A miata owner who has just bought a Festiva

[lostcoastmx]

Hi everyone! I am a long time miata driver and have grown tired of driving my racecar to work everyday so I just bought a 93' festiva after about a year of searching and I need some advice on some repair stuff.. I bought the car with a cracked head near the driver side spark plug... oil has a little chocolate milkness to it, do i need to do a whole rebuild or just at good cleaning with a good head?

the car has 200k miles on it and is in great condition other than the head, i got the car for pretty cheap so I can spend some tax return money on it. I know very little about these cars so I am looking to you guys..and will greatly appreciate any advice you have.I would also gladly share any of my knowledge of miatas to anyone who asks, I have owned a few.

[jjk1224]

You have certainly found the right place. Everyone around here is very helpful, I'm sure if you stick around you will be here or awhile.

You may be able to get away with replacing only your engines head, but you will need to determine what other damage the engine may have. Has it sat for a long time? The crack most likely causing coolant to bypass your head gasket to explain the mixture in your oil. You need to figure out if any has entered your combustion chambers and if the cylinder walls are in decent shape. With 200k, I would suggest doing a full rebuild if your already going to have the engine mostly apart. It will also help you learn why your head cracked in the first place. It may have happened from over heating, but aluminum heads usually warp a decent amount before they crack. Rebuilding a b3 is easy if you have any experience with engine internals. If not, a whole engine can be sourced online for cheap or possibly purchase one from a fellow member here for an even better deal(if your able to transport it). These cars are very simple and easy to work on, if you need help just search around for some answers and if you don't find anything dot be afraid to ask!
Im sure you will be pleased to hear your knowledge of the miata will come in handy, as the Mazda b6 and Bp engines are common swaps into these little cars.

[htchbck]

I'd like be the first to say welcome from a fellow Festiva/Miata owner. I have one of the ~1500 '92 SBYs, not in perfect shape cosmetically (far from it) but mechanically its a DD and I'm slowly bringing back to its former beauty as time and finances allow. My wife and I also have 4 festivas which I love very dearly! With 200k I would probably do a full rebuild if time/budget allow. These engine will go forever, and you could probably just slap a new head on and call it a day with many more miles to go, but a rebuild can restore a lot of power and fuel economy that have been lost over the course of 200k miles and twenty years. There is also the option of a handful of other motors to swap as well, might consider taking a look over in the engine swaps section of the site

[Damkid]

I personally look at the stock engine as not being worth rebuilding, it's just a lot cheaper to just replace with a good one..... That's my two cents on that one, but personally if I'm pulling a stock engine, most likely something bigger would go back in

[georgeb]

Throw a used head on it.

[eurotiva]

Welcome. Add your location so someone close can help. I'd go bp, but thats just me.

[Safety Guy]

Lostcoast, if you've rebuilt engines before, the B3 should be a piece of cake. However, the Festiva/Aspire and the Miata share many useful parts. I'd recommend:

-If you need another ride right now, put a new head on your B3 so you can use the car immediately. Check and fix what other things you can as you do this.

-Next do an Aspire suspension and brake swap. That way you can use just about any Miata wheel on your Festiva! I have a set each of Daisies, '99+s and solid seven spokes. Check this out:

http://www.fordfestiva.com/forums/showthread.php?t=34922&highlight=victoracer

-Consider an engine swap when you can. For max MPGs and a little more power, the plain Jane B6 would be easiest and provide almost as many MPGs as the B3.

-Mod an old Miata 1.6 with FWD accessories and put that in for a nice 116hp Festiva. If you do this you might want to upgrade to an F series transaxle so you don't have to baby it on takeoffs.

Karl

[M3NTAL]

Oil
In water = not good it's only a matter if time till that moisture destroys the bearings.

[lostcoastmx]

Wow, thanks for all of the great advice!...I think a total rebuild is in order for this car, the car has not been broken for very long so i'm not expecting anything super bad. I have some experience with engine work and have many friends that have more than me, I bought this car because of the gas mileage and comfort compared to my Miata so the better condition the motor is in the more ill squeeze out of the gallon..

Is there any tricks when rebuilding to gain more fuel efficiency?..
once again, thanks for all the great advice.

[mckabe]

Pics of the car or it doesn't exist lol

[Safety Guy]

"Is there any tricks when rebuilding to gain more fuel efficiency?"

I'm planning on using an Aspire head with roller rockers for my 1.3 MPG build. Roller rockers have less friction.

Karl

[daniel_cogar]

Pics of the car or it doesn't exist lol

this is what im thinking

[Britstiva]

I'm also a Festiva and Miata owner! 91 Miata, 93 Festiva, 95 Aspire!

[Grey Vw]

I personally look at the stock engine as not being worth rebuilding, it's just a lot cheaper to just replace with a good one..... That's my two cents on that one, but personally if I'm pulling a stock engine, most likely something bigger would go back in

x2


B6 swap:p

[lostcoastmx]

Pics of the car or it doesn't exist lol

lmao! I say the same thing to everyone! I promise I will put up pics as soon as I can...Im a full time student and work on my days off so time is rare right now..lol I had a feeling someone would say that

btw to the other miata owners, I have a 2000 emerald green mica w/hardtop, and have owned a 90,91, and a 94,..all red. I will post pics of that car as well.