junkyard dreaming... now a reality!!

[FestYboy]

will do, i've also heard of others doing the swap, but no results were posted.

also, i've compaired the festy and aspire LCAs and it's about 1" differance in length total, (3/4 at the long end and 1/4 at the balljoint). here's my issue: i can't tell if the aspire swaybar bushing hole is the same diameter or if it will accept the festiva bushings. kinda need to know that... i also need to figure if i'm actually putting any undue stress on the strutmount and bearing plate by using the festy LCA. also, am i going to gain TOO much negative camber by using the aspire LCA (so much that i can't fix it with a camber adjustment bolt).

Wes, if you review the pic above of the compleated unit, it LOOKS like it'll accept 13" alloys (almost want to promice it but...) though i can't say with any certanty that 13" steel wheels will fit.

[FestYboy]

i'm about ready to give up and just go for it... to heck with the strut mounts, i can always replace them, right? ...just wish there were pillow ball mounts available to upgrade to.

[FestYboy]

ok, it's in!!! holy crap they're tight (the cv shafts become very snug).

tools needed: 29mm, 17mm, 14-12mm, and 8mm sockets, hammer, large towstrap, jack, and preferably a lift. everything is easy up to the point of attaching the LCA to the chassis, that's where the towstrap and jack comes in. the LCA has to be lifted into place and then pulled by the swaybar to line up the holes (NOTE: Be careful lining up the holes, the spot welds holding the nut in the chassis arn't that strong. i learned this the hard way.)

the car immediatly needs an alignment as the total tow will be thrown in by 3.5* and the camber will go positive (easily fixed with a camber bolt).

the pedal feel is great!! it actually became firmer than the stock calipers felt and very liniar (sp). but i'll have to wait for better weather to actually put them to the test. we'll have to wait to see what fails, if anything.

while i was in, i had to replace an outer tierod, and both LCAs due to wear. i also think the tightness in the cv shafts is caused by the minor difference in spindle length (almost .25") thinking a change to aspire LCAs may remedy the issue, but i need to know the exact length to determine this.

[FestYboy]

ok, NEW update. just swaped in aspire LCAs and now i have the correct play in the axles and didn't have to use a toestrap or any other odd tool to install. installing the aspire LCAs brought the camber back to where it's supposed to be and corrected the toe-in issue.

car was very jittery and loose with the stock LCAs and slight positive camber (not fun to drive) and when you went past halfway to lock when turning, the car would finish the rest of the steering wheel movement for you and was very un-nerving to get it back straight. all those issues dissapeared with the aspire parts installed.

next up is an aspire swaybar installed. though with the added length of the aspire LCAs, i don't think i'll have to compress the sway bar much if at all to install properly.

[scitzz]

LCA's =?????

[qaking]

Lower Control Arm

[scitzz]

Ok, I THOUGHT that was what you meant......

[thebeater]

nice find festy. trial and error is the only way to progress with a car that has no aftermarket

[frankiemillion]

so this is basically from what i can read and see complete capri front end(knucles, calipers, rotors, bearings etc.) on festy struts and tie-rods with aspire LCA's? and this will also make the aspire swaybar upgrade much easier?

[fastivaca]

Was your ridge height affected at all?

[Festiva_tunner]

Any thought to try and swap the rears?