Restoring the Subframe (Pontiac Fiero) | Saturday Projects

[@user-qx7tm5df8j]

0:00 ronald finger or soon to be: ronald

[@RonaldFinger]

For real guys, safety should be taken seriously at all times. I should’ve been wearing gloves and had the guard on the angle grinder. Use this as a learning experience.

[@Gearhead1432]

Once you see a cutoff wheel fragment lodged in someone’s face, you’ll likely think twice before skipping the face shield.

[@XxHyJyNxX]

Gearhead1432 Several years ago, a co-worker using a 3” wire wheel attachment, chucked onto a standard cordless drill, going to town on the rear fender-well cleaning up rust. Before I could see what they were working on, the wire wheel attachment split apart and sent fragments of needle-ridden metal all over the shop. Luckily, he walked away with nothing more than a few stitches on the hand and forearm and some scratches on his cheek from a near-miss grazing. He didn’t have a guard or face-shield, and fragments of the exploded tool hit the freshly sanded and glazed car nearby in the next booth over, requiring more body work and a punctured tire be replaced. The sound of it shattering was memorable enough for me to second guess even standing NEAR someone using a cut-off, angle, or wire grinder wheel. I’ve also witnessed a friend using a bench grinder and wire-wheel combination tool to clean up a few pipe-fittings, not aware the guard was removed, and accidentally dropped the fitting he was cleaning up into the wire-wheel section. It snagged and flung the fitting so hard and fast it went straight through a sheet-metal garage wall almost 20” away, leaving a circular hole the diameter of a beer can.

[@pfink70]

@@RonaldFinger Also, exposed legs not ideal when cutting or grinding.

[@MegaDirtyberty]

@@RonaldFinger I know someone who almost died from bleedout because the cutting disk exploded and the remnants nicked an artery, funny thing was that the guard was still in place. An angry grinder bit me one day, slicing into my belly (luckily the shirt snagged the disk before it could cut any deeper) and I was wearing gloves etc. Much respect was gained from that day onwards. I used to do grinding as a job, full air fed face mask etc.

[@brenthays6539]

I never knew auto repair could be filled with such existential dread.

[@GeminiWoods]

Talk to a few long time mechanics. It truly is a nightmare.

[@theone2be33]

Yeah. Only if you're lame

[@cajunroadwarrior]

When you watch this series you get a better appreciation of effort it takes to restore a car. My MR2 was a mess when I bought it. I spent over a thousand hours restoring the body and paint on the car. I bought the car because the interior and mechanical was in good condition.

[@brenthays6539]

I am no one’s idea of handy, so I have a lot of respect for guys who can dig into this kind of thing.

[@andytaylor1588]

@@cajunroadwarrior I had a look at an LS swapped MR2 once. Yep; too much engine is definitely a good thing.

[@Snowwolfj]

These videos are kind of satisfying to watch, seeing everything get cleaned and put back together. *Reuses rusty washers and nuts* ARE YOU KIDDING ME?

[@edwardmyers1746]

Ehh it works. This isnt a perfect resto just a get it nice again.

[@benjaminsletten9434]

Yea ngl, i cried a little when he used the old ones

[@JudyPatootie]

Considering you can easily clean the hardware.. yeah.. wtf

[@PeterGriffin-kb2hf]

"because I'm a fucking maniac"

[@zachhatten261]

You can take it to Ace and get replacement bolts for the entire car for like $30

[@Stan9106]

The exploding cut-off wheel is why you should keep the guard on your angle grinder!

[@Nebbia_affaraccimiei]

and wear eye protection

[@madmax2069]

Exactly

[@TK-ff5kc]

Know a guy that had that happen, tore into his arm, almost bled to death and had a lot of nerve and tendon damage.

[@evanhooper1]

This same thing happened to me and a piece of the disk was embedded in my hand. Blood everywhere! Needlessly to say I put guards on my grinder from that point forward.

[@MrAwsomeshot]

@@Nebbia_affaraccimiei and not basketball shorts and flip flops...

[@lordshrek_]

Feels weird not waiting 6 months

[@Dubbin64]

-has top of the line blasting cabinet -doesnt use it on rusty hardware Ron you can get an old wire mesh food strainer from goodwill or your moms kitchen and chuck loose hardware in it for blasting. Eventually the media will blow thru the mesh of the strainer, but one of them should last for the rest of this project.

