My first engine swap build thread

[freshtiva]

Well I came home this afternoon and hooked the battery back up. I disconnected it as a precaution because of the blow main fuse last night. Then I wiggle on the coil wire to see if it was tight. Then I got in and it started immeadiately and settled to a nice purring idle . I guess some elfs must have worked on it while I slept last night. Cant explain it but it runs perfect. I know when I took the plugs off of one of the gas lines on the fuel rail the junkyard had install I could smell old gas so maybe the injectors just needed cleared out or something. Anyway here is the moment you been waiting for, at least I have !! IT IS ALIVE. Still have the brake line issue and interior to install and options to add.

[eurotiva]

Congrats!!!! i am hoping to get to start mine tonight i will post if all goes well.

[skeeters_keeper]

heck I drove with NO downpipe (just open B6 manifold) for a few months.... a little noisy, but no biggie I then made a $15 2" mandrel bend DP from some conduit... if I ever need another DP it'll be something like that again b/c it worked great.


congrats on getting it running! Mine ran rich for a long time till I figured out it had a bad FPR; slap a fuel pressure gauge on there and see where the pressure is at.

[Safety Guy]

Marcus, I forgot about the different connection to the Festiva cat. I put on my 323 downpipe and drove REAL LOUD to the muffler shop where they hooked it up via welding to the Magnaflow cat and did the rest of my exhaust.

Sorry I didn't think to tell you. I really didn't remember, since I didn't do the work and it didn't cost me too much. Less than $200 IIRC.

Sorry!

Karl

[sasquatch]

IT IS ALIVE !! Running a little rough at lower RPM but cleans out when reved. Blew a main fuse once. Something isnt right, But IT IS ALIVE !! To bad I have to get to bed, Ill work on it tomorrow. Seems super rich ?

check the vaf... that may be your problem. did you ever fill in that spot where the resonator box on your intake was? if thats off it will screw with the vaf... oooo BTW congrats on getting it running now if only i could get mine built lol...

[KingFish]

ccasion9:ccasion9::wav::wav:ccasion9:

[freshtiva]

IT IS ALIVE !! Running a little rough at lower RPM but cleans out when reved. Blew a main fuse once. Something isnt right, But IT IS ALIVE !! To bad I have to get to bed, Ill work on it tomorrow. Seems super rich ?

[sasquatch]

looks better than mine lol... im glad it worked out good

[freshtiva]

Picked up my $120 downpipe. It was all wrong. The festiva downpipe cat connection uses a donut. The 323 downpipe cat connection uses a gasket like the one between the down pipe and the exhaust manifold. Besides that the holes in the flanges were spaced differently where it bolts to the cat and the angle was all wrong. I had to grind off the weld holding the cat flange and turn it counter clockwise about 60 degrees, fill in the existing holes and drill new ones, install a pipe on the inside of the cat end to hold the donut, line it all up and reweld in back togather. I did get it installed. Looks great ! Then I tried to start the car..... wouldnt start. I put a clear fuel filter on until I run it awhile then Ill put the new stock filter on. The filter is full of gas. The plug at the disty was loose so I pressed it on until it snapped. Was sure that was the problem but it still wouldnt start.







OLD FESTIVA DOWNPIPE SET UP

[big_ty2003]

Just rent one from autozone, I have to do the same thing for my car. Some ding bat broke a brake line going to the back of my car so just pinched it off along with the brake line for the brakes on the other side of the car right before the rubber hose.

[freshtiva]

You heard about the blood huh ?

[KingFish]

:sad10: But I dont have a flaring tool !!! I just want to get this finished !!:cussing:.....OK, I'll buy a flaring tool. Ka ching, the first $10,000 festiva.

That car is going to be worth more than any dollar amount. After all the sweat, blood and time you have into it that car is more yours than anything you can lease at the car lot. You know it inside and out. YOU built it. You can't buy that satifaction for any amount. It's a one of kind Limited Frestiva Edition.

[freshtiva]

:sad10: But I dont have a flaring tool !!! I just want to get this finished !!:cussing:.....OK, I'll buy a flaring tool. Ka ching, the first $10,000 festiva.

[FestYboy]

^ditto!!

[FB71]

Bought 30 inches of brake line and some compression fittings.

NNOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

PLEASE!!!!! DON'T USE COMPRESSION FITTINGS!!!!!!!!

Compression fittings aren't designed to handle the pressures involved in a brake system. To properly repair a brake line, you need to cut out the bad section, slip tube nuts over the ends of the tube, and double flare the ends of the tube. Then use double-female couplers, and splice in a patch line with tube nuts and double flares at either end of it.

I just don't want to see you get hurt, hurt someone else, or wreck a Festy that you've put so much time and care into!!!