Took my 88L DD back to the tire shop to tweak the alignment (last night's attempt resulted in a "straight" steering wheel with the car tracking to the left). Today, after the second attempt, it's pretty danged good.
Sweeeet! :thumbs_up:
Learned from the tire shop that a 195 tire fits nicely on a 6.5" wheel. I knew it would fit based on posts I've seen here on ff.com but wasn't sure if the tire would have to be stretched or perhaps if a 6.5" wheel was too narrow for a 195. Nope, they said it should be a good fit. With that then, I'm committed to find 15 x 6.5s wheels and 195-45-15 tires. #1 on my list of tires is the Nexxan N3000.
Also bought a brand new dome light from a Mazda dealer. With a military discount plus shipping to my door it was about $7 cheaper than the same light on e-Bay.
Oh yeah....yesterday a brown front seat/under-dash cubby that I bought on e-Bay arrived in the mail. Pretty nice shape for how old it is.
88L - 'Twistiva' - 'The Fusion of Man and Machine'
88LX - 'Laztiza' - Future Resurrection Project
91L - 'Mistiva' - My Daughter's DD
93L - 'Vextiva' - Airport Car
Installed my ebay civic shortshifter, shifts like a dream now. Would have to say cutting that spring was the hardest part, nothing I took to it would cut it. So I just put it in a set of vice grips and took a hacksaw to it.
1991 Ford Festiva BP (Full Aspire/Rio Swap) (337k Miles) (Around 95k Engine)
2002 Chevy Cavalier LS Sport 2.2L DOHC Ecotec (Threw a Rod)
1998 Chevy Monte Carlo LS 3.1 V6 (225k miles) Best MPG = 28
Remove the engine from my Aqua car.
I will never buy another Auto Festiva.
I've pretty much stripped the old engine. I need to locate another hand to help remove the torque converter.
Then I need to convert the Aspire donor engine to Festiva.
Do y'all have any suggestions for things to check/replace before I drop in the "new" engine? Simple known issues like trouble gaskets. I'll leave the water pump and oil pump alone for now.
I've been giving further thought, by opening the door of my apartment to look at the car's headlights; trying to imagine a good photo shoot, to examine the problem of accumulating water in the driver's side headlight pod. I noticed this only a few days ago, after nearly a decade ago effecting a good repair to an eighth inch size round hole made from a rock or similar. That was an improvised fix following an expense of $20-30 getting a plug installed by a shop also offering windshield crack repairs, which soon fell out. I used clear epoxy which at first wouldn't solidify soon enough to avoid dropping down through the hole; until I managed to use wound thread imaginatively, to create an absorbent dam the epoxy could adhere to while setting. I'm sort of lazy, with an important HUD inspection coming up December 20th to extend my section 8 federal rent subsidy another year; so will get around to some pics after that and a dentist appointment Friday.
'91 Festiva L/'73 Windsor Carrera Sport custom
(aka "Jazz Bobstad," "The BobWhan," etc.)
Art is the means whereby(a) society advances: Religion is the definition of the parameters of art. Poetry is the actualization of these...
I was looking at my "new" engine and the valve cover appears to be caulked on with clear silicone. May not ever leak again.. haha.
The intake gasket from my Festiva engine is metal- much like the exhaust gaskets. I've never seen one like it before. Can it be reused?
Let copper coat dry on both sides, Check manifold for flat, many years will make it wavy ; the bolt holes get pulled. Flat file, machine surface, whatever to make the surface flat. Copper coat will work good with metal gaskets and flat surfaces.
I also noted that winterforce tires have zero traction once the walnut shells are worn off and the daytime melt is turning to ice. UPS...hurry!
My replacement transmission arrived late last week and I finally got the resurfaced flywheel, new clutch, engine with new oil pump and rear main seal and transmission mated up and back in the car today. :thumbs_up: This has been a frustrating couple of weeks... took a while to find a transmission. Thanks to B&G Autowreckers in Weyburn SK; they had the best price and were quick to respond to questions.
I had planned to change the oil pump anyway so that wasn't an issue but discovered a few other things that had to be done. The passenger side front wheel bearings were shot, the rear motor mount was broken in two and the front shocks had all but lost their rebound. Fortunately I had an extra mount and had the Tein coilovers to install. Bought replacement bearings and seals for the front and also picked up a bearing separator/puller set from Princess Auto (similar to Harbor Frieght I think). I already had the Ford tool kit for the front bearings so now I can do the front hub rebuilds at home.
Plan is to hook up all the hoses and wiring tomorrow and get the car back on the road! I will have an issue to sort out with the Teins as the alloy wheels I run in the summer will hit them. No problems with the winter steelies though. I'll post another thread with some pics to show you what I'm up against.
Ian
Calgary AB, Canada
93 L B6T: June 2016 FOTM
59 Austin Healey "Bugeye" Sprite
"It's infinitely better to fail with courage than to sit idle with fear...." Chip Gaines (pg 167 of Capital Gaines, Smart Things I Learned Doing Stupid Stuff)
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