'88 L Street/Track Build- Coilovers • B6ZE • Weber DCOE's • Widebody • Chopped Top •

[firebush357]

Oh Okay... got it now

[theastronaut]

Not much going on with the Festiva lately other than a couple thousand more miles. I bought the third pair of front tires a few weeks back... too many times around the "on-ramp road course", burn outs (well, burn out attempts anyways), a couple of autocrosses, and general daily hooning killed the last couple of pairs. Good thing they're cheap at ~100 bucks shipped for a pair.



I did finally get around to installing a working dome light. Grabbed it out of an Escort wagon last time I was at LKQ. The map lights are a nice upgrade from the factory dome light, which was dead when I bought the car.




Melted tires after a few hot laps around the on-ramp road course.




I made a pair of looped straps that I mounted under the fender bolts so I'd have a place to easily strap down the front of my new (to me) kayak. They tuck inside the hood when they're not needed. Keeps the straps from marring and warping the bumper when the tow hooks are used.







I spotted a old train trestle on a side road on my way back from picking up the kayak, so I turned around and went back for a few quick pics.

[Advancedynamix]

That's sweet!

[william]

Looks good I have a 14 foot jackson I carry on my car I use the tow hooks but the kayak is longer then the car so my tie downs don't even touch the bumper lol.
But I may have to make some loops as well .

[Advancedynamix]

John, are you running spring tops in the front? I think I remember seeing pictures of your setup in another thread and it looked like you didn't have spring top hats.

[theastronaut]

Looks good I have a 14 foot jackson I carry on my car I use the tow hooks but the kayak is longer then the car so my tie downs don't even touch the bumper lol.
But I may have to make some loops as well .

Thanks! I'm using the tow hooks on the rear for now but I'd like to come up with something better to keep the straps off the bumper.

John, are you running spring tops in the front? I think I remember seeing pictures of your setup in another thread and it looked like you didn't have spring top hats.

It has Kia Rio top hats.

[theastronaut]

I drug home Festiva number two today, it's also an '88 L four speed. I'm going to use it to completely mock up the B6 swap, then once it's all sorted I'll be able to pull it all out and swap the red car easily. That keeps the red car on the road instead of being torn apart for a long time.

I've also decided to add A/C to the red car since the blue one has all the A/C stuff in the dash still. I originally wanted to keep the car as light as possible but our months-long 90+ degree weather with high humidity kinda makes A/C a necessity. I might try upgrading to a larger evaporator and condenser for better cooling- any suggestions on what kinds of cars to look at for those parts? I'll be using a Sanden compressor as they supposedly only take .5 hp per 1000 RPM and they don't have problems being run at high rpm for long periods.

I'm putting in an offer on a house next week and I'm still working on the VW so progress on the Festiva will continue to be be slow for awhile. Parts chasing and build research/planning is still underway though.

[FestYboy]

As far as the evaporator, you'll have to modify the evaporator box to fit anything other than stock in there. Also, our systems are TXV, and that can lead to poor cooling if the balloon tube ( can't think of the right name for it) is in the wrong spot. If I were to put a system in, I'd go with an orifice tube instead.

[william]

[QUOTE=theastronaut;719858]Thanks! I'm using the tow hooks on the rear for now but I'd like to come up with something better to keep the straps off the bumper.


I tie to my tow hitch for the rear! Its a custom hitch that sticks through the bumper.

[Greywolf]

Why would you go with an orifice tube, when the expansion valve is pre-plumbed in stock evaporators?

Far as I know, orifice tubes have to be replaced fairly often compared to XV's

Also - the thermocouple (balloon tube?) can be moved left or right to change the cooling. An option not available with an orifice.

[FestYboy]

The orifice tube is a KISS system and has less chance of failure. Also the OP wants to go with a larger evaporator which in turn means the factory TXV is out. Also the only reason an orifice tube is in need of replacement is when something else in the system fails to the point that it clogs the filter before the tube.

[theastronaut]

I've been looking at Vintage Air's Gen IV system for the under-dash stuff. They're really big in the street rod industry and we've used one on a '68 Chevelle we built last year. They're not cheap but they'd more than get the job done and would be fairly simple to install.


Catalog pages for the Gen IV system:

http://www.vintageair.com/2015%20Catalog/2015%20VintageAir%20Catalog%2010.pdf

http://www.vintageair.com/2015%20Catalog/2015%20VintageAir%20Catalog%2011.pdf

Also, today I FINALLY (!!!!!) found an intake to use my Weber DCOE's on the 1.6. That was the last big piece of the puzzle- needed it to check for firewall clearance. Should be here late this week or next week. Has linkage with it, and the price was right. So far I only have $1,186 into buying the blue '88 L, Capri XR2 for the G-series, B6ze Miata motor, dual Weber carbs, and the manifold/linkage. I'll have the leftover B6t and Capri shell to sell to re-coupe some of the expense once I get the parts I need pulled.

[Fordverde]

what happen with your Bug? The one that caught on fire

[theastronaut]

what happen with your Bug? The one that caught on fire

Apparently the oil drain plate hit something and that knocked the drain plug loose. Oil got all over the header and caught the tail end of the car on fire.

[Advancedynamix]

Thanks! I'm using the tow hooks on the rear for now but I'd like to come up with something better to keep the straps off the bumper.




It has Kia Rio top hats.

You don't have any spring top hats. That means your springs are binding when you turn the steering wheel. The spring should turn with the strut bearing and strut while the strut mount remains stationary. You will need spring hats and some washers to rest the spring weight on the bearing.