New guy, just bought an '89 L for DD

[Evil D]

Hey everyone...new here, just bought an '89 Festiva L 4 speed for a DD. I'm sure i'll be nagging the crap out of everyone with questions before long. So far i've swapped the 12s for some Accent 13s (which are rubbing in the back) and the car sits too high for my liking (any suggestions on a remedy? Cut a coil?).

I previously drove an '88 Merkur XR4Ti for my DD but just sold it to fund a paint job on my "fun" car, an '85 SSP Mustang coupe. It's a little built...362hp/364tq at the wheels. It's currently in about 20 pieces getting body work.

Anyways here's the Festiva...in all its glory.



It just turned over 162k and runs like a top except for the choke not working so cold starts are a little rough. It also badly needs the driver's side wheel bearings replaced (the wheel literally moves in/out/up/down and i think the inner bearing is completely gone). I may even need to replace the spindle if it's chewed up.

[defwish]

welcome! check out the custom brakes and suspension area on here. alot of great info on doin cheap coilovers etc.

[Evil D]

Yeah i've been reading about the Aspire stuff, my only problem is 1) i live in an apartment and with this being my DD anything like that has to basically happen in one day or over the weekend, and 2) believe it or not Aspires are like unicorns around here...you NEVER see them in the yards, let alone other Festivas. I haven't laid eyes on a Fiesta since about 1990 when my big brother had one.

[Tim]

Welcome! You've come to the right place.

That's a pretty nice car you got there, and black is a sought after color.

Front bearings on this car are a weird design and next to impossible to fix if you don't have the proper tools. I'm sure a local member will be happy to lend a hand, I would if I was closer.


-Tim

[bhazard]

Do a search on car-part.com

You'll find aspire parts.

[batstiva]

^^ Just be aware that they do not update very often. I've seen listings stay on there for months after I knew the part was sold. Still, a good place to start. Welcome Aboard. Your 89 looks like my 89, except yours appears to have more clear coat left.

[Evil D]

It's actually a metallic gray color. You can't see in that pic but there's a pretty good hand sized rust hole in front of the rear wheel well but otherwise the body is pretty clean. The interior on the other hand is pretty rough. I think it's been a work car all its life. It does run fantastic though which is why i bought it.

I don't know if anyone is familiar with Merkurs but it's a big change driving this compared to a 2.3L turbo RWD car, but it's pretty entertaining. I'll throw up some pics of my Mustang whenever it gets finished.

[batstiva]

Nice that it came with the passenger mirror, so there's one part you won't have to hunt down. Looks to be in pretty good shape, I think you'll be happy with it, once you get a few bugs worked out.

Is this your first Festiva experience? Cause you know, there's no turning back now. Drive it for a month, and you will go through hell and back to keep driving a Festiva.

[Evil D]

LOL yeah i'm a Festiva virgin. If i didn't have so much cash tied up in the Mustang i would probably have another one going for an engine swap. How involved is that and how hard are those engines to find? How different is the mpg with them? Are they running off the stock ECU or does everyone run Megasquirt or something like that? I just know how much of a snowball effect turbo engines because so i don't wanna end up where i was with my Merkur.

I will confess though, i've already been on craigslist looking for another one that has a rust free body :lol:

[Team Lightning]

Welcome to the best Festiva site in the world. The search button is your best friend as I'm sure you already know. Sounds like you've already been bitten by the festiva bug.
As far as I know, there is no known cure except more Festivas and upgrades,and mods and the list goes on and on and on...........
Welcome again.

[MTec007]

*can't do anything but sit back and laugh*

welcome to the site!

[Evil D]

Are there any known Cincinnati area guys on here?

[MTec007]

best place to check is in the regional forums, N.E. US

http://www.fordfestiva.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=31

[MONSOON]

Nice! Theres not many Charcoal Grey Metalic ones out there.
Welcome aboard!

[GenevaDirt]

Are there any known Cincinnati area guys on here?

quaddawg is in that area....runs auto x in the spring and summer....has a really worked over Festy beating the big bad boys.

By the way...welcome to the site.