Archie Hatchback

Installing the HatchBack to a Fiero GT Fastback

Don’t install the 350Z rear window until you’ve you’ve got the Hatch hinged & latched.

After removing your original decklid, you can set the new hatch into place. Pics 1291 & 1293.

You’ll have to prop it up at the top & see how it fits.

To build the hinges, you need to use parts of the original decklid hinges from the Fiero & combine them with the parts we are supplying as follows.

The most important part of mounting the hatch successfully is where you locate the hinges to the roof frame. In the hinge area of the Hatch, we have glassed in 2 threaded plates. The centers of the bolts in those holes are 3.25” apart. The decklid part of your original hinge has to be cut & shortened & welded back together to make the Hatch part of the hinge. The part of the original Fiero hinge that bolts to the hinge box will be modified as set out in these instructions & welded to the brackets we supplied. I’d suggest that you temporarily bolt the hinges to the hatch. Then with the part of the hinge that will go on the roof hanging down, pic 2482

you can set the hatch back on the car (just as above).  With the part of the hinge that will go on the roof hanging down, Mark the left to right location of the hinge pin on the back window. Also measure how far the hinge pin is from the back window. As the hinge bolts to the hatch, you can move the hinge fore & aft a little in the slots pic 2482B

It would be our goal to mount the hinge pin as close to the front & as low on the car as we can. When bolted on the hinge pin should be about ½” forward of the front edge of the hatch. You may need to bend the curved area of the hinge to get it tweaked to just the right location. Pic. 2482B.

Once you’ve done this, it’s time to remove the rear clip from the car. You’ll have to remove the headliner to have access to the inside bolts of the forward roof section so that you can remove them to be able to raise the rear end of the forward roof section so you can remove the rear clip.

To keep the hinge pin as low as possible, we built the top section of the hinge as low as we could. We want the hinge to not interfere with the underside of the rear clip when it’s reinstalled. In pic 1302

note that we made 2 small cuts in the trailing part of the roof frame & bent that area down just a little.

Once we have the 2 hinges located as low as we can with the pins as close to the rear window as we can (& we’ve trial fitted the rear clip to check for clearance)  we can make sure both hinges will pivot on the same axis. Then we can use the hinges as a template to drill 2 3/8” holes in the outer skin of the roof frame. Pic 1301

On the inside of the roof, you’ll need to cut a slot to insert the threaded bolt plates.  Pics 1298 & 1299.

To bolt on the hinges use a longer 5/16 bolt to fish for the plate you just put in. Thread the bolt into the plate so you can move the plate around into position  pic 1304

then pull it up to line up the thread of the other hole pic 1305.

Flat head cap screw. Pics. 1307 & 1308.

Then you can start the 5/16” allen flat head cap screw in one of the hinge holes pic 1306

remove the “fishing bolt & rotate the hinge around & start the 2

Try to align the 2 hinges so that are pivoting on the same axis & bolt on the hatch & make sure it opens smoothly.

Then you can put the rear clip on & figure out what adjustments you need to make to make the hatch line up to the rear clip.

Remove the rear clip & adjust as needed.

The hatch is designed to use all the original Fiero hardware as in these pics. 0198, 0199 & 0200