From the leaning tower painted on the windshield to the vents in front of the rear wheels, to the modern wraparound styling, there is no denying this car's European ancestry. Often mistaken for a new production automobile, this PISA Finale is Ed Shipp's latest creation.
Ed is no stranger when it comes to building specialty cars. (We showed you another of Ed's cars--a ZR-2 on the July '98 cover). In high school he started his first project--a '23 T-bucket with a '48 Mercury flathead engine sporting four carbs. After he finished college, he built a '39 Chevy coupe that had a 302 Chevy V-8 inside. He later transferred that engine to a '61 Falcon Ranchero. Then, his interest shifted to kit cars. His first kit was a CMC Speedster which he still owns, but is considering liquidating. The kit was powered by a 1,955cc VW engine with dual 40 Delorto carbs, an Engle 120 cam, and a Supertrapp exhaust. Later on, Ed built a ZR-2. Now he's back again with another show winner. Ed is a retired college art professor with a love for building cars. He always liked Fieros, and is a member of the Arizona Kit Car Club, AZ Fieros, and the Fiero Owners Club of America.
After a bit of research, he found that he really favored the looks of the PISA Finale kit. But he wasn't in the market for another project. Then, one day, a college student in need of money showed up with an '88 Fiero GT, and Ed was on his way to building another show winner. He ordered the new body kit from PISA for about $5,500, and with shipping from England to Arizona, the total was about $6,700.
Ed and Dan Campbell of PISA Corporation stripped the donor body parts in one afternoon, and the project was officially underway.
Needless to say, extra components usually are needed to finish a kit, and the PISA Finale is no exception. Most of the extra components were located from the following: the Europa Catalogue for Rover taillights; a local Dodge dealer for Caravan headlights and plugs; a local GM dealer for various parts; and a variety of hardware stores and junkyards. The European headlights are not legal in the States, so Ed used the recommended Dodge Caravan headlights. This required some front-end fabrication.
"I think it is very unusual for someone to build a car without help." Ed says. "I felt like I sort of functioned as a general contractor, detail guy, and gofer on this project."
Virgil Baker, a master car builder, did a lot of the work during the body, lights, and radiator stages of construction. Virgil modified the hood and the headlight openings--a major project involving changing the entire line of the hood opening and modifying/filling the hinge points and "eyebrows" for the lights. The gas filler also was modified.
The builder now also offers a rear deck treatment that eliminates the big glass hatch. The new configuration offers a flat decklid section. The company calls this version Fino, and PISA will be representing it as well.
"The hood was too flexible for me, so we filled the underside with foam and reworked the support to give it the strength it needed," Ed says. "The license plate opening was sectioned up to fit the U.S. license plates."
The front and rear steel bumper-frame beams were cut at an angle to accept the rounded Finale body. Door latch and lock arms were bent and modified for the reskinned doors. Holes were drilled in the inside door steel to allow access to mirror mounts for stock Fiero electric mirrors. Steering is stock '88 Fiero, and Ryane Motorsports supplied the 11/2-inch dropped spindles with RCC 12-inch Corvette brakes (Fiero kit).
Front suspension components are Koni adjustable shocks; FOCOA (Fiero Owners Club of America) upper and lower ball joints (for '88 Fiero); and FOCOA urethane bushings on all four corners. Front wheels and tires are ISW Stealth 16x7.5 inches, BFGoodrich 245-55 ZRs with TSW Stealth 16x7.5 inches, BFGoodrich 245-50 ZRs on the rear.
The handsome interior is done in doeskin and black leather, with PISA's wraparound vinyl dash accented with VDO Cockpit Pro instruments. The seats are Fiero, covered in leather by Katskin from PISA. The PISA Eurostyle door panels were modified and made smaller to provide more leg room. Also, the PISA center console and Fiero bracing were modified to accept the auto-matic shifter and one ashtray. The steering wheel is a Grant GT, and the stereo is a stock GM unit. The air conditioning has been converted to R4 with a new GM compressor.
The paint is three coats of Cadillac Pearl Red with clear, applied by Jeff at Baker Auto Body in Mesa, Arizona. Power is provided by a '95 350ci, Corvette LT1 engine producing 360 horsepower. Ed Newton and Jason Wilson of Arizona TPI did the engine work, and the custom exhaust headers were bent by Rob McCabe at McCabe Racing. There is no shortage of performance on the Finale, as it exhibits lots of torque when desired. The Northstar tranny shifts firmly and quickly.
Perhaps the most unusual aspect of this car is at the transaxle assembly--a 4T80E from a '95 Cadillac Northstar. It has a dedicated oil cooler mounted in front of the Ron Davis aluminum racing radiator to keep everything cool. Gary Zumalt did the research and development on mating the transaxle to the engine and fitting the entire unit into the Fiero frame. The rear shocks are RCC Carrera coilovers. The wiring harness is custom-made by Arizona TPI, combined with the stock wires and a wiring kit from VDO (American Auto Wire.)
After 2-1/2 years of work, the project almost came to a halt before ever being driven. While trailering the car to a shop for header fabrication, the front tie-down came loose, and the car came halfway off the trailer. "We were within an inch of tearing off the whole freshly painted, modified rear clip," Ed says. Fortunately, no real damage occurred, and now Ed's dream car is his daily driver!