neck snapping shopping list

[stueysdad]

Did I get anyones attention? Here's what I want to do to my stock 1.3.
1. skim head 20thou, seems on this site that that is a reasonable amount without pushing too hard.

2. Lighten and balance my flywheel as much as I can(advice and amounts welcome).

3. new pistons, again lightened and balanced(aftermarket available?).

4. fms header and cam.

5. high flow cat and 2" exhaust back to the end can.


6. ACT clutch? Is that the one most people pop in?


This seems like a reasonable way to up power without hurting reliability. Please give me any opinions or links to threads already dealing with this stuff.

Also, can anyone tell me if there is any way to lessen the crazy overrev of throttle when shifting gears? The bloody revs are still going up when I'm already letting the clutch out for the next gear. Drives me crazy!

I want to get my motor project underway before I do the suspension. these cars are so damn sheap to play with, you can have a hot rod for less than 3000(as long as you don't touch the body, ouch!)

Cheers, keeper of the knowledge and guiders of my quest to make a humble turd of a car able to hold its head up high.

Toby

[FestYboy]

if you shave the head, get an adjustable cam gear. a good stock flywheel can be taken down to 10# safely. custom pistons arn't going to be cheap (4-500 for a set). no matter what you do, ballance the crank!!! use the 1.3 header and have it jethot coated or wrap it (even if you build a 1.6). a stock clutch will hold the power you're looking to produce. the rev problem you have is stemming from the IAC and dashpot opperation, make sure they are behaving as they should before attempting any other mods (especially the flywheel)

[Festy46]

If you've got money to burn, go for a stroker kit:

http://www.paeco.com/Stroker%20Kits.htm

[m715]

I bought the lightened flywheel, and performance cam that Roger at FMS has. Put them in one of his crate 1.3 engines. After break in, it pulls nicely. I can't remeber exactly, but I believe the flywheel is cut 15 lbs. Break the bank, and you could go with coilovers like Quaddog did, or Roger imports Teins. I wish he could find some more of the Bilsteins.
The KYB supers just aren't the same, and I think the GR2s aren't stiff enough in the right places. Be sure to use the strut bar up front, and a rear bar stiffener is nice, if you can fit it in with the subs. Sorry, I will sacrifice some weight for some sound any day!
JMO
Michael

[stueysdad]

So far so good. Thanks, that gives me a good base to go with. Not going to invest in custom pistons as I just want a good zippy little commuter. I own a fab shop so I'm wondering about adding some stiffeners to the stock rear axle to take some body roll out. I like the displacement as it is for gas mileage I just want it to breathe and spin a little quicker up and down through the revs. That's the penalty for racing a motorcycle, everything else seems to take a week to get the revs up in comparison. I do love this little shoebox though, and it's getting worse all the time. All this dickin' around is going to probably cost me my mini with bike engine project, in my wife's eyes. Ah well, gearhead for life I guess.

Anything else to add, please do.

Toby

[m715]

Opening up the exhaust, and using a 2 1/4 mid pipe to a glasspac is a cheap way to pick up a little on top end too. Sounds like an old Brit sports car! The header doesn't give you enough bang for the buck IMO. You still would have to Jet Coat it or something to hold the heat, and keep it from corroding too. the larger diameter pipe ought to net you about the same HP gain as it anyway.Better spent on the suspension goodies I have found. That really ups the experience more than any mod you can do on the cheap (at least er). After you change out the springs/struts, tighten everything up bushing wise and such and get a grippy tire in the mix of your choice, and do the Aspire swap, then you can really start in with the engine.Clutch won't be a problem till you do an engine swap above the B6 8 valve. Stock holds just fine if you have any life left in it.
Michael

[jlord16]

anybody got linklys to an adjustable cam gear that would work, and what timing belt would you then have to use, i cant find much info on this

[stueysdad]

M715, I like the way you think. When you say the Aspire swap, you're talking about the rear axle I assume. Also, what was the cost for an FMS crate motor? Funny though, I'd completely scrap sound to save weight anyday. Oh well we can't be right all the time eh? Thanks,

Toby

[m715]

I believe Corksport may handle oneof the adjustable gears, or FMS. I bought 2 Engines close to the same time, so I got a better deal. Roger has one shown on his site for IIRC 1800? It sounds like a chunk, but if you start pricing everything that you will have to buy, not counting your time involved, the average true rebuild of a B3 with a master kit, and counting a new crank because of some cranks developing fillet cracking, you have abut 1100 in a rebuild. The guy up the street, who took care of a fleet of Festivas, and still has some Aspires under his care, told us that the lifespan is roughly half of the original build then, and he has rebuilt several! Getting good machine work is the biggest problem,the factory was hard to beat for tolerances here.
The Aspire swap is front and rear. Check the stickies on the subject, and spend some time on the site, and the reasons become real clear. Between the rotors being a headache, and the fact of gaining a rear sway bar in the rear, it makes a great deal of sense for little cash outlay.
Michael

[m715]

I feel certain that everyone else here will have lots of options other than a crate engine, such as a JDM B6 for about 350.00 with low mileage, to the venerable BPT install, like Matt Swabb has, and others here. I just *had* to try a new factory engine to see if running synthetics I might be able to get 400,000 miles out of one. One I will keep bone stock, the other, I will use the camshaft, flywheel, and distributor that allows more advance of the timing. I also plan after the engine has mileage on it , to crack open the exhaust, bump the timing 2 deg, and see how it does. So far, I have 9,000 + miles on it, and am about to move to stage 2. Right now, I have seen mileage improve 2 MPG from 37 to 39, so I am assuming that I have got things seated in. Mind you, I run them hard. I shred a set of tires in one summer, every summer. I have had to go easy on them at the end of the season twice now too.
I know, a 50ish guy that has that kind of sound in a Festiva? The answer is simply....YES!
The rest of the weight I carry is tools and spre parts. Where I drive, you have to know what you will need, and carry it with you.

Michael

[stueysdad]

rotors being a headache how? I know the Aspire pieces are bigger and thicker and would probably mean I would have to fab spacers to stand them away from the hub a bit more. the Aspire has a sway bar eh? interesting. As for tools, I live in the city with my own shop so if it explodes it's just a tow truck ride away from fixit town. 400,000 miles eh? Good luck with that, the world may have run dry of go-juice before you hit the mark. I'll bet solar would work fine as these cars are light.

cheers,

Toby

[stueysdad]

So, the message your sending is, find an aspire scavenge it for everything that will swap across and throw the rest away? Makes sense as the aspire is more than a little tragic looks wise. You got me hooked here, now I just got to get my sorry a** to sit down and read the stickys everywhere on this site to find out what to do.

Cheers,

Toby

[m715]

The rotors unscrew from the tire, instead of the axle end of the stick, which means you can change them out, or revice them, while the Festy type, you have to separate the hub to do the job. I know that I am hooked on these cars! Fun on the cheap in every direction from tires, to mechanicals, to fluff! Older guys shouldn't have this much fun!Michael