91 Festy - Considering BP swap

[christdw]

Hello everyone, I am new to this website and new to the idea of the BP-ZE swap for my 91' Festy. I have found a 91 Merc Capri with a 1.8 Fuel injection. My question, is the transmission in the Capri F/I unit different than a transmission in the Capri Turbo car? And in all my research I dont see the 91 Capri 1.8 liter motor mentioned as a possible swap motor. Thanks to anyone out there...Dwc

[Grey Vw]

The Capri has a the 1.6 B6D and the Capri Xr2 has the 1.6 B6T. The non-turbo capri has the F-series tranny while the turbo one has a G-series tranny.

[christdw]

GreyVw, thank you for that info. As you can tell I am a novice to this swap. However not a novice to festy's. Over the years have had 4 Festy's all drove 250k plus. Cheap/dependable transportation. At this point between my dad and I we have 3 Aspires and 2 Festiva's and we want to do something different. A friend suggested we look into a BP swap. My dad who is 80 this year, is totally stoked about it, so here we go again. Thank you for the info. Dwc.....

[christdw]

Question, i have read where the G series tranny didn't really hold up that much better, is that true?

[kumalaba]

false, its stronger

[nonamekid]

Question, i have read where the G series tranny didn't really hold up that much better, is that true?

Relative to the stock festiva tranny, it is stronger, but when subjected to abuse they do tend to blow up.

[windy1]

engine swap

u swap the stock b3,for a non stock engine,your car is no longer stock.
plus a larger engine,will be harder on braking,suspension will suffer,also,from increased power. but u,dont want to hear this,i know. i was where u,were once. ive hopped up a lot of datsun 510,s once. the beauty,is in the stock configurations. if u swap an engine,for a bigger one,u ought to change other components,to be safer,when u,put your foot,into it.
theres a lot to be said,about taking a b3 head,and putting bigger valves,and porting it,then drop bigger pistons,and deck the block. thats more expensive,i know so well. but u,still have a stock car,u,can compete in a stock class. your way,s the quickest,for sure. just be carefull.
mdoyleufo@gmail.com.

[Damkid]

plus a larger engine,will be harder on braking,suspension will suffer,also,from increased power.

Please explain this one to me a bit further....... braking only suffers depending on the driving style, if the driver keeps it floored until last minute, then yes with a bigger engine braking will suffer a bit more, but if the driver brakes like a sane person, then stock brakes will be sufficient for normal daily driving

[christdw]

One more question, I have found an Escort GT, I am taking the brakes, hubs etc. and the G series tranny, the motor is blown and needs rebuilding. Are these motors/cars getting hard to come by? My real question is should I grab this and rebuild it or keep looking?
I appreciate both of your input and you are both right on the money depending how I drive the thing. thank you...

[91blufestiva]

The EGT tranny's are the G-series, but they are a hydro clutch instead of the cable clutch like the festiva. So you will either need to convert your car to hydro, or find an adapter from someone on here that is probably hard to find. Also BP's also came in 90-94 Mazda Protege LX's (hydro g-series again) What people like to do is find a BP and then a tranny from a 91-94 Mercury Capri XR2 (cable clutch G-series) That is what I'm doing. Also, the availability really seems like it depends on your location, some people say there are 15 BP's in there local junkyard, other people say there isn't one for the next 100 miles. You just gotta keep looking around for the right motor, if the motor is rebuildable, and you have the knowledge to rebuild it, I'd say go for it cause then you'll have a nice motor.

[christdw]

Hello All, 3 or 4 weeks have gone by since I first consided a Festy swap. Sincre then I have gone all in. Found two donor cars for two projects. First Car found was a 91 Capri non turbo, five speed, going into a 97 Aspire (for my dad). Second car found 94 Protoge LX, auto trans going into my 91' Festiva. Wish me lots o'luck. I have some concerns about the LX auto going into my Festy manual trans car. I have a G series manual tranny and the auto tranny out of the LX. I understand wiring harness is a problem going from stick to auto tranny, is that right?

[Bert]

I would suggest that an auto B8 (3 gears?) just might be able to keep up to someone who knows how to manipulate a 5 speed B3. But what a waste of power and fuel economy. A B8 ought to bolt up to a Festy transmission with a bit of care. At least you'll be driving the car and not the reverse scenario of it driving you.

[FestYboy]

^ why.... just why???

Chris, the LX auto engine will have a different TPS than what you'll need for the manual Festy (need a manual TPS), also you'll need a manual ECU for said engine. other than that you'll be using most of all your festy harness and not the LX harness at all save for injector pigtails. wiring won't be your problem, it'll be mounting the engine/trans and getting the clutch to work. if you can do that, the rest is cake.

[christdw]

91blufestiva, thanks for your ideas. I ended up not picking up the EGT and opted for a 94 Protoge LX, only because I got the entire car. It looks like I will probably go with a Capri G transmission as you are doing. Thanks, Dave C.