Project Shark Bait Rescue!

[Nerd Racing]

Well many of you already know I purchased Amanda's festiva in order to save it from being scrapped. I put it on the road and drove down to Pennsyltucky and drove him home Saturday.



Looks good with NY Plates



Drove it home... on the way it was clear that it needs 3 things...

1). Wheel bearings...
2). Rear drums taken apart to free up the E-brake adjusters
3). MOAR POWER!

It was tough on the hills coming back up through PA.

Finally home!



I also forgot how unforgiving the stock seats are... bottom was sore...

Today I took off the valve cover (replaced the seal last summer) and cleaned it up and adjusted the lifters. The thing runs smoother now and is a little less ticky. I do hear what almost sounds like a chain rattling though at low speeds... I gotta get the belt off it and check for bad bearings on the water pump and the alternator. I'm hoping its the water pump...

[Damkid]

So what's the future plans for this one? i've seen you talk about test fitting the miata rear-end, if thats the case, which engine/trans setup?

[Nerd Racing]

^^ all in time. I'm going to get it past inspection before I do anything to it. then I'll start with the miata IRS. now that I have two vehicles it will make it easier to do more things. I'll be doing some work to the front suspension too, I'm trying to track down parts on a budget for that as well.

[Grey Vw]

I like #3:p

[zoom zoom]

Hows the frame look as far as rust and stuff?! I get that "chain rattling/keys jingling" sometimes too, i always assumed it was a wheel bearing.

[Nerd Racing]

the only rust I have seen so far is a little surface on the pinch welds, the sway bar, and rotors.

[htchbck]

Nice save, love the silver ones! If we ever get a fourth it will end up silver, but for now we're sticking with red, white and blue (soon) for our three. Looking forward to whatever you end up doing with it

[Nerd Racing]

I too like the silver. 8 years ago I had an 88 LX that was white and to me white and silver are my favorite festiva colors. The dark gray is a close third. So the list of things to fix for inspection sits at:

1) Remove a coil from my RIO struts and Install them
2) Take apart the rear drums and free up the adjusters so the E-brake will hold
3) Front Wheel Bearing/Bearings depending on which is bad.
4) Check LCA bushings/Balljoints/Tie rod ends for play.

After that I should be able to schedule an appointment. Unfortunately all of the stuff I have had to fix will eventually not be used, so it seems counter productive... but I do want to drive it while the weather is still nice, and make it to the fall Ohiostiva.

[htchbck]

^^ Maybe try to track down some decent used parts?

[aglatfe1]

I miss him I hate those stupid NY plates too!

[NicholasJackson]

I agree, i LOVE the silver.

Wouldnt mine trying to find a silver one.

Looks clean.

[Nerd Racing]

better these plates than a junkyard...

went to cut the coils out of my rio springs and the angle grinder is at my sister's house in the garage... I was just there an hour ago too... so I'm going to have to wait till tomorrow. on a better note, even though the bearings are howling like beasts, the do not appear to be loose at the hubs. makes me feel a little bit better about driving it here and there. Also, the LCA bushings where the sway bar goes through the control arm are dry and almost gone on the passenger side. any good sources for those?

[FestYboy]

Arron, the bearings howling and being tight is still a bad thing, you still have the chance of of them locking up do to barrel fragmentation. fix them ASAP. loose bearings are better than noisey bearings.

[Nerd Racing]

yeah I know that man, I had a cage let go on an aspire and it almost locked up on me going down the road. I'm going to do the back first and see how that goes. I gotta tear the back apart anyway to free up the E-brake adjusters.

[zoom zoom]

Moog polyurethane bushing K9737 is what i used on my aspire, not sure if the festy has the same sway bar or not tho. They were around 12$ each side after shipping. Maybe moog has some for festy's too if those wont work.