I thought I was done with Festivas...

[Tim]

..but they aren't done with me!

Right now I'm not even in the market for a car but I guess cars and I have a magnetic attraction.

I saw a Festiva on Craigslist for $1200 that had been there for a while, so I called for the heck of it, not even seriously considering the car. I went to look at it, figuring there had to be something seriously wrong with the car for it to have been on Craiglist so long.

I checked it out. It's a white 89L automatic, with not a scratch or dent on it (except for the remains of a roof rack). The owner said a lot of people had looked at it but nobody wanted an auto Festiva.

Personally I didn't really want an automatic either, but after looking it over and finding nothing fundamentally wrong with it I decided to lowball her and offered $500 for the car. She gave me a 'deer in the headlights' look and I thought that was the end of our business.

Fast forward a week. Tonight I got a call out of the blue. It was this lady, and she said she was sick of the car and I could have it for $500 cash.

I guess my patience/lack of caring paid off. I'm going tomorrow to pick the car up. Looking at the records, the whole front suspension was replaced (bearings too!), it just got new CV axles and a transmission service, the water pump and timing belt were replaced a few months ago, the exhaust is new and it has 4 new tires, as well as some studded ones for the winter.

All it needs is a headlight bulb, the radiator fan rewired (the wiring was hacked up for some reason), a battery tray and new brake pads.

So it looks like I'm back in the Festiva club again! I'll post pictures tomorrow.


Regards,

Tim

[25Horseplay]

Welcome back!

[Festiva_Fred]

Congrats!

[FB71]

HAZZAHH!!! So, was this in Iowa, Washington, or Texas?

[freshtiva]

See what happens when you dont even try. The lady must be crazy, getting sick of a festiva. Nice snag, glad you are back in the fold.

[Safety Guy]

Timmmmehhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Good job on the lowballing! That's the way to do it.

(Now look for a nice B6. Autos are much better with 19 more hp.)

Karl

[Damkid]

sounds like a good deal!! nice score!!

[MONSOON]

You see now!:twisted: Once they have you they NEVER LET YOU GO!


BOW TO THE FESTIVA GAWD!:notworthy:

[Tim]

See what happens when you dont even try. The lady must be crazy, getting sick of a festiva. Nice snag, glad you are back in the fold.

I just found out why the lady let go of the car after 8 years of ownership. Turns out her daughter was recently killed in a car crash, and that made her terrified of small cars.

That being said, I was really impressed by how this car ran. It takes off like a jackrabbit, which I was not expecting. I could easily beat a 5 speed in my automatic. It shifts a little rough into 2nd but 3rd is smooth as butter. And as an added bonus it has A/C!

I didn't have shakes, rattles, door flaps or hear any odd noises when I was cruising on the highway. The car was actually quiet for a Festiva, let alone a $500 one.

This car is definitely an oddball. It has unusual looking seats, a vacuum advance distributor, and a few odd looking parts under the hood. It doesn't have a kickdown cable either, which is really odd.

And because it was woman owned and spent its entire life in Washington, there are zero scratches, dents, faded paint, or rust spots!

I think this one is a keeper.


Regards,

Tim

[MONSOON]

Wasnt 89 kind of the freak year for Festivas? Things that were on it werent on the 88s or the 90-93s? Thought I read that here once.

[FB71]

pics, man, pics!!!

'89 auto is EFI w/ vac dizzy. Autos use a kickdown solenoid, no cable.

and, welcome back to Festiva Nirvana...

[Safety Guy]

Jim, I saw a lot of "bottom cables" on Proteges and the like at the 'yards. They do go down to the transaxle. Is this the "kickdown" feature? I've never seen one on an auto Festiva. Just one vac line goes down there. That would be to the solenoid, right?

Karl

[121 MAZDA]

Congrats Tim,

FYI, The 1989 Festiva Early EFI with auto are just unique of year make...

Here some advanage with 1989 EFI:

1. You can swap the stock B3 fuel injectors (orange cap color) to B6 fuel injectors (green cap color) without cutting the wires. That'll make more HP coming out the B3 engine!

2. You can swap the B6 engine and use with stock 1989 system and it will runs great!

Member of here Festiva GTX do have one similer of your unique 1989 Festiva L-Plus.

[solatare]

welcome back indeed, nice find.

is it wierd my 88lx has seats identical to a 1990 mitsubishi eclipse? theyre much nicer n anything ive had in a festy before and all the controls work, jes kinda struck me as odd.

[FB71]

Jim, I saw a lot of "bottom cables" on Proteges and the like at the 'yards. They do go down to the transaxle. Is this the "kickdown" feature? I've never seen one on an auto Festiva. Just one vac line goes down there. That would be to the solenoid, right?

Karl

most likely, those are kickdown cables. The Festy/Aspire F3A transaxle uses an electric kickdown solenoid, actuated by the ECM, based on throttle position. The vacuum line runs to the modulator valve, which changes the line pressure based on manifold vacuum (which translates loosely into engine load).