Late MPC Fiero GT kit

[DukeE]

I'd never had a late style Fiero GT kit, 86-88. Kinda scarce on evilbay. Finally got one complete fairly reasonably. I was shocked to see how nice the engineering and detail is on it. Lots of extra mechanical details, fit really pretty good to start with, and looks like straightforward build. I don't recall seeing one of these built, have seen the notched roof cars, maybe one drag car. 

I've seen other MPC from era, and the 1500 pickup was good, but this thing is pretty nice. Be great for re-issue, and I think it'd sell. Classic example of GM getting the car right, evil sounding little 2.8 V6, and then discontinuing it. 

Anyone built one of these??

Edited October 24, 2019 by DukeE

[Mark]

The later kits are a bit off in suspension detail, being based on the '84 kit.  The early Fiero was built out of GM's parts bin: Chevette front suspension, X-car front drive unit in the back.  GM later developed a new suspension for the later Fiero, but killed the car off not long afterward.

[Motor City]

Mark is correct; the '88 Fiero had a revised suspension and then was killed off at the end of that model year

[Casey]

MPC again (they did the same in 1985 with the '84 Fiero) tried to maximize their investment by releasing two kits of the '86 Fiero GT. Wow, those optional custom wheels and tires on the white version sure are something. ?

 

 

[89AKurt]

LOL about the custom wheels!  Interesting these are more collectible than the Dodge Stealth Indy Pace Car.  Typical GM, get something right, then kill it.  Makes me want an Aztec.

[Bucky]

I test drove an '88 Fiero Formula back in' 91. Really wanted that little hot rod, but the dealer wanted it more than I did, judging by the price he had on it! LoL

I have a couple Fiero kits to build....someday.

[Mark]

6 hours ago, Casey said:

MPC again (they did the same in 1985 with the '84 Fiero) tried to maximize their investment by releasing two kits of the '86 Fiero GT. Wow, those optional custom wheels and tires on the white version sure are something. ?

 

 

Those arent '86s if I remember right, they are the '87 and '88 kits.  I haven't got either of them to check, but the copyright date on the box should be the year before the model year of the kit.

[TonyK]

I've got a couple of versions of these kits but haven't built them for some reason. Always liked the car and was hoping they'd come out with a race version.

[Mark]

I test drove a Fiero when they were first available.  Pretty decent to drive, but the price tag was pretty steep considering it had a cast iron engine, throttle body fuel injection, no overhead cam, and you couldn't even get a five-speed in '84...

[crazyjim]

There's a Monogram Fiero on my bench right now.

[espo]

I think the GT version was the better looking kit since the notch back just didn't look proportional to myself. The notch back earlier kit had some nice engine upgrades and I liked the snorkel that went from the engine cover to just above the roof line. I remember when the 1:1 hit the market. A friend and former co-worker had gone to work for the Pontiac dealer and he drove one the first ones the dealership got down to show me. I'm 6'3" so it felt like I was wearing it rather than sitting in it. The console  was high enough inside that my right arm and elbow was at an angle were I almost couldn't shift gears. No leg room in my  case. I did like the concept but the car was made for someone shorter than myself.  

[DukeE]

I just meant it has master cylinder detail, other stuff you didn't really see much then. 1:1 Car yes was cobbled, but it finally looked cool, and V6 sounded like a Dino. 

I was asking about the MPC kit. Ignoring the awful custom stuff, which ain't much. I've got the black issue above, which seems to be the '88? I don't have kit immediately to hand. 

Just far better engineered kit it seems than its contemporary kits. 

[Casey]

12 minutes ago, DukeE said:

 Just far better engineered kit it seems than its contemporary kits. 

I think was right after Ertl purchased both AMT and MPC, so MPC kits were improving then.  IIRC, the '69 Olds 442 was an all new kit from that time, too, and one of the better MPC kits I can recall.

I have to believe Round2 has at least considered this kit for reissue.

[Rob Hall]

I built the red GT kit as a teenager...neat model.  Never had any of the earlier kits. 

[Mark]

MPC's late Seventies/early Eighties annual kits were often very well done: Datsun and Dodge D-50 pickups, Chevy Cavalier, Ford EXP, Dodge Daytona, etc.  Even the later (Ertl) Ford Taurus SHO, Probe, and Explorer kits are quite nice.  It's just that the subject matter doesn't do it for too many of us...

[Jim N]

I built it about 20 years ago.  I don't have any pictures of the car.  If I have the time this weekend, I will take some pictures of it.  As I recall, the red plastic was a problem, trying to paint over it.  But my knowledge of how to overcome some of these matters was not what it is today.

Pontiac had a great idea with this car.  Unfortunately, by the time they got the details right the Toyota MR2 was the sales leader.  As I recall, the first iteration of the car sold well, but the primary buyers of the car were women.  The women wanted something that looked good, but performance was not a big deal.  Then when Pontiac discovered that performance was a big deal to the guys, they were too late to the party and the MR2 was the car of that genre.

[niteowl7710]

1 hour ago, Casey said:

I think was right after Ertl purchased both AMT and MPC, so MPC kits were improving then.  IIRC, the '69 Olds 442 was an all new kit from that time, too, and one of the better MPC kits I can recall.

I have to believe Round2 has at least considered this kit for reissue.

I believe 1988 into 1989 was the last hurrah of an independent MPC.  That year begat the '69 Olds, along with the initial C1500 Silverado & Beretta annuals that continued on as AMT annuals.

[Bucky]

Those pickup kits were no trouble for me to work on.

