Monte Carlo Rally Festiva

[threephin]

flickr tos link

Just drove it home today. First Festiva I've owned. Carburated, 5-speed, 88. I'm not sure what trim level it is since there are no badges, and I've no idea which motor it is either. Wikipedia is telling me there were three different powerplants, an 1100cc SOHC, a 1300cc SOHC, and a DOHC motor which mine obviously isn't. If any of you guys could identify or give me clues as to what trim level and engine I've got, that would be sweet.

Being new to Festivas, I'm not sure if I should be happy I got the carburated motor or not. I'm not really looking to do an engine swap at this point, I'd rather keep it as a fuel-efficient little daily driver that's tossable enough to be fun. My first impression from driving it home is that it's a pretty capable-handling little car. I'd like to maybe lower it a bit, but mostly just firm up the suspension and stiffen the structure.

Anyway, the links here and a lot of the posts have been very informative, and I think I will enjoy driving one of these neat little cars.

[25Horseplay]

It would bea 1.3 liter SOHC that is all that was available in North America. A picture of your interior and we could tell you what trim level it is. Being a 5 speed it could be an LX. Do the headrests come out of the seats or are the all one piece with the seats?

[threephin]

I suspected it was the 1.3L. I'm glad it's not the tiny motor, at least it's got 65bhp. Or it did 20 years ago...

Aside from driving it home, I haven't had a chance to really poke around in it. My family heats our house with wood, so I'm busy moving about 4 cords of wood so I can park it somewhere covered. Once I'm done moving wood, I'll snap some more pictures. At $300 for such a clean car, I couldn't resist.

[packrat427]

Awesome find ..welcome to the site .

You have a awesome car there , give it some TLC and it will take care of you .

I have those same wheels

[htchbck]

nice looking little festiva you got there... BTW, got any pics of the 740Ti?

[threephin]

The headrests are adjustable, and it has AC, so I'm guessing it's an LX. After poking around a bit, I realized that the whole front headlight/radiator bracket is in pretty bad shape. I'll be posting a thread in the repair section with some questions soon, I'm sure.

I've got more pictures of the 740, and I plan on taking lots more of the Festiva.

First off, an artsy shot of my wagon with a friend's (no longer operating) 240:



Sitting on the hill near the blimp hangar here in Akron:



Outside the defunct Mongomery Ward's automotive department in Cuyahoga Falls:



And a shot from when I first got the 740:



I'm a bit of a camera addict, so I tend to take lots and lots of pictures of my cars, and sometimes people give me money to take pictures of theirs. I'm still figuring out how I managed to be that lucky, but whatev.

Here's a whole set of car photos. If anyone's interested in getting their Festiva shot, I'd love to exchange some of my photography skills for parts or help. Just sort of a random idea, my screenname is in my profile if anybody wants to bother.

Thanks a ton for the tip on the trim level/motor, 25Horseplay.

[htchbck]

nice wagon, love the pic in front of the blimp hanger and the shot taken from the right rear corner of the wagon looking down the side of the body in your other gallery. I'm something of a station wagon addict lol

[threephin]

I'm a big fan of wagons as well. And hatchbacks. I can't wait to get my little wannabe mini in streetable shape... it's such a photogenic little car.

[25Horseplay]

I am approx 10 miles north of the old Montgomary wards store. I live in Northfield. Be glad to lend a hand with the Festiva!

[neanderpaul]

Yes that's an LX! You can see the light shining under the gap of the headrest in pic !. Plus the res strip in the molding gives it away. Nice car. Like the others said it's a 1.3. Enjoy! And welcome!! :thumbright:

[neanderpaul]

BTW look what you can do because you have an LX!

[threephin]

She is on the road!

I'm driving with a busted O2 sensor until tomorrow when my part comes in.

The good news: It's a terrific little car. A bit down on power, but I'll deal with it since the thing is so fuel efficient. I'm really liking being in a small 5-speed after driving a huge Volvo slushbox for so long.

The bad news: It's cold as F$CK. Heater core is almost certainly plugged. Good thing I have a parts car. Not so excited about having to take the bloody thing apart when it's -4 outside.



So the teardown of the parts car commences tomorrow. It's ok though, I need to pull the dash to get parts for some of you guys.

I'll be counting on the search function to get me some good dash-pulling tips!

[stefan]

I atchuley found it really easy to pull the dash.