I love this thread. Had a 'green 79 Fiesta in grad school that got hit (while parked) by a snowplow and was wrecked. Then a friend sold me a yellow '78 Fiesta S with a blown engine (but good block, crank and flywheel.)
Went looking for a Kent 1600 from a Cortina GT at a junkyard in Malta, NY (near Saratoga) to disassemble for parts. The plan was to use the block, flywheel, waterpump, etc. from the Fiesta and build something around 90 HP. Kept the 4-speed transaxel but it took about 4 months to get everything to work. 13" steel Mazda wheels provided an upgrade from the 12" and found a rear swaybar from something. Car was under 1800 lbs.
Drove that car through the end of grad school and 2 years into my next job. Great in the snow, with snow tires on all 4 corners. it was till running when I gave it to a friend. The next car was a less inspiring '91 Escort LX hatch with the CVH 1900 and 88 HP. I still miss that 1G Fiesta and all the fun i had with it.