Pontiac Fiero to Porsche 911, and the long road the get there/here…

[Bolson1982]

I have been a lurker for some time now and after reading through the intro thread of my Porsche friend “Otter74” I have been inspired to start my own intro/build/journal thread.

I have been a fan of Porsches for far longer than I have been able to correctly pronounce it….two syllables right? ☺ I can say that I was personally taught how to say it correctly from Peter Schutz who I met and spent some time with through a mutual friend. Ok enough name dropping….how about some cars?

I have always been a huge fan of cars. All years, makes, and models, but am generally drawn to things that are more unique. You could call my automotive passion an addiction, but I think at least it’s a healthy one…even though financially a drug addiction might be cheaper at times.

When I was 14 and shopping for my first car, I was talking with some car-guy teachers of mine for suggestions and advice. Since I grew up outside of Detroit I didn’t want to go with the standard ‘beater’ Mustang/Camaro as my first car. One teacher recommended that I check into a Pontiac Fiero since they were cheap and relatively plentiful. This was during the early days of the Internet so there was no ‘Google-it’ option to save me from myself and that recommendation of the teacher. I found some AutoTrader ads and was able to find some old car magazines in the local library and I was hooked on the idea of a Fiero.

I didn’t have to look for very long, or even very far. After only a couple weeks of searching, I went outside to get the mail. To my surprise there was a black 1984 Pontiac Fiero SE parked in my parents driveway. I LOST MY MIND. When I say ‘parked’ I should clarify…. ‘broken down’ would be a more accurate description. Broke down, but with a FOR SALE sign in the window. The owner was driving the car home and the alternator had died and so did the car. He parked it after asking my moms permission to leave it while he hitched a ride home, and would later could come back with a tow truck. Long story short, I bought it – fixed it up – and sold it before I even had my drivers license… but the insanity didn’t stop there though. My next three cars were also Fieros with the last one being an IMSA widebody with a computer controlled fuel injected Chevy ZZ2 crate motor.

I always had a love for Porsches but never had the budget. Once I was out of school and got my first professional job making a decent wage, I started the Porsche hunt. I had found a very early SWB long hood 911 for sale locally. I completely forgot all the details of the car because before I could get excited about the purchase my mom caught wind and said, “If you got Porsche money, than you got house money….time for you to move out!” A couple months later I was the owner of my very own fixer-upper....house, not Porsche. I still own it and it is still worth considerably less than I paid even after 10’s of thousands in improvements. So the housing market crashed, and we all know what has been going on with SWB Long Hood Porsches. Thanks Mom. The good news is that it’s rented and the rent covers the mortgage. The bad news is the housing market it Michigan still sucks.

Ok ok, now back to my car history…

1. 1984 Pontiac Fiero SE Black – Sold (Gone before I got my license, but did learned to drive in it)
2. 1985 Pontiac Fiero GT Burgundy– Sold
3. 1988 Pontiac Fiero GT Red – Sold
4. 1984 Pontiac Fiero IMSA V8 Conversion Red– Sold
5. 2001 Dodge Dakota Silver - Lease turn-in
6. 2002 Subaru WRX Silver – Sold (One of my favorites. Light, quick and practical. Sound familiar?)
7. 2004 Honda S2000 Yellow – Lease turn-in
8. 2006 Mazdaspeed6 Gray – Lease turn-in
----Moved to Florida----
9. 2008 Subaru WRX STi Black – Traded-in
10. 2009 Infiniti G37s Coupe Silver – Sold
----Moved to Alaska----
11. 2010 Mercury Mariner White - Traded-in
12. 2010 Toyota FJ Cruise White– Traded-in
13. 2011 Nissan 370Z Monterey Blue– Traded-in
14. 2011 Toyota Tacoma Silver – Traded-in
15. 2013 Mustang GT White – Traded-in
----Moved to Hawaii
16. 2013 Ford Flex Silver– Current (purchased when my son was born)
17. 1976 Porsche 911S Targa Black – Sold
----Moved to Minnesota
18. 2015 Audi S4 Silver – Traded immediately (Long Story)
19. 2016 Audi S4 White – Current
20. 1974 Porsche 911 Red – Current

I’ll stick to the details about the Porsche’s since they is why most of us are here, but if anyone wants to comment about any of my previous cars, feel free. I’m a car guy first and Porsche guy always.