[@dadtube1936]

Sure but unless he re coats them with zinc they will quickly re rust. Not worth the effort IMO.

[@INFOWARSDOTCOM]

DadTube Why couldn’t he just coat them with rust inhibitor or encapsulator? It would bug the hell out of me to do all that work and put back a few rusty bolts.

[@timvanbriesen8916]

Another option is drive the bolts thru an old piece of card board. One can then label them, sand blast, and paint them and still know what they are for.

[@ants9230]

Or just replace the rusty nuts and bolts. Almost all are standard sizes and readily available for a few bucks from any decent hardware store.

[@dadtube1936]

@@timvanbriesen8916 I am betting zinc is what was on most of them originally. Nothing else will last long enough to justify the effort - paint will get damaged as soon as you put a tool to them. Don't forget none of this will be seen for the most part.

[@emilioteran7867]

i love how you kept adding some filmaker side of you as the series progressed

[@danielauen7790]

Gotta say, I'm loving these more frequent videos! I love the contrast of the rusty hardware next to all the freshly painted metal.

[@c3mi979]

Spoken like a true psychopath, lol

[@clint7247]

I couldn't help but notice there was a Black Carpenter Ant Swarmer crawling around on the concrete floor at 3:41 while you were working on the bushings. Carpenter ants can be rather destructive to existing wooden structures and you should make sure that you don't have an infestation starting. Also, I've really enjoyed watching you bring the old Fiero back to life.

[@JQB45]

Not many people can afford to restore a car at age 40 and the ones that can don't do the work themselves - you should be proud of your accomplishment at such a young age.

[@kennethturner7942]

Whats really cool about your resto, is that you will know every nut and bolt of this car very well. If anything goes wrong in the future, you'll have a very good grasp of what to do.

[@adamleach471]

I like that the Sub story is that Past/Present and Future versions of you are at odds with eachother.

[@ncc74656m]

Ok, the horror bit had me laughing, especially in light of, well... You'll see it. Or you won't. That said, I would've replaced the bushings (and hell, the bolts and nuts, too, you sadist you). Mostly because the rubber will still degrade, even if it's physically intact. And hey, might be able to upgrade them to poly while you're at it, though admittedly there may be minimal reason to do so here. But the nuts and bolts would've been good to replace because of the increased chance of them seizing in the future.

[@RedsGarageUK]

Part of doing a budget build like this is knowing where to spend your money. In this case, new bushings would have been money better spent elsewhere (new nuts and bolts, for example). They look fine for now, and in this application it's not really going to be that big of a deal if they do wear out a while from now.

[@DanJLeh]

I made mention last video that even cleaning the bolts up with a wire whip helps out. I do it on every job as extreme rust buildup can cause sockets to not fit properly and increase the risk of rounding them off. If they can't be cleaned up or show stretching or thread wear they are replaced.

[@Heatsauce70506]

Can't wait to see this car come back together.

[@Kurto2021]

every few months I see a new video and am relieved that Ronald isn't dead.

[@BloodRedeemed]

I love the artistic “short” in this video! Awesome!

[@karlhurn]

Another great video Ron.Thanks 👍

[@Kobolobob]

I found this whole Fiero restoration series yesterday and i binged it all and now im so sad, i have to wait for more. I truly have fallen in love with this channel, i always enjoy people fixing up their project cars, but here there is a splash of humour (or horror), i love that. I too have some technical knowledge of cars but have never done any work on them, so i truly feel like i learn with you on these videos. Thank you for the awesome videos, keep em comming, i hunger for more!

[@lakotacharles8304]

Hey I really like watching your videos and was wondering if you were going to put the final cost of everything put into the car when it’s finished, I think I’d be kinda cool to see and a good reference for anyone wanting to go into a car restoration to see how much they should save

[@dan-om2mv]

including how many cans of oven cleaner were used

[@unregisteredcoward]

every time you post a progress video, I wind up going back and watching the whole series again ... just so satisfying to see the Fiero coming back to life

[@ChrisRedfield1]

The part of the video that looked like a movie was great. I love these additions to your videos.

