I found a brake swap donor.

[Burnrate]

I just found a 94 aspire and I am going to pull the front and rear and stock rims for the festy.
What else can I use off this car. Dash/interior/engine/transmission.
What are staight bolt ups?
Can I use the ac out of the aspire.
If there is another thread on this please point me to it.

My Goal is a nice little car with great fuel efficency. I would really like to put the 1.3l ecotec diesel in it but they do not seem to be available in the U.S.

What will the brake swap do to my ride height. I want to slightly lower it from stock and it seems the aspire struts will raise it some. My Festiva struts are still ok but they are old. I will do the KYB/FMS springs when I get the cash.

Thanks
Eric

[Damkid]

i just got done the aspire swap and it didn't change the ride height, but what a difference in braking power, it's well worth doing

[Safety Guy]

To get about stock ride height, cut the Aspire springs one whole coil. That should do it. I've done two that way.

My '93GL had an Aspire alternator on it. I found this out when I bought a Festiva alternator from a local shop (Hite, via ebay) and they were different. I think the Aspire unit has an increase of about 5 or 10 amps??

Pull the brake cable from the Aspire for the best parking brake connection fit. Some of the engine parts will interchange. Extra nuts and bolts...light bulbs...that's all I can think of now.

Karl

[Burnrate]

Damkid: Did you use the aspire struts or springs? Or did you keep the Festiva strut assembly like it was.

Safety: Did You put the Aspire springs back on the Aspire strut or on the Festiva strut?

Eric

[Damkid]

i used the festiva struts and springs front and rear

[Safety Guy]

On both my '89L and my '93GL I used the Aspire struts, strut mounts, and cut springs.

Remember that Escort tie rod ends will save you money over the Aspire counterparts. I used them on my '93GL. Saves you about $20 to 40, depending on the quality of tie rod ends you get.

My next upgrade to my '93GL is to buy new KYB Festiva struts for the front (I have new Aspire KYBs on the back already) and either get the Festiva FMS lowering springs, the Aspire FMS lowering springs, or just get newer looking JY Aspire springs and cut them a bit more to lower my car slightly.

I don't think there is any significant difference between Festiva and Aspire front struts, but the Aspire rear struts have a higher spring perch which gives you more room for larger tires on back (inner clearance).

Haven't decided yet exactly what I'll do, but I AM pretty cheap. Picking up better looking and lower mileage Aspire springs would both save me money and better justify buying my cutoff wheel that I've only used once!

Oh yeah, one more thing I always like to tell folks:

I go with the MTX Aspire rotors since they give great braking performance and will save you 1.5 pounds per side over the thicker ATX Aspire rotors. I actually weighed pairs of new PG Plus rotors to find this out, and sold my "test" ATX rotors to Skeeter.

Unless you anticipate needing unusual braking power, the MTX rotors reduce your unsprung, rotating weight for better front suspension performance and quicker acceleration. You'd buy wheels that were 1.5 pounds lighter, wouldn't you? Same-same.

Three pounds saved from unsprung, rotating weight gives even more advantage than three pounds from say, inside your car, so I think this is a pretty good deal.

Oh yeah, remember the rotors have to match the calipers: ATX or MTX. Knuckles and pads are the same for both.

Karl

[Burnrate]

I didn't get to spend a lot of time looking the car over but it did look like a mtx. The car was half way down a hill behind a couple of vans (small local JY). He is going to pull it to flat spot for me today. This weekend ill start pulling parts of it. He said he drove it about 20 miles when he bought it and everthing ran smooth. The donor car overall is in good shape it just got staked on the passenger side. Looks like a truck corner backed into it. I am getting everything from all four corners tires/rims/brakes/struts/lines. I am also going to look at interior pieces and anything else I can get off the car. What is the deal with removing the rear beam and the bolts spinning. Is there a way to prevent this when i start.

Eric

[Jimmy]

What is the deal with removing the rear beam and the bolts spinning. Is there a way to prevent this when i start.

Eric

Just drop the mounting brackets with the beam. They are held on with one bolt with a 17mm head and 2 with 14mm heads per side. I doubt they will charge you more for the brackets and you can use the Aspire brackets on the Festiva.

I assume that it's the pivot bolts you are having problems with spinning - taking the brackets will aleviate that fight.

[dahodges]

Don't forget the spare tire.

[Burnrate]

Got the parts this weekend. Put the rear on yesterday. Found a bad bearing on the passenger side and I am going to replace that today. Forgot to get the spare!! I'll go back and pick that up this week. I will do the front as soon as I am sure the rear is working good. Whats the concensus on tire size for good fuel economy with this setup?
Thanks for all the help!
Eric