1992 Festiva Project Car

[i218127]

Sorry for the delay Brian. Getting the house ready for winter. That company is TEIN USA Inc. They are the US distrib for an Austrainian Compay of the same name. TEIN. I only have the Credit Card stub now, or I'd give more information.

My Distrib is in Sothern California, but I understand that they have dealers throughout the USA. They sell lots of front end parts. As I said, I only found them because another member posted infor on TEIN Australia. I emailed them and they sent me the local LA contact number.

They carry a limited stock for US delivery. They sell three sizes, so measure carefully. I used the measurements as supplied by another member. That is 22mm for Five (5) speed Festivas. I understand that 24mm MAY be the right size for Automatic Festivas, and 26mm for Aspires. But, it's best to measure.

My 22mm's fit great. They're hard as bricks, and make you work to get them on. But, well worth the effort. PERFECT FIT!! Total cost with shipping was $45.49 within California. One day delivery UPS Ground.


"Drive On...ARMY"

[i218127]

Follow-up on Replacement Coil and New Fuel Pressure Regulator

In a word...."Shocking"! This thing pulls !! The increased pressure is evident from about 25mph on. 35 to 50 in fifth (Level cruise) gives immediate response. Crack the throttle and off you go. 60 to 75 is almost peppy. For 63 horses, it holds its own. I like the results, but drive too fast now. It tends to "Walk" at 65, that is creep up faster without one noticing. Have to hold it back some.

With the Master Blaster II coil, not a miss in a carload!! Will do corners without lower gears. I do hills in fifth (5th) that I use to do in fourth (4th). I don't zip over...I just get over without shifting. Feels good when I get lazy!

Bottom Line: Better all around. Don't think my milage will be too much better because I get on it more !! I can run strong, so I go for it !!!

Note: Total car weight with 1/4 tank of gas....1810 pounds.


"Drive On...ARMY"

[i218127]

AXLE Seals

You know the story: "one step forward and......." Well my pass side axle seal went south...again. I replace it with one from NAPA #14006. (Made in Indonesia of all places.) The new seal is fat. Looks heaftier that the other one. Smoth fit. Drives loose. No binding.


"Drive On...ARMY"

[i218127]

Hold everything !! That NAPA seal is the wrong part !! The seal leaked !! Went to NAPA and had a "heart to heart" talk. I come to find that they gave me a seal for an AUTOMATIC! They had the RIGHT one. I also went to another vender and bought another brand name seal. Will see which one fits. Looking for a third brand from another source if that's possible.

Bottom line: No one likes to get it wrong. But you can't learn if you don't make mistakes. As an instructor, I always wanted students to make mistakes. I can correct'em. Perfect students typically become arrogant. When they make mistakes, and they must, it's generally catastrophic.

"Drive On...ARMY"

[getnpsi]

I just read all 8 pages. Is this guy a robot? When does he sleep? Did he come into some money? If he had sudden money would he be doing all this to a festiva? OH RETIRED! Great play by play on the restoration. I am just over an hour away from you, not too many on this forum with festivas.

My dad was a mopar guy too, had a 1971 Demon and bought my grandmother a slant 6 1971 duster when he got out of the Army. It still runs, 450k miles on the clock. It's up north in Sacramento area (Oroville) somewhere, still family owned!

[i218127]

Glad to hear from you Fontana!! No, not a robot. Yes retired. Been spending it so I don't have to worry about passing it down! More work to do. A basket case. But their's an F150 here that won't try to run me again because I look so bad!!! Dusted him !!! Shock and Awe!! It's coming together...slowly.


"Drive On...ARMY"

[i218127]

Still have the axle seal to put in. I may get to it before Christmas, but not sure. Will report when it's done. I'll have three (3) to chose from.

"Drive On...ARMY"

[i218127]

Got three seals, one (1) Timkin, one (1) S&K and one (1) Berkley or Berkey. ALL were made in the far east. All looked about the same, and all costs about six (6) bucks. I couldn't detect any external diferences.

I choose the Timkin. I remembered the Tinkim brand from years ago. That brand was known for quality. On the box, the Tinkin indicated that it had some kind of special leak resistant rubber. Installed it and so far, NO LEAKS!!! No biding!!

Bottom Line: When I have a choice, I'll choose TIMKIN. I have nothing against the others, I just trust TIMKIN. (No one is paying me for this!!)

Build Philosophy: I've been following the advice I read years ago as provided by drag racer Dick Landy (Super Stock Dodge). He said: "Forget Horsepower! Work on makeing the horsepower you have work properly. Eliminate weight of all kinds! Reducing friction effectively increases horsepower. Make your chassis work for you, not against you. DO YOUR MAINTENANCE!! Only after all the above is done do you START looking for more power."

Many will not agree, but it works!

"Drive On...ARMY"

[i218127]

I found complete information on TEIN USA, INC. That info is:

TEIN USA, Inc.
9798 Firestone Blvd
Downey CA, 90241
TEL: 562.861.9161
FAX: 562.861.9171
Web: www.tein.com

This company has Sway Bar Chassis Bushings, and other front end parts.

"Drive On...ARMY"

[i218127]

Been out of the loop. Like most of you...I'm broke!! Waiting for the Tax Return.


"Drive On...ARMY"

[JPT]

You're not the only one.

[i218127]

I've been smelling fuel inside the car. NOT A GOOD THING! Had some real trouble tracking it down. I've found the problem inside the drivers side passenger area. Inside the trim molding, beside the fuel filler neck, is the Fuel Vapor Valve. It consists of two (2) small tanks with two (2) plastic valves on the side, all or which are connected by hoses. The problem is: one of the plastic valves leaks from the bottom. This particular valve is connected to a metal "L" piece through a gasket. Four (4) screws connect the "L" bracket to the plastic valve.

I felt air comming out when I gently blew through the hoses. Disconnecting the valve and bracket, I dunked the whole thing in water. Again, it bubbled air. Problem found, but not fixed.

Went to the "Want To Buy" page for a replacement, no luck. Called around here and still no luck. Will putty it up and put it back after retesting.

All the holding screws were tight and in place. Looks like the gasket just came apart. It may be heat, or it may be the additives in modern gas eating it out. Fuel vapor is the only thing that passes through the valve.

Problem restated: "No fuel smell while driving!! Smelled gas after the car was parked for a while. Noticable odor. More later.


"Drive On ARMY"

[i218127]

Fuel Vapor Valve Part Two (2).

Further observation indicates the valve is a two (2) piece type that is glued togeather in the middle. My valve was leaking at both the bottom AND between the halves. I used gray silicon glue to coat the device halves and bottom. The repaired valve was allowed to set up over night. Testing in the morning produced no leaks. The unit was reinstalled.

Bottom line: No smell. The valve just comes apart over time. Not a fun job, but stright forward. Side panels must be removed along with part of the carpet and back seat.

While I had everything apart, I installed two (2) rear speakers in the lift door panel. Made gray cover and put in Pioneer speakers. The sound is AWESOME !!
The bass rattles the license plate. Had to add additional screws and re-tighted the rear light assemblies. I don't "thump" along like the kides, but I hold my own !!

"Drive On ARMY"

[wolgy]

One other thing concerning nitrogen...the molecule is larger and it won't leak out as fast as air

[i218127]

Thanks WOLGY. It's hard to explain what Nitrogen does. You just feel something has improved. The technical considerations don't come into play as much as the "on-the-road" response and feel. It's just one of those things you have to try to believe. The car just seems lighter and more responsive. It's like "TUMS", you don't know why it works...it just works !!


"Drive On ARMY"