[@ronwade5433]

I worked on a bunch of these back when they were new, they were fun to drive, fast, affordable and they were very popular. My efforts were Mostly concerned with electrical issues, no doubt you know by now the battery cables are impossible to change out. And, alternators died often and starters were a nightmare due to early heat death so many got swapped out without the heat shields being put back on. Just look at what you had to do to even see the starter heat shield! I fixed many of the computers when they let the smoke out; typically a thermistor would fry in spectacular fashion because the battery cable ends rotted off. But, back then any way, I was able to buy new thermistors at RADIO SHACK. These were fun to drive but many got totaled out when the computers went up in smoke, not really flames usually, and a lot of them did let the smoke out. I developed a system of soldering on new cable ends to the existing cables, because as you know by now, the cables are impossible to change out. A belt, alternator or starter could cause that damned computer to smoke and an insurance company would total one of these out. By about 1990 The junk yards were full of Fieros. Good luck, parts catalogues still show parts for these because everything was common GM stuff.

[@thegreens8445]

Amen, You are restoring a legend, This is what kind of restoration is what i want, not like the others, you won't find the main content Keep up Ronald!

[@XqeDiosxqe]

I love all of your videos they are so smooth and we'll spoken and very entertaining and fun.....

[@jaredritter2539]

Ronald, these shorter more frequent step by step DIY videos are great!! Nice work! 👌🏾

[@johnmunday9208]

I'm loving this restoration. Proper home do it yourself stuff. Makes a bit of a change to what I'm used to. Bit more humble 👌👌👌👌👌

[@jackwood8307]

And thats why safety glasses are a must when using grinders/cut off wheels.

[@AlexisRubik]

Not only that, but the grinder's shield also, that shouldn't be removed.

[@Firebert79TA]

A wire wheel on a bench grinder is a great way to clean up rusty original hardware.

[@802Garage]

This is exactly what I spent the last 3 days doing for all the rear end parts in my new to me JDM EJ205 swapped 2001 Impreza 2.5RS. The rear subframe on the car is literally falling apart from rust, so I'm restoring another one to put on. Plus the lateral links, control arms, knuckles, and brake backing plates. Oh the things we do to have nice looking and long lasting car parts. Great job!

[@WingManWasTaken]

3 vids one month Christmas?

[@benny6675]

This is Halloween

[@Andrew-hp1yj]

It's not Ronald. See the video Description.

[@cvestman5150]

I am restoring a 97 red Trans Am. I've always been a Pontiac fan. I really appreciate your videos. Good man.

[@shauncarter924]

Nice work, boss. Here’s a tip for cleaning up those rusty bolts and nuts. Take an empty aerosol can, cut off the top of it so it’s big enough to allow the tip of the your blast gun to fit, and drill a few holes in the can. Next time you have something small like nuts and bolts that need to be blasted, put them in the aresol can, put the can in the blast cabinet, put the tip of your blast gun down inside the top of the can, and blast away. Shake the can around while your blasting helps. That’s what I did when I used to rebuild turbo chargers and I had studs and bolts and stuff that needed blasting. Hope this helps!!

[@DoRC]

5:00 that's why you keep the guard on....

[@Lasertrac]

A creative, intelligent, young man. Keep up the progress in all your endeavors. Nothing will hold you back.

[@gregehobbs]

I've been following your video project from day one. Very well put together video series. I plan on showing these to my son when he's old enough to show interest. Also, as a back yard mechanic myself, you're doing a fantastic job so far. I am patiently waiting to see the final product. Keep it up!

[@daniellaplaca3078]

Bro I am a fan for sure !Really appreciate what you do, how you take time... but I'm really ready for you to slap that engine back into that vehicle, merry Christmas

[@jamr2t]

You're killing me with the rusty hardware man!! 😂

[@NickD511]

thats call OCD lol

[@thomasweatherford5125]

b&w piece was hilarious! Great diy restoration, gives me hope for my own project.

[@shugo31893]

Your series on the Fiero is going to be a huge help once me and my brother are able to start restoring out 84 and 87 ones. Thank you for making these.

[@ViperDent]

Those rusty bolts are characteristic af XD But you could just give them a day or two in some vinegar

[@TheBeardown99]

Or evapo-rust. Restorers swear by it.

[@johnnyrocket6642]

Looking forward to the next video!

[@JLZAVALA77]

Cant wait to see it in our local car shows, thanks to your videos I am reminded of the awesome time I owned my fiero, I also restored mine, then had to sell it after I had to move out of the country for work, now I want another so I can build it with my two sons😁👍

[@russb3816]

I've been following the fiero series and I just love it. You are teaching but do it in a way for everyone to understand and enjoy. See you on the next one. Just awesome

[@versacemayo]

I get so excited every new installment of this series comes out

[@thathvacguy]

Excellent video as always brotha!!!!! I appreciate these joints so much!!!! won’t be long until ya hittin the road CLEAN in America’s first mid engine sports car!!!! Don’t forget about the stereo system!!!!!

