Has anyone ever performed a full tit-4-tat Festy/Aspire swap?

[Larry Hampton]

In other words, put the Festy bits on the Aspire? I'm sorta looking at this. Most Aspires here are over a grand, kicking buying, swapping and reselling.

[Safety Guy]

I suppose it would be okay if you kept it yourself and only used it for lot/property driving or short trip backup use. Otherwise, I think it would be kinda dangerous.

I'd take out the back seat and carry only one passenger at the most, and only for in city careful driving, since braking will suffer, and you may get more body roll than you'd like.

I do admit it would be sorta interesting to see it done!

Karl

[Bert]

Why would you even think about doing something like that.
Festy brakes are meagre even by 1700 lb car standards (and Aspires are about 1900-2000). And now you want to de-grade (as opposed to up-grade) to no-torsion rear frame, archaic solid rotors up front and dinky brakes. Not to mention really having to scout around for suitable wheels.

[Safety Guy]

Well, it would be a way to get a junker Aspire to the 'yard without towing it! Whether barely running or towed, it would roll okay. And if you were keeping the whole Aspire for a rainy day, it would make a workable lot roller so you could move it--to a friend's house if necessary!

Karl

[Larry Hampton]

My problem is, there are no junker Aspires. $1400 & $1700 are what we have locally. Why would I need any wheels? And why do we care about degrading the Aspire, I'm upgrading the Festy and selling the Aspire?

[Safety Guy]

No way I would sell a Festiva suspensioned Aspire unless I documented the buyer was fully informed that the brakes, etc. were below standards. Still, I'm not sure what legal problems would ensue from intentionally downgrading a car and then selling it. Maybe none.

If you lightened the Aspire until it was a Festiva weight, then maybe it wouldn't be too bad. I suppose one could try an MPG build with an extremely light Aspire, taking advantage of its possibly superior aerodynamics. Lowered, with a special "economy" drivetrain (Festiva 5 speed comes to mind in place of the Aspire unit) and the best brake job you could give it might be a worthwhile trick. Maybe.

Karl

[Bert]

Seems to me like putting a 50s VW bug motor in a Smart Car. You'd gain nothing.

[scitzz]

My problem is, there are no junker Aspires. $1400 & $1700 are what we have locally. Why would I need any wheels? And why do we care about degrading the Aspire, I'm upgrading the Festy and selling the Aspire?

Because you would be selling a very dangerous car to an unsuspecting stranger, who might, one night, not be able to stop in time, and cream your Festiva. Or you wife, or child, or sister.... That is why.

[Larry Hampton]

Bert, do you know anything about the Aspire swap? I mean putting the Aspire suspension into the Festy.

[Larry Hampton]

Because you would be selling a very dangerous car to an unsuspecting stranger, who might, one night, not be able to stop in time, and cream your Festiva. Or you wife, or child, or sister.... That is why.

I deal with that now. The Festy is a very dangerous car. A friend of mine, who also owns a Festy, said you have to think of it as an enclosed motorcycle. If you get in an accident with just about anything, you're going to lose. Face it, you're driving around in an empty beer can.

I never said I wouldn't have full disclosure. I'm just asking if anyone has ever done it.

[zoom zoom]

And why do we care about degrading the Aspire

Aspires are cars too!

Genetically superior cars in fact, the heart of a mazda with the body of a KIA and the soul of a Festiva.

[Larry Hampton]

Forget it....... Delete this thread.....

I'm starting to see a trend, I ask a simple question and I get a bunch of posts either wanting to know more info about why I asked my question, how could I ask such a question, why do you want to know, why would you want to do something like that, etc.... Rarely ever does my question get answered. I guess no answer is an answer, has anyone ever done this? No...

[zoe60]

But an Aspire has safety upgrades like airbags, and they are bigger, which is why you would never want to put wimpy Festiva brakes on one. It would be unsafe. If you sold it to someone and they got killed because you were cheap, you'd probably have a hard time living with yourself. I think insurance wise they don't want people modifying cars the way we do with the Aspire swap. If you purposely downgrade a cars brakes and an insurance company finds out about it, it will make us all look bad. The only way you should sell your Aspire is with Aspire brakes. Just my .02.

[zoe60]

Forget it....... Delete this thread.....

I'm starting to see a trend, I ask a simple question and I get a bunch of posts either wanting to know more info about why I asked my question, how could I ask such a question, why do you want to know, why would you want to do something like that, etc.... Rarely ever does my question get answered. I guess no answer is an answer, has anyone ever done this? No...

Sure you could. Use the Festy brake hoses and Festy tie rod ends. If I get injured by an Aspire with Festiva brakes I will sue you.

[Safety Guy]

Larry wrote:

"Forget it....... Delete this thread.....

I'm starting to see a trend, I ask a simple question and I get a bunch of posts either wanting to know more info about why I asked my question, how could I ask such a question, why do you want to know, why would you want to do something like that, etc.... Rarely ever does my question get answered. I guess no answer is an answer, has anyone ever done this."

Yes, I'm pretty sure it can be done, but I don't know anyone who has done it.

As for all the different comments, just realize you're getting "bonus" information.

Some of us think it's a really bad idea, while some of us think it could be useful under very limited circumstances. So we voiced our opinions, just like most do in any other thread on this site. No reason to get annoyed with us.

(If you want to limit what folks write in response, please describe those limitations in your first post.)

Karl