Fiat X1/9

I was young and about to get my first car.  My buddy Markus and I had been fantasizing for years about what it would be like to rev an engine with 55.5 mm stroke to 8000rpm (no wonder we never had dates...) - so I knew what I wanted.

I found this '77 with average rust and average neglect parked with a For Sale sign on it and couldn't sleep for a couple of nights.  After having convinced my dad that I could fix all the problems with this car, it became mine.  Now I had to learn how to drive a car with a manual transmission (I had taken my test in mom's Chevy).

Soon after, the car had a K&N air cleaner and some other essentials, but after a while I had to start transforming it into "my" car.

There was bodywork to be done and then the yellow paint job.  I had sanded the top smooth and painted it as well.  I cut off the rear bumper tubes and fiberglassed (yuk!) over the holes.  I spent a lot of time on bodywork and it looked perfect after it was painted.
 
 


(My car is the yellow one in front)

Then it was time for mechanicals:
  • Faza lower and very stiff springs
  • KYB strut inserts
  • Keystone 5.5"x13" rims
  • 195/60-13 tires
  • '74 exhaust manifold and Faza Daytona quad exhaust
  • Bigger jets in the carb to go with the K&N
  • A decent steering wheel
  • Abarth Scorpion stickers (+ 3mph)
I really liked this exhaust but it was very boomy...



This was right before I sold the car.  I had swapped the wheels with the '83.
 


A friend called and told me about an '83 with 48k miles, red leather, A/C (dead), power windows etc. for $1200.  The catch:  No reverse gear.
I had to buy it.  The '77 was showing signs of rust coming through my fabulous bondo job anyway.
 

I installed the suspension from the '77 plus:

I had a great time with this car.  It had enough power to have fun through the curves.  It was well sorted out , but when I went off to grad school I thought I needed a "real" car and bought a VW Sh*trocco.  Big mistake...
My '74 parts car.  The background reveals things to come...