Which Festiva to start?

[TheNewAmericanSpirit]

I've been turning over a question in my mind for 2 months now on what to do about my current Fetiva situation. First off, I know I am lucky to have two Festivas that are in working condition. I'm very grateful for that!

Here is what I have:

Black Festiva: I love this car and is the first festiva I bought but it is terd gobbling SLOW!!!
Good:
- Originally red but has matte black vinyl all over.
- Has a set of brand new duel bold pattern 14x6" with 6 week old tires.
- interior is decent shape
- has AC, but doesn't work
- rear defrost
- current stock suspension but feels solid
Bad
- carby 1988 4 speed (Slowest Festiva I've ever been in)
- has AC, but doesn't work
- fuel gauge recently stopped working
- sloppy shifter (no big deal really)
- almost 170k miles (no big deal really)


Green Festiva:
Good:
- 1992 EFI engine with only 132k miles and most of those are hwy miles
- engine runs well and seems strong
- no sloppiness in shifter
Bad
- interior has water damage and smells HORRIBLE
- driver's seat is missing 40% of the left side and needs to be replaced.
- passenger seat has no seat belt
- needs new clutch (still driveable though)
- I don't think there has been much major maintenance done ie. water pump, timing belt, etc (So that stiff prob needs doing)
- suspension seams floaty and not as responsive as my black festiva

Here is what I currently have to work with:
- Full aspire swap with 13's (but will need new tires, basically everything I need for a full Aspire swap)
- Aspire sway bar
- Front aspire suspension (On top of the full suspension)
- Fuel tank and fuel lines from an EFI Festiva

Here is what I would like to accomplish:
- turn one of the Festivas into a DD with a B8 swap
- turn the other Festiva in a BP rear turbo car


Currently the carbed 88 is my DD and the green EFI Festiva is sitting in my driveway. I've got a lot of tools to work with as well as room and friends to help me. However, I would like to keep at least one Festiva a DD at all times because my other option for a car is my Silverado that gets 15mpg. The savings I get for driving a Festiva, $100 a month, is what is funding this project.

So my question: if you were in my shoes and had my goals (with limited funds, not THOUSANDS of $$$) how would you go about accomplishing those goals? You guys have a lot more experience doing these types of things than I do and will be able to think this through better than me.

Thanks in advance!!!

[bobbyspider]

swap good interior into the green one (carpet and all) check for rust while carpet is out, throw the aspire swap on it since the suspension is bad anyway. throw a b8 in there new clutch. ALWAYS HAVE YOUR DD DONE FIRST.

then leave the black one gutted throw the bp in with a g-series, get some wiring from donsvo and have some fun

all in all you have almost everything you need to do the cars except the motors and some wiring. shouldnt be an expensive adventure. you could keep putting money aside for the bp stuff while your stuffing in the b8. boom done

[bobbyspider]

thank you sir.

[skimsucka]

^ + 1

[Festevil3]

Sounds like Bobbyspider has it all figured out for you. When you start turning wrenches let me know, I would like to ride out your way

[bravekozak]

I hate smelly water damage. Forget about the green car, even though I have a green one, and go with the black one. Shifter kit will be available soon. Water damage, means lift up the car and see all the rust! Do an Escort carb conversion and ditch the computer.

[neanderpaul]

I'm curious as to why your carby 4 speed is slow. All of the fastest STOCK festivas I've experienced were carbed.

[TheNewAmericanSpirit]

Sounds like Bobbyspider has it all figured out for you. When you start turning wrenches let me know, I would like to ride out your way

I've been meaning to call you to see if you have a B8 so I can get started

I'm curious as to why your carby 4 speed is slow. All of the fastest STOCK festivas I've experienced were carbed.

I'd like to know too! To me it feels like it has 10-15hp less than any EFI Festiva I've been in. My carby is the only carb I've been in so I don't really have a reference to compare. It probably just needs a good rebuild and some TLC.

[bobbyspider]

^ im sure that man can conjour up just about anything you need

[Safety Guy]

Also consider that "time is money." What engine can you get easiest/soonest for a swap? I wouldn't look down on a nice B6 is it becomes available, and it would be the better choice for a commuter car than a B8. Also slightly easier to swap (usually). What engine can you find and how reliable will it be? Will it just need new seals/freshening up or a partial or total rebuild? Consider time and cost-effectiveness here.

The smelly car I would pick for a total teardown, cleanup and rebuild. You might want to make this one your future performance build with that BP. However, you'll need to tear it apart and either get rid of or clean almost everything that might smell. This is a lot of work but it's also a way to really learn your car!

I'd fix up your DD/commuter first with the smell car as your backup (and Silverado as final backup). If you have to have both Festivas down, no problem--but you should schedule this for a weekend or vacation time so your truck will only be used for parts runs instead of a long commute.

Consider the following for your '88:

-built B3 with Weber carb conversion (you could use the B3 out of your FI car and either get another carbed intake or just fix the engine itself until you're ready for the swap)
-older style B6 carb conversion using your B3 intake parts
-convert it to FI (good time to strip it, put in new hard lines all around (FI spec larger fuel lines, FI tank, FI harness)

Consider this for your smell car:

-full tear down, clean up and engine swap; suspension swap, etc.
-just clean it up for a DD while you do major work on your '88

Also remember you can prep extra engines, interiors and suspension out of the car so they're simply ready to install when you are ready!

Just some ideas.

Karl

[bravekozak]

You will need an adapter plate if you decide to keep the black car.