Ian's B6T Festiva build

[fastivaca]

Guess where the head gasket was leaking???



Here's a shot of the fan on the radiator that I forgot to take when I first installed it...



It turns out it was a good time for this to happen as several of the cam bearing journal bolts were loose!

[fastivaca]

Pulled the Festiva into the garage to start on a head gasket replacement. Coolant started disappearing and there was a tell-tale billow of mostly white smoke on startup. Will take the opportunity to have the head decked and replace the valve stem seals. I'll also take the opportunity to hook up the catch can I made a while ago, install the oil pressure sender for the gauge and wire that up, and then install the wide band O2 sensor and AFR gauge.

It's a good thing we built the garage extra long as I am able to fit the Festiva and the Bugeye in and still close the door!

[Advancedynamix]

I would gain access to the lower door sills, via the rear panels or the caps under the carpet, and fill them with something to prevent rot. The sills arent sealed on these cars and that's where salt/dirt/moisture gather and rust the seams.

[ryanprins13]

😨 at the very least coat the underside and inside the rockers with a lot of fluid film or rust preventative oil.

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[fastivaca]

Body colored rims, chrome caps.

I'm going to stick with the black rims and chrome center caps. The more I look at the aqua cap the more I dislike it... LOL

Oh no, you aren't going to drive that beauty in the winter, are you Ian?

That's the plan, though probably not as much as I would normally drive it in the summer.

[Advancedynamix]

Oh no, you aren't going to drive that beauty in the winter, are you Ian?

[FestYboy]

Body colored rims, chrome caps.

[ryanprins13]

Do you have a picture of the baffle plate from before you put it in? And i think the chrome cap looks better but you would have to lean the tire against the car with them on to really be able to tell.

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[fastivaca]

Decisions, decisions...



...or...

[fastivaca]

Close to installing my home made oil catch can. It's made from ABS plumbing pipe, there's a baffle plate inside running almost to the bottom, and brass fittings. The fitting pointing straight down will drain directly to the oil pan, the one on the top will vent to atmosphere, the two on the side will hook up to the outlet on the block and the stock PCV outlet on the valve cover.



Almost have the bracket made. Will post more pictures when it's all hooked up.

[Advancedynamix]

That's a huge improvement! Glad to see your getting it dialed in.

[fastivaca]

A couple of little updates:

- adjusted the timing and let's just say that the smiles are bigger, much bigger

- my daughter borrowed the car this weekend and discovered that the hose to the boost gauge and w/m injection controller had a weak spot that split and was causing issues. Fixed that and made a couple of other adjustments and things are much better.

- replaced the stock B6T upper timing cover with one off an Escort BP. Difference being that the BP one doesn't have the opening for the center mount. Seeing that I didn't use the B6T mount that left a gaping hole for water and other debris to get in and cause problems



B6T cover


BP cover

Still haven't got around to hooking up the oil pressure gauge or the wide band. I'll try and get the A/C system working first.

I should add that fuel consumption has improved considerably. 43 miles per imperial gallon (about 37 mpUSg) on my daughter's trip this weekend.

[fastivaca]

Got the tach working!!! It turned out to be that the metal connector inside the plug had corroded through. Replaced that and, voila, the tach now works! Next up... the oil pressure gauge. I have the sender for the VDO 80psi gauge along with the adapter that will allow me to put the sender in the stock location.

I'm having a complete new exhaust put on tomorrow so will have a bung installed for the wideband O2 sensor that's waiting to find a home in my car. The muffler I initially installed, a Thrush welded one (no packing whatsoever) turned out to be to loud and "drony" so it will be replaced with something a little quieter while still allowing some decent flow.

I'm really enjoying the added horsepower and torque . I am a little disappointed in the fuel consumption though, averaging about 30 mile per imperial gallon (25 miles per US gallon).

[Advancedynamix]

White in a basket weave is going to be a really really daunting task to keep clean. All those little openings to scrub out. I'm shivering in fear just thinking about it. Lol

[greywolf200]

Great looking wheels....htd