New Guy...Just picked up a 93 Ford Festiva 5sp

[firebush357]

I'd like to put different wheels on it eventually.

Anyone else annoyed by the door buzzer. HOW ANNOYING! lol

Pretty sure you can just snip the wire going to the buzzer to make it stop. Mine never buzzed so I'm assuming someone already did it but You might want to search the forums to make sure before because I have never done it personally.

[TominMO]

I'd like to put different wheels on it eventually.

If you just want an inexpensive upgrade, I have four nice Metro 13" rims with cheap tires; 3 are good, one should be replaced. $60. This will give you the option of getting some actual decent modern tires on it, which don't really exist in 12".

You can then use one of your 12" rims as a full-size spare and ditch the donut tire.

[Joeyman]

If you just want an inexpensive upgrade, I have four nice Metro 13" rims with cheap tires; 3 are good, one should be replaced. $60. This will give you the option of getting some actual decent modern tires on it, which don't really exist in 12".

You can then use one of your 12" rims as a full-size spare and ditch the donut tire.

I'm not to sure what i'd want to go with. Wanting something that looks good. I agree it would be nice to go with a 13" wheel. what do the metro wheels look like?

[Greywolf]

I don't know if ANY of you folks have ever heard of this trick - I know about it because we had a truly sly service manager at one of the RV dealers I worked at for a while.

If you get a box of FABRIC SOFTENER SHEETS (or "DRIER SHEETS" some people call them) and you tuck one of those sheets up under one of the front seats so that it is held in place by a seat spring or something, it makes the whole car smell like it has been washed inside.

And they come in boxes of Lord knows how many. Take one out and change the one in the car, and it mysteriously smells fresh all the time - even though nobody can see an air freshener anywhere in it!

They something like a buck and a half, or two and a half bucks for a box that will last for years, with no dangly things hanging from the mirror or stuck in the vents. Chances are you already have some in your house too...

TRY IT!

If you are about to sell a car - it's a sneaky trick you can pull off for pennies on the dollar just to make it that much nicer.

And you have your choice of a wide range of scents:
Country Fresh
Springtime Fresh
Tropical....

The list is long and forgettable

[TominMO]

I'm not to sure what i'd want to go with. Wanting something that looks good. I agree it would be nice to go with a 13" wheel. what do the metro wheels look like?

Like this.

[jawja jim]

Like this.

Tom, How'd you get the Festiva caps on them?

[TominMO]

Tom, How'd you get the Festiva caps on them?

These Metro wheels came on the car I bought from Matt Dickmeyer. They appear to be epoxied on.

[jawja jim]

These Metro wheels came on the car I bought from Matt Dickmeyer. They appear to be epoxied on.

OK, that would explain it. I have 2 sets of Metros and wished there was a way.

[Joeyman]

Is there a link on how to replace front brakes?

[firebush357]

What do you mean by replace? Replace Pads? Rotors? Calipers? or doing an Aspire Swap?

[Greywolf]

There is a lot about "CUSTOM" brake info - but the stock info has neither a thread or a forum section that I can see, I kinda wonder about that...

So far the brakes on my Festy are good enough for what it is - at least the stock one. The '90 with a B6T is a whole 'nuther animal, and not what Joeyman is probably interested in.

On the bright side - I PLAN ON DOING A VIDEO about that exact topic. And it won't be too far in the future either, it just isn't (unfortunately) online right at the moment.

If you do it with a manual to guide you, it really isn't very tuff. Disc brakes have some ins and outs you should be aware of - like making sure you clean and lube the caliper slides so that the calipers don't bind after applying pressure to the pads. You can tell if a caliper has been doing that because the pads will be worn unevenly.

ANTI-SQUEEL juice is another thing a lot of "Slap-On-And-Go" videos or guides never mention, and also the use of anti seize compound on critical bolts that you NEVER EVER want to have to replace or drill out...

For as simple as they are though, it looks to most people like a real simple task. I hope AdvancedDynamics jumps in and amplifies my comments so far.

Do it right, and you have perfect brakes. Do it wrong, and you have to do it right, or at least do it over until you get it right. And in a light car at speed it can screw up handling in horrible ways

Consider: 70% of your total braking force is applied by the front wheel discs. If they are uneven for some reason, it can take all the fun out of what could have been an enjoyable ride that you would otherwise have taken a great deal of pride in.

Since disc brake pads are amazingly cheap - to learn the art (the correct method) and do it like it should be done is a repair that delivers about the most bang for the buck of any of the jobs you will do as a common maintenance item

SUGGEST: There should possibly be a forum section for "BONE STOCK & keepin' it like that..."

REASON: You can lead a horse to water, but you can't teach it to JET SKI htd

(IE: Some of the things we do are way beyond an entry level set of skills and/or realistic capabilities)


~ Just sayin'...

[Joeyman]

Need to replace the rotors and brakes. The rotors are pitted very bad from the car sitting. I took the wheels off and got a good look at everything and decided that replacing the rotors myself was not going to happen.lol

[Joeyman]

I pretty much spent the last 2 days outside cleaning on this thing. Spent Saturday morning detailing the engine bay and waxing the entire car. I spent Sunday morning scrubbing the years worth of brake dust off the wheels. Car is looking presentable now. We also recharged the A/C system with 134 and she's blowing cold air. Hopefully it last

[jawja jim]

"SUGGEST: There should possibly be a forum section for "BONE STOCK & keepin' it like that..."

That's a good idea. I have two with B6s but don't consider them to be "fast" cars and still pretty much drive them like the old codger I am. It is nice to have that little bit of reserve power, like I wished mine had when new. Everything else is pretty much stock Festiva stuff, even if it didn't come on a 92L.

[TominMO]

That is absolutely gorgeous!

Another brake suggestion: you can replace just the fronts with Aspire brakes, which have a much saner rotor install design and gives you much better braking. If you are going to upgrade wheels anyway, I'd suggest 14s that are dual-bolt pattern for Festiva (4x114.3) and Aspire (4x100), with V-rated low-profile 165/55-14 tires from www.tires-easy.com. Great upgrades to braking and handling, and no clearance issues. Keep your best 12" tire as a spare, toss the space-saver. If you have a front flat, just move a rear tire to the front and put the spare on the rear; only takes a few extra minutes.