Do Festivas make good first project cars?

[chrisofna]

Hello,

I'm new around here, so lemme give ya some background. I've been driving for about, oh, 6 months now, and I really want a cheap project car. I have a 1987 Toyota MR2 5spd as of now, but it was a north car so it has rust on it (not life threatening, just would get annoying working on it). As I have figured out, Toyotas (especially MR2s, since they are rare) can get quite expensive to start modifying. I favor small cars, and for some reason I like the Festiva (people think I'm crazy). So my question to you is this: Do Ford Festivas make good, cheap project cars? How much can you usually find the engine swaps for? etc? Sorry, I didn't know where else to post this other than "General Discussion". Gonna have to work with the newbie here. :lol:

[GenevaDirt]

Welcome, to answer your question....YES! Festy's make great first second third and fourth project cars. There is a butt load of info here for you to absorb and learn from not to mention a lot of great people that do not get tired of helping. You can have a decent running little car for not much money and little bit of work. It's all here.

[chrisofna]

Yeah, also, I like the odd. Everyone around here has project Hondas, Toyotas, Integras, etc. I want something different. I'm tired of seeing the same thing over and over and over again, it gets boring.

Plus, I know the Festiva will take our hondas anyday, if done right. :wink:

[DuritzCrows17]

I had a turbo 91 mr2 red with t-tops which was my dream car but I sold it to build my turbo festiva.

[Safety Guy]

Chris, you're in the right place.

If you don't have a lot of mechanic's experience, Festivas are easy to learn on since their parts are generally smaller and easier to handle. For example, one average guy can lift an entire rear axle assembly, with brakes, with no problem.

In the past four years, I've done two suspension swaps and an engine swap. Before that, the most I did was changing shocks on a Chevette and radiators on K-cars.

I found Festivas to be unintimidating. Now I'm a budding Festiva mechanic, and learning more all the time.

Parts are generally available in your local junkyard and if not, you can usually pick them up here in our "for sale" section. Ebay is another source.

Lots of our "performance" parts are off Aspires and Mazdas. There is a lot of interchangeability. New performance parts are a bit limited compared with Hondas, etc., but prices are not too out of line considering the small demand.

One of the problems we may be facing in the next few years is tire availability. Twelve inch and thirteen inch tires are not getting more common! Even when certain 13" sizes are listed, they are often discontinued. I tried to get Nokians in 165/70-13 but I was told they weren't being made any more. I had to settle for 175/70s.

We still have a few years left, however. Enjoy while you can!

Karl

[sasquatch]

Re: Do Festivas make good first project cars?

for some reason I like the Festiva (people think I'm crazy).
every person ive talked to, when i say i want a festiva they say what is that, then i show them one and they say, why would you want that. its gettin old. i want to meet someone to say i love those cars that would make my day

[FoxProGT]

Your in the best place to learn about festiva mods... tho these guys will tell you the festiva is a great project car.... i do wana ad that it can be alittle tuff finding any kinda body mods for the car even tho they are out there. but there are manya engine mods. good luck

[chrisofna]

I am mechanically inclined. Right now I'm actually going to school to become a technician.

I love the engine interchangeability of the Festiva. So many engines, and most can be found for cheap.

I was looking at 89-90s model ones, alot came with 4 speeds though. Will that tranny hold up?

[Safety Guy]

The five speed just has an extra gear inside it that lowers your revs. The only advantage I can think of for a four speed is it may be a pound or two lighter. The five speed is a direct swap into a four speed car, and gives you much better highway mileage, besides a little quieter freeway ride.

The four speed should hold up fine for a B3 or a B6 with up to around 100 to 120 hp.

If you want a BP or B6T and like to do lots of big tire burnouts, you'll need either a transaxle upgrade or a lot of spare Festiva MTXs.

Stock ATXs are supposed to handle quite a bit of power well, but they're only 3 speeds and your gas mileage will suffer.

Karl

[sasquatch]

do the autos hold more power than the manual trans?

[jglutz]

Do Ford Festivas make good, cheap project cars?

BINGO!

Welcome, to answer your question....YES! Festy's make great first second third and fourth project cars.

BINGO! BINGO! BINGO! BINGO

Welcome to the site...just do it and no one will get hurt...I'm addicted to the repair forum...I need my fixes

[Maxtiva]

Yeah, also, I like the odd. Everyone around here has project Hondas, Toyotas, Integras, etc. I want something different. I'm tired of seeing the same thing over and over and over again, it gets boring.

Plus, I know the Festiva will take our hondas anyday, if done right. :wink:

I want something different too. I never done mechanic before my festiva swap and check the result. If you have more question just ask to us.

[Maxtiva]

Be careful to not do as I do now because this is no longer a passion for me, it became a disease to invest in my car

[FB71]

^^^ Festivitis?

[GenevaDirt]

^^Yes...it can be diagnosed...but it is not curable by simply brushing your teeth!