Stripey - My Festiva

[Stumblebum]

Stripey1.jpg This is Stripey my 1991 Festiva L.

My youngest daughter and I had a good adventure bringing her back to Pineville LA from San Antonio, TX. We could only go about 50 mph due to mismatched tires making the rear end want to come around and some interesting vibrations. We took back roads (GPS is great technology) to avoid being rear ended and flattened on the interstate. I got stopped by a Sheriff's Deputy (she was very nice and professional). Got a warning. Survived on snack food, cokes, and coffee. A great shared experience with my daughter.

Stripey needs some TLC, which I'm happy to provide. So far besides getting her registration, title, and license. She's got a new alternator (mounting ears cracked on old one), oil & filter change, air filter, coolant drain, flush, and fill, and four new tires. Starting this weekend, she's getting new inner tie rods, lower control arms, sway bar bushings, struts, brake pads and shoes, rear wheel bearings, timing belt, timing belt tensioner, and a water pump. Working on replacing original equipment seat belts (worn out, non-op) with manual seat belts. After that may put in new carpet and work on spiffing up the interior.

Loving fixing up this Festiva. Hope to be worthy of her.

[Glow_Mouse]

Oh wow that's quite a list! Nothing better than a fixerupper though. =) Body work from what I can see looks tidy enough. =) Any rust? Over time stuff'll get done depending on how much time you have free and how deep your pockets are. haha. Get the little lady out there and get some grease under her nails. Nothing better than workin on a car with your kid. Nice find brother!

~Mouse

[blueoval]

looks clean and straight like the color great find

[Stumblebum]

Thanks for your kind words. She has no major rust, there are some body dings and dents that didn't show up in photo. But all the glass is good. Just a lot of mechanical issues. I got her after my truck was totalled by a tree limb. So I have a little extra cash to spend on her.

[Glow_Mouse]

Excellent. You're welcome. First off; fix everything broke, next drop it on its guts, add a massive zorst, cut in a hood scoop and encase the intake, get big 15 or 16" rims. That's a good start. Am I right?



AM I RIGHT?

[skeeters_keeper]

Looks like a great little car!
Most of these cars get pretty neglected by owners who just barely keep then on the road, so having to do a lot of basic maintenance is pretty normal on a new buy. Good thing is, they're pretty cheap and easy to work on, and once you replace all the normal wear components in the suspension and brakes you should be good to go for a while. Have fun!

[firebush357]

Yeah, putting some new suspension, brakes and tires is the majority of the work.

Looks good though! Let us know if you need any parts or advice.

[ryanprins13]

Thats a big list! Where are you getting your parts? www.rockauto.com has saved most of us a fair bit of money. Its quite good when you can get parts to ship togeather. Good luck and have fun! Oh, and most people seem to like the moog brand for the LCA's. I am one of them.

Sent from my SM-G950W using Tapatalk

[Stumblebum]

Thanks everyone for your advice and support. I got my lower control arms from Rock Auto and it did save me a lot of money. While working on Stripey yesterday, found that the upper timing belt cover had been damaged by the water pump pulley.

Stripey TC1.jpg

So I'll be wanting to get a new (to me) timing cover. Being new to the forum, should I do a post in the want section for the timing cover?

[Glow_Mouse]

That's unfortunate. We can get those pretty easy in AUS. How is the water pump and the gaskets? Timing belt okay?
It's just a shame that the majority of the festiva and spire owners/enthusiasts live in the US. :-?:sad1:

[Stumblebum]

The bearings in the old water pump were shot. When running had a lot of bearing noise and she left a puddle where she was parked.

Stripey Old WP web.jpg

Here's the replacement.

Stripey New WP web.jpg

The old timing belt and sprockets are in pretty good shape. The timing belt tensioner, on the other hand, is shot. It has bearing noise and a little wobble when spun by hand. Here's the old one and its' replacement.

Stripey TB Ten web.jpg

This is an overall shot of the front of the engine with everything removed. Working today to clean up the thick layer of greasy sludge coating the outside engine surfaces and cleaning mating surfaces for new water pump. I'm earning my Grease Monkey badge working on this and making my wife look at me with horror when I come in the house.

Stripey Before web.jpg

[firebush357]

Looks like you may need a new cam seal and probably a new valve cover gasket. The good thing is that there was actual coolant in the engine and not just water.

[Rick the Quick]

You might want to lose the 12" wheels and go with 13's or 14"s. The least expensive way to do this is look for a set off of a Geo Metro. They should bolt right on. !2" tires are hard to find locally. I know they can be bought online easy enough but what are you going to do when you blow a tire while traveling? 13's are much easier to find. If you look on the forum you will find more information on wheel swaps and what size tires will clear your suspension components. If you have not found your timing cover I will give you a good one. Just pay me for the postage. I think it will fit in a Priority Mail medium flat rate box for around $14. Pm me if you need the cover.
Rick

[121MOXY]

Great little project, I had a very similar experience when it came to basic maintenance on my first 121, doesn't take much to get these cars running a dream. As mentioned above, 13" wheels are relatively inexpensive and do a lot for the cars handling and aesthetics. Make sure you check the gearbox oil as mine was well overdue for a change. The great thing about these cars is there is very little in the way of things to go wrong. It should serve you well for years to come. Great car and nice story about your road trip

[bravekozak]

Next time get the engine steam cleaned before you work on it.
You can get new timing case covers from Four Green.
Here are the part numbers for the upper and lower covers.