INTRODUCING PROJECT FASTIVA 2!

After many years of adventuring, and a little bit of misadventuring, I'm back to a similar spot with the current Ford Festiva that I was at about ten years ago with the previous one... it's bio-degrading rather rapidly.

 

So the search was on for as rust free a Festiva as could be found within a reasonable distance and at a reasonable price. That part of the new project has been completed!

I am now the proud owner of an essentially rust free 1992 white Festiva with less that 120,000km (74,500 miles) showing on the odometer. It's had been parked on a concrete driveway for the past six or eight years and, fortunately, there is no evidence of any kind of animal inhabitants.

 

Following this link will take you to the build story for the current car, FASTIVA 1, and the general plan is to repeat that process for this latest acquisition. I will be updating and revising some of the systems as I go along. Depending on budget and timing some of those may, or may not, include:

• engine will be refreshed
• an air-to-air intercooler will be added to complement the water/methanol injection
• the A/C will be made to work properly
• coilovers replaced or sent off to Tein to be refurbished

The goal is to have the car on the road by the fall of 2026.

One of the major decisions will be regarding paint. Do I keep it white, paint it the same as the current car or a completely different color? Thanks to the photo editing skills of one of my daughters, here's an idea of what the finished product might look like in the original white! I am very pleasantly surprised how good this looks!

If I decide to stay with the white this will bring me full circle... I purchased my first Ford Festiva back in 2000 and it was a white 1992!

I'm currently working on the logistics of this project and will keep you updated as things progress. I would love to hear what you think, or if you have any suggestions, so be sure to leave a comment below. 

A Festiva by any other name

May of us have nicknames for our cars and Festiva owners are no exception. Sometimes our cars are named by others, some names stick and others don't.

Here's a few of those names, and stories behind them, from friends in the Festiva community!

Ben in Kentucky:

It was my brother who named Frito. Shortly after acquiring the vehicle he was cleaning it out for me and found an empty bag of the Frito’s snacks in the interior. His brain connected that to the film “Idiocracy” in which one of the main characters names is Frito, and also features a white Festiva GL in a rather hilarious monster truck segment. I liked the name, particularly for its unique brevity, and for its similarity to the another white Festiva in the community called “Pedro”.

Frito: a very well travelled Festiva!

The Festiva gets hosed!

Last week I listed a number of updates/repairs coming up for the Festiva. In the last few days I cleared one of those tasks off the list!

Engine bay before mods...

When the car was first built I had to cobble together a custom lower radiator hose to join the modified water outlet on the engine to the stock radiator.

What's next for the Festiva?

There's a number of things we'd like to get done on the Festiva before the first car show we plan to attend in July.  Relatively minor projects include installing a water temperature gauge, rebuilding the lower radiator hose, replacing the rear transmission mount and installing new strut mounts. 

Heading to the mountains for some cross-country skiing

Summer car show plans

There are a lot of choices when it comes to car shows in and around Calgary. Our current plans are to display the car in three events this summer.

The first one will be the Spring Hill 567 Corner Classic on July 18th. Entry fee for this show is a donation to the Cochrane Veteran's Food Card program. Two groups, the Cochrane Spring Show and the Spring Hill Charity Show & Shine, have joined together into one show for this year. I took part in the 2019 edition of the Cochrane spring show and had a great time.

At the Cochrane Spring Show 2019

The second show will be the Okotoks Show and Shine on August 16. There were well over 500 vehicles at last year's show with upwards of 10,000 people enjoying the show. 
 

Okotoks Show and Shine 20119

The Bowness Auto Parts show is on August 30th. We've been in that one the last couple of years and have really enjoyed it. It's nice an close to home, it's free, and there's always a great turnout.

Bowness Auto Parts Show and Shine 2019

There are lots of other shows to choose from and a number of places to find out about them. A quick search on-line will give you a wide range of choices. Here's a couple of those links :

• My Star Collector Car show listing
• Dreamy Skies Photography show listing
• Best classic car shows in the west according to RV Direct Insurance

What are your favorite shows to visit or participate in? Let us know in the comments below.

It's show time!

Part three in a series:

You've picked your spot and parked the car, now what? I'll give the car a quick check to make sure its looking its best. Make sure you haven't missed any garbage, that the glass is clean and there are no obvious dirt on the outside. One thing I forgot to mention in the previous post is that any non-essential items that you might normally carry in the car should probably be left at home.

