Tweaks Re-build thread

[greywolf200]

I saw this car a couple years ago at madness ! It's like a hot teacher in high school ! I'll never forget her ! Haha

I'll second that all day and when I first saw it I really had no idea what it was capable of.

[fastivaca]

... I knew the front lower support area was going to be a problem before I ever drove the car, because of other cars I have built that had a similar setup. The flexing that starts in the front of the car is then exaggerated the further away from the front that you get, typically causing cracks and fatigue where the flexing chassis components attach to the rest of the car. In the festiva we see the signs of this flexing in the firewall and strut tower cracks that have shown up on some of the higher HP cars on this forum. The areas where the chassis cracks though, aren't typically where the stress is being applied to the chassis. By strengthening the chassis where the twisting originates, I have drastically reduced the chances of fatigue further down line.

That being said is there any necessity for a strut tower brace? I did notice a difference in handling when I installed mine. I was running KYB GR2's and FMS lowering springs at the time. Wondering if I should bother switching it over from my current car to the B6T project car when the time comes. I will be fabricating a reinforced lower rad mount.

[defprun]

Nuns wouldve made me worse...just wondering what's under there!

Cars.

[TominMO]

I had nuns in high school....:cry_smile:

[shadetree]

I saw this car a couple years ago at madness ! It's like a hot teacher in high school ! I'll never forget her ! Haha

[Advancedynamix]

lol, Poor Tweak is loaded with chips and scratches these days. The paint is worn completely off behind the front fenders, from tens of thousands of track miles. This is no trailer queen, she gets abused severely and has made 2 transcontinental voyages, as well as replacing my Chevy as a pickup truck. She serves as a support vehicle at the track, funny thing is that she is faster than all the cars she supports!

[shadetree]

image.jpgHold it ! Hold everything ! Is that a scratch ?

[Advancedynamix]

Glad to finally see this thread Charlie! You should fill it with close ups so we can admire your cleanliness.

Someday, and you can hold me to it, I'll get to a road race course. I know I'm way off on setup to turn good, but it's just a few adjustments away.

And speaking of weight forward, last time I went to the track I got my car to do a stoppie in the pits. Gutted car, with small slicks, and a good brake check. I need to get a video

Keep the long overdue build details coming. Flyin4stroke, and I were talking about you having a build thread since you showed up at madness, yrs ago....

One really nice thing about the Festiva is there is very little compromise needed to make it a drag car or a road racer, since the wheels that need to hook up are also the wheels that need to turn in. I'm sure you would have a blast on a road coarse Greg, and I have no doubt that you'd lay down some quick laps.
I'll keep the details coming. I have done a lot of little things to this car, sometimes I forget how much has been done.

This is yet another inspiring thread from you Charlie. My automotive skills and knowledge have increased a hundred fold since I've been on ff.com, and your contributions are the ones I find myself reading over and over again.

Can you clarify the difference between a b660 head and the standard head? I have both heads. Clumsily enough I'm having my standard head machined and re seated right now. Just curious about the can difference as I might be able to swap them over.

Sent from my Agora Quad Core using Tapatalk

Thanks Man!
Heads are the same b660 is just the casting number on the b6t camshafts. I originally had a b660 intake cam and a b61P exhaust cam (automatic Capri) but I like the b660 exhaust cam better. The b660 exhaust cam has more duration. I had detonation issues with the B61P cam.

Charlie, lots of your ideas are gonna find their way onto my car. I hope you don't mind. I may do some autocross locally and maybe a little drag race here and there when the car is done. But mostly I want the car to be the best the car can be and yours is a great example of that. Keep up the great work and show lots of detailed pics so we all can see.



I have always wanted to do that. Now that I know it is possible I WILL do it one day. LMAO

Thank you, these cars are really worth the time and effort to do things the best you can. They respond better to modification than any other car that I have built. It's not often that you find a car that can use 3 times the factory torque without drivability problems, and Tweak is easier to drive than a stock festiva.

[Gomez]

Charlie, lots of your ideas are gonna find their way onto my car. I hope you don't mind. I may do some autocross locally and maybe a little drag race here and there when the car is done. But mostly I want the car to be the best the car can be and yours is a great example of that. Keep up the great work and show lots of detailed pics so we all can see.

... last time I went to the track I got my car to do a stoppie....

I have always wanted to do that. Now that I know it is possible I WILL do it one day. LMAO

[moz]

This is yet another inspiring thread from you Charlie. My automotive skills and knowledge have increased a hundred fold since I've been on ff.com, and your contributions are the ones I find myself reading over and over again.

Can you clarify the difference between a b660 head and the standard head? I have both heads. Clumsily enough I'm having my standard head machined and re seated right now. Just curious about the can difference as I might be able to swap them over.

Sent from my Agora Quad Core using Tapatalk

[eurotiva]

Glad to finally see this thread Charlie! You should fill it with close ups so we can admire your cleanliness.

Someday, and you can hold me to it, I'll get to a road race course. I know I'm way off on setup to turn good, but it's just a few adjustments away.

And speaking of weight forward, last time I went to the track I got my car to do a stoppie in the pits. Gutted car, with small slicks, and a good brake check. I need to get a video

Keep the long overdue build details coming. Flyin4stroke, and I were talking about you having a build thread since you showed up at madness, yrs ago....

[Advancedynamix]

Nope. Racing legends get cherished, rather than scrapped. Here in Phoenix they are crushing 5 Festivas a month, most of them straight and rust free. It would be hard to destroy 5 cars a month road racing them. These cars are a better design than 901 chassis Porsche, but the Porsche is known as a racing legend, and therefore it's cherished. Porsche 911's are not rare, but sell for the same price they did 30 years ago, often times more.

[sketchman]

^Wouldn't they have gotten recycled faster had they all been racing?

[Advancedynamix]

Thanks!
If it weren't for organizations like Lemons, ASA, NASA and half a dozen time trials outfits, the Festiva may never have gotten it's chance to shine here in North America. Now that engine swapping is allowed and front drive cars are not uncommon amongst racing groups , we have our chance. It's just too bad that a good portion of these cars have already been recycled

[jemartin144]

Basically, Mazda Designed one of the most efficient road racing weapons ever made, and then restricted it with too little of power and not enough rubber on the ground. Make a few adjustments in a few areas and these cars are untouchable on a road coarse.

First off, I love the build and the car. Its great to have some who knows what they're doing show everyone what's possible and giving us something to aspire to.

I wish mazda had really given the festiva a higher horsepower option. With all the other engine options they had just sitting around it could have been really cool and easy. Obviously we're all taking advantage of it after the fact, but unfortunately most rule making sanctioning bodies don't allow engine swaps because things can get out of hand quick, but in the case of the festiva its really just catching them up.