Festiva of the Month

September/October Festiva of the Month

Jeff's 1993 GL

FF.COM: Tell us about yourself, Jeff. Where are you from, what do you do?

JEFF: I'm originally from the Cleveland, Ohio area, and have lived in Logansport, Indiana for 11 years now. I'm married to Kathy, who introduced me to Festiva's some 15 years ago. I guess we were made for each other (she had an 89 L-Plus). I have two kids - Noah is 7 and Grace is 4. I work as a scenic designer, designing scenery, lighting and sound for live stage events.

FF.COM: Tell us about your Festiva experience.

JEFF: We sold my wife's Festiva 4 years ago when we were getting ready for kid #2 - it went to make room for a mini-van. That was fine for awhile, but the gas money I was blowing on my 8mpg truck prompted me to start looking again. I bought an 88L from a friend's sister and found FF.com while looking for help to get it running. I did get it running, and modded it slightly, including adding a Holley carb, rebuilding the head and manifolds, and some other little things. When the alternator went out and I couldn't find a replacement that cost less than the whole car, I started looking again. I found this red 93 GL in pretty darn good condition, and decided to snatch it up for a healthy $550 - more than twice what I paid for the last one.

FF.COM: What drivetrain mods have you made?

JEFF: Few, so far. I've transplanted a B6 from a 1992 323, which was surprisingly easy thanks to Wil's swap guide. I've got a 60mm throttle body waiting to go on this winter, as well as a header, exhaust, and custom intake. Hopefully that can get done soon.

I actually have two suspension set-ups at the moment. Aspire front and rear for winter in order to fit 205/60-13 on Konig Theories, and FMS lowered on KYB GR-2 (stiff as a brick) with 175/50-13 on the tri-stars. I'd swap Aspire brakes, but I like the tri-stars too well and they fit the Festy bolt pattern. Here's a funny picture of the car lowered in front with the Aspire setup on the rear.

FF.COM: What are some of the interior and exterior upgrades you've done?

JEFF: It's got the oem tach cluster, power mirrors (finally found a white switch, too), an MX-3 steering wheel, power windows, and a cobbled together sound system. The sound is pretty impressive - 2 4" MTX speakers, 4 6-1/2" MTX speakers, and 2 RF 12" subs running off 4 amps through an audiovox head unit and Yamaha EQ. The entire system, including wiring cost me $71 and is loud as heck. Most of the stuff I picked up at flea markets, e-b@y (2 subs and 2 amps for $1 plus $20 shipping, lol), and from students where I work who ask me to fix their stereo systems after they screw them up - these kids always buy lots of extra stuff, and are usually pretty happy to barter some away to get a working stereo.

As far as the exterior, I painted the car myself (fixed all the dents and dings, too), installed the body kit myself, and made the rear shelf. I've been pretty pleased - I've never done anything on a car before other than oil changes and brake jobs, so I think I've done pretty well on a learn-as-you-go basis. This is a good car for that, though, and FF.com has helped a lot.

FF.COM: Do you have any future plans for the Festiva?

JEFF: Sure. I plan on a completely new interior this winter. New seats, custom dash, new carpet, door panels, headliner, the works. I'll probably also continue to toy with the idea of a B6T swap. The B6 was easy enough to give me confidence. That'll probably wait awhile - I have some other projects, too.

FF.COM: All right - what are some of these other projects you mention?

JEFF: Well, I love my Festy, but I like cars in general. I have a 1992 Chevy Silverado. It needs new paint an some bodywork. I bought it from my mechanic, who put a big-block 454 and heavy duty transmission and suspension in it, so except for the lousy gas mileage, it is a great work truck and hauls a$$.

I also recently bought my wife a 1966 Corvair Monza convertible. It's getting all hunkered down for winter as we speak - fresh oil, drained gas, etc. It's a great driver as it is, and has potential to be a real show stopper. That's part of the reason I need to practice my interior skills on the Festiva - my wife has big plans for this thing!

And for those that wondered why this article took so long to get up? Here's why. The theatre department is performing Grease! in November, and I just couldn't resist. It's a 1946 Pontiac Chieftain Silver Streak now sporting a Chevy 308 and ATX. Still need to finish up some brake work and electrical - but you can see the progress in just 5 weeks - mostly by a bunch of high school kids. Paint by your's truly. We should be on Monster Garage, lol.

Article by Jeff Davis

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