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Old 09-06-2013, 12:35 AM   #1
Mera87
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The restoration of a mera

Ok So before I go into my car I'll share some history about the mera...

In 1986 a company called corporate concepts had come up with a rebody for the Ferrari 308, they had measured all there options as far as what car to put it on, (corvette MR2 firebird etc) after trail and error on a number of different cars the Fiero was chosen for the base of the concept,, Corporate concepts than approached GM with their project and a deal was struck. GM (while never endorsing the project) Had made the conversion into a dealer option for 1987-1988 fieros. The body was first put on a 1987 GT and than in 88 it was put onto an 88 formula for cost effectiveness, the option was only put onto new cars and was an option that brought the car up to a $26,000-$28,000 car just shy of a base model vette of its time, after some time Ferrari had gotten wind of this and ended up suing corporate concepts and GM. there suite on corporate concepts put the company out of business and the suite on GM caused a lot of trouble for the fiero (thus one of the fall points to the car) after only 247 Meras were produced the rest of the bodies waiting on donner cars were destroyed and supposedly (along with the molds), To this day 308 replicators use the sae concepts as the MERA only changing a few small things..

My car is a Mera body that has been placed onto an 86 Chassis, I really don't know why it was done but it runs pretty good just needs a few things addressed on it...







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Old 09-06-2013, 01:03 AM   #2
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cool project ! should look great !
i have an 88 mr2.. MID ENGINE FTW !
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Old 09-06-2013, 01:16 AM   #3
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cool project ! should look great !
i have an 88 mr2.. MID ENGINE FTW !
MR2's are a lot of fun... Do you have the super charged model?
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Old 09-06-2013, 08:27 AM   #4
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Can I ask what you paid for that?
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Old 09-06-2013, 08:55 AM   #5
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MR2's are a lot of fun... Do you have the super charged model?
nah i wish i did... still a ton of fun though.. i couldnt imagine how the supercharger must drive since i had a blast autocrossing it n/a lol
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Old 09-06-2013, 09:42 AM   #6
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Can I ask what you paid for that?
$3000... it was a steal
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Old 09-06-2013, 09:44 AM   #7
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nah i wish i did... still a ton of fun though.. i couldnt imagine how the supercharger must drive since i had a blast autocrossing it n/a lol


I drove one a number of years ago... only complaint I had about it was it was a little cramped but non the less a blast to drive.. they kick corners like it was there job
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Old 09-06-2013, 09:45 AM   #8
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looks like a cool project. good luck and have fun with it.
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Old 09-06-2013, 09:55 AM   #9
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Awesome project. Excited to see where this goes!
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Old 09-09-2013, 11:30 PM   #10
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had my mechanic replace the spark plugs on the car yesterday($200 is worth saving my knuckles and sanity,, and I have a bad habit of breaking off the plug in the head meaning the threads) the car was having an issue of breaking up at 3000 RPM's and now it runs great, it will need some suspension work but its to be expected, This weekend I have plans to replace the lighting harness for the taillights to correct the way the lights light up... having my turn signal light up when I hit the brakes is really getting old.
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Old 09-13-2013, 01:26 PM   #11
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200 dollars? What is the engine configuration? Manifold blocking bank access?
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Old 09-13-2013, 04:59 PM   #12
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any more info on engine?
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Old 09-14-2013, 02:23 AM   #13
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200 dollars? What is the engine configuration? Manifold blocking bank access?
It was worth it. its a 60* 2.8L V6 engine That is in the rear of the car transversely the Back side spark plugs are a cinch but the set on the firewall side are in a very tight spot that 1 I have a hard time getting my hands into, and 2 when I do I have a bad habit of breaking the threads off in the cylinder head. These plugs were really rusted so I didn't want to take a chance,
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Old 09-14-2013, 02:25 AM   #14
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any more info on engine?
Not much, 60* 2.8 V6 that was in just about any GM V6 car in the 80's 140HP at the crank with a muncy M19 4 speed transmission,
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Old 11-07-2013, 11:18 PM   #15
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Small update. I ended up finding a set of Vitaloni replacement mirrors for the car as the old ones have rusted through and the bracket would no longer hold them up, also a bit cheaper than the original ones it came with, the upside is there will be no more rust as they are all plastic, downside (and its not much of one because they were never hooked up in my car) no power mirrors,
Aside from this I'm getting a bunch of brake parts for the car tomorrow.. I was having a very bad issue with the brakes on the car and found that I have once seized caliper and the 2 front calipers the sliders have failed on so one real caliper and 2 fronts along with new pads rotors and hoses. Cant really beat it







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Old 11-09-2013, 08:31 PM   #16
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Had to pick these up considering they are the most cost effective way to rout the exits on the car to the proper place behind the bumper..

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Old 11-09-2013, 10:10 PM   #17
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I absolutely love the history behind these. Since its a 60* can you do a 3100/3400 top swap? My vote would be for 3800 sII swap, haha, but I'm a little biased
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Old 11-10-2013, 02:26 AM   #18
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I absolutely love the history behind these. Since its a 60* can you do a 3100/3400 top swap? My vote would be for 3800 sII swap, haha, but I'm a little biased
Acutely the 3800supercharged swap is a very common swap in these cars now. It has almost gotten to the point that it has become plug and play, I have an 84 IMSA fiero that is underway of having a 3800SC swapped into it right now, You can fit just about any engine you want into them, From the ecotec 4 banger, LS1, Northstar, there is a guy who had a custom job done on one to not only give it a super car look they also dropped in an LS7 and also has a car in the works with the LS9, I've owned a 3400SFI turbo charged swapped one and it was a beast just way to unreliable. as for the top swap most fiero guys I know of do the exact opposite and swap in the 3.4 block with the fiero heads, plenum, and intake. kinda backwards but its an easy 30 or so HP out of them, it also works very well with a forced induction setup to.

Last edited by Mera87; 11-10-2013 at 02:28 AM.
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Old 11-20-2013, 05:27 PM   #19
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Acutely the 3800supercharged swap is a very common swap in these cars now. It has almost gotten to the point that it has become plug and play, I have an 84 IMSA fiero that is underway of having a 3800SC swapped into it right now, You can fit just about any engine you want into them, From the ecotec 4 banger, LS1, Northstar, there is a guy who had a custom job done on one to not only give it a super car look they also dropped in an LS7 and also has a car in the works with the LS9, I've owned a 3400SFI turbo charged swapped one and it was a beast just way to unreliable. as for the top swap most fiero guys I know of do the exact opposite and swap in the 3.4 block with the fiero heads, plenum, and intake. kinda backwards but its an easy 30 or so HP out of them, it also works very well with a forced induction setup to.
hmm interesting on the 3400 swap. I know you guys are big into the 3800 swaps, they're definitely good engines, and pretty common and cheap. I had looked into some of the swaps for tuning info when I was considering boosting/tuning my 3800 Camaro, but I've since sold the turbo kit and picked up another project. Good luck with the build man, I'm interested to see where it goes.
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Old 11-25-2013, 04:43 PM   #20
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Any progress on this? You should sell all of your other cars and focus on this. It looks good from the outside.

I'm willing to bet the inside if still a GM nightmare, correct? Try to find some quilted tan leather for it.
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