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Hi all,
Glad to see there's a great forum for the Festiva!
I bought my first Festy last week... a 1988 L-mod with 273,400 (poorly maintained) miles. The girl I bought it from said she'd never changed the oil in the past 2 years she's owned it; in fact, I couldn't get the car over 40mph on the way home it was so bad...
Struts bad, shocks bad, valve timing off one tooth, ignition timing way retarded, two 13" wheels, two 14" wheels and the two 13's don't match.. Sway bar bushing SHOT, A/C inoperative, carpet a freaking mud hole, seats torn, bumpers faded, paint mildewed, missing grille, rear wheel bearings sound like a tailgating Mack truck.
In the first 2 hours of getting her home I set valve timing, ignition timing, changed the horrendous spark plugs. A new vehicle was born...
Over the past 4 days, I've ordered a new grille (received today and installed), full set of KYB GR-2 shock/struts, installed a set of polyurethane front swaybar bushings (Energy Suspension), stripped the interior (including the carpet, rear seat, belts, spare, junk in the trunk, plastic panels), repainted the bumpers with Plasti-Coat rubberized spray paint, installed a Porsche tach, set the valve clearances, replaced the PCV valve, cleaned all of the sprayed oil from the filter housing and engine, installed a new air filter, rear wheel bearings, tightened up the shift linkage, recharged the A/C and driven her about 150 miles.
After the new shocks and struts are installed, I plan to install a custom rear sway bar (torsion addition), performance springs, Megasquirt EFI. Looking for a stock 90+ EFI intake mani for the conversion...
My big question is: after I get the struts/shocks installed, I'll need some better wheels... which other model/brand wheels fit the Festiva? I like the Miata daisies if they'll fit without modification, or steelies are fine as well. Any other suggestions welcome.
Cheers,
-Scott in Raleigh, NC
Glad to see there's a great forum for the Festiva!
I bought my first Festy last week... a 1988 L-mod with 273,400 (poorly maintained) miles. The girl I bought it from said she'd never changed the oil in the past 2 years she's owned it; in fact, I couldn't get the car over 40mph on the way home it was so bad...
Struts bad, shocks bad, valve timing off one tooth, ignition timing way retarded, two 13" wheels, two 14" wheels and the two 13's don't match.. Sway bar bushing SHOT, A/C inoperative, carpet a freaking mud hole, seats torn, bumpers faded, paint mildewed, missing grille, rear wheel bearings sound like a tailgating Mack truck.
In the first 2 hours of getting her home I set valve timing, ignition timing, changed the horrendous spark plugs. A new vehicle was born...
Over the past 4 days, I've ordered a new grille (received today and installed), full set of KYB GR-2 shock/struts, installed a set of polyurethane front swaybar bushings (Energy Suspension), stripped the interior (including the carpet, rear seat, belts, spare, junk in the trunk, plastic panels), repainted the bumpers with Plasti-Coat rubberized spray paint, installed a Porsche tach, set the valve clearances, replaced the PCV valve, cleaned all of the sprayed oil from the filter housing and engine, installed a new air filter, rear wheel bearings, tightened up the shift linkage, recharged the A/C and driven her about 150 miles.
After the new shocks and struts are installed, I plan to install a custom rear sway bar (torsion addition), performance springs, Megasquirt EFI. Looking for a stock 90+ EFI intake mani for the conversion...
My big question is: after I get the struts/shocks installed, I'll need some better wheels... which other model/brand wheels fit the Festiva? I like the Miata daisies if they'll fit without modification, or steelies are fine as well. Any other suggestions welcome.
Cheers,
-Scott in Raleigh, NC
2009 Festiva Madness link with pictures. 51 Festivas & 4 Aspires from eight states attended. 
I think the pistons themselves are ok, I'm not hearing any mechanical slap... 
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