I purchased my first Porsche which was a 76’ Targa locally on Maui from the second owner. He had owned it since 1978 and had every receipt from new. He had actually purchased it from his insurance agent. The car was a bit rough around the edges but only had a bit over 80k documented miles. It had a rebuilt 3.0. Had been repainted once in the original black after an electrical fire in the frunk. It also had composite SC flares added at some point in its life. It was my first Porsche and absolutely loved it especially in Hawaii. I added a Prototipo, rebuilt the pedal cluster, added lots if Rennline Parts, RS America Door panel, and the Rennshift shifter from JWest. When I found out that I had to move from Maui I put it up for sale because I was unsure how quickly my house would sell and didn’t want to have to pay to ship the car and tie up that cash in the event the house sat after I left. Well, the car sold fairly quickly to a couple on vacation from Arizona. They test-drove it, bought it, and I shipped it off. House hit the market and had multiple offers the first day…. should have kept the Porsche. Oh well. Hindsight is 20-20.

Made it to Minnesota and only had the Flex but it would be a month before it would make it to me. Ended up making a great deal on a new 2015 S4 since the 2016’s were already arriving to dealers and the 2017’s had just been announced (RIP manual trans). The 2015 S4 was bought and shipped to me and arrived badly damaged. The dealer stepped up, found me the exact S4 I originally wanted (color and options) and did an even swap despite the higher sticker price and being a model year newer.

Despite the S4 being an incredible car, I wanted….no….NEEDED to get another Porsche.

The search began….

Big shout out to Otter74 again for helping to keep me motivated and optimistic that I could afford another 911 (let alone a coupe) despite the craziness in the market prices.

I searched all over the country burning up bandwidth day and night trying to find a car that I liked, in a condition that I could work with, at a price that I could afford. I gave up more than once, and every time I was about the throw in the towel, Otter77 would send me a link to a recent sale that would give me faith that there were still deals to be had.

Well MY car ended up being 20 minutes away and found on Craigslist of all places. I grabbed a cashiers check from the bank, who couldn’t believe I had just driven in the blizzard going on, and drove out to see the car (thank you for your incredible Quattro AWD Audi). It was better than I expected and bought the car on the spot. A couple days later once the roads were clear and a car hauler was available, I picked it up….it was 7 degrees outside. Oh how I miss Maui.

It’s a 1974 911 Coupe with the classic Miami Vice slantnose conversion. It has no sunroof and manual window: exactly what I wanted. The guy even made me a deal on the parts to remove the slantnose conversion and make a complete widebody conversion. *SHAMELESS PLUG. If anyone is in the market for a composite slantnose conversion or boxed rockers, PM me. Additionally there are parts on the car that will be coming off, so if you see something you like, PM me. Seats, decklid, steering wheel, door panels etc.

So I’m back in the saddle again and ready to drive fellow Pelicans nuts with questions that will undoubtedly be answered with some version of “Use the search feature, it is your friend.”

I have big plans and a relatively limited budget. I’m kinda like Warren Buffet: I like to buy quality items at depressed prices, so while I love the convenience of Pelican I am always looking for the best deal on the parts I need (new and used). This may seem odd but besides the Fieros and the Porsches, every car on my list was purchased new. Trust me, I got a killer deal on each and everyone one of them, and if you have the time I will more than gladly share the stories on them all.

Thanks in advance for your patients with me when it comes to questions I may have. What I lack in knowledge, I make up for in youthful enthusiasm. Glad to be a part of group and look forward to learning from those willing to share their experience and knowledge.

[Bolson1982]

1984 Pontiac Fiero SE


1985 Pontiac Fiero GT


1988 Pontiac Fiero GT


1984 Pontiac Fiero IMSA Widebody


2001 Dodge Dakota


2002 Subaru WRX


2004 Honda S2000


Not my photo, but it is my same Mazdaspeed6


2008 STi


2009 Infiniti G37s Coupe

[Bolson1982]

2010 Mercury Mariner


2010 Toyota FJ Cruiser


2011 Nissan 370Z....Not my picture, but the same car.


2011 Toyota Tacoma TRD


2013 Ford Mustang GT


2013 Ford Flex


1976 Porsche 911S Targa


2016 Audi S4


1974 Porsche 911

[Bolson1982]

Build progress links:

Getty Design Ducktail Arrives: Pontiac Fiero to Porsche 911, and the long road the get there/here…

Getty Design Ducktail Test Fit: Pontiac Fiero to Porsche 911, and the long road the get there/here…

[Bolson1982]

Out with the OLD (1976)....



In with the OLDER (1974)...

[DerkPerk]

Welcome to mpls from a previous fiero to p-car owner.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[rwest]

Welcome to MN,

Good looking car even with the 80's charm.

I'm in St.Paul near Maplewood if I can be of any assistance.

-Rutager

[wrxnofx]

Welcome to the MSP! My daily driver is an '05 WRX wagon, so we also have that in common along with current location. Plus I'm also a transplant to this city. You definitely want to go the MN Cars and Coffee to see some crazy awesome stuff. PM me if you want more info. Looking VERY forward to seeing your progress. I saw this car on Craigslist, too, and considered going to take a peek at it.