All set up at the Okotoks Show N Shine (August 2019)

 
Once the show gets rolling be prepared to answer questions about your ride. With our Festiva most people don't realize how different it is from a stock version. To help with that we have a poster made up that highlights the major changes. We've also have a sheet that goes into more detail which is laminated to keep it in good shape and dry if it's raining.

 

Show sign.

When you purchase personalized plates in Alberta they send you two but we only have to display one on the car. That allows me to use the other plate on the sign. The poster is in an inexpensive frame from IKEA to keep it out of the weather and it's all mounted on a piece of foamcore from the Dollar Store

The info sheet... printed on two sides and laminated!

Be sure to take some time to check out as many of the other vehicles in the show! Before leaving your car make sure anything of value is secured out of sight. I'll put a couple of extra cards under the wipers and have the info sheets in a conspicuous spot. 

Do you have any tips or suggestions for car shows? Let us know in the comments.

Something's missing!

For those of you that followed our "If you plan it they will come" road trip you'll remember that somewhere between New Orleans and San Antonio the Festiva's engine developed a misfire. It ran a little rough under 3000rpm but seemed to smooth out a bit above that and we were able maintain highway speeds. Fuel consumption increase by about 25% for the remainder of the trip but there were no other apparent issues. We made it home safely and now it's time to figure out what's going on with the car.

Safely home after our "If you plan it they will come" road trip.

The first diagnostic step was to run a compression test. I discovered that there was something missing in cylinder number three.

If you plan it they will come... day fourteen

Thursday October 10th

Rather than make our own breakfast we decided to try out the ubiquitous Waffle House. The nearest one was about 30 minutes west of our starting point so we didn't have to wait too long.

On the way to Waffle House... renovation debris in front of a lot of houses!

The drive was uneventful but we did notice that in one stretch of the highway there were piles of what appeared to be garbage stacked in front of a lot of houses, some of which looked like remnants of renovation projects. Got us wondering if there was some kind of incentive to do renovations at this time of year or if there had been some kind of garbage strike. We learned that there this was the aftermath of a severe storm causing widespread flooding that had passed through the area a couple of weeks prior to our visit.

If you plan it they will come... day five

Tuesday October 1st

Our day started with cloudy skies but fortunately the rain had stopped. I don't think we've had a day yet when we haven't had to use the windshield wipers! Today's drive will take us off the turnpike and away from the tolls that go along with it. We continued eastward for fifteen minutes and turned off at exit 180. 

Ready for another day on the road at the Sideling Hill Service Plaza

Once we left the turnpike the driving became less stressful and more enjoyable. We were now on a rolling two lane diving through valleys and climbing over passes. The clouds hadn't lifted and the fog lingered. And yes, we had to use the wipers. 

On highway 30 east of Mcconnellsburg PA

Our destination this morning was the Gettysburg National Military Park Museum.

If you plan it they will come... day four

Monday September 30th

Foggy start to our day....

Woke up to a foggy, muggy morning at the Knute Rockne Travel Plaza. Other than driving there wasn't much planned for the day. After our breakfast we hopped back on the turnpike with the plan to stop for a break at the Wyandot Service Plaza in Ohio. The drive was fairly uneventful for us but Andrew discovered that he hadn't closed the outside cover for the RV's fridge properly and it decided it wanted to stay in Indiana.

If you plan it they will come... day three

Sunday September 29th.

Sunday morning dawned cool and crisp after a night of rain. As we were planning the trip from the comfort of home we had decided that 7:30 would be a great time to hit the road. We have quickly learned that 8:30 is much more realistic! 

Almost ready to hit the road

Today is to be another long day of driving with only one tourist type stop. That stop is the Field of Dreams movie site just outside of Dyersville IA. But before we reached Dyersville we took a break at the Top of Iowa Visitor Center just across the state line near Northwood. It's very clean and well maintained and the staff we met were very knowledgeable.
 

At the Top of Iowa Visitor Center near Northwood IA

If you've followed our past road trips you may remember this map with the yellow states being ones we've been in or through...

If you plan it they will come... day two.

Saturday September 28th

Frosty morning in Moose Jaw SK

We woke up on Saturday morning cold and a bit of fog. In fact we had to scrape the frost off the car windows! Funny thing is though, we didn't have a scraper in the car so had to use a credit card!

"Fuelled" up, plugged in and ready to hit the road!

After a quick breakfast at Tim Horton's we headed east and south on highway passing  through Rouleau, Weyburn and Estevan before reaching the border at North Portal.

