Help! I need ideas.

[PartyWagon89]

Ok.. So I wrecked my festiva. It's an 89 auto. I need a bumper, rad, rad support, hood, grill, passenger side headlight, etc. The problem is that the only place I can find parts wants 1500 for the parts car or over 500 for parts. And there aren't any within reasonable distance on Craigslist. It's looking like I'm sol on parts.. So I was thinking I could put the good motor in a different kind of car that has a blown motor or is just a roller for a couple hundred bucks.. Now I am looking for ideas for an easy swap that wouldn't require too much modding. I am on a very small budget so keep that in mind when making other reccomendations because I am open to ideas. Thank you!

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[clphipps79]

You're in the right place for ideas!!!

[ryanprins13]

Idea: buy a temporary beater and wait for a heavily modded awesome rust free festiva to come up for sale here and wait till the price eventually gets down to $1500. Then buy it and be super happy and sell the beater and keep your wrecked one for spare parts.


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[PartyWagon89]

I would do that ryanprins13, but I I still owe money on my car.. So I want to do something with it you know?

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[nonamekid]

Ok.. So I wrecked my festiva. It's an 89 auto. I need a bumper, rad, rad support, hood, grill, passenger side headlight, etc....

If your needing all those parts, I would also be checking for structural damage. The Festiva does have crumple zones that are designed to give in an impact. These might also be damaged. This kind of damage can mess with suspension geometry, vehicle tracking, and future crash protection. Do you have an pictures of the damage?

[Cory_Thurmond]

I have 2 fenders a hood a radiator and headlight. ... can cut anything else needed off my blue car for 225$ in concord nc

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[ryanprins13]

What nonamekid said is pretty important. Do you know much of autobody?
Is there any way this could go through insurance or not?


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[PartyWagon89]

If your needing all those parts, I would also be checking for structural damage. The Festiva does have crumple zones that are designed to give in an impact. These might also be damaged. This kind of damage can mess with suspension geometry, vehicle tracking, and future crash protection. Do you have an pictures of the damage?

You can see the unibody inside the fender is bent.. But I have it inspected for a while and im pretty sure all suspension components are untouched.

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[PartyWagon89]

Anybody have ideas for the swap option I mentioned?

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[PartyWagon89]

What nonamekid said is pretty important. Do you know much of autobody?
Is there any way this could go through insurance or not?


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Nope.. All I have is liability.

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[nonamekid]

You can see the unibody inside the fender is bent.. But I have it inspected for a while and im pretty sure all suspension components are untouched.

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The suspension components typically don't get damaged, it is where they attached that get damaged. If the unibody is bent, more than likely your upper strut mount is compromised and your lower swaybar connection is pushed backwards. The swaybar connection point is vital as that determines your wheel placement. It is also right up front and gets moved the most once the unibody started crumpling.

[PartyWagon89]

The suspension components typically don't get damaged, it is where they attached that get damaged. If the unibody is bent, more than likely your upper strut mount is compromised and your lower swaybar connection is pushed backwards. The swaybar connection point is vital as that determines your wheel placement. It is also right up front and gets moved the most once the unibody started crumpling.

I drove to home. If I fix it I'm sure it won't fall apart through the winter..the sway bar is fine and so is the strut mount. Now that I wrecked it idk if I'm still gonna be able to get my guy to put stickers on it.. But I need transportation and that's why I started this thread. So if you have any ideas for the swap option or parts I would appreciate it.

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[bolokid]

The suspension components typically don't get damaged, it is where they attached that get damaged. If the unibody is bent, more than likely your upper strut mount is compromised and your lower swaybar connection is pushed backwards. The swaybar connection point is vital as that determines your wheel placement. It is also right up front and gets moved the most once the unibody started crumpling.

I am not meaning to steal the thread but would like to follow through on this thought. About a year ago I bought a 93 from a kid that slid in the snow and hit the passenger's front on a rock. The car is in great shape with less than 100,000 miles and working a/c. When I got it home I realized the passenger front wheel is moved back about 2" from where it should be. Now I realize that what you have mentioned above has happened. Is there any fixing this or do I just "part it out?"

[harpon]

You can also look for an Aspire beater, because you can also use the same motors, especially if it's FI and not carbed. I just happened to see used aspire motors on ebay the other day- still quite a few of those around.

One of the recent threads in Buy/ sell has a link to a national pick a part- search for festys there coast to coast.

[ZephTheChef]

I drove to home. If I fix it I'm sure it won't fall apart through the winter..the sway bar is fine and so is the strut mount. Now that I wrecked it idk if I'm still gonna be able to get my guy to put stickers on it.. But I need transportation and that's why I started this thread. So if you have any ideas for the swap option or parts I would appreciate it.

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If it drives straight and the hood latches, then put a radiator and headlight in it and drive it. You don't need to be spending hundreds of dollars on a project car to swap your drivetrain into...and you probably aren't going to find anything that would be cheaper than the bare necessities to get your car driving.

Also, you owe money on the car. It is potentially fraudulent behavior to remove good parts from it. It's not illegal, but it would certainly be disrespectful/immoral towards your lien holder to remove the majority of the remaining value from the asset securing your loan. Of course, it would make no difference if you pay it off as agreed...but that very seldom happens when someone is in your situation. I would say 10% or less of my customers who wreck a vehicle they are paying on with no collision insurance actually pay the balance, which is extremely frustrating.

1. Get it running reliably as cheaply as you can.
2. Drive it that way until you pay it off.
3. THEN worry about the cosmetics, or finding another car.