New member, new Festiva

[Safety Guy]

Don't listen to that Jim guy. It's called an "Irish Plastic Purse" and it holds four leaf clovers from inside a fairy circle, for good cheer and an occasional burst of power, if you hold your tongue right.

Karl

[freshtiva]

I'm planning on running this little car in next year's "24 Hours on LeMons" race.

That car is too nice to tear up.

[majo8]

Guys.........this car is more rough than the pictures let on. The hood, roof, and even the fender bulges have light hail damage, and there is rust that doesn't show in the pics ( the front of the hood has 3-4 rust holes ) -- I'll take some more soon and post them.

The dashboard is in great shape, but the front seats are totally roached, the parking brake doesn't work, the carpet and headliner were nasty, and the interior panels in the back seat and trunk area are sorry.

Mechanically, I need to replace the front sway bar bushings, motor mounts, valve cover gasket, and cvt boots.

On the plus side: the floor is solid ( except for a small gash that poked through and has minimal rust ), the engine, clutch, and tranny are in good shape. The shifter is tight, and shifts like new.

I've always been a fan of the Festiva, which is why I chose one for this project. A friend had one 20 years ago ( had the tach, a/c, and nice wheels ) and I was/am impressed with the interior room, styling, and gas mileage. I'd be happy to drive this car as a DD if my job was different ( I'm in wine sales, and I drive 500 miles a week and occasionally need to take a client in my car ).

I'll be starting a thread soon to detail the prep for racing next year. I'll try to detail the build as it progresses ( I have 10 months ), and I'm sure I'll be asking a lot of questions!

Over the last couple days, I've stripped the interior -- here's a pic:

[freshtiva]

This one had an engine fire, burned most of the engine compartment and was infested with mice. Had to replace everything on it. It drove nice today, all day long, and will for years to come.








Every problem you’ve mentioned can be corrected with less work then it will take to make it race worthy.






Please don’t wreck it. Festys in that shape are getting hard to find. See below

http://www.fordfestiva.com/forums/showthread.php?t=22600&highlight=frankenstiva

[DriverOne]

I'm in wine sales, and I drive 500 miles a week and occasionally need to take a client in my car.

You drive a Maserati Quattroporte?!

[majo8]

Fresh -- nice restoration! I'm currently restoring a plain jane '67 Mercury Cougar XR7. The color is Tiffany Blue, which is close to the Auqa color on the Festiva.

Driver -- I wish I had such a nice ride! But I'm stuck with driving a six year old Civic for work......not much dough in the low end of the retail wine trade.

I changed the oil, filter, and pcv valve on the Festiva today, but the parts store didn't carry an air filter. Any suggestions on a good brand to use?

[freshtiva]

Six year old civics are great 24 hour lemons cars !!

[Damkid]

^^He's right you know

[neanderpaul]

I'm currently restoring a plain jane '67 Mercury Cougar XR7.

My Second favorite car after the festiva. Would love to see pics. Welcome!

[majo8]

My Second favorite car after the festiva. Would love to see pics. Welcome!

Here's a pic before I tore it apart:



Here's how it sits now -- need to finish up bodywork and get it into paint.

[kellen302]

^Thats purdy, we have a '69 Cat, standard trim, sold by my dad's dad to the family, later bought by my dad's brother, who shipped it out about 6-7 years ago, 71k original miles, numbers matching