Man improves the often mocked Pontiac Fiero by fitting a Cadillac V8

A man from Phoenix, Arizona, beefed up his Pontiac Fiero by replacing its original engine with a 4.9 liter V8 from a 1991 Cadillac Eldorado. 

An interesting choice, right?

The Fiero was launched back in 1984 and had a relatively short production run that ended just five years later. 

At the time, General Motors – Pontiac’s parent company – cited a decline in sales as the decision to drop the nameplate. 

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The 1988 Pontiac Fiero is now a true one-of-a-kind

Although some folks may not even recognize it, the poor old Pontiac Fiero is one of those cars that often finds itself the butt of the joke. 

Someone once even went through the effort of attempting to conceal one under a Lamborghini Countach body kit. 

And they’re not the only person to try and give the motor a makeover – but rather than change its outward appearance, a guy out in Arizona decided to change out what was under the hood of his 1988 Pontiac Fiero. 

In a clip shared by Caveman Engineering on YouTube, a man called Ray showed off the unique vehicle revealing that it had once been painted black but now boasted a ‘Candy Cherry Ruby Red’ wrap.

You have to admit that it looks pretty slick, don’t you?

The Cadillac V8 offers a more powerful engine that its original

Although Ray was quick to point out the Fiero’s ‘wonderful’ new wrap, he was not blind to the car’s faults. 

“If you have ever driven a Fiero, you’ll know that one of the main downfalls is the drivetrain,” he explained. 

“The engines were slow and took a lot of maintenance, so it’s hard to find them that aren’t modified.”

He then goes on to add that this particular example has been ‘modified a lot’ – and you can say that again. 

Pontiac Fiero’s rolled off the production line with either a 2.5 liter straight four or a 2.8 liter V6 – but that original powertrain has long gone and has been replaced with a 4.9 liter V8 from a 1991 Cadillac Eldorado.

The V8 originally produced 200 horsepower but Ray revealed that this has been increased thanks to some modifications.

“Driving this car is kind of like driving a Cadillac,” Ray added, revealing that it gets a lot of looks from passersby – and we can see why.