Daily driver rebuild Duke

[joe77pina]

Hey Guys!
Starting up a new Festiva rebuild, I have a nice one with a seized motor in it, speedo says 87k and the body is in great shape. I have a motor being rebuilt by a guy that does great work, but in the meanwhile I'm going to try to get some work done on it.

This thread is mainly going to serve to track my progress but I do need advice on the Aspire swap(Suspension and Brakes). I'm going to try to put as many new/refurb parts into this as I can so I'm wondering what I really need the donor vehicle for.

Anyways here it is, its a 92', not in bad shape
IMG_2253.jpgIMG_2302.jpgIMG_2304.jpgIMG_2305.jpg

So I'll tell you some of my plans, before too long I'm gonna go back an it with tearing out the inside and have someone bead blast, prime and paint the whole shell I'm thinking a smokey sunburnt orange. Then Dynamat and a new carpet (already ordered the Essex Mass Backing in Caramel). Then while the windows are out I figure I'll tint then re-install. I am hoping that I can find a place that can either sell or install all new weather stripping for me throughout the whole vehicle because this thing has some serious sun rot on the rubber and plastics. Then install that motor, I have a good trans for it, and do the aspire swap and replace whatever steering linkage makes any noise up there.

So what do y'all think? haha

[Advancedynamix]

I'm looking forward to following your progress.

[TominMO]

Sounds great, and welcome to the forum BTW. That is my fave color blue tho.....

[Studebaker]

Off an Aspire. Front and rear spindles and axle assy and brakes. Front seats. Cyl head.

Off a RIO. Front struts, top hat and brake hoses.

[TominMO]

You will also need the Aspire tie rod ends too; the angle on them is slightly different than for a Festiva. Might be a good time to install some new ones. For the LCAs, you still use the Festiva ones with the Aspire knuckle.

Grab the whole Aspire motor (long block) as a spare, it it's good. Also the gas tank, if it's a two-door. But use a Festiva exhaust manifold, not an Aspire one.

[joe77pina]

Off an Aspire. Front and rear spindles and axle assy and brakes. Front seats. Cyl head.

Off a RIO. Front struts, top hat and brake hoses.

When you say Cyl head do you mean off the master cylinder?
Are the Rio parts better for any reason? I'm hoping to get a little bit of lift but more importantly a less spongy ride.
Also are there certain years of Aspire or Rio parts I should look for?
Thanks for the help!

You will also need the Aspire tie rod ends too; the angle on them is slightly different than for a Festiva. Might be a good time to install some new ones. For the LCAs, you still use the Festiva ones with the Aspire knuckle.

Grab the whole Aspire motor (long block) as a spare, it it's good. Also the gas tank, if it's a two-door. But use a Festiva exhaust manifold, not an Aspire one.

Is there a certain year range of Aspire's I should keep an eye out for?
And do you mean Inner and Outer Tie Rod Ends?
Thanks for helping!

[TominMO]

When you say Cyl head do you mean off the master cylinder?
Are the Rio parts better for any reason? I'm hoping to get a little bit of lift but more importantly a less spongy ride.
Also are there certain years of Aspire or Rio parts I should look for?

Is there a certain year range of Aspire's I should keep an eye out for?
And do you mean Inner and Outer Tie Rod Ends?

Any Aspire will do. The 2-doors use the same gas tank as the Festy.
You only need the tie rod ends, not the inner tie rods.
Cylinder head refers to the top of the motor. But go ahead and grab the whole long block if feasible.
Rio front struts (2001-02 is what you need to look for) have an actual ball-bearing in the strut top, for easier turning; and the struts themselves have better damping. But the spring is very heavy. You can re-use the Festiva or Aspire front spring.

You can also buy the Rio strut top/strut mount new as well as the strut at rockauto.com, then use your old springs or get some other springs. The Aspire front springs might be a little heavier than the Festiva's, but I'm not sure about that.

[Advancedynamix]

Also, if you post your location then you may be surprised by the helpful nature of a local enthusiast. Some of us tend to stock up on good used parts in case another member needs them.

[1990new]

The 2001 - 2002 Rio front strut assembly has two bolts at the top just like the Festiva.
For my front suspension swap, I pulled the entire Rio strut assembly including steering knuckle and brake calipers (including brake lines). The Rio brake rotors are larger and have
I cut one loop from the springs though, otherwise it sits too high in front and the camber could not be adjusted correctly.
I used new Aspire outer tie rod ends because the taper of the Festiva ones was too small for the Rio knuckle hole.
It's definitely less spongy... Trixie rides like a go cart now with the 14" Miat wheels and low profile tires I have on her.

So you see there are a few variations to the Rio swap...

[joe77pina]

Thanks everybody! So glad I could have all this info provided to me. I've been out of the wrenchin' game for a long time but I'm eager to get back into it!

Also, if you post your location then you may be surprised by the helpful nature of a local enthusiast. Some of us tend to stock up on good used parts in case another member needs them.

I love this community, I'm in San Antonio, Tx, but I have a truck and trailer for friendly donators not so close by! I'll edit the OP to include my location.
Maybe I could trade some hog hunts or range time for parts and help haha

Thanks to everyone else for the knowledge/advice! You'll see some progress probably in a month, when I'm back stateside.

[joe77pina]

So from listening to you guys, as well as a couple very helpful PM's from Safety Guy (thanks!) I have this shopping cart (attached).

The only thing I couldn't find on RockAuto, but should buy are the Aspire knuckles and Kia Rio brake lines, right?

Capture.jpg

ughh it resized it, let's try this:
https://s32.postimg.org/5rqshojqd/Capture.jpg

[Advancedynamix]

I love this community, I'm in San Antonio, Tx, but I have a truck and trailer for friendly donators not so close by! I'll edit the OP to include my location.
Maybe I could trade some hog hunts or range time for parts and help haha

Thanks to everyone else for the knowledge/advice! You'll see some progress probably in a month, when I'm back stateside.

There are a few Texas members left I think. It's a big state though. I bet the hog hunt and range time will get you some parts mailed in from other places though. We've got a few members who might like a hunting getaway.

[w4rkry]

IMG_2302.jpg

Where do you find these upper door trims?? I have never seen them before! Are these only on certain market cars / trim levels??

[fastivaca]

ughh it resized it, let's try this:
https://s32.postimg.org/5rqshojqd/Capture.jpg

I noticed on your order that you have parts coming from three different locations (indicated by the different letters in the little truck symbol) which drives the shipping prices up. When shopping Rockauto I always try to get parts from the same warehouse. You may have to pay a little more for a part but it will probably save more in shipping costs.

Ian

[joe77pina]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]19747[/ATTACH]

Where do you find these upper door trims?? I have never seen them before! Are these only on certain market cars / trim levels??

I'm pretty sure they're on all festivas are they not? Its a really thin piece of vinyl I guess with a backing of foam thats glued straight onto the door, which is the only reason it's still there, I haven't scraped it off yet. I wouldn't know what to call it or how to look it up, I'll give it a try though.

I noticed on your order that you have parts coming from three different locations (indicated by the different letters in the little truck symbol) which drives the shipping prices up. When shopping Rockauto I always try to get parts from the same warehouse. You may have to pay a little more for a part but it will probably save more in shipping costs.

Ian

Oh, interesting, I'll mess around with that and see if I can get the price down, thanks!