The resurection of my 89L!

[hofficergrover]

I hate the auto belts always hit my head on them when getting out. So i always unplug the fuse.

[91_festy_Gl]

Going out to see what I can get done since my brother said that I should have already had my festy built and running.

[91_festy_Gl]

Well with alittle time I have off from work I have been making progress. So far I have my headlights installed, painted and installed the eye brows, installed the rear wing glass, hatch, both door window guts and windows and door panels, door gaskets and trying to get my seats figured out. All I have left for the inside is swapping out the auto shifter with a stick shift, carpet, seats, wiring harness for the engine, pedals, dash, and windshield.

I need to get my BP block from the junk yard. I have a mild ported head lined up to buy, im also buying a cosmetic head gasket kit, and arp head studs.

So far everything is slowly comming together. I hope to have him built by madness pending days off from work.

[Safety Guy]

When I did my auto to manual belt swap, I just left most of those wiring plugs wrapped in duct tape and tucked into the floor frame or just under the carpet (under the seats). I think the only thing I hooked up in that area was the parking brake light plug. I have ZERO seat belt lights, buzzers or anything related.

My car's really quiet now.

I don't mind one bit!

Karl

[91_festy_Gl]

When I did my auto to manual belt swap, I just left most of those wiring plugs wrapped in duct tape and tucked into the floor frame or just under the carpet (under the seats). I think the only thing I hooked up in that area was the parking brake light plug. I have ZERO seat belt lights, buzzers or anything related.

My car's really quiet now.

I don't mind one bit!

Karl

Yeah this is exactly what I am doing. Im glad I didnt sell my manual seat belts. Just so people know, you can NOT swap from manual to auto seats belts. You CAN swap auto to manual though. Its not like anyone wants to swap manual for auto anyways just thought i'd let everyone know. The reason you cant is because 88 and 89 doesnt have the bolt holes for the auto retractable rail.

[91_festy_Gl]

Progress! Will get some pics after work!

[91_festy_Gl]

OK well its not much of a update but its slowly comming together!

Got the engine out of my parts car:


Here is why my parts car wouldnt move out of its tracks:


Here is a hole I had to fix on the tranny. JB weld works wonders!:


And here is a picture of my 89l that is slowly looking like a festiva:


Im off for the next few days so im going to try and get the new clutch lined up and get the tranny bolted back to the engine. After that I will be installing the engine and tranny and from there I will be swapping the engine harness in. Slowly but surely!

Sorry I dont know why photobucket didnt resize my pics

[91_festy_Gl]

Having some trouble guys. Do I need to swap tranny mounts from the manual tranny and install them in the auto chassis? I have my engine and tranny dropped down into the engine bay but I cant get the tranny mounts to line up right? Am I just F'in this up or do I need to swap mounts or crossmember? Im doing the auto to 5 speed swap right now.

[crazyrog17]

... iirc, you'll need a manual cross member.

[91_festy_Gl]

... iirc, you'll need a manual cross member.

For real? I was hoping not. The cross member on my parts car doesnt look to healthy.

[Zanzer]

I'm not sure on the crossmember but I know for sure that the rear mount is different between a manual and an auto. They look very similar but will not interchange.

[91_festy_Gl]

I'm not sure on the crossmember but I know for sure that the rear mount is different between a manual and an auto. They look very similar but will not interchange.

Ya for some reason I can't get the rear to line up at all. The front and left mounts are fine but the rear is just a PITA! Ill swap out rear mount and go from there. Thanks for the help guys.

[hotrodin4me]

crossmember will work but rear mount is different

[91_festy_Gl]

crossmember will work but rear mount is different

Thank you sir.

[Zanzer]

Ya for some reason I can't get the rear to line up at all. The front and left mounts are fine but the rear is just a PITA! Ill swap out rear mount and go from there. Thanks for the help guys.

Yup, I fought one for a couple of hours one day trying to get it to work. I've never seen 2 things that were so close in design not interchange, but it's off just enough to not fit