Our Festies compared to modern mini hatchbacks.

[chaosdrifter06]

So far, the smallest hot hatch I've seen is the Fiat 500 Abarth SS, which has around 160hp and weighing around 2200lbs.

Stock Festivas weigh around 1700lbs with 83hp.

The Abarth SS has around 160hp/ton and the stock festivas around 107hp/ton.

With little mods to the Festiva for a much lower price we have potential to run with the Abarth SS.

Take example my Festy, Bumblebee. With the 1.6L swap and the stripped interior, I'm estimating a loss of around 200 lbs, which places me around 1500lbs. The 1.6 BF makes around 95hp and with that I have about 142hp/ton.

Wanna see how your festy fares? Check this converter out:

http://www.george-edwards.co.uk/converter.php

Be sure to convert pounds to kilos though (lbs/2.2).

I find it pretty lame that even the smallest cars of today are in the 2200 lb range. My 1991 Nissan Stanza only weighed 200lbs more and it was a four door.

After I fix the little issues within Bumblebee, it's going to be F-series tranny swap, late Volvo turbo/intercooler and I'm off to the track.

[getnpsi]

Cars had to get heavier to survive accidents with the suvs. this is why a 2010 honda accord has gained 1000 pounds since i was in high school and still manages to get about the same mileage thanks to superior technology. Stick a current accord v6 into a mid 1990's model and boom instant hot rod.

You cant go wrong with anything late 1980s, as long as the engine is the next generation up(reliability), and the next platform up (displacement)

[hotfordcat]

The Stock B3 only has 63hp. It's the B6 that is 82hp.

[bhazard]

2200 lb is pretty good if it has 10 airbags, abs, TC, SC, etc...

[sketchman]

^Trouble is though, that there are "plenty" of enthusiasts rolling around in these little "death traps" and we just aren't dieing nearly as often as the safety advocates would have everyone believe we should be without all that extra stuff to weigh us down.

Seems like a moot point that they did a good job of being weight efficient, all things considered, if the fact that they start out by being forced to handicap themselves gets consideration. Just my opinion.

[ericsmith32]

You'd have a better comparison if you used a Hyundai Accent or Toyota Yaris hatchback. The 500 is in the same niche as the Mini etc.

[TominMO]

My Festy makes about 150 crank HP with the B6rt, and weighs about 1800. Way faster than the Abarth 500 FTW! And it can do the rear seat trick, and get better mileage. Fiat 500--pffft.

[blkfordsedan]

It's not just Safety equipment, you also have a lot more in terms of emissions and "creature comforts" that everyone expects in modern cars.
It's amazing that the current American muscle (Mustang, Camaro, Challenger, Charger, etc.) are all pushing 2 tons now.They're now in the catagory of the old Galaxie, Impala/Caprice, Polaris, etc...and are still faster, safer and more reliable and efficient than their '60s counterparts.

I remember a speech Obama gave during the campaign. He criticized the car companies because the original Model T made as good fuel mileage as modern cars and tried to say technology has failed. I don't even know where to begin with that logic (or lack thereof).

[chaosdrifter06]

The Stock B3 only has 63hp. It's the B6 that is 82hp.

The B6 carb right? Mine is FI. I hope I don't have 82.

[leapin]

You'd have a better comparison if you used a Hyundai Accent or Toyota Yaris hatchback. The 500 is in the same niche as the Mini etc.

Agreed. Although there is a N/A version of the 500 with a 1.4L making about 100 hp.

[chaosdrifter06]

You'd have a better comparison if you used a Hyundai Accent or Toyota Yaris hatchback. The 500 is in the same niche as the Mini etc.

I parked next to the new Minis once and looked at them side to side. They are literally the same size.

[htchbck]

The B6 carb right? Mine is FI. I hope I don't have 82.

All the numbers I've seen for the B6 FI state 82. The B6D is around 105 I think, and the 16 valve SOHC B6 (Cali version from what I've read, though they may be in a some MX3/323s as well) is 88 right? Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong but I don't think I am.

[chaosdrifter06]

Well I'm also thinking of the things done to my car. For all I know, there is some internal work done to it that the first owner didn't tell the second owner. Feels a lot faster than 88. I cough at 65 and I find myself at 75. Once I get the car tuned up with new spark plugs, oil, distributor, etc, I'm taking it to a dyno.

[htchbck]

Feels a lot faster than 88 .... ... .... I'm taking it to a dyno.

If you can *feel* how *fast* HP is then you don't need a dyno

[chaosdrifter06]

The Dyno is merely for confirmation purposes. Plus it gives me an idea on how I should approach the build. So far, I want a little, reliable, quick rascal car. A friend suggested a turbo from a Volvo which is pretty small and should spool quickly, without giving too much power and grenading my engine. I'm also adding a snorkel intake. After what happened in Providence yesterday and how deep the flooded roads get I thought it would come in pretty handy. Exhaust manifold is rusted to $h!t so that's going. Definitely an F-series tranny swap in the future since I'm opting for more power. But first thing is first and that is tune-up and re-wiring. I'm getting rid of all those gauges and try to find an all-in-one unit. Only gauge I'm keeping is the tach. Suspension is okay, prolly a front alignment....maybe sway bars and suspension mounts.

A repaint maybe....paint job is cool, but need something that attracts less attention from cops.