine-inch rear end. I did a quick Google search but didn’t turn up anything obvious in terms of a page that followed this build; regardless, a Fiero like this would certainly stand out, so I’m sure someone knows something about it. Although it looks like an unfinished project to me, the seller does confirm it “runs amazing,” but given the Mecum plates and stickers were never peeled off of it, it doesn’t seem like it’s gone very far since coming home. Then again, if it’s as brutish in real life as it seems in pictures, it can’t be all that pleasant to drive on the street.
The Fiero chassis has been used for all sorts of wild engine transplants, likely brought about by the initial disappointment in the four-cylinder engine offerings when the Fiero was a new car. Plus, the pace car version – the one that actually paced the field, not the replica sold to consumers – showed that the Fiero chassis was capable of much, much more horsepower and thus began the litany of builders and hot rodders finding ways to shoehorn in much-too-large drivetrains into the humble Fiero chassis to create a high-performance version of the mid-engined Fiero that seemed destined from the start to be a real-deal sports car. As the spartan interior of this Fiero shows you, the original builder wasn’t merely dipping a toe into building a wheelie machine; he was going all the way.
So, you win a car at a Mecum auction and then it’s time to bring it home: are you happy or worried? Most enthusiasts would fall into the former category, as a hard-fought auction battle can certainly feel like any other endurance event victory. But what if you didn’t really want it – what if you were just hoping to be outbid the whole time? I recently lodged some bids for two trucks in Japan and while I would have been happy with either one, I was secretly relieved when I found out I was outbid. Or, it could simply be this Fiero is too beastly to drive on the streets and that you’ll need a second career as a drag racer to justify owning it. Have you ever won a car (or otherwise came into owning one) and soon realized it wasn’t for you?
Did Brian Ambrosini get out? Right up his alley,,
Cleetus McFarland just showed this sad looking1984 Pontiac Fiero Wheelie Stander – He said he bought it for a song!
Love the way the engine cover has deformed from the heat this thing creates. Unless it intentionally is to look like it was crushed by dropping the rat on it.
“One Trick pony”.
Wow. Would like to see how he connected the trans to the rear. The trans output looks like it’s coming in a foot in front of and above the rear. Hopefully there is some thick steel plating to protect yourself from the potentially exploding driveshaft setup. Maybe that’s why the new owner never tried it?
Probably plucked the V drive out of the boat drive inventory. Weird setup.
Yup, thanks.
Probably afraid to post the ask price.
Sold for $10K at the auction… plus shipping, etc.
Talk about an impulse buy!
https://www.mecum.com/lots/DA0915-222314/1984-pontiac-fiero/
At $10k someone else was bidding on this. What were they thinking?
No State or Province is going to license this car for use on public roads. If one did there were lots of pay offs going on!
Actually there are several that will let it go on public roads. Alabama is definitely one of them. Too bad this need so much work. Always wanted a Fiero with a V8 but this is a mess.
The Meacum Sticker say’s it was sold on a bill of sale. Maybe he couldn’t get a title for it.
Falls into the “Hold my beer”, “Too much time on my hands “ and “Too much is not enough “ categories. The rare trifecta!
And here I thought I had seen everything :^}
Joe Bob and Bubba musta got taxes back early
I like how the mecum ad says that the car is BLOWN. Car is not blown it just has a tunnel ram with a single 4 barrel carburetor. Not seeing any kind of opening in the floor so you can see where you are going when doing a wheelie.
Maybe blown up is what they meant.
I’ve heard of bigger V-6 swaps for these like the 3800. But this? Wow.
This is the modern version of a Zinger!
Zingers! Thanks for saving me time looking up the name.
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/11399805277115375/
The Fiero’s downfall wasn’t really the project’s bean counters although price point mattered. A new V8 was in the works but in the late 70s it was canceled. Think of a new baby V8 with lessons learned from Buick. The Fiero made it past GM wheels because it was pitched as a two-seater commuter vehicle, no Corvette competition. Roadkill has Stubby Bob. This is Stubby Stupid.
Forget covering 1320 feet…..without a plexiglass floor pan it would all be over in 50…
According to the Mecam blurb it has a Lexan floor pan.
After reading the Mecum ad it was sold with a bill of sale so trying to get a title and licensed in Cedar Rapids, Linn Co, IA would be a major pain in the a$$! No way to title/license this and I doubt it would pass tech at the drag strip. So unless you want to own it for the novelty of it look for something else.
What? No one suggesting an LS swap? LOL!
There was a company some time ago that actually built a kit to put a SBC into a car like this. I saw a completed install one time and it looked very tight but still fairly neat and tidy.
From the photos ,I thought the engine was just hanging there, until the could engineer some way to make it fit. They had two chances , SLIM & NONE.
How practical.
This was purchased by mistake. The buyer thought he was bidding on the next car in line (Chevelle SS). The auction held him to it.
Only way to get rid of that white elephant!
Looks dangerous at any speed.
we’re tryin to stuff a JZ into a ’92 MR2.
Easier (more sense) than the LS in this
or a Ferrari into a X 1 / 9.
Let’s use the design to advantage~
https://youtube.com/watch?v=yh9xK1jYyRw&feature=share. I was the seller check out the link a utuber bought
OK all you calm, collected BarnFinders!
This car has surfaced, and found it’s way to Florida.
If you don’t know who “Cletus McFarland” is…. The short answer is a YouTube millionaire with tons of posts ranging from those centered around serious drag racing to just plain silliness. Pretty much all of the content is motorsports (or at least internal combustion) related.
At 2:44 in this video, I recognized the car Immediately, came straight here before I have watched any more of it!
Enjoy! (where’s my LOL emoji?)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yh9xK1jYyRw
And he wrecked it already!