erratic, and unpredictable idle.

[drddan]

Pros and cons of the Festiva feedback carb VS. the Weber carb.

Nothing wrong with the orig feedback carb, if it is running good, but they work of off the sensors that are on the car and if a sensor is bad, will affect the operation of the carb, causing issues with performance, mileage, etc.
The o2 sensor is a known culprit of issues with the feedback system.
You can get an original rebuilt carb, for about the same price as a Weber.
But.. the Weber will allow the removal of the spaghetti like maze of sensors and vacuum lines that will no longer be needed with the Weber. o2 sensor included.
The performance of a Weber will be much better than the feedback carb, and gas mileage about the same. There is the needed adaptor plates. Some here have modded the plates that come with the (Weber Samuri?) kits. Others. like myself, have made their own adaptors.

[drddan]

Unknown wrote:

"Now, today, I will add a see through fuel filter, and add some rubber hose. to the line. To me, it looks like the one currently on the gas line, is borderline kinked."

A while back someone else was having some random running issues and he found a section of his fuel line was also kinked somewhere down below. Temp changes or vibrations caused this, IIRC. Something to consider, though I can't recall too much about it.

Welcome!

Karl

That was prolly me.

Yes, that little 50 cent piece of .....hose!.... gave me a lot of grief!
I assume "unknown" was talking about that 4 inch piece of hose from the metal gas line at the bottom of firewall to the fuel filter at the same location.
Kinky little fella.
The carb fuel pump pulls the fuel from the engine side, and can create a "vacuum" in the fuel line, and can actually collapse a soft old hose, cutting off fuel at that point. Happened to me. I could see the line collapsing when running the engine, but it was behind the fuel filter and had to look behind it to see the hose. My car would run then die, and later(after the pressure let up in line) it would run fine again, till the line sucked down and collapsed. Replaced with a foot long piece of new hose.

[unknown]

Yes, that hose is the one I am talking about. I don't think it could be much more kinked, if they did it on purpose.

The carb pros and cons you mentioned are certainly worth considering. Thank you for offering your knowledge and opinions. I will just have to give it some thought. I could certainly do without all those vacuum lines, but for me, the vacuum lines may be easier to deal with than making an adapter for the intake. I guess I would also need to see how it would affect an car inspection here. I don't think it would, but, I have been wrong before.

Decisions......decisions.

[unknown]

By the way, is there a specific model or series of the Weber that I should be looking at?

[FestYboy]

32/36 with the smallest jets you can find

[drddan]

^ Pretty much, right on, but I dont have the smallest one can find! A little bigger for me ...but EVERY car is different, including Festiva's when it comes to tuning.
UKNOWN, here is email to a guy on Ebay I found. Really knowledgable and has any jet size you need, and has CHEAP rebuild kits for the Weber too.

bhcrsrcr@aol.com His name is Glen.

BTW, the 32/36 can run cars with engines as small as our 1.3 to over 2.5+.
Just change jets to match the fuel supply needed. Easiest carb in the world to work on. (except maybe a lawnmower carb :p)
If you do go with a Weber, I have lots of links to "How-to" about them.

[bullet2430]

Mine was doing the same thing, someone suggested it change my o2 sensor, and it fixed my problem, more power, better milage and idles like new

[unknown]

Well, I have a radiator on the way. Still mulling the carb. Anyway, when I got home this evening, I wanted to look at the oil and anti-freeze, to make sure they were still separate. They were, as far as I can tell. So, while I was out there, I decided to crank it for a few seconds, just to give a listen to it. You know how it is. Well, it ran the best I have heard it run since I have owned it. I mean, perfect idle. I didn't DARE touch the gas pedal. You know, for that one brief moment, all was well with the universe. I just sit there, and listened, knowing that if it can do this one time, it can do it all the time. I shut it off, and came on inside, knowing it was all going to be okay.

[georgeb]

Without a bolt-up manifold or a Weber at hand I would seriously shelve that idea. You might be able to rebush your carb shaft bores. It's a common problem on VW Solex carbs. Nothing else on a carb actually "wears out". They just get clogged and out of adjustment. My emissions manual covers them fairly extensively.

[unknown]

Well, after weighing the options and such, I have decided to go with a rebuilt factory carb. For those that are ever in the position to have to choose between these two options, I will offer my train of thought, and maybe it will help in your decision making process in choosing either one.

First, I considered the tools, and availability of materials I have on hand to make an adapter plate. For me, researching to find a suitable plate material, seemed like a hassle. Gathering the tools to cut and drill it to fit, and all that would be involved with hooking it up and adjusting it to the engine, seemed way more involved than just putting a rebuilt on it. I THINK I could adapt the Weber, but I KNOW I can put the feedback on. And while those vacuum lines look a little intimidating at first, once you have stared at them for a few hours, along with the routing diagrams, they really aren't that complicated.

And my second consideration was also a think vs. know scenario. I think I could have probably gotten past inspections here with a Weber, but I don't know I could have. Currently here in North Carolina, if your vehicle is older than a 1996, you don't have to pass emissions, but they do still require you to have all the crap hooked up. Right now, I don't think they are too anal about it, but the way the government is getting about things, it just causes me concern. So, I just felt being as factory as possible would be best when Big Brother looks under the hood.

Now, I think I will still look for a used Weber later. If I can find one for a bargain, and just toy around with it, it may be a fun project.

Anyway, I got my radiator in the mail, and was planning on the swap today, but it will be raining here all weekend. And since my "mechanicing" is all shade tree, there will be no Festy work this weekend. Unless I decide to rip that sad excuse for a radio out of it.

[unknown]

Okay, pulled the fan and radiator, and fuel filter from the Festy today...

[unknown]

...and two more...

[unknown]

Now, you'll see that the top of the radiator has been "repaired" with Permatex, or JB Weld or whatever. I should have seen it before, but I didn't. Live and learn. Anyway, in the second photo, I see what I assume to be some variation of a coolant temp sensor maybe? I am still waiting on my manual off of ebay, so I am guessing. Now in the pic of the new radiator, it appears that the location of the sensor is in the bottom, as opposed to on the side of the bottom. Do any of you happen to have this sensor located on the very bottom?

And in the last photo is the fuel filter. As you can see, even though it is not technically a see thru, you can see the gas looks pretty dark. I poured what was in it into a glass, and it is settling as I type. It was rather muddy. So, I guess the tank will be coming off soon.

Well, that is about all the Festy tinkering that will be going on today. Time to get ready for a Super Bowl get together.

[unknown]

Okay, I have received my Haynes manual. But, even though I see a picture of whatever that is in the bottom of my old radiator, it is not identified. And from what I am seeing, it looks like I was sent a '95 or newer model radiator, based on the drain plug.

So I guess I have a couple of questions. What is that thing in my old radiator? And, do I need it? Because there is no place in the new radiator for this sensor.

[FestYboy]

95 isn't possible as that's an aspire year, the sensor isn't needed, though if you were to get the right rad, there should be a port for it.