My vacation project

[thered56]

haha looks like you defy gravity to walk down your staircase and into your boat...or up it onto your bike...

[kartracer46]

The build is looking good Marcus! I felt your pain along the way. I have an exact project going on, however I luckily get to work with NC cars so I don't have near the rust issues to deal with. There is another resurection project getting ready to leave my garage soon. I will post up the details and photos of mine once it's nearing completion. After reading this thread, I can see you will appreciate all the work I have put into this one. And ehem, would you be willing to sell me a hatch decal for this project?

[freshtiva]

Thank you kartracer ! Sure Ill get you a decal if Ive got it. I dont have a lot left, might be time to get some more made. I noticed yesterday that my cooling fan was coming on as soon as I turned the key on. Im thinking I didnt plug in the connector that goes to the temperature sensor on the radiator. Off to check that now. Also the car wouldnt come off of the cold idle which might be caused by the same problem. This car didnt have a lot of rust just on the front where I repaired it. Ive got a real nice interior for the car. Now that its running I feel comfortable putting some more time and money in it. It is probably the rarest of the festivas. No one likes the 89 autos and this one is a L Plus with the factory air and factory tinted windows. I think we are going to get along fine. Plus Ive got a whole other car just like it for parts.

[neanderpaul]

This is the second time lately I've heard something negative about the 89 auto. I posted a response in that thread too buy got no reply. The 89 auto is faster than the 90 up autos. I've never heard anything negative about it. It's one year only is the only drawback I know of. As far as I know they are just as trouble free as efi and carbed festys. I have 2 friends driving them now with 0 issues. Can you shed some light on this new to me puzzle? What's the issue with the 89 auto?

Btw, I noticed the fan in the video.

[freshtiva]

I have nothing against it other than the fact that its an automatic. I think its the one year only vacuum advance disty thing. May be hard to get parts for but like I say I have a whole other car.

[timmay89]

This is the second time lately I've heard something negative about the 89 auto. I posted a response in that thread too buy got no reply. The 89 auto is faster than the 90 up autos. I've never heard anything negative about it. It's one year only is the only drawback I know of. As far as I know they are just as trouble free as efi and carbed festys. I have 2 friends driving them now with 0 issues. Can you shed some light on this new to me puzzle? What's the issue with the 89 auto?

Btw, I noticed the fan in the video.

I might be able to help out a bit. Overall there is no problem with the 89 autos, as you said they have a better tranny setup that makes them faster. The only problem that you encounter is engine upgrading to either the b6 b8 or bp, as you have to change the ECU and the only way that it will change is if you have the 1990+ wiring. So for myself I had to change the interior and exterior wiring harness to make everything work. If you are keeping it stock it is a good option.

The other really good thing is that it has a smaller and better feeling steering wheel than the 1990+ festivas.

Congrats on the car freshtiva, it looks great!

[freshtiva]

I might be able to help out a bit. Overall there is no problem with the 89 autos, as you said they have a better tranny setup that makes them faster. The only problem that you encounter is engine upgrading to either the b6 b8 or bp, as you have to change the ECU and the only way that it will change is if you have the 1990+ wiring. So for myself I had to change the interior and exterior wiring harness to make everything work. If you are keeping it stock it is a good option.

The other really good thing is that it has a smaller and better feeling steering wheel than the 1990+ festivas.

Congrats on the car freshtiva, it looks great!

Yeah that's the wireing change that makes the 89 auto different and not so desirealbe. Something else on the plus side besides the steering wheel is that the 89 has the manual belts, the new style headliners, smooth taillights, the grill most people like better, and the best ever made festiva interior. Much better quality over the 90+s.

[JPT]

Am I looking at another FOTM contender? :smile:

One question. Where did you get the rack boots?

[freshtiva]

Am I looking at another FOTM contender? :smile:

One question. Where did you get the rack boots?

FOTM ?? Maybe after I get it up to snuff. I bought those boots off of ebay. The guy had several sets. They were less than $20 shipped and are good quality, I think I bought several sets of them.

[ckiesman]

i got mine from a guy on there with the user name of steering_part. It was called sam's rack and pinion. I paid $9.50 for 2 of them.

[freshtiva]

Made a home made DIY brake bleeding tool today using some old brake line, hose, and a dill pickle jar. I can lay on my back and depress the brake pedal with my hand while I watch the jar. Video included. I put a rubber end on the hose, it holds onto the bleeder valve better.




Click for video below

[neanderpaul]

Nice!

[freshtiva]

After bleeding the brakes ( my tool worked great ) and doing the $10 chalk line and tape measure alignment Jerry makes his maiden voyage after sitting for six years. The rattling is the back hatch. Need to flush the water out of the cooling system and put the antifreeze in then start on the interior. No leaks yet. Let the detailing begin. Click on video below

[freshtiva]

Here are the pics from today. You sort it out. I know when I started the sport interior was out and now the old interior with the sheep skin cover is out. Added center console, new interior, new door cards, upgraded door hardware, AM/FM cassette player, passenger side manual mirror, etc to project car. It all came from Redford who got a new sport interior upgrade . Redford has been moved into the batters box for its transformation into Fantativa maybe later this year. I had to move all the cars out to test drive Jerry. Took some photo ops.


























Video at the end of the day

[ericsmith32]

Made a home made DIY brake bleeding tool today using some old brake line, hose, and a dill pickle jar. I can lay on my back and depress the brake pedal with my hand while I watch the jar. Video included. I put a rubber end on the hose, it holds onto the bleeder valve better.




Click for video below

Don't have a picture of mine but I used a big pickle jar and jb welded 2 vacuum ports in the lid. I typically hook it up to my mityvac. Originally worked great on the brakes but I need to replace the hoses now. I could bleed the brakes without even touching the brake pedal.