WESTIVA... now and then

Westiva, the annual Festiva meet in Alberta's Kananaskis Country, continues with new hosts and a new date. It's being held on Saturday, August 24th. Search google maps for Wedge Pond, Kananaskis, AB for directions to the venue.

Sharon and I decided that 2018 would be our last year as hosts and we're glad to see Ryan Prins take on the project. Automotive writer Greg Williams has written several articles about this event and this year is no exception. Here's the link to the latest.

Over the years there have been as few as four cars to as many as ten. This year looks like it might have the largest attendance yet with Festiva owners coming from as far away as San Jose, California. Others are coming from Idaho, Montana, BC, Saskatchewan and Alberta.

Westiva X... seven more sleeps!!!

Westiva X is shaping up to be an awesome event. The weather forecast calls for temperatures of 25ºC/77ºF. Bring your sunscreen, bring your camera, wear a hat!

 

Westiva 2017 attendees

Wondering what you can expect to see when you come to Westiva X? Glad you asked!

WESTIVA X... two weeks to go

Fourteen days from now Festivas and other econoboxes will be making their way to Wedge Pond in Alberta's Kananaskis Country. Why, you may ask? Well let me tell you... Westiva X is the reason.

And if you're heading to the venue from Calgary may I suggest a scenic alternative to the Trans Canada Highway? It takes a little longer but its well worth it. Bow Valley Trail (or highway 1A) begins at the western edge of the City of Calgary as the extension of Crowchild Trail. This first stretch is four lane divided highway until you reach the top of the hill above Cochrane AB where it drops to one lane going down the hill. 

Looking westward to the Rocky Mountains over Cochrane AB

Stay on Bow Valley Trail all the way through Cochrane and across Highway 22 (about 15 minutes from Calgary city limits).

WESTIVA X... Three weeks and counting

For those of you traveling to Westiva from the south I would like to share one of my favorite local drives. I wrote about some of this route a few years ago but it bears repeating.

It starts at the intersection of Alberta Highways 3 & 22 reached from the west through Fernie and the the Crowsnest Pass and from the east through Fort MacLeod and past Pincher Creek. From there the route takes you north along the Cowboy Trail to Longview, west to Highwood House and then north again over the Highwood Pass to Wedge Pond.



The first leg up to Longview takes you over 110km of rolling, meandering two lane blacktop through the foothills of the Rocky Mountains.

Westiva X

It's that time of year again!

Artwork courtesy of Ben G. Rogers

Westiva is very casual, informal event originally geared towards owners, fans and fanatics of both the Ford Festiva or Ford Aspire with invitations extended to owners of other econoboxes from the late eighties and early nineties such as the Dodge Colt, Chevrolet Sprint, Geo Metro, Suzuki Swift and Nissan Micra.

"Remember not to be a fool"

As I write this post it is less than a week until spring "officially" starts. To look out my office window to see a foot of snow on the garage roof you wouldn't think so. However it does bring to mind a couple of things. First, when should I take of the noisy studded winter tires and  put on the summers? Second, where will road trips take us this year?

All decked out for winter!

Lots can be found on the technical aspects of the correct timing for the summer/winter tire switchover.

Westiva 2017: only 14 days to wait now

The print edition of the on-line article I posted last week was published yesterday in the driving section of the Calgary Herald... apparently we "Festiva aficionados are having a love-in"! The text of the article hasn't changed but we all got a chuckle out of the headline

The weather forecast is looking great with a high of 26ºC (79ºF) and only a slight chance of late day showers; that being said the event is a go rain or shine.

Falls into spring day five

Tuesday, May 2nd

This is the last day of our little getaway. We had a leisurely start to the day with breakfast at the hotel and a stop at one of our favorite places, Crossway Community Thrift Store. My brother is a railroad enthusiast and I found a book from the fifties about the Pennsylvania Railroad for him.

We decided to take the scenic route home via Highway 1A rather than the busier, albeit faster, Trans Canada Highway. Highway 1A is a two lane road that mostly follows the Bow River as it flows eastward through or past Exshaw, Seebe, Morley, into the Ghost Resevoir and then to Cochrane, Calgary and beyond.

It's a beautiful stretch of road with a sedate speed limit of 80kph for more than half the route. We stopped in Cochrane for a snack then made our way back to Calgary. A short day on the road but enjoyable nonetheless!

Three Sisters

Along the banks of the Bow River

Ghost Reservoir with the dam in the background

 

Eastward to Cochrane AB

Approaching Calgary

As much as we enjoy our time away it's always nice to get home!  If you have any suggestions for road trips, long or short, close or far, please share them in the comments section below!