[CCM911]

That conversion doesn't look too bad! Nice car.

[Bolson1982]

Thanks for the welcome fellas! Looking forward to seeing you guys at Cars and Coffee.

Sounds like you all have exceptional taste cars too ;-)

I was definitely glad to see the car was still available when I called the guy. So many were getting snapped up before I could even fire off an email or make a phone call. The nice part of the struggle with my search was that I had seen enough cars to know what was the right car for me when I found it, and it even came in under budget.

I like the fact that it already has some modifications done to it so that no one will have to shed a tear when I do my own personalization.

[Bolson1982]

It begins!!!

Big thanks to Mark over at Getty Design for his patients with all my emails and questions. I am very happy with my purchase. The Ducktail was exceptionally packaged and arrived in perfect condition (for an unfinished piece). Looking forward to getting it installed.

I was pleasantly surprised at how extensive the instructions were. It really takes out the guess-work and reaffirms that I made the right purchase for me.

Enjoy the eye candy!!

[Bolson1982]

The kid gets his good looks from his Mom, and his taste in cars from his Dad ;-)

[Otter74]

Welcome back! I look forward to seeing the progress on your car.

P.S. I was born in '74, not '77

[Bolson1982]

Originally Posted by Otter74

Welcome back! I look forward to seeing the progress on your car.

P.S. I was born in '74, not '77

Fixed!!

[Bolson1982]

Test fit complete! I picked the ducktail based on the countless cars I've seen on Pelican with the same look. I am happy to report that it looks even better in person. Enough text...on to the pic!!

[Bolson1982]

Now that the ducktail is installed I have no use for the old decklid/wing. If you're in the market (and preferably within reasonable driving distance) hit me up!!

[Pianoman]

Fun thread already! Ok Minnesota guys, who should I call about repairing the back window of my boxster... the plastic is shot. I hope to be a faithful contributor to this forum if I learn anything worth sharing... :-)

[wrxnofx]

Originally Posted by Pianoman

Fun thread already! Ok Minnesota guys, who should I call about repairing the back window of my boxster... the plastic is shot. I hope to be a faithful contributor to this forum if I learn anything worth sharing... :-)

I'd try Auto Edge. They're located in Mahtomedi, northeast of the Cities. Flat Six only does air-cooled, and I'm not sure about Joe Jeppeson at Jeppeson Imports.

Hmmm, I had a question last summer regarding the fit of my driver's door, so I inquired at Auto Edge. They in turn recommended Raymond Auto Body in St. Paul. Since your issue is less mechanical and more body related, maybe they would be the better route. When I was there last Spring they were repainting a G-bodied Targa and doing all associated body work on it.

[Bolson1982]

Originally Posted by wrxnofx

I'd try Auto Edge. They're located in Mahtomedi, northeast of the Cities. Flat Six only does air-cooled, and I'm not sure about Joe Jeppeson at Jeppeson Imports.

Hmmm, I had a question last summer regarding the fit of my driver's door, so I inquired at Auto Edge. They in turn recommended Raymond Auto Body in St. Paul. Since your issue is less mechanical and more body related, maybe they would be the better route. When I was there last Spring they were repainting a G-bodied Targa and doing all associated body work on it.

Well, that post came right on time....

Now that the Ducktail arrived and is fitted I'm thinking I should try and find a local shop to blast, test fit, and at least prime/prep the parts to replace the slants conversion.

I had talked to Aaron over at Flat Six about a shop that he would recommended (my own fault for not taking notes), but I don't want to bug him right now because I'm sure he has several builds that he has to get ready for the spring rush.

The lower valance (pictured) I believe is a yellowbird replica. It was included in the pile of parts I bought. There is some damage from scrapes and I haven't decided if I will end up putting it on the car, but if anyone has any suggestions feel free to share. I think I want to keep the impact bumper look, so please keep that in mind when offering suggestions.

[wrxnofx]

I believe all the bodywork for Aaron's builds is done by Dave Treichel in Appleton, WI. The 911ST cars he completed (both the latest silver one and the chartreuse one last year) were both painted by Dave (not my pics):




I went ahead with Raymond Auto Body and had them refit the door. I am happy with the results and price. They mixed up some touch up paint and hit the bigger chips all over the car, and gave me a little bottle for the road. Pretty darn good customer service if you ask me. Jake Erickson is who I dealt with. He was a great guy to deal with.

At an Auto Edge event last Summer they were restoring a '76 930, and Raymond had done the paint work. I thought it looked pretty great: