Las Vegas to SC in my new 59k mile '88 L Plus

[theastronaut]

Back in September of '22 a really clean blue with brown interior '89 L Plus popped up on Marketplace in Surprise AZ. The owner had bought it in 2003 with only 17k miles and had kept records of every fuel stop including mpg records and receipts from repairs and maintenance. It was bought by a flipper and immediately posted for sale in the Festiva Facebook group for nearly double what it had been listed at.

88/89 L/L+ are my favorite models and the blue/brown color combo is also one of my favorites, and this was was in very well kept original condition so I was really interested. I sent him a message about it but he never replied. A friend of mine in Las Vegas had been looking for a really clean Festiva and managed to get a reply and was trying to work out a deal but wasn't sure if he needed to buy it since he had been planning a move to Costa Rica. I told him I'd buy it if he did end up moving, and in November his house sold so he needed to start selling off his car collection. We agreed on a price and I started looking into options to get it to SC.

Screenshots of the ads, and pics from my friend after he bought it.






























Mom had never been out west so she flew out with me on Thursday the 17th. The flight was 7:10am Eastern Time and we arrived in Las Vegas and had met my friend with the car by 10am Pacific Time, so we had most of the day left to start making our way back home.

Mileage right after starting off.




Leaving Las Vegas on 11, Lake Mead in the distance.




I40 coming up on Flagstaff.




Mileage after reaching Flagstaff around 4:15pm. We were pretty beat from the flight and driving so we picked up a few things we needed at Walmart and found a hotel to get some rest.

[theastronaut]

Second day of the trip, Flagstaff to Sedona on 89a. It was in the 20's when we started out around 8am, cleaning the windshield had to wait until the car warmed up. No issues with cold starts in the cold.




It's only about about a 45 min drive but the scenery changes rapidly.














We had stopped into Son Silver West a few years ago when we were in AZ for Festiva Insanity, it's worth checking out if you're ever in Sedona. I was bummed the hit and miss engine wasn't for sale, not that it would've fit in the hatch anyway lol.
















Driving deeper into Sedona.










Up at Chapel of the Holy Cross to check out the views from a higher elevation.












Headed back toward Flagstaff on 89a.






We stopped in Flagstaff for gas and to check all of the fluids, I was too tired and it was too cold the day before. The trans was slightly low so I topped it off. The oil level stayed pretty consistent throughout the trip, I only added about a quart over the whole 2,300 miles. It became clear once we were home that the oil level dropped from leaks... I don't think I'll have to worry about the passenger side of the car rusting underneath.

While under the hood I couldn't resist wiping the dust off to see how the paint on the filter housing looked. I'm pretty excited to see how well everything cleans up when I get time to fully detail it. The manifold heat shield isn't even slightly rusty.






We drove to Albuquerque on 40, with a stop near Holbrook to check out the sunset and another in Gallup for fuel. The car was pitching around noticeably when we got off 40 for gas, which at first had me thinking that maybe a rear wheel bearing had loosened up or gone bad. A quick shake on the rear wheels showed no signs of play, but I found a parking lot to pull the dust cap off and double check the bearing tension. Both sides were good, no play, grease looked good, and they spun smoothly so we set back out on our way. A few mile later I realized that we were hitting patches of grooved pavement and the skinny tires were following the grooves, nothing was wrong with the car. Coming into Albuquerque at night is pretty cool, you top a hill and the whole city is lit up ahead of you.








End of day two mileage, 458 miles covered on Friday, 703 total which meant we had a lot of catching up to do to make it home by Sunday night.

[chiquito1228]

Arizona. And New Mexico looks beautiful. Clean festiva as well

[theastronaut]

Arizona. And New Mexico looks beautiful. Clean festiva as well

I love it out there, that was my third time and I can't wait to go back again. Wish we weren't as rushed to get back for work so we could've spent more time there.

[theastronaut]

Early the next morning we were greeted by a trike with Will Samet's favorite wheels as we pulled out of the hotel's parking lot. It was below freezing again, and somewhat foggy. In places the fog had frozen on everything giving all of the scenery a frosted look. These pics were taken between 8:30 and 9 am.












Even in freezing weather the heater kept the insides warm with the fan only on low.




By 10am near Newkirk the weather and scenery had completely changed.






Made it into Texas just after noon, nearly 1000 miles into the trip at that point. Who said 4 speeds aren't good on the interstate?






There were quite a bit of speeders not having a good day through a few sections of 40 in Texas.




Cadillac Ranch just outside of Amarillo.




Spotted a Sinclair Dino near McLoud, which has had me searching marketplace for my own Dino since.




We stopped in Fort Smith Arkansas for the night. Mom had been looking up local coffee places and found this spot that used to be a service station.








End of day 3 mileage, 1,455 miles total.

[1990new]

WOW... some really great photos of that beautiful country.
I drove that route out to southern California back in 1998 but it was in the middle of summer in a VW Jetta.
I know you had a lot more fun in a beautiful Festiva at a cooler time of the year.

[theastronaut]

WOW... some really great photos of that beautiful country.
I drove that route out to southern California back in 1998 but it was in the middle of summer in a VW Jetta.
I know you had a lot more fun in a beautiful Festiva at a cooler time of the year.

Thanks Jesse! That's the third time I've been out to AZ via 40 and each time was in a Festiva, the other two were in my white '89 L for Insanity '18 and '19.

[theastronaut]

The last day of the trip- 790 miles that started off with us getting pulled over for not having a license plate. No problem since we had the paperwork where I just bought it, and proof of insurance. I didn't take many pics, most of the scenery looked mostly like it does at home in SC.






Crossing into Tennessee over the Mississippi river.






165/55-14 tires have been extremely hard to find since Achillies quit shipping them to the US back in 2020. In the summer of '21 I had found a set of Federal 165/55-14 tires on Marketplace and had made arrangements to pick them up when I was on my way back from Harvestiva, but I had to cancel that trip due to mom and dad both catching Covid the week before. They weren't willing to ship them so I forgot about them until I was looking through my saved listings about a month before the trip, and noticed that they were still listed. I contacted them again a few days before the flight out to see if they really still had them, and they did, so we made plans to pick them up not too far out of the way in Guntown MS.




Made it into Alabama around 3:30.






The interstate is divided in places after Atlanta which let me use the high beams to see farther when traffic thinned out. The headlights are noticably brighter than any of my other Festivas since the reflectors still look 100% new.




End of the trip, 2,287 miles later we made it back to the family business at 10:45 to leave the car there and go home.

[theastronaut]

I haven't done much with it after getting it home, I've only washed it and driven it once since. I did do a quick scrub of two of the fenderwells to get an idea of how well it would clean up underneath, with really good results for only spending ~5 min on them.









Better pics of it after cleaning it and using Duragloss Vinyl and Rubber Dressing on the tires and bumpers.












I spent a bit more time cleaning the right rear fenderwell, getting all the dirt off. I thought my SC cars were pretty clean underneath until now

[theastronaut]

It needs a bit of work to be 100% mechanically and cosmetically, most of it is available new but some things I'll have to find used.


Like-new used or NOS parts needed-

Brown dash vent, left/driver side
Brown column cover, upper and lower
Hatch strut mount cover, top at headliner
Brown passenger front seat belt latch
Brown door lock stem escutcheon- both sides


Body- It needs to go to a PDR shop to have a few dings worked out. I'll buff and wax the paint to make it look as good as possible and protect it. Drivers side mirror is a bit loose.


Interior- One of the seams on the driver side needs to be restitched along the headrest. Seats and carpet need to be pulled for deep cleaning/detailing. Radio doesn't work. Upper clutch pedal stop is either worn or missing. Parking brake warning light is stuck on.


Suspension- New control arm and sway bar bushings and an alignment. I might change the struts if I can find NOS struts.


Drivetrain- The water pump is squeaking when cold. I'll go ahead and do all new seals and timing belt when I change the pump. Clutch cable needs to be adjusted. Has a slight hesitation off idle at low speeds, runs fine otherwise. Muffler has a loose baffle. Driver side CV axle is clicking, I already have a NOS axle ready to go in. Tires need to be trued and balanced.

[william]

Thats a beautiful festiva and looks like an awesome trip. I need to make it out to Arizona one of these days. I can't imagine having a festiva with the plating still on the rear beam hardware lol.

[Rick the Quick]

Nice Festiva! Glad it found a good home.

[theastronaut]

Thanks dudes! I took it out to pick up dinner a couple weeks ago, first time it's been out since getting it home.




Forgot to mention it in the last post about the parts it needs, but the ignition and door locks don't match since the ignition switch had been changed out, which is also why it needs a column cover. I found a NOS door lock/key set last week so I'll see if a locksmith can rekey the other locks to match so one key works everywhere. I also checked my parts car and had a usable top half of a column cover.

[Rick the Quick]

John Glenn, thanks for sharing the details of your trip. I skimmed through your story last week without spending time to appreciate your photos. I ended up here again and found that l missed the finer details the first time around. You did a top shelf job and I just want to say that it hasn't gone unnoticed. You're blessed to have spent quality time with your mom. My mom passed this last year and it hurts to look back at the times spent together that will never be again. That '89 reminds me of my first ('88) Festiva that made many a 21 hour ,1,300 mile trip from Albuquerque to Chicago. It was pretty much get on I-40 run 75 and go 300 miles and look for gas. Fill up and repeat. At around 1,000 miles pull over and sleep for an hour or two and get back in for the final 300 miles. Did I mention l drove a big truck for 10 years. I don't believe in driving consecutive 20 hour days but I was always up to the occasional 20 hour marathon especially when I had limited number of vacation days at my job. This was 25 years ago. Thankfully I now have slowed down and get there when I get there and actually now that I am retired I haven't been anywhere for several years. Another one with lots of time but no money. Maybe this summer I go west to Pomona California for the world's largest cars and parts swap meet. If you have never been there you owe it to yourself.
If you fly in you want to fly into Ontario Airport. I believe it's called John Wayne Airport. Get your rent a car, go north on Vineyard and just before the 10 hit the In and Out Burger for one of the best burgers l ever had. Look for the jazz station from the College of Long Beach and take in the sounds of the Modern Jazz Quartet while flying westward down the 10. Stay on the 10 until it ends just shy of Coastal Hiway 1. This will put you in Santa Monica and if you look you will see signs pointing you to a free city parking lot. Park and walk west and you will find the historic Santa Monica Pier. It goes out a good 1/4 mile onto the ocean and makes for a beautiful walk. Enjoy the sights and smells. Nothing like the smell of the ocean. Another attraction is the Promenade. There you will find lots of things of interest including artists and street musicians. Last time i was out there i met blues great Paul Oscher, playing like they did years ago. Sitting on a metal milk crate and playing his harmonica and beat up Harmony guitar with the case open and on the ground for tips. If you like blues music and aren't familiar with Paul Oscher you can find his videos on You Tube. He was trully one of the great unknowns and sadly no longer with us. RIP brother Paul. So all of this happens on Saturday. The swap meet is on Sunday. Cars and parts for sale like you have never seen. I used to go out there and buy cars and drive them back to Albuquerque and flip them. Driving an unknown old car 900 miles can be pretty exciting. Found some good ones over the years. As for parts there was a dedicated VW section. Actually air cooled VW and Porsche. In the cars for sale section there was a dedicated Corvette section. Although l never bought a Corvette out there I have seen some smoking deals. You got to figure with several hundred 'Vettes for sale there has to be some "gotta get 'er sold today". That's all, sorry for running on at the mouth.......Cheers.

[theastronaut]

Been slowly chipping away at detailing it. I found NOS rear struts to replace one that was blown, so I deep cleaned the fenderwell while I swapped it out.



























Started cleaning up the interior.



















New shift linkage bushings, and a good used stabilizer bar bushing. Check out the original paint on the shift rod!







I took it to Madness in '23.









A few random drives in '23 early '24 to keep it up and running. Since detailing the fenderwell in July of '24 I haven't had it back out, it's too nice underneath to get it dirty again lol.