88 vs 93

[FoxProGT]

Sup peeps....

i wana get some info here.

Lets say someone wants to rebuild or restore a festiva from the ground up. The question is... what year would be the most desirable to have?

Now forget if the car is a gl or lx or g because you plan on putting any/every options they offered for the car and then some. Would having an 88 be better becasue it seems alot older then a 93 or a 93 is better because it was the last year festiva was made or are there any other reasons or would it not matter?

[Maxtiva]

Try to find an EFI Festiva if you plan to SWAP it.

[25Horseplay]

A 90 LX is a great one to start with for what you want. I am currently doing an 89 LX with every option and then some myself!

[Bathtub Tom]

We had them available here in the UK for another seven years!

http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/index.htm?md=174&

[SimonTuffGuy]

My personal thoughts? I think the 88 and 89 models were more "heavy duty"... The metal on both years seem like they are more solid, compared to the 90+... My dad seems to think the same way. His 89 stood up to a lot of abuse from me during HS and there weren't too many dents or dings to be seen on it... While his white 93 that my sister and brother both used, looks like it went through a bad section of town on the wrong night.

The 93 was the only year that they fixed the metal at the front of the rear tire well... They beefed up the area so-to-say... Before, all the crud that got deposited there from driving sat and rusted away the area (you'll see it's a pretty common problem in pre-93 cars).

With that said... I'm pretty happy with my 90 LX that my car started out as.

[rolla4me]

^^^ +1 on the 88-89.. i noticed also at the junkyard the 88-89 interior (molded platics) are a lot better than the 90-93

[SimonTuffGuy]

Forgot about the interior when I was writing my post too! The seats in my dads 89 were really comfortable, almost plushy... The ones post-90 aren't the same...

[scitzz]

I know I have been through a lot of seats in my 93, the same support bar in the back of it keeps breaking....

[jglutz]

1992 RULZ!

[FoxProGT]

hmmmmm ok good to know

[Axlander9289]

My personal thoughts? I think the 88 and 89 models were more "heavy duty"... The metal on both years seem like they are more solid, compared to the 90+... My dad seems to think the same way. His 89 stood up to a lot of abuse from me during HS and there weren't too many dents or dings to be seen on it... While his white 93 that my sister and brother both used, looks like it went through a bad section of town on the wrong night.

The 93 was the only year that they fixed the metal at the front of the rear tire well... They beefed up the area so-to-say... Before, all the crud that got deposited there from driving sat and rusted away the area (you'll see it's a pretty common problem in pre-93 cars).

With that said... I'm pretty happy with my 90 LX that my car started out as.

Agreed, completely. It almost seems like the sheetmetal on my '89 is a heavier gage than the sheetmetal on my '92 was. It just seems more rigid and less prone to denting and waving, if that makes any sense. The early L seats were way better than the later ones too. The vinyl trim they added to the L seats later on loved to crack. Overall fit and finish, and general durability is way better on my '89 than on my '92. Of course, the '89 is carburetted and has the 4 speed transmission, but if you're building a Festiva from the ground up, you can always put an EFI engine and a 5 speed transmission into an '88-'89 body.

[F3BZ]

then again on the flip side if your restoration goals include lighter weight, better milage and acceleration, and if it is true that panels are of a thinner guage on the later cars, then i would want a later body. i mean if i was restoring a car it wouldn't be turned out as a daily driver and parking lot punching bag.

[scitzz]

parking lot punching bag.

Thats MY car!!!!

[SimonTuffGuy]

F3 - IIRC, the 88/89's are actually lighter than the 90+ models. Check the curb weight on the stickers in the doors, but I'm pretty sure. Doesn't make sense (unless the FI parts added significant weight), but that's what I remember for some reason.

[av8ter]

90+ cars in the US had mouse belt(auto seat belts), and fuel injection. That has to be where the weight comes from.

I think the model year should have little impact on you decision for swapping, unless you want to just swap a sohc b6 then get a 90-93. My 88 will be receiving a heart transplant this spring, and I will need to do some wiring also, but anyone that swaps has to do some wiring even if their car was previous FI.


Kevin