Westiva 2015... another great get together with fellow Festiva fanatics

We couldn't have asked for better weather for this year's edition of Westiva held at the usual venue, Wedge Pond Day Use Area in Southern Alberta's beautiful Kananaskis Country.

On Highway 40 southbound en route to Wedge Pond.

I drove up a bit early so as to be there before any of the expected attendees arrived. Claimed a spot, unloaded a couple of things, set up my chair and waited. First to arrive was Gary and his family in their 1990 Festiva LX. Gary is a Westiva regular, this being his fourth or fifth time. The LX the top of the line version of the Festiva with all the desirable Festiva goodies. Gary bought the car new in 90 and still uses it as his daily driver, mostly going back and forth to work. In the ensuing twenty five years he's put on just over 320,000km/200,000 miles and still boasts fuel consumption in the 47-57 mile per imperial gallon range.

Gary's 1990 Ford Festiva LX.

Chatted with Gary and family for a bit then our next attendee arrived. Ryan drove down from Leduc, Alberta a one way trip of about 360km/225miles in his 93 GL Sport. This was Ryan's first time to Westiva. His car is also his daily driver and has seen a lot of wear, tear and misfortune. How many cars do you know that have had scaffolding fall on them! On another occasion the hood has also popped open on the highway breaking the windshield and damaging the cowl. More misfortune arrived when a driver who had just picked up their loaner car from a body shop crashed into him!!!

Ryan's striped 1993 Festiva

Not too long after Ryan arrived Kevin and Damian showed up in "The Hamster", a shortened 1990 Festiva! Yes, I said shortened!!! Twenty two inches have been cut out of the length of a car that is less that twelve feet long to begin with. They were inspired by a couple of things... the shortened VW vans that were around a number of years ago and an episode of Monster Garage in which a Festiva was shortened and run in a very large hamster wheel contraption. The amazing thing is that they drove from Kamloops BC to get to the meet which is 575km/360 miles one way. Keep in mind that this is in a car with no roof and worn out rear springs! They camped overnight at Lake Louise and it rained quite a bit overnight so they were a little damp in the morning but still in great spirits. You can follow their exploits on Twitter (@DawgStrip) and YouTube.

No roof gives lots of headroom...

Seats are now located where the back seat used to be.

These guys have a sense of humor... stickers on both sides where the windows used to be!

Last to arrive was Brad and family with their1990. Brad is also a regular and travels from Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. With a one way trip of 850lkm/530 miles, Brad earned the "farthest travelled" award. Although he's been to three or four Westivas and this is the first time he's won that prize! Brad's car is powered by a 1.8l DOHC engine sourced from an Ford Escort GT, features shaved door handles, custom hatch, along with a custom front bumper made from a modified aftermarket piece originally intended for a Honda Civic. I have to apologize to Brad as I didn't get any pictures of his car. The one below was taken last year just prior to leaving his home on the way to Westiva 2014.

Brad's custom 1990 Festiva

Unfortunately no other econoboxes made it this year. I had recieved a call from a Calgary gentleman who said that he and his wife each owned Geo Metro convertibles and were very interested in attending. Perhaps the forecast of late day thundershowers shaped their plans.

Here are a few more photos from the days activities....

L-R: Mine, Gary's, Ryan's

L-R: The Hamster, Ryan's, Gary's, mine, Brad's

Picnic time....

 

...at Upper Kananaskis Lake

Upper Kananskis Lake. Ryan is closest to the camera and that's where the water line should be!!!

Kananaskis Country not only has some beautiful scenery but is also home to lots of wildlife. Over the years I've seen moose, lynx, coyotes and more. Here's what we spotted today....

Mountain goats...

Young grizzly about 20 feet off the side of the road!

The goats were right at the corner where you turn off Highway 40 into Peter Lougheed Provincial Park. I spotted the bear just after leaving the upper lake just across from the road from where we had had ice cream earlier in the day! Ryan was behind me so I know he saw it too. Not sure if the others saw it as they were a few minutes ahead of us.

All in all it was a great day. Thanks to all who attended and thanks to Sharon for bringing out a wonderful picnic lunch for us all. Thanks also to Rockauto.com for the giveaways and gift certificate given as the prize for farthest travelled and to the Crowfoot Big Bucket Car Wash for the gift cards.

Looking forward to Westiva 2016. Tentative date: July 16th, same place, same time!!!

WESTIVA 2014... more photos

Here are a few more photos from the Westiva meet held last month. Enjoy...

Promised engine shot of Casey's 1.0L 3 cylinder turbo

Casey's Swift

Brad's Festiva in its current trim.

Upper Kananaskis Lake where we dipped our toes in the water.

On the road up to Boulton Creek Trading Post.

Thanks to Wilf and Brad for sending these. 


Brad also posted a little video of the drive from Wedge Pond up to the Boulton Creek Trading Post....

Thanks again to everyone who made it out. See you again next year, July11!

WESTIVA 2014

July 12 dawned with clear skies and very little wind. The forecast was looking great as well with a high of 30°C/86°F predicted.

