Since its' inception, the Jim Gilbert Memorial Build has brought together nearly 3 dozen volunteers, 5 dozen supporters and immeasurable learning and camaraderie within the Fiero community. In its first year, the team rebuilt a 1988GT for Colin, a Fiero owner who was fighting a battle with Stage 3 testicular cancer. His existing Fiero had a bad case of frame rot and as his primary form of transportation, we were grateful to be able to get it back on the road. In the second year, the same goal remained - to brighten the life of an individual in need. Longtime Fiero enthusiast and community contributor Matt McGowan had been battling years of recurring back issues and surgeries that disrupted his livelihood and day-to-day abilities to function. Despite his challenges, Matt continues to give to the Fiero community and the team decided to make his dream come true in owning a 3800SC powered Fiero.

This annual event was conceived by Gary Pickardt of Pickardt Performance to honor the memory of Jim Gilbert, a longtime Fiero owner and member of the Fiero community who never hesitated to give back to Fiero friends and mentor young Fiero owners, including his two daughters, Jennifer and Jamie.

This year’s build took place October 13-16 at the home of Jennifer & Matt Goss in Staunton, Virginia. We focused on a core concept of Jim's life - providing a space where individuals could bring their cars to get advice and assistance to keep their Fieros on the road. The theme was "bring what ya broke" and we invited participants to bring their cars and projects to work together in a collaborative project throughout the weekend. We also did a session on installing coilovers with Pickardt Performance who provided a set of coilovers for giveaway - the lucky recipient was Tony Wells! The weekend also included a road rally and cruise, harkening back to the famous Tech Days in Jim's garage. In total, 19 Fiero enthusiasts took part and worked on 9 Fieros!

Over the duration of the weekend, the team performed the following Fiero work:

• Prepped and painted two wings - one with traditional stantions and one with risers for installation on Jen's 88GT and Matt M.'s 86GT.

• Fixed the speedometer in Tony's 86SE.

• Checked Tiffany's 85SE to verify a recall was performed, checked her coolant pipes for damage and fixed her trunk light.

• Installed a hard line and slave cylinder on Jon's 88GT (brought by his dad, Joe), in addition to fixing a wobbly steering column and trouble-shooting some AC issues.

• Did some diagnostics on Christina's 87GT in addition to installing new window switches, turn signal covers, fixing a faulty door hinge pin, adjusting a headlight, fixing a MAT sensor, and rotating her tires among other things.

• Installed shocks and struts on Vinnie's 88GT.

• Assisted Sarah with top end gaskets, setting valve lash and installing a water pump for her 87GT.

• Helped Pat find an oil leak in his 85GT and install new gaskets on his top end to rectify the issue. We also assisted in the prep, paint and installation of his new wingless deck lid.

Lastly, to continue our spirit of charitable acts towards the Fiero community, we are going to be doing something a bit different this year, we are collecting donations towards the Lanier Tech Motorsports Vehicle Technology Program's Fiero racecar! The students on this team reached out to MAFOA and FieroSource and we plan to get them ALL of the items on their wishlist to make the upcoming racing season and beyond a reality.

Financial donations will be accepted through FieroSource; however, we will also be looking for donations of parts for their 86SE. Click on the link below to learn how you can help.