Help me pick between festivas.

[taxcider]

first off, they're both cleaner than the one I'm driving! Secondly, a valve cover gasket is about $20 in parts and 2 hours of your time, if you've never worked on cars before. The rust through in the pic appears to only be the heat shield, not the actual pipe. If that's the case, don't even worry about it.

Whoot! Thanks for the good news!

My experience goes only so far as installing an aftermarket shifter in a mustang, and changing the oil once (I hated that damned car, oil leaking, tweaked out, fuel-reeking rocket from hell). Oh, and replacing a tail lamp on an 03 Forester.

I do look forward to learning a few things with the festiva, though.

I'm asking so many questions because I really didn't ask enough before buying that stupid cobra, and it made me hate life for a while. :wink:

[25Horseplay]

"Stupid Cobra"? What year? I have a 93 Cobra that I love,I have owned it since 95. I like my Festiva (Cobra emblems on Festiva) but I wouldn't get rid of the Cobra for a Festiva.

[taxcider]

It was a 95, with a vortech blower, and a bunch of Maximum Motorsports and Griggs gear for handling. It was built up for road course racing by the previous owner.

It was quite a piece of work, and pretty neat by any performance standards (387hp/391 tq), but I worried about it constantly (not being a gearhead and Apex Motorsports is almost two hours away). Plus, it broke down to the tune of about $3K right after I got it (headers cracked, needed new cats and a new x-pipe).

I may put a "police interceptor" badge on the festiva (had one on the cobra above the SVT emblem).

[25Horseplay]

My 93 Cobra is twin turbo'd 494rwhp 540fptq, alot of fun to drive, It runs easy mid 11's at 121mph. I don't push it too hard because it still has hyper pistons and stock parts in rearend, but its been running trouble free since 98. Well I haven't drove it in last couple years,took it apart to get the paint fixed (it had alot of small cracks in the paint).

[taxcider]

... 494rwhp 540fptq, alot of fun to drive, ... running trouble free since 98.

With numbers like that, it HAS to be fun to drive! :lol:

The "trouble free" part is the clincher - if I had that, I would have liked it much more. As it was, that car and I never really "clicked".

[Safety Guy]

Cider, once you get your Festiva, the best person to work on it will usually be YOU. That's what I've learned. Learn how and do it right. Beats dealing with other people's mistakes.

Karl

[taxcider]

I took home the little aqua box for $700!

It passed smog (my biggest worry), I doublechecked for weird damage, and looked at the fluids again. It drives fine, and I pretty much giggle most of the time I drive it.

[Fastiva55]

CONGRATS!

[FB71]

I took home the little aqua box for $700!

It passed smog (my biggest worry), I doublechecked for weird damage, and looked at the fluids again. It drives fine, and I pretty much giggle most of the time I drive it.

Sweet! Congrats!