Turtle Power - My '92 Festiva

[Prafeston]

Well after some searching I finally bought me a Festiva. Thanks for the help everyone. Cost me $700 bucks and I drove it 120 some miles home with no license plates! It made the trip beautifully. Pulls to the left a bit but not bad and does need a few things to pass MO inspection: Horn, Windshield, both Headlights are out and one high beam. All blinkers are working as well as my rear lights. Interior isn't great, but it could be worse. Crack above the AC vents in the center, all the seats are getting ripped up pretty bad and the shifter is making an awful rattle.

Here's what I'm working with:

Me picking it up in St. Louis. I'm thinking of making it a Ninja Turtle theme. Something about the body lines just looks like a turtle to me...the color doesn't help! So in honor of that I wore my Raphael hat! P.S. My name is Raffaele...so of course I loved TMNT growing up!

http://i776.photobucket.com/albums/yy46/Prafeston/1992%20Festiva/IMAG0004.jpg

[IMG]http://i776.photobucket.com/albums/y...729_184833.jpg[/IMG]





Some of the bad spots:
Hood Rust & Grill paint is peeling


Drivers side wheel well rust


Passenger side looks like it had some shotty body work before the repaint..or it just got more dents after the paint.


Some of the weather stripping on the driver door is tearing


Spot on the driver door where it looks like the paint is about to start peeling


Little rust starting to show on the left corner of the rear window


Tint looks like it was DIY...and not done well


BUT, I drove it over a 100 miles and filled up before I left and this is where it's sitting now!

http://i776.photobucket.com/albums/yy46/Prafeston/1992%20Festiva/20120729_185000.jpg

[Prafeston]

I've seen some talk on here about Ford Ranger headlights...are these a direct replacement? Do they look better or something? I figure if it's an upgrade and mine are already shot I might as well get them...someone let me know about this.

[2xclutchin]

It does take some fab work I believe? There are a few threads on them, just search and you should find a few.

Nice Festiva though!

[Prafeston]

Ok, so I started tackling the headlight issues...the passenger side bulb looks like this!


Not sure how it got all milky like that, but I'd definitely say that was the culprit for that side not working. The driver side on the other hand appears to be functional. The filaments in the bulbs don't look busted or anything.

I did find this connection unplugged on the drivers side up by the headlight...any idea what it goes to?

[Prafeston]

I also shot a little video of the car.

There is a tick coming from the engine which I didn't really notice until I posted the video. When I was recording I couldn't hear much but the radiator fan.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rC0hUQe1f-0

[TominMO]

Lookin' good overall; and you get to learn a lot about these cars in the process of fixing/upgrading stuff! Just like mine. Good score for that price.

Some good, quick and easy swaps (prices from local STL JYs):
Aspire/Protege front seats--$25/seat; early 90s Proteges; both are better than Escort seats IMO
Metro 13" wheels--$16 each, w/tires mounted and balanced; save the 12" tires for full-size spares
Escort dome light, which do come in blue BTW--$5
Escort/Protege shift knob--$5 or less, screws right on and feels much better in the hand; early 90s cars

And catch that rust immediately, even if you just hit it with waterproof primer for now.

[RhodeStiva]

Is that idle control set right?
It looks like they moved the adjustment.

[Prafeston]

Thanks for the seat suggestion TominMO...also yeah...my dome light is missing the surround...and the shift knob was kind of awkward. Something to pick up if I can find them. I'll check the Rolla yard first.

If I can't find much maybe you could help me out and score some of those parts before this weekend's mini-meet.

[Prafeston]

New headlight bulbs installed. Working good now. I figured out why the passenger bulb was so milk...probably got lots of water in it cause the circle thing that screws the bulb in tight was missing all but like two teeth on it so it wasn't pushing the bulb in very tight. Gonna have to find a replacement soon. I switch it over to the drivers side for the time being since that bulb is much easier to get to.

matt, I have no idea about the idle control...or even where the adjustment is at..

TominMO, suggestions on catching the rust? Sand it down first I'm guessing...then what. I wanna do it right to prevent it spreading...even if it looks pretty crappy.

[deathrace2000]

Nice find! POR-15 would be good to control that rust.

[freshtiva]

Congrats, it looks good ! And A/C too, the most important option IMO.

[Prafeston]

Sweet some comments from some fellow Missourians! Yeah, happy it has the AC...though it does need work...isn't blowing cold and the left vent by the door isn't blowing anything at all.