Oil suggestions for a 1988 Ford Festiva?

[StevieC]

Tercels & Festivas make lots and lots of noise when you push the petal to the floor, but thats about it... Then they crawl along.

There was a rumor that FORD misspelled the car name TOPAZ, and it should have been: SLOW-PASS.

 

[afoulk]

I used to own one. Great cars. Mine went awesome in the snow with a set of snow tires on the front. The bodies were built by KIA (said it right on the door sticker) and the engines were built by mazda. Not sure on the tranny's. Anyways, I've seen plenty of guys swap in a turbo 4cyl (1.6L?). out of the old mazda GTX hatchbacks (I think thats what they were called. It all but bolts right up. Good luck, I think you'll be happy with it. And heres a Festiva enthusiast site (hard to imagine using those two words in the same sentence

) that also has some performance parts available http://www.festivamotorsport.com .

 

[Adamwest]

That scary sensation is just the "fun" of getting to constantly run the hamster powered motor at full capacity. Actually, I-40 in the summer with the AC on and foot down at 85 is quite entertaining. My 88 Tercel is what got me thinking about oil and led me here.

 

[panthermike]

Originally Posted By: Adamwest
That scary sensation is just the "fun" of getting to constantly run the hamster powered motor at full capacity. Actually, I-40 in the summer with the AC on and foot down at 85 is quite entertaining. My 88 Tercel is what got me thinking about oil and led me here.


I see you your in Havasu, I have a friend who lives there.

 

[Nickdfresh]

According to Wiki, the US version was built in South Korea by Kia, and the Japanese version was built by Mazda as the 121. Both cars used Mazda derived technology though.

As far as the oil, I'd definitely use a 10W-40 or even a 15W-40 in AZ...

I had an 88' Merc Tracer with a similar 1.6L engine to yours, but with a bit more power (basically a Mazda323) and it recommended 10W-40 for all around use, but said 15W-40 or 20W-50 was preferable for high temperature climates. It tended to use a bit of oil and those engines are pretty crude by today's standards, but reliable..

I wouldn't hesitate to use a HM oil, and even a 20W-50 in summer.

 

[afoulk]

323, thats what the mazda I was thinking of was called. Guys used to swap the turbocharged engine out of the sportier version of the 323 into the festiva's.

 

[chet2]

58 furious horses haha...they are pretty tough cars...i would put in super tech hi mileage oil..dirt cheap at WM for 12.50 for 5 qts

 

[chet2]

you guys are lucky out west, a festive body would never last thru 20 NH winters...i went to vegas for first time and got a kick out of some of the old cars and trucks i saw

 

[StevieC]

Too bad you can't go to Cuba easily... Its like an automotive museum on the roads there... Really cool to see!

I have been 3 times and it's so beautiful, the people are friendly and the beaches are so nice...

 

[panthermike]

Well, I bought a car,

1997 Lincoln Mark VIII- Burgundy w/ only 83K miles. Picked it up for $2,000.

Checked under the oil fill cap and it is spotless!

This isn't the car, but looks like this one and just as clean:

 

[StevieC]

Very classy looking...

 

[panthermike]

Love Mark VIII's. Very nice, comfortable rides plus get up and go pretty well. They've been tested at 6.9 0-60 which isn't bad for a 3800lb car. I'm happy

 

[ThirdeYe]

My uncle got a Mark VIII fairly recently, I agree, they look like really good cars.

 

[artificialist]

My dad had a similar car (1987 Hyundai Excel) and he filled it with Castrol 20w50 and changed every 3000 miles. He had a 3 Speed Automatic which meant he ran 4500 RPM or more for long periods of time. When he sold it in 1991, mechanics were stunned to see 121,000 miles on the odometer. They had never seen that before.

If you have a 4AT or a 5MT, such a thick dino oil might not be needed.

 

[Nickdfresh]

Originally Posted By: afoulk
323, thats what the mazda I was thinking of was called. Guys used to swap the turbocharged engine out of the sportier version of the 323 into the festiva's.


Actually, I did some checking and the Festiva and the 323/Merc. Tracer used a different engine. The Festiva had a 1.3L, not a 1.6L...

I would definitely still use a heavier oil in an older car, and check the recommendations in the manual. I imagine they recommend something heavier than 10W-40 for an AZ summer.

 

[Nickdfresh]

Originally Posted By: artificialist
My dad had a similar car (1987 Hyundai Excel) and he filled it with Castrol 20w50 and changed every 3000 miles. He had a 3 Speed Automatic which meant he ran 4500 RPM or more for long periods of time. When he sold it in 1991, mechanics were stunned to see 121,000 miles on the odometer. They had never seen that before.

If you have a 4AT or a 5MT, such a thick dino oil might not be needed.


The 80's, early 90's Hynudais were basically mobile oil furnaces. Most probably died due to starvation...

 

[StevieC]

I beg to differ... My aunt had a Hyundai Pony and before the body finally gave up 10 years later she had almost 300,000 KM on it. (180,000 Miles) all she ever used was 10w30 whatever place had a deal on at the time. Car always ran good for her, and she used to call it her "Sherman Tank".

 

[Throckmorton]

Originally Posted By: panthermike
Well, I bought a car,

1997 Lincoln Mark VIII- Burgundy w/ only 83K miles. Picked it up for $2,000.

Checked under the oil fill cap and it is spotless!

This isn't the car, but looks like this one and just as clean:

Nice car Mike. If my memory serves me correctly those cars have DOHC V8 & are rwd.It would be a great buy at twice the price.

 

[firemachine69]

I used to love mashing the gas in my wee' Tercel and just getting a big puff of smoke... from the exhaust.

 

[Nickdfresh]

Originally Posted By: StevieC
I beg to differ... My aunt had a Hyundai Pony and before the body finally gave up 10 years later she had almost 300,000 KM on it. (180,000 Miles) all she ever used was 10w30 whatever place had a deal on at the time. Car always ran good for her, and she used to call it her "Sherman Tank".


Well, I'm not saying all were bad. I think the first Hyundais used a Mitsubishi or Mazda derived 1.6L engine. But their quality ratings were very low --now of course it's one of the best cars on the market-- but I had several friends who owned them as "starter cars."

But changing oil in the early 90s, I can tell you that was one of the cars that came in perennially low on oil. I also briefly dated a girl who owned a Scoupe and found myself constantly dumping 20W-50 into it. But I guess if the oil was changed regularly, they could last..