My '93 L Build

[ThisVelologist]

Hey folks! I introduced myself two weeks ago when I knew I would be getting a Festiva soon but as of yesterday I became a first time Festiva owner. After getting things done at the court house the previous owner and I jacked it up to bleed the brakes as seen below:

The brake seemed like they had a lot of air in the lines and it took a random number of pumps to bring the Festy to a stop. The bleed helped for about twenty minutes then it was back to its old ways. I suspect the master cylinder because there were no viable leaks. I already ordered one of of Rockauto. Thoughts?

Then we removed the custom roof rack the previous owner had built (because drag) and took it to its new home.


I installed a new dome light from a Mazda B220 truck with some fresh LED's. The door function doesn't work for some reason. Neither does the horn. Could be a fuse? Next I replaced the taillight gaskets using the mouse pad trick. The old ones crumbled in my hand as I removed them. I also replaced some burnt out bulbs in the back while I was at it.



I washed/vacuumed the Festiva to the best of my ability but that oxidized paint is hard to make look good. I'm going to borrow a buffing wheel and some industrial strength compound from one of the detail guys at work. He gave me a little preview on the hood:

Should shine up like glass!

Problems I need some advice on:

• Brakes. After bleed squishy pedal continues, take several pumps to stop. Going to replace master cylinder.
• Dome light won't come in door switch
• Horn doesn't work
• Body/wheel/suspension popping sound when coasting

Upcoming projects:

• Adding Hella 500 rally lights
• Oil/filter change
• Plastidip bumpers/trim/wheels
• Escort/MX-3/Aspire seat swap
• Finding/fixing exhaust leak.

This forum has already been more than helpful. I look forward to chatting with you all. Thanks.

[TominMO]

Dome light: probably the door switch is rusty. It can be cleaned up, then should work fine.
Horn: it is probably dirty. Many people move it to the engine bay to keep it from getting dirty, using longer wire. It's in a little pocket in front of the front right tire.
Popping sound: check LCAs and tie rod ends for play. Also, if tie rod end has a nylock nut instead of a castle nut, make sure it hasn't come a little loose.

[jayber]

Looks you have been bitten by the festiva bug also

[ThisVelologist]

Thanks for the insight. Will try these things out.

[Axlander9289]

Hey guys, I haven't been on here much since I got rid of my Festiva five years or so ago, but some of the old timers may remember me. ThisVelologist is my brother. This is his first Festiva, but the sixth in our family. I'm beyond hyped and very proud of my little bro for carrying on a family tradition. (Cue Hank Jr.) Thanks for being a great community, and for all the advice you've given to me and my brother over the years.

My brother's new acquisition has given me the Festiva bug again. I may have to find another on for myself before too long, but I'll need to sell my Volvo to free up the garage space first.

[Team Lightning]

My suggestion for the master cylinder would be, use one for an aspire. I have one on mine daily driver and its makes a big difference.

[ThisVelologist]

My suggestion for the master cylinder would be, use one for an aspire. I have one on mine daily driver and its makes a big difference.

Interesting. What is different about the Aspire master?

[bhearts]

Has a bigger piston inside. Gives you more fluid pressure per pound of foot pressure

[ThisVelologist]

So I took off the front right wheel where the noise was coming from and shook down all the suspension components and checked for loose/faulty parts. It was all solid. I then put the wheel back on and torqued it up to 70 ft/lbs. I went for a drive and the noise was gone. I guess the wheel was just loose/put on there weird. Anybody know of the top of their head what the recommended torque tightness for the wheels is? I am running 13's.

[dalebwilson]

Off the top of my head around 55-60 lbs

[ThisVelologist]

Thanks man.

[ThisVelologist]

Good morning Festivites. Last night's project was installing a $40 aftermarket head unit in the Festiva. Now, this was my first foray into wiring but after consulting my Haynes and the stereo's wiring diagrams I was ready to go.

Starting out things looked rough. I had two different colors of the rainbow and the previous owner cut the wires a little short. A lot of clever splicing and stripping and twisting later I was ready to test the system. I reconnected the battery, started the car and the stereo lit up and sound was coming from all speakers. I started to go for a cruise but then I realized I had no interior lighting. It turned out that that red wire with the green stripe not mentioned in the manual wasn't the ground but infact a gun powder line to my fuse box. I replaced the fuse and was handed the dilemma of choosing a new ground spot with no extra wire. Because the head unit is just AM/FM/AUX/USB (no CD) it is about half as short as your typical car radio. That allowed me to access this bolt behind where the stereo goes in that just so happened to fit the nut I had in my glove compartment. Grounded it to the ground and problems were fixed:

The head unit wasn't a perfect fit but with some electrical tape trimming you couldn't tell. It's simple design matches the rest of the interior quite well and the red text matches my red paint. Those four little speakers aren't bad with a modern head unit. This gives me confidence for my next wiring project--Hella driving lights!

[gergorian]

Looking good man! The red paint shines up nice because I think it is a single stage paint so there is no clear to worry about.

[ThisVelologist]

Hey thanks, reddit friend. I can't wait to see the full result!

[Axlander9289]

What, no credit to your brother who provided moral support via phone?