Hey all, my first post here and I thought I would share what I'm working on. The fine folks on the forum over at Grassroots Motorsports said this is the place to be for an X1/9, and I've been trolling here for a little while now. My name is Craig, and while this is my first Fiat, I am no stranger to European cars. I've been a vintage SAAB owner for a long time now, and used to help out the Seattle Italian Concour d'Elegance many years back.
This project started when I found this little Fiat on Craigslist in my area. After checking it out and gaining spousal approval, I decided to buy it. $800.
On Sunday, July 6th, I went back to the seller's house to get it hauled home. He lived at the top of a steep gravel driveway, and I was worried that the AAA tow truck might have a hard time getting up there and turned around. So I pushed the car out of the shop and decided to test the brakes trial-by-fire style and roll it down the hill. Lucky for me, they worked great. Here it is safely awaiting tow at the bottom of the hill:
In these two pics, you can see that the trunk and top of the B-pillar wing have a silver/grey vinyl film applied. No idea why- perhaps a previous owner testing viability of paint alternatives? The trunk lid is yellow beneath, as evidenced through a few tears/scratches in the vinyl.
The tow home was uneventful- the driver put it on dollies, so I didn't have to worry about the transmission. After using a come-along to pull it into my garage, I started to look it over.
The car came with about 8 boxes full of new and used parts. Some spares, some parts that need to be reinstalled. Also included is a complete set of factory service manuals as well as Clymer and Haynes manuals. In those boxes, I managed to piece together some of the car's history. The tires were made in 2004. The person that bought most of the parts for the car lived in Oregon, and by the ship-dates, I can verify that they owned the car between 2004 and 2009. Could be much longer than that, but those are the extent dates I found.
I know this is a pretty tight community- Anyone know someone named Karen Tuck from Salem OR?
The next owner I found record of (Alan Perry) was in Bainbridge Island, a little over an hour north of me. I don't know how long he had the car, but the title was in his name. Alan sold it to the guy I bought it from, who only had it for a few months before he realized it was more work than he wanted.
It is obvious that this car has sat inside and in many pieces for a long, long time now. Since some of the parts purchased as far back as 2004 are still in boxes and the tires (again, made in 2004) still have the nubbins on them, I think the car hasn't been on the road in a decade or more.
I've looked it over closely, and there is no rust to speak of. One of the previous owners was very liberal with some POR-15, but even that looks to have been preventative. No major body repairs that I've found yet. The car was originally yellow, and since a can of Sunburst Yellow Rustoleum was included in the sale, I am concluding that the rough coats of paint the car currently shows are Rustoleum. Some spots were applied nicely with a good start on wet sanding showing. Other spots have runs like crazy and it is clear that they were just slapping paint on to cover primer. Perhaps the work of different owners? The body is very straight:
The frunk is all POR-15. All solid metal, including the battery tray. Forgive the photos- the car is very dusty, supporting my theory that it has sat for a long time.
The windshield has the same marking as all the other windows, so there is a chance it is original. It is not secured- I had to gaff-tape it down for transport. Looks like it was removed to paint or possibly make repairs to where the A-pillar meets the body.
The upholstery looks like factory, and is a little ratty, but quite serviceable for now. I'm bummed about the brown dash and door cards. I may try my hand at flocking the dash, but that is low on the priority list. A previous owner began to recover the dash in black vinyl, as shown here:
There are some carpets included in the sale, but they aren't all that nice, and don't look factory. Plus they smell faintly of cat piss.
This project started when I found this little Fiat on Craigslist in my area. After checking it out and gaining spousal approval, I decided to buy it. $800.
On Sunday, July 6th, I went back to the seller's house to get it hauled home. He lived at the top of a steep gravel driveway, and I was worried that the AAA tow truck might have a hard time getting up there and turned around. So I pushed the car out of the shop and decided to test the brakes trial-by-fire style and roll it down the hill. Lucky for me, they worked great. Here it is safely awaiting tow at the bottom of the hill:
In these two pics, you can see that the trunk and top of the B-pillar wing have a silver/grey vinyl film applied. No idea why- perhaps a previous owner testing viability of paint alternatives? The trunk lid is yellow beneath, as evidenced through a few tears/scratches in the vinyl.
The tow home was uneventful- the driver put it on dollies, so I didn't have to worry about the transmission. After using a come-along to pull it into my garage, I started to look it over.
The car came with about 8 boxes full of new and used parts. Some spares, some parts that need to be reinstalled. Also included is a complete set of factory service manuals as well as Clymer and Haynes manuals. In those boxes, I managed to piece together some of the car's history. The tires were made in 2004. The person that bought most of the parts for the car lived in Oregon, and by the ship-dates, I can verify that they owned the car between 2004 and 2009. Could be much longer than that, but those are the extent dates I found.
I know this is a pretty tight community- Anyone know someone named Karen Tuck from Salem OR?
The next owner I found record of (Alan Perry) was in Bainbridge Island, a little over an hour north of me. I don't know how long he had the car, but the title was in his name. Alan sold it to the guy I bought it from, who only had it for a few months before he realized it was more work than he wanted.
It is obvious that this car has sat inside and in many pieces for a long, long time now. Since some of the parts purchased as far back as 2004 are still in boxes and the tires (again, made in 2004) still have the nubbins on them, I think the car hasn't been on the road in a decade or more.
I've looked it over closely, and there is no rust to speak of. One of the previous owners was very liberal with some POR-15, but even that looks to have been preventative. No major body repairs that I've found yet. The car was originally yellow, and since a can of Sunburst Yellow Rustoleum was included in the sale, I am concluding that the rough coats of paint the car currently shows are Rustoleum. Some spots were applied nicely with a good start on wet sanding showing. Other spots have runs like crazy and it is clear that they were just slapping paint on to cover primer. Perhaps the work of different owners? The body is very straight:
The frunk is all POR-15. All solid metal, including the battery tray. Forgive the photos- the car is very dusty, supporting my theory that it has sat for a long time.
The windshield has the same marking as all the other windows, so there is a chance it is original. It is not secured- I had to gaff-tape it down for transport. Looks like it was removed to paint or possibly make repairs to where the A-pillar meets the body.
The upholstery looks like factory, and is a little ratty, but quite serviceable for now. I'm bummed about the brown dash and door cards. I may try my hand at flocking the dash, but that is low on the priority list. A previous owner began to recover the dash in black vinyl, as shown here:
There are some carpets included in the sale, but they aren't all that nice, and don't look factory. Plus they smell faintly of cat piss.