FestiVWa 2.0 Aba Project

[Advancedynamix]

I'm hoping it remained fairly straight. I made sure the lower core support got done first. Then the fender truss braces (which maybe helped and acted as a jig in themselves for the later welding). Lastly, the frame rails were worked on. The sway bar and lca's were attached at all times too.

I imagine if it was done in the opposite order, with the frame rails and fenders trusses being welded on first, and without the upper and lower core support being attatched, then things could go wrong in a hurry.

You can check it with a tape measure. Check from the control arm mounting bolts to the sway bar bracket bolts. You can check it side to side and "X" it to check squareness. My guess is it's off. The frame rails are what determine these distances and you've done major surgery there. You'd need more than the sway bar and it's flexible rubber mounting to restrain this, you'd need a jig that was not only solid, but possibly preloaded. Metal moves a lot when it's welded.
Luckily, it should be fairly easy to tug back into spec because the festiva is very pliable.

[wwwdotgov]

I will have to measure it up next weekend when I'm back in garage.

[wwwdotgov]

You can check it with a tape measure. Check from the control arm mounting bolts to the sway bar bracket bolts. You can check it side to side and "X" it to check squareness.

I understand the X measurement for squareness. How do I take a side-to-side measurement? Or is the side to side & X measurement the same thing?

[william]

Awesome project. I may just have to throw the festiva on the rack for some pre and post welding measurements.
I didn't think the lower support mod and gussets would pull it out of aliment but it makes sense. You would be amazed how easy some of thsee cars get out of specks.
The x with give side to side measurements of sorts because your checkling for squareNess or to make sure your chassis is not Dimonded

[wwwdotgov]

Does a frame shop use factory holes or mounting points for measuring factory specs? I don't know if any of my alterations covered up these points.

[william]

There's factory reference points on all cars if a reference point is covered or damaged you just use the next closet undamaged available point

[dliverance]

The front end of this thing is built panzer tough. All of the progress looks great dude.

[reyestuninggarag]

This is oh so awesome! I wonder what a mk4 tdi swap would be like in a festy.... man alive like 80 mpg with a swap like that! Oh so tempting haha

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[wwwdotgov]

Update 12/25/2016:

When I started this project, I had a goal of having it on the road by Christmas. Well, that was a real bad guess. I'm still months away from reaching that point.

This weekend I did some measuring. Looks like I have to keep the Festiva at stock ride height because my oil pan -to- ground clearance won't allow it to lowered. I couldn't raise engine height because then the tranny would interfere with the steering rack. And forward and aft engine placement was also limited too because of both steering rack clearance and radiator/starter motor clearance. So....the only way to mount the engine is the position that it's sitting in now.

Last weekend I pulled a angled oil filter housing from a 1.8 vw turbo hoping to gain clearance for the lower radiator hose. No such luck. Even with a 2.2" stubby oil filter, I'm still hurting for space. I will be going with a oil filter relocation kit.

I've been researching different cooling fans. I'm ordering a 14" Perma-Cool puller fan that should fit pretty good. Once the fan arrives, I can work on the radiator upper mounts and upper core support. That'll give me a chance to work with my new Harbor Freight welder.

Still scratching my head on how I should build the lower tranny crossmember and mount. So little space and ground clearance prevents me from using the oem dogbone mount. Eventually, I'll come up with something. The engine is not hanging from the chain hoist anymore which is nice. It still has to come In-N-Out a few more times for clutch install, engine bay painting, etc..

[wwwdotgov]

This is oh so awesome! I wonder what a mk4 tdi swap would be like in a festy.... man alive like 80 mpg with a swap like that! Oh so tempting haha

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The mpg's with a tdi would be insane! But I could never drive in a way where mileage readings would benefit me. I've got way too heavy of a foot.

[bhazard]

I doubt the mpg would be a huge jump over the donor car. Mk4's are plenty more aerodynamic than festivas and on the highway that's a much bigger factor than weight. Acceleration would probably be pretty good though. Assuming traction.

[Advancedynamix]

The tire diameter of a Festiva would net lower mileage than the MK4. Vehicle weight isn't as much a factor as gearing, especially with a diesel engine. You'd have a stump pulling monster though.

[bhazard]

The tire diameter of a Festiva would net lower mileage than the MK4. Vehicle weight isn't as much a factor as gearing, especially with a diesel engine. You'd have a stump pulling monster though.

You mean a tire fryer? ^_^

[parrainx]

Nice build man. Way to go and try something new. Can't wait to see the finished product.

[Advancedynamix]

That too. Lol.
This car is really coming along. Did you get a chance to check the sway bar mounts for squareness against the control arm mounts?
This is a great engine choice, I'm excited to see how it performs. These engines are known to get rediculous mileage when swapped into light cars.