[@peter903]

I like how you wash all that grime into your backyard.

[@StanleyKubick1]

lol, right? lawn was super happy

[@cratecruncher4974]

This is Texas. The environment's so lame here we got rid of it years ago.

[@chrismcclellan8539]

I had a 1985 Fiero when I was 16. I loved that car. It was a lot of fun. When it rained find a empty parking lot. The donuts these cars can do is amazing! lol

[@browningchannel]

Rusty bolts and nuts on all that fresh paint. You sir are a madman!!

[@metop33]

More!!!! I need more fiero restoration videos!!! I’m addicted... in fact I’m an addict!!

[@filipefrade8396]

Thank you for putting the artistic element to your videos. Keep it coming! I find it refreshing, and I know the editing portion is not easy. Again thank you!

[@Tuckerclan]

I must admit, I'm always happy to see another video on the Fiero project. Enjoyed it immensely.

[@grantmccollum4499]

Thank you for these in between videos to the main Fiero series 😀

[@casychapin4647]

Rusty bolt tip! Stick bolts in a cardboard strip and media blast the heads and outside of nuts, I try to avoid blasting the threads much but it doesn't seam to hurt them. I just prefer cleaning them with a thread chasing tap or die and wd40 or similar. The heads bolts can be painted while stuck in cardboard to. I like giving hardware the best protection I can, especially the specialty factory stuff

[@FllMetL]

great vid, the fade at 6:00 was so good.

[@The_Zilla777]

I have really enjoyed your Fiero series so far, and your added cinematic elements are always so fun and unexpected. Thank you!

[@SamuelVivas]

I am Venezuelan, I see you from Chile I love your video of the restoration of the FIERO

[@BigEightiesNewWave]

Wow there is hope for younger generations...this guy is passionate , driven.

[@dagen_1]

glad to see this car getting so more love!!

[@cbpldc]

This is such a great project. Thanks for taking the time to do it well and document the process. I'm also appreciative of your film and editing work. Keep it up!

[@vermasean]

The quality of your work on the Fiero matches the quality of the videos! Love following this project! Kudos to you & your team!

[@FelixDrifts]

I'm loving the little lore bits

[@ControlAllDa1337]

Been following this series for a while now, can't wait to see it all finished. Great work as usual.

[@jonadams2849]

You do a great job of explaining every step. I wanted a Fiero when I was your age...can’t wait to see the finished product!

[@pestr999]

I've really been enjoying watching you clean this old vehicle up, I hope to see more from you.

[@melissagreenberg2788]

The amount of knowledge you have at such a young age is amazing!!!

[@metricstormtrooper]

Its called Google, and the knowledge you speak of does not go as far as knowing to Not Ever taking off the guard on the angle grinder, paying a few extra cents to replace fasteners and knowing that caustic oven cleaner Will Attack Aluminium. Its the gaps in Ron's knowledge that show. That being said I love his videos.

[@alain99v6]

Once again I just love your editing ! you have talent to tell a story

[@CarterHancock]

I think the black and white part perfectly describes how we all feel during a build. I was worried for a moment at first that you did that because someone had stolen the subframe.

[@wrdominicas]

its amazing to see the lack of rust after many year, now day cars just see rain and they melt away tells you a lot

[@davidorama6690]

Woke to find yet-another-episode. Thank you!

[@talicio]

It's always a pleasure to see your work. I hope that you finish your car son. Congratulations!

[@activesloth5355]

Definitely my favorite DIY channel. Keep it up!

[@4GregF]

Excellent restoration series of your Fiero! IMHO when pressure washing anything, using a wire brush or a cut-off wheel, you might want to wear safety googles. It's better to wear safety googles when you still have two eyes, than to lose an eye, and then decide safety googles would be a good idea.

[@vaibhavgoboodun268]

"Well, that was terrifying" -Ronald Finger, 2019

[@Chuck59ish]

I know guys who have scars from broken cutoff wheels.

[@muskokamike127]

@@Chuck59ish I had a 6" incher fly apart on me and I've got the 2" scar under my left eyebrow where the grinder flung up, skidded off my safety glasses and tore open my noodle.....from that day forward whenever I used a hand held grinder it was ALWAYS off to the side, not directly in line with me.....

