Took Bumblebee on her maiden voyage.

[FestYboy]

all are available in manual, though the celica is another rare bird.

[wybnrml]

I would suggest a Mazda 323 GTX/GTR drivetrain. You can find them on Ebay and you can get them from Japanese engine importers. That would probably be the easiest/cheapest route for an AWD setup.

[js_og]

Absolutely.

One down (or perhabs up?), more to come. Hopefully

[chaosdrifter06]

So after what is posted on this thread and after driving her, I have put together a things to buy/do list for her. The items are as follows:

1.)Full Tune Up (plugs, distributor, oil, air filter)
2.)Front Wheel Alignment (just in case)
3.)Re wire car (install new gauges, replace tach, condense all auxiliary gauges and speedometer into Defi Meter Advance ZD)
4.)Restore interior (panels sans seat, will create large floorboard to cover the rear area)

**Prepare chassis for higher performance (ie suspension, brakes, chassis, etc.)

5.)Purchase Yamaha V6
6.)Seek out a Mazda 323 GTX transmission
7.)Do swap; purchase, spend, and fab up what is necessary (this includes suspension if aspire struts fail to support engine)
8.)New paint (bumblebee paint scheme is too attention grabbing)


I'm going to enjoy this.....hopefully this entire thing comes to fruition. The last project I planned had my 300ZX undergoing a 4.5 V8 swap. After the wreck, the body would be too weak to sustain any serious modding. If this pulls through, I never thought I'd find the ideal track/grocery getter in a Festiva.

[FestYboy]

if you're gonna do a front engine awd setup, might i suggest an acura TSX drivetrain? 285 hp

[chaosdrifter06]

if you're gonna do a front engine awd setup, might i suggest an acura TSX drivetrain? 285 hp

That will literally make my car a Honda....and everyone here knows how I found my Festy...

[FestYboy]

i'm just sayin.... lol but really, i'd look into a manual Escape with the V6 and use that.

OR maybe a DSM drivetrain?

[chaosdrifter06]

I'm not too sure with post 1996 engines....all those electrogizmos will drive me nuts. For example, Audi engines won't start unless it's connected with the respective dash. A guy in Canada swapped in a 3.2 V6 from a Quattro into his 1st gen Golf. He had to swap in the entire dash as well. Don't want to run that risk...then again my first choice WAS the 2010 SHO motor.