Festiva - what to look for?

[gsimpson]

Hi folks,

I've got an opportunity to pick up a '93 Ford Festiva with 144km's on it (90 miles) for $300. I took it for a drive, and it seems pretty good. There's some rust issues (expected for a car this age) in the rockers and just behind the front fenders where they roll into the floor pan.

I know there are some folks here with experience with these little cars, and I'm really thinking this is a good deal. Does anyone have any particular outstanding things that I should look out for?

If I do purchase it, I promise to keep you guys all updated on mods to make it more eco. I'm thinking the normal stuff like grill block, higher tire pressure, mirror delete, etc. Then the sky's the limit, Kamm/Boattail? under pan? I'm open to suggestions.

Thanks in advance for your help

-Greg.

[bhazard]

Welcome to FordFestiva.com

I averaged 47-48 mpg out of mine when it was stock, and I wasn't too hardcore into hypermiling. I got a best of 53 mpg going 60mph behind a semi truck on a 150 mile trip. Im sure 60 mpg is possible with mods and more dedicated hypermiling. The b3 (stock engine) doesn't mind being lugged around (I could cruise 5th gear at 25mph, like 1000-1200 rpm) so thats nice around town. They're also not to wound out on the highway. One thing that I would DEFINITELY recommend is the "aspire brake swap". Grab the front knuckles, tie rod ends, and the entire rear beam out of the 94-97 aspire and swap them in. Its a massive brake upgrade and you get a rear sway bar. Its more of a safety thing as the festiva brakes are an absolute joke. The b3 engine has adequate power for the typical driver. Well tuned they can be peppy, much quicker than a 3 cyl metro. If you end up wanting a little more power the 323 1.6 engine is a bolt in, has 20 more hp and minimal loss of mpg.
Another thing you can do is grab the head off an aspire. Same engine but roller valvetrain instead of slider. Loses some friction.

Now I have a 1.6 dual cam turbo motor swapped in mine and Ive managed 40.1 mpg so far, and I just figured out that Ive been driving it on 3 cyls this whole time (injector plug was messed up) so now that its running right (its *scary* quick) and if I can manage to keep the foot out of it for a whole tank I might actually see some decent numbers...

[Frank Lee]

Ex GF had one- I really liked that car even though it was saddled with an a/t. I wouldn't hesitate to get one if it was a 5 speed. They have a good reputation for being durable.

[gsimpson]

Originally Posted by Frank Lee

<snip>... I wouldn't hesitate to get one if it was a 5 speed. They have a good reputation for being durable.

This one is the 5-speed, and it seems to shift pretty well. It feels like there could be some work done on the shifter bushings to tighten it up, but the synchros seem to be in reasonable condition

[gsimpson]

Thanks bhazard, I've just started going through the vast amount of info available on the FordFestiva.com forums. The first goal here is to make this a cheap ride, and then look into improving efficiency, safety, etc. The Aspire brakes mod seems like a great plan, but I dunno if I'll mess with engine swaps and the like.

[Christ]

I had a Festiva... 80 something. Best little field hopper I could ask for.

Took all week to burn a couple gallon of fuel with a "wide open or turn it off" mentality.

1st gear went out of it from all the clutch dumping, but other than that, it tracked straight and true even after all the airtime I put it through.

If you want a mini-tank, that's probably your best bet. Regardless, for $300, if it's fairly clean and runs, you got a great deal.

[bhazard]

...and if you take decent care of it and dont Christ it, its almost guaranteed to last past 300,000 miles. And if it doesnt, parts are dirt cheap and everything is blindfoldingly easy to fix.

[Christ]

Originally Posted by bhazard

...and if you take decent care of it and dont Christ it, its almost guaranteed to last past 300,000 miles. And if it doesnt, parts are dirt cheap and everything is blindfoldingly easy to fix.

Yessir!

[gsimpson]

Thanks everyone for their feedback, the dirty deed is done. for $300, the previous owner even delivered it to my place, about 30mins away from where he lives.

The good: 144 xxx km on the odometer, runs smooth and clean. Exhaust is less than a year old, brakes about 2 years old. He's given me a few year's worth of service records, and it looks like he kept pretty good care of it

The bad: Rust. Not too surprisingly, I'll have to repair the rocker panels some, and right behind the front wheel wells.

There's a slow fuel leak in the line, but I can see that it's been patched before, so I'll start with a new chunk of rubber hose and see if that helps.

Also, needs new tires all the way around.





Once I get it safetied and on the road, let the ecomodding begin!

-Greg.