Posted on 07/31/2012 1:56:11 PM PDT by AFreeBird
The following is from a link I followed from a Wired article regarding a 12 year old girl wanting to buy a car and restore it by her 16th birthday. I spent the better part of the afternoon catching up on the threads and thought it was a great story that FReeps would enjoy.
04-18-2011 04:37 PM
So we have been working on the car now for about 3 months, but as I have been prowling the forum I realized I should probably post the story, and some of you might be interseted in it.
A few months ago our 12 year old DAUGHTER came in and said, "Dad, Mom, can we talk for a minute?" We agreed, and she presented us with something she had been thinking about. She said that she would like to buy a car with her babysitting money. We were like, you are only 12.
Now I should tell you that she is 12 going on 22, but she presented these arguements to us. 1. She would like to buy a fiero because she saw one at a show and thinks they are cool (we are corvette people, so she has been around a few shows). Fair enough I like GM products and remember the Fiero fondly from my youth. 2. She makes the arguement that it gets reasonably good gas milage 3. It is relatively inexpensive, so she would be able to afford it. 4. She could completely restore it in the 4 years until she turns 16 5. She would learn about how cars work, it would be a cheap education for the money 6. She would only have the capacity to take one friend along with her, so there would be less distraction 7. She wants a manual so she would learn how to drive stick 8. When it is done it would be a cool historic sports car 9. She would pay for it all herself.
Hmmmmm, the wife and I look at each other, and go ok. So the search was on. In the end we found a good deal on an 86 SE 2.8 and 4 speed. Lots of miles, but solid chassis and a few spare parts. So she has been stripping it out and working on repair, replace, fix, etc. for a few months. The interior is out and she has started on refinishing the wheels.
I just thought a few of you might be interested in this....if so let me know, and let me know how to post pics and I can put up some of her progress and her doing the work.
Is it just me, or do I have a really cool daughter?
-MH
As you’re helping her with the restoration,be sure you emphasize the importance of checking the oil. IIRC, the Fiero has a 3 quart oil sump, so keeping it full is a major chore. And it’s one with dire consequences if not kept up.
This child is a reflection of you and your’s values. It’s always a pleasant surprise when they live up to them.
This one looks like a 2.8 V6.
I think the 3 quart sump was the 4 banger, no?
I remember those cars from the 80’s......
I seem to remember hearing that Fiero translated to “Proud”.... Coincidence?? Sounds like you have real good kid.
After she masters the V6, she can swap over to an LS for some real fun.
http://www.v8archie.com/v8Archie/Prod2.htm
Good for her...and the decision of mom and dad!
When I did motojournalism (and in my own spare time) I always played with off-road desert trucks (70s vintage F trucks mostly). My daughter was always playing with them with me from about 10 onwards. Not very ‘girly’ of her but it did result in a career working on F117s, F22s and lastly the F35 project ;)
The girl in the story DOES have a bright future ahead of her.
When our kids first started driving, I showed them how to check things before going.
One of the things I told them is: You can drive it while low on gas if you want, but don’t you dare drive it without oil.
How cool!
My uncle was on the design/early production team. He kept one “dry docked” in his garage for years.
Ping to you.
You have a way cool daughter.
Sadly, she too young for my son...
/johnny
...she’s...
Woa! Not my kid folks! Tried to make that clear.
Naw, not helping her with it. Just learned of the story today and spent some time going through 19 pages of posts. A lot of those folks posting sound like FReepers, or ought to be.
Just wow.
Apparently, some pages into the thread, the wife of a production line guy had saved up a bunch of EOP gifts and stuff, and he ended up sending some of it to her.
How cool was that.
>>> “Dad, I love blowing $H!t up!” <<<
LOL. Doesn’t everyone?
I wonder if BHO would say to her, You didn’t rebuild that, Somebody else did that? Wow, what a story.
When I was a teen, I helped my cousin in law restore a black 86 fiero and swap everything out for high-performance parts. We took it down a steep hill down the road from my parent’s house and the front end started lifting off the ground from the lack of weight and speed. I “fixed” the problem by dropping in a 50 lb bag of concrete that had been left outside. Drove like a charm after that.
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