The interior is a lesson in...
The interior is a lesson in meticulous planning, with a fabricated dash and VDO pink-lighted gauges, illuminated door sills, velour and simulated leather vinyl interior, and Lamborghini Diablo emblems covered with purple translucent vinyl.
The interior continues the meticulous detailing. As soon as the doors pirouette open, the first thing you notice are the illuminated door sills. Frick sank metal boxes into the sills so that the tops would be flush with the sill plate. Purple 15-inch neon-fluorescent lights were wired in and covered with clear 1/4-inch polycarbonate tops. Lamborghini Diablo emblems were made from vinyl at a graphics supplier, with the adhesive on the top side. These are attached to the bottom of the polycarbonate panels, which are in turn covered with purple translucent vinyl. When the lights are off, the panels look solid, but with the lights on, the emblem glows in a matching purple to the rest of the car!
Frick stitched the velour and simulated leather vinyl interior himself, using the professional sewing machine at D&R. The bucket seats are D&R items, but Frick made his own brackets to lower the seats further than standard. He fabricated his own dash, as well, and although the instruments are VDO (with pink lights), the bezels are pure Frick. He milled and machined them from 1/4-inch 6061 aluminum, had them plated, and attached them with special socket-head capscrews. A Dakota Digital clock and thermometer rests on the custom console, along with an Alpine sound system with CD changer. Four speakers are located around the cockpit and two tweeters are mounted in the windshield posts. The thermometer can monitor inside and outside air as well as transmission temperature. The floor mats are custom made and feature the Lamborghini emblem in purple. The seatbelts, believe it or not, are from J.C. Whitney!
A switch panel is mounted above the windshield and reveals more Frick wizardry. The panel (sourced from a Ford conversion van) features infrared buttons that you merely touch with your finger to activate. He had the unit reworked to match the functions he needed, and it now controls the door, hood and trunk latches, as well as the interior and fog lights. The door latches are solenoid activated, but have a manual backup that Frick made from door lock mechanisms.
The rear grilles are milled...
The rear grilles are milled from metal and assembled into complete units, and the Jota rear wing was adjustable so Frick had to fabricate a mechanism to rotate the one on his car
With all this craftsmanship to stare at, it takes a while to look underneath the skin. Starting with a $400 '87 Fiero SE, Frick removed the four-banger and all the interior and exterior parts. He says the only things left from the donor car are the floorpan and the heater/air conditioning unit. He lengthened the chassis 10.75 inches behind the rear firewall and widened the axles to match the Lambo dimensions. A tubular steel rollcage was installed and reinforcements welded along the rockers and elsewhere. Frick recommends putting the chassis on a rotating fixture and locating the added tubing while the body is upside down. Then it can be rotated to make it easier to install the body and weld everything up.
Coilover shocks are used all around with Willwood 12-inch disc brakes. The SE 30 disc brakes had distinctive vents, which Frick duplicated. He also made Heim-jointed locating arms for the rear hubs to prevent them from folding back under acceleration (which stock Fieros will do).
A '94 Cadillac Northstar V-8 and transmission were pirated from a Sedan DeVille. These produce nearly 300 hp and provide a lot more power than even a turbo 3.8. Frick made motor mounts, which incorporate two Fiero "dog bone" mounts to connect the top of the engine with the rear firewall. The engine is stock except for a K&N air filter, but the exhaust system is a work of art (or a "plumber's nightmare", as Frick puts it). Snaking around from the engine, the two tubes dump into four cats mounted behind and parallel to the engine. The pipes then make a 180-degree turn and feed through short mufflers, followed by another 180 degrees and back to the exhaust tips.
A special cooling system was also developed. Since the Lambo doesn't have much in the way of grill area, a total of three radiators are used. A Jeep Cherokee brass radiator is mounted in front of the engine bay cradle. Coolant passes through it to a smaller brass radiator located behind the passenger-side rear wheel scoop. From there, coolant goes through an electric water pump and across to another radiator on the driver side before returning to the engine. Each radiator has a 12-inch electric fan, while the air conditioning condenser has a fan of its own. Yet another fan blows heat off of the exhaust system and out the back of the car (a technique borrowed from the original Lambo). Water temperature hovers at a steady 180 degrees. The transmission has a cooler that is located behind the rocker scoops. The side and rocker scoops are fully functional and contribute to the elaborate cooling system.
Frick had help from Rick Greco at D&R, and Daryl Kirban, from Kirban Customs, who said this might be the last car he works on professionally. Frick especially wants to thank his boss, Bob Lutton at Olson Technologies, for allowing him to work on his project after hours. This car sets a new standard for fit and finish and provides an example that all kit car fans can point to when explaining how good a kit car can be. This one is dynamic!