[@nefariousyawn]

Seriously, dude needs to put the guard back on the grinder. No reason not to have it on there.

[@McFlysGarage]

Muskoka Mike and that’s why I wear a full face shield and my regular safety glasses and leave the guard on the cutoff tool

[@otsenres1636]

*Ronald fingerless

[@kurtiwaniuk]

Awesome build! I hope the engine bay gets the same treatment! This car is going to be incredible when it's done!

[@Shane-Singleton]

I am really enjoying these component restoration videos. And am just as much enjoying the creative genre specific video cinematography and editing bits you're putting into some of the segments. :)

[@seans8025]

The shorts are the best part on these videos, keep it up!

[@shadowgb]

I used to have a job restoring 1st gen Camaro. We always cleaned and painted the old nuts and bolts.

[@DAGGWOOD139]

Great work Ronald really enjoying watching a resto that isnt some damaged supercar. Looks like a fun little car, pity they were never sold here in Aus Look forward to seeing the finished product.

[@mjiii]

Nice halloween episode - seeing the rusty nuts and bolts going back in was absolutely gut-wrenching!

[@stevestar657]

Ive got a cousin who had an 84 Fiero, purchased it in 86. Ended up rear ending a guy on the way to a job interview. Guy ended up taking my cousin to his interview after the crash. Nice guy 👍 The car was repaired but burned up as many early cars did.

[@paulhoskins7852]

Be thankful for the oily residue on the subframe! It probably kept it from rusting out like the engine cradle on my wife's old 1996 Pontiac Grand Am. Whole car had to be scrapped.

[@MrPotatochips4]

Yeah my '86 toyota put developed a leaky oil pump seal leak which kept one side rust free, till it gave way completely one day half mile from home. welded up the other side, still trucken!

[@Rich77UK]

I have used Eastwood stuff in the UK when they tried selling it there. It's BRILLIANT quality gear. Such a shame it's so hard to come by in Europe now.

[@Splashdown99]

Great episode! I have enjoyed this whole series. It’s very well made and your sense of humor really shines through! Thanks for making them.

[@georgefahrman5826]

Christmas tree drill bit on Christmas eve🎅

[@EzeeJayGames]

hey mate! just wanted to let you know I started watching from the Fiero build and have enjoyed every episode so far. Love these little resto videos as well but if those rusty bolts worry you so much just hit them on the wire wheel to make quick work of them, they wont come up perfect if they're real bad but trust me its worth the effort if the bolts are seen/

[@shredct3118]

This was a pleasant surprise. I didn't think I'd see a video from you so soon!!👍

[@docsmodels5470]

Love your videos man, had an 86 fiero about 10 years ago, loved that car and hated to sell it. You're making me want another

[@shawnbeckmann1847]

Thanks Ron interesting and informative as always

[@JackWhelan1988]

The freshly painted frame on the concrete floor gave me scratch-anxiety. Put it on a rug, Ronald, a rug!

[@zachdavis4597]

Great work!! I’ve never been so interested in Fieros!

[@AlcyoneHere]

Keep up the great work !!! Your videos never fail at keeping all of us thoroughly entertained ! The horror short was so good and so out of nowhere please do more of that !!!

[@goclunker]

Tip of advice, use primer, etching primer. Paint adhesion and chip resistance is greatly improved

[@mamah9216]

Am genuinely liking this whole Saturday project thing man keep up the hard work

[@BDHO73]

Brilliant video series. I don’t even work on cars (and have no plans to) and I love this. Great work.

[@lauriwiren6398]

I have enjoyed your Fiero project enormously. Thanks for it.

[@afterm00nluci]

Man those cinematic skits used to shift the video flow are always cool to see, even if their just small and random.

[@hotplatelabs]

Throw the bolts in Evap-o-Rust as you remove them? It’s genuinely magic.

[@weezerfan999]

That had to be one of the coolest things I saw on KZbin today. 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 I love your skits.

[@jakespeed63]

Dude!! take it from a 55 yr old veteran mechanic..use some safety gear and clothes/gear more conducive to working in the shop. Truly appreciate you saving this Fiero. Just saw one for sale in an Orlando front yard and almost turned around to take a closer look. Hate the later model aero bodywork, though.

[@fortisrisuspater]

Good work Dude! Excited to see this project come together and you burning up the highway!