Well, now that we're on the subject of Festivas...I guess I have to come
out of the closet.
It is a 4-cyl 1.3 liter. It was designed by Mazda, sold as the Mazda 121 in
the rest of the world. The ones you see in the US, badged as Fords, were
built by Kia in Korea between '88 and '93. They still make and sell them as
the Kia "Pride" in places that don't require airbags. The engine is based
on the same block as the 1.6 liter Mazda (Protege, 323, etc) and the 1.8
liter engine (Ford Escort GT) is very similar. It came with a single
downdraught carb (70hp) and 4-speed, or EFI (80hp) with 5-speed/auto
option, until '91 when EFI/5-speed became standard. It came with 12-inch
wheels; the steel were 4", and the alloys were 4.5" wide. Top speed is
listed as 92mph; it gets about 40mpg. Oddly, fourth is an overdrive gear
with either manual tranny, and first is VERY low. With fluids and driver
it weighs about 1900lbs. It's hard to blow it up as the EFI cars are
rev-limited and the carbed cars run out of useful revs before anything
really bad happens. Ask me how I know ;-)
"Killer" Festivas may have the 1.6 engine swapped in. (DOHC turbos are
available) The thing to do is put 13" (or 14") wheels with wider, lower
profile tires on them, there's plenty of wheel well. Incidentally the bolt
pattern is the same as an MGB. 4 on 4.5". There's at least one person out
there who was considering a set of British Wire Wheel's MGB bolt-on
wire-wheel hub adapters and center-lock Minilite replicas. If anybody asks
me where he came up with the idea, I will plead the fifth. They can be
amusing to drive, but I'd think you'd at least need the 1.6 and a little
more tire to be a modern Mini Cooper. Other go-fast parts are available
from Japan, where they'll hot-rod anything.
The ill-starred Ford Aspire ('94-'97) had the same drivetrain but weighed
about 500lbs more and its subsequent lack of performance and the declining
market in America for economy cars was its downfall. It's stiffer springs,
however, were a useful upgrade for performance-oriented "Festivists." This
is still sold as the Festiva in Australia. Now Ford is coming out with the
Focus to replace both the Escort and the Aspire. In markets that actually
have an interest in little cars, Ford also sells the Ka. The Fiesta was a
completely different car designed by Ford of Europe, as mentioned earlier.
We have one among the several vehicles in the Vanner garage. It is
currently my daily winter driver. My wife bought it new in 1989 when she
graduated high school. It had the misfortune to be owned by a young woman
who neither knows, nor cares to know, anything about automobiles, it has
spent at least eight Minnesota winters outdoors and has racked up 120K with
the distinction of never having broken down. My lovely wife also has a
propensity for striking things while driving, and it has survived
encounters with a Passat (totaled it) and a Miata (pretty much killed that
too) and apart from a new bumper and grille (both now battered again) it
has held up well. It was listed as one of the more dangerous cars for
accident survival, but I guess as long as you're doing the hitting, and not
getting hit, it's not too bad. For everybody else's sake I'm glad she
doesn't drive much. It has needed some scheduled brake work and timing
belt replacement; the clutch is becoming worn and the CV axles are due for
replacement, but it keeps on ticking. It's also the only front-wheel-drive
car I've ever driven where I can get oversteer at will. It's very tossable,
but top-heavy enough that it demands a little attention. An absolute blast
in the snow.
Yes, I have autocrossed it, and yes, there is a mailing list.
Phil Vanner,
'61 Midget
'89 Festiva L (the rock-bottom base-model stripper)
1.3 liters and a four-speed, I'm right at home.
-----Original Message-----
From: Pat Bailey [SMTP:pbailey@qnet.com]
Sent: Saturday, January 23, 1999 10:04 PM
To: mgs@autox.team.net
Subject: FESTIVA
Duh!!I must have had my head
somwhere when I posted the last
message the car was a FESTIVA not a
fiesta!Maybe all that wind today
blew something around The car didn't
out run me on the straights it just
kept up in the curves.
Pat
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