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

[theastronaut]

The gauge is off, I was estimating the 7 mpg going by the fuel gauge. I filled it up last night and checked it, it's getting 8.8 if the odometer is correct, which it might be low since it read 5 mph slower than it's actually going. So it may be getting better than 8.8, which is prety much normal.

Eventually I want to do a 5.3 swap with my T56. Haven't thought of adding a turbo, but that's something to think about, I've seen people run small turbos with low boost (3-4 psi) and they pick up a few mpg. Dad has an '89 crew cab with no bed (the white one in the background) and it's a 4 speed so I'd probably end up buying and building that one instead.

[FestYboy]

^ not for boost... And you can get a 5.3 for a song... Super cheap upgrade, spend the difference on the turbo kit and you're ahead of the game.

[bhazard]

Get a 5.3 and add a turbo with 6lbs of boost... Best of both worlds. And it's a tried and true mod with plenty of development and support.

6.0*

[FestYboy]

Also with a tune up and some adjustments I'm sure you could get a little better fuel mileage out of it.

Yup, a whole 8 mpg... Those 454s are boat anchors even with better heads and intake... The bottom end is low compression, so unless you replace the pistons, there's not much you'll see out of them. Any good running BBC is gonna see at least 10.5:1

[FestYboy]

Get a 5.3 and add a turbo with 6lbs of boost... Best of both worlds. And it's a tried and true mod with plenty of development and support.

[firebush357]

Any thoughts on pulling the bed off for now and just running a Flat Bed until you get the short bed?

Also with a tune up and some adjustments I'm sure you could get a little better fuel mileage out of it.

[theastronaut]

I pulled it in after work last night to get everything ready to pull the engine. It's all out of the way except the axles and a few wires on the back side of the engine. I'll finish unhooking everything and pull it this afternoon.




Made it home safely from picking up the dually. If the gauge is accurate, it drank 3/4 of a 28 gallon tank coming back, which was roughly 130 miles. I need to fill it up and check the odometer for the exact distance travelled, but that's somewhere around 7 mpg. It's in better shape than I was expecting, so I'm really happy with it so far. I'll de-grampa it by removing the running boards, bed caps, tow mirrors, and tool box soon.






My rough MS Paint "photoshop" of what I'd like to build, except not red!

[theastronaut]

So have you actually chopped the roof yet on any of your cars? I've been thinking about doing something like that, so any input would be helpful,

Thanks!

No, we've cut glass for a lot of chopped cars but have never actually done a chop.

[Doug Brown]

So have you actually chopped the roof yet on any of your cars? I've been thinking about doing something like that, so any input would be helpful,

Thanks!

[theastronaut]

Don't bother trailering the Festiva to Madness, take a picture, have it blown up and tape or glue it to a poster board, heck when you get to the Madness parking lot, pull out the poster board and grab ya a parking spot.

Lol!! I have a guy interested in buying my Miata, and I offered to meet him with it at Madness, so that might be an option!

Wonders if that guy is retired lol i have a hard time finding time to mow the grass sometimes . Good luck with your projects .

Not even close, I'm only 30 years old. It'll take me until retirement to finish any of them though :lol:

[Green Bean]

Wonders if that guy is retired lol i have a hard time finding time to mow the grass sometimes . Good luck with your projects .

[sc72]

Don't bother trailering the Festiva to Madness, take a picture, have it blown up and tape or glue it to a poster board, heck when you get to the Madness parking lot, pull out the poster board and grab ya a parking spot.

[theastronaut]

I pulled the b6t and G series from the mock up car over the weekend. Got them split and pulled any parts I might need off the engine, then gave the rest of the engine to a friend for his turbo Miata build. The Webers finally sold, so I ordered a pair of Dellorto's from a rebuilder in Italy; they'll be jetted to my specs with 36mm venturis. I went with 60 idles, 150 main, 180 air, and 7772.2 emulsion tubes. Hopefully that gets it close enough to drive, and I can make adjustments as needed. They should be here next Wednesday. I pulled the Autometer wideband out of my '64 bug to use in the Festiva, so that'll help me dial them in.

I'm going to check out an '88 Chevy crew cab dually tomorrow after work (need a more substantial tow rig, and another project :lol so I'll start pulling the b3 out on Wednesday. Hopefully the truck works out so I can pull the Festiva to Madness if the swap isn't 100% finished in time!

If I end up with the truck I'll de-grampa it for now, and eventually convert it to a single wheel short bed C20 with a 73-74 style front clip and side trim, and leave it stock height but swap on 19.5 wheel/tires. It has an efi 454 in it now, and its automatic, so I'd probably swap in a 5.3 or 6.0 and use my T56 so it's more fun to drive and hopefully help with mileage.




Short bed conversion:





73/74 front clip and early side trim:




19.5's.





And since that's not enough of a project, I've found a Celica shell nearby and will go pick it up a week or two after Madness. I'd love to build an E60 M5 V10 powered drift car from it, but that's probably a bit too far out of my abilites and budget. It's a clean shell for $400 bucks, so I couldn't pass it up.

[theastronaut]

I know that pain all too well... Lost 2 perfect cars in one shot to a weeping willow...

So that's what your signature is about... ouch!

[FestYboy]

I know that pain all too well... Lost 2 perfect cars in one shot to a weeping willow...