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Meet Buster
Hi,
I've always wanted a Festiva but just wasn't driven to buy one... Until about now. I've always been a car and bike nut. (SnotRocket is my Honda Metropolitan Scooter, 100 MPG.) One of our construction guys bought a Festiva about a month ago, I asked him where he got it. He gave me the name of the seller who had other cars but when I called him his price on a "nice" car had gone from $2100.00 to $3900.00.... OUCH! On Thursday I find a listing on a 1990 Festiva for $600.00. I call the seller and get the info (had planed to buy it no matter what condition) he says it's in "GOOD" Condition but needs a head gasket. (Gasket and shop manual included.) So I decide to send him a deposit by PayPal so he Knows I am coming to get it. On Friday I take off to Athens Ga. and locate the seller. Looking in a barn on the property there's the white Festiva. Humm... been there for 2 or three years with the windows down, 164k, Condition is no good, I'd say Rough to Fair condition. The inside and outside is covered in Georgia Red Dust, Dirt and Dried Mud. Looks like a dog has been inside and on top. "Look Meet Buster, an American Bull Dog". Buster takes a liking to me and promptly lays on the ground behind the car with his legs sticking up in the air. OK? I ask the seller if he's charged the battery? "Nope". So we push the Festiva out of the barn and then drag it back with his truck to roll it on the trailer. Looking at the car, it's not so bad, no rust, interior is not torn up just nasty. I check the title and we roll the Festiva on the trailer. Buster is still hanging out doing dog stuff. My wife went with me and she's not so enthused about the Festiva. Mostly sits in the truck and admires the junk and crap scattered all over the property. When I get in the truck she makes a comment, I reply "Yea, my mess is not so bad huh"? On the way home I tell her, I don't normally name cars but this one is going to be "Buster".
Saturday morning I connect the charger to Buster while on the trailer and start digging in the crap. Most all receipts and oil changes every 3,000 miles. Looking at the title, Buster is a One Owner Car. After the battery charges some I decide to see if it will spin over of what. Turn on the switch... humm, 1/2 tank of gas, dash lights come on, turn the switch and the engine spins over about a dozen times and it fires but didn't crank. Spin the starter again and it fires up, give it a minute and it's actually running pretty good. Switch it off and re-crank it. Goood. Go back to poking under the hood, Hummm.... The A/C belt is still on, that's odd. Get back in the car and fire it up, hit the A/C button and the Fan switch and I hear the engine get the compressor load, I'm thinking "No way". Stick my hand in front on the vents and it's blowing Cold Air. I get "Jake" our French Bull Dog and climb in Buster and went for a 1.5 mile ride. Transmission is good, clutch seems OK, brakes make noise getting the rust off the rotors, the car doesn't rattle and rides OK... I'm blown away at this point.
I wanted to take some pictures before any cleaning was done but Buster got rained on Friday night and washed some of the dirt off the outside and then I cleaned the engine before I went to get the camera. I did take some pictures before I pulled the head Saturday. Then on Sunday I yanked the interior out and pressure washed the carpet and seats. There was Nooo need of trying to clean the red mud off anything in the car.
I'll see if I can post some pictures or at least the link. I did sand and paint the wheels and even waxed Buster yesterday before quitting for the day.
Mike
Here's the link to the other pictures. Buster
I've always wanted a Festiva but just wasn't driven to buy one... Until about now. I've always been a car and bike nut. (SnotRocket is my Honda Metropolitan Scooter, 100 MPG.) One of our construction guys bought a Festiva about a month ago, I asked him where he got it. He gave me the name of the seller who had other cars but when I called him his price on a "nice" car had gone from $2100.00 to $3900.00.... OUCH! On Thursday I find a listing on a 1990 Festiva for $600.00. I call the seller and get the info (had planed to buy it no matter what condition) he says it's in "GOOD" Condition but needs a head gasket. (Gasket and shop manual included.) So I decide to send him a deposit by PayPal so he Knows I am coming to get it. On Friday I take off to Athens Ga. and locate the seller. Looking in a barn on the property there's the white Festiva. Humm... been there for 2 or three years with the windows down, 164k, Condition is no good, I'd say Rough to Fair condition. The inside and outside is covered in Georgia Red Dust, Dirt and Dried Mud. Looks like a dog has been inside and on top. "Look Meet Buster, an American Bull Dog". Buster takes a liking to me and promptly lays on the ground behind the car with his legs sticking up in the air. OK? I ask the seller if he's charged the battery? "Nope". So we push the Festiva out of the barn and then drag it back with his truck to roll it on the trailer. Looking at the car, it's not so bad, no rust, interior is not torn up just nasty. I check the title and we roll the Festiva on the trailer. Buster is still hanging out doing dog stuff. My wife went with me and she's not so enthused about the Festiva. Mostly sits in the truck and admires the junk and crap scattered all over the property. When I get in the truck she makes a comment, I reply "Yea, my mess is not so bad huh"? On the way home I tell her, I don't normally name cars but this one is going to be "Buster".
Saturday morning I connect the charger to Buster while on the trailer and start digging in the crap. Most all receipts and oil changes every 3,000 miles. Looking at the title, Buster is a One Owner Car. After the battery charges some I decide to see if it will spin over of what. Turn on the switch... humm, 1/2 tank of gas, dash lights come on, turn the switch and the engine spins over about a dozen times and it fires but didn't crank. Spin the starter again and it fires up, give it a minute and it's actually running pretty good. Switch it off and re-crank it. Goood. Go back to poking under the hood, Hummm.... The A/C belt is still on, that's odd. Get back in the car and fire it up, hit the A/C button and the Fan switch and I hear the engine get the compressor load, I'm thinking "No way". Stick my hand in front on the vents and it's blowing Cold Air. I get "Jake" our French Bull Dog and climb in Buster and went for a 1.5 mile ride. Transmission is good, clutch seems OK, brakes make noise getting the rust off the rotors, the car doesn't rattle and rides OK... I'm blown away at this point.
I wanted to take some pictures before any cleaning was done but Buster got rained on Friday night and washed some of the dirt off the outside and then I cleaned the engine before I went to get the camera. I did take some pictures before I pulled the head Saturday. Then on Sunday I yanked the interior out and pressure washed the carpet and seats. There was Nooo need of trying to clean the red mud off anything in the car.
I'll see if I can post some pictures or at least the link. I did sand and paint the wheels and even waxed Buster yesterday before quitting for the day.
Mike
Here's the link to the other pictures. Buster
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