We had announced an 'official' start time of 10:00am so made sure we left home with plenty of time to spare. We arrived at the Wedge Pond day use area in Kananaskis with two Festivas, mine and my daughters, just after 9:30 and claimed a few parking spots. I have to admit right off the top that I spent way too much time talking with everyone and not taking photos.  

First to arrive was Casey in his green/gold 89 Suzuki Swift GS. This car was originally from Holland and as such had a few differences from the North American version. Casey has totally rebuilt the engine with a number of performance enhancing modifications. The turbocharged 1.0L 3 cylinder is force fed with over 15lbs of boost and runs on 94 octane fuel. He showed up without his hood as it was in the middle of some rust repair. I most regret not getting a photo of his very clean engine bay.

 

Casey's 89 Swift GS

Next to pull in were Wilf and Roseanne in their bright red 90 Suzuki Swift GT from Spruce Grove AB. They purchased the car new in 1991 and other than a few minor touch ups it sports its original paint. Wilf tells me he had the car treated with RustChek shortly after he got it and kept the treatments up over the ensuing 20+ years. Add to that the car has been garaged all its life and driven only in the summer for the past six years explains how he has been able to keep it in such good condition. The engine bay of this red rocket sports a 1.3L DOHC 16 valve engine with a turbocharger hung on the front! He too has rebuilt this engine and added a few performance upgrades. The original plastic headlights have been replaced with glass units filled with HID bulbs and most of the factory decals have been removed. Other than that the body is stock and original.

Wilf & Roseanne's 1990 Suzuki Swift GT

We didn't have to wait too much longer for our next guest. Brad arrived in his gorgeous 1990 Ford Festiva. He and his daughter hail from Prince Albert SK. They drove down a couple of days early and had been camping at Mount Kidd RV Park, a five minute drive from our venue. Brad's car features shaved door handles, a fibreglass hood, custom front bumper and headlights, Nissan seats and a paint job featuring white base with a blue tinted clearcoat. His engine bay is stuffed with a 1.8L DOHC 16 valve engine sourced from a Ford Escort GT. Brad has been a regular at Westiva, this being his fourth time. Each time he's come there has been one or two upgrades too. I have to apologize to Brad as I didn't get any photos of his car so these are from past meets. The big difference for this year is that the engine compartment has been cleaned and tidied up considerably and a fibreglass hood has been installed.

Brad's 1990 Ford Festiva

Another 'regular' pulled in shortly after Brad's arrival. Tom's Festiva is currently immobile so he brought his lifted Kia Sportage. Being built by Kia and equipped with a Mazda based 2.0L DOHC engine, and FE-3 if I remember correctly, it fits right in with the Festiva family. The closest I got to a picture of Tom's little off road beast is the one in the group photo at the end of this post.

Our last arrival was Bob II and his son, Bob III, who had driven up from Pasco WA. The engine in their 1991 Festiva automatic had just been rebuilt and had only 500km/300 miles on it before heading out. While putting things back together Bob added power steering to complement the A/C that was already there. Both these items were optional when the cars were new. This was Bob's first time to Westiva and we're glad they came!

Bob's tidy engine bay.

Westiva has been primarily focused on the Ford Festiva but it was decided to include other econoboxes from the late 80s and early 90s as we are all facing similar issues as our cars age, like parts availability. It was great to have Casey, Wilf and Roseanne join us and hear of their exploits and adventures. They are members on the Teamswift.net forum.

I would like to thank Rockauto.com for providing a gift card to give away at the meet as the prize for the furthest traveled. This year it was presented to Bob who beat out Brad by only 40km/25miles.

L-R: Tom's Sportage, Brad's 90 Festiva, my daughter's '93, my '92, Casey's '89 Swift GS, Wilf's '90 Swift GT, Bob's '91 Festiva.

After a great time of car talk and a picnic lunch we all cruised south down Highway 40 to the Boulton Creek Trading Post in Peter Lougheed Provincial Park. Why you may ask? For ice cream of course! And to enjoy the scenery and twisty roads. It's about a 30 minute drive from Wedge to the trading post and we managed to keep together fairly well. After a delicious and refreshing ice cream Brad had to leave us and head to meet family in Drumheller AB. Before continuing on to Upper Kananaskis Lake Bob and his son took their leave as well. They were heading back to their hotel and hitting the road early Sunday morning for the homeward trip.

A short, five minute, sprint brought those remaining to the parking lot at the lake. Most of us took the opportunity to dip our feet in but Casey was a bit more adventurous and dove in for a quick swim. We hung out together for a while and then went our separate ways, Wilf and Roseanne to Spuce Grove, Casey to the southern end of Calgary via the Highwood Pass, and the rest of us back home via the shortest route.

I think it's safe to say that a good time was had by all with everyone saying they are looking forward to coming again next year. Bob even said they would come with two of their four Festivas rather than just the one. Having the Suzukis there was a treat and hopefully this will encourage more to come as well. Thanks to everyone for making the day a great one!

Follow this link for more photos.