[Scalper]

2 hours ago, Jim N said:

I built it about 20 years ago.  I don't have any pictures of the car.  If I have the time this weekend, I will take some pictures of it.  As I recall, the red plastic was a problem, trying to paint over it.  But my knowledge of how to overcome some of these matters was not what it is today.

Pontiac had a great idea with this car.  Unfortunately, by the time they got the details right the Toyota MR2 was the sales leader.  As I recall, the first iteration of the car sold well, but the primary buyers of the car were women.  The women wanted something that looked good, but performance was not a big deal.  Then when Pontiac discovered that performance was a big deal to the guys, they were too late to the party and the MR2 was the car of that genre.

And when it started preforming chevy requested that they no longer make the Fiero because it became direct competition to the Corvette 

[MrObsessive]

I built the Fiero kit when they first came out for '84. Very nice detail for the time, but I did a rather poor job of building it as I had nowhere the skills of building as I do now.

I wanted to buy a 1:1 brand new in '86, but just did NOT like the huge "B" pillar right in my peripheral vision because I needed the seat as far back as it would go. Yes, they're meant for shorter folks and anyone over 6ft, can be in for difficulties as far as ergonomics with that car.

6 hours ago, espo said:

I'm 6'3" so it felt like I was wearing it rather than sitting in it. The console  was high enough inside that my right arm and elbow was at an angle were I almost couldn't shift gears. No leg room in my  case. I did like the concept but the car was made for someone shorter than myself.  

It took me a while to figure out why the shifter was so high in the Fiero. The major reason is because right below the shifter in what would normally be the driveshaft tunnel in a front engine/RWD car is the gas tank in the Fiero. Kinda makes sense as the front and rear ends are too short to hold a decent gas tank and probably the safest place to have the tank as you don't have to worry about having even a side impact rupturing the tank. I thought it rather awkward too however when I was test driving that '86 SE model.

The price I thought was rather steep for the time (over 11K), so I went and saved a TON of money and bought that '69 AMX instead.  

Much faster car of course and best of all...............NO payments!

[MrObsessive]

1 minute ago, Scalper said:

And when it started preforming chevy requested that they no longer make the Fiero because it became direct competition to the Corvette 

Somewhere along the line I saw pics of what the '89 model was to look like. It would have been a VERY sharp and distinct car for the time and was to get GM's Quad 4 dual cam engine which would have been a big shot in the arm for the Fiero. Other factors were at play too as far as the car's demise, but there was some jealousy from Chevy in where the Fiero was going.

And wouldn't you know it...........now the Corvette has gone mid engine albeit over 30 years later!

[CapSat 6]

2 hours ago, Jim N said:

I built it about 20 years ago.  I don't have any pictures of the car.  If I have the time this weekend, I will take some pictures of it.  As I recall, the red plastic was a problem, trying to paint over it.  But my knowledge of how to overcome some of these matters was not what it is today.

Pontiac had a great idea with this car.  Unfortunately, by the time they got the details right the Toyota MR2 was the sales leader.  As I recall, the first iteration of the car sold well, but the primary buyers of the car were women.  The women wanted something that looked good, but performance was not a big deal.  Then when Pontiac discovered that performance was a big deal to the guys, they were too late to the party and the MR2 was the car of that genre.

 

9 minutes ago, Scalper said:

And when it started preforming chevy requested that they no longer make the Fiero because it became direct competition to the Corvette 

The story I heard was that Pontiac developed it as a "Commuter" car rather than a "sports" car.

Yeah- right.

Pontiac really wanted a sports car as they considered themselves a Performance brand, but the only way they could get it into GM's production plan was to represent it as an advanced (steel space frame with plastic panels- an ancestor of the Saturn, if you will) economy car. They had had this go-round with Chevy before, first with the Banshee, then with the Firebird (which fortunately, was allowed to live begrudgingly). Somehow, Pontiac pulled it off this time.   

It was likely pressure from Chevrolet (as it would be competition for the Corvette that would undercut it in price, and, if left unchecked, performance), that kept it an economy car for the first few years. Even the literature and ads for the car mostly referenced it's economical virtues. "We drive excitement!" came a little later.  

The first ones were striking for the time, although slightly plain. I knew a guy with a first year Fiero, neat little car. It did almost seem like "3/4's of a Hot Rod" back then.

Every year after, once they were in production, and too late for anybody in Corporate to do anything about it (for awhile, anyway) Fieros seemed to get more and more souped and scooped up ("further developing the product", wink, wink), until, as everybody knows, they hit their performance peak, and no doubt, re-attracted the attention of the Chevy division, who probably at that point said: "enough is enough"! 

Just imagine if they hung in there long enough to get the Grand National engine!

[ChrisBcritter]

My boss's daughter had one back in the mid-'80s; I sat in it once and remember thinking the gearshift was practically in my right ear. About ten years later I came thisclose to buying a cherry low-mile '88 GT from Prince Chrysler-Plymouth (the dealer where the Challenger was stolen in Gone in 60 Seconds) but just couldn't justify having a sports car as a DD when I was always carrying junk and people around. Still kicking myself for that one.

I even wrote a song about the Fiero for one of my car club's awards shows as part of a Pontiac medley.

Hmm. Should I post the lyrics? 

Edited October 25, 2019 by ChrisBcritter

[Atmobil]

On 10/25/2019 at 12:17 PM, Mark said:

Those arent '86s if I remember right, they are the '87 and '88 kits.  I haven't got either of them to check, but the copyright date on the box should be the year before the model year of the kit.

I got that kit, number 6227, is is copyright dated 1987 but the instructions read 1988 Fiero GT.

['70 Grande]

ChrisBcritter... Yes, post those Fiero song lyrics!