I know you guys like pictures, so I have a lot of them.
This is a long story - Back in November I blew the head gasket in my 84 X. The car was missing the shields that cover the accessory belts and back of the engine; as such I would never drive it in the rain. I decided to take the car to work the day before Thanksgiving and checked the weather before I left - no rain on the forecast. Got halfway to work when it suddenly started to downpour. The roads were saturated. Water ended up getting kicked up onto the accessory belts and caused the water pump belt to slip and overheated the motor. I was so focused on driving in the rain with poor viability that I didn't notice the temp gauge for probably 10 miles or so. Head gasket blown - no compression on 2 and 3.
This car was originally a basket case that I spent a lot of time getting road worthy. Prior to this I had overhauled the brakes, exhaust, cooling system, fuel system, electrical system, clutch, fixed a cracked transmission case, replaced wheel bearings, timing belt, and fixed a lot of rust including welding in new floor pans, patching rust on the rocker panels, frunk lid, nose, and around the windshield.
Having done all this work, I took the blown head gasket as an opportunity to completely go through the motor. I got the head resurfaced, bought and installed a performance cam, lapped the valves, bought every gasket and seal for the engine, rod bearings, piston rings, honed the cylinders, etc, etc.
During the process, of tearing the engine down, I stumbled upon a ton of more rust in the trunk. The trunk floor was basically gone (that was obscured by the trunk luggage plate and the heat shield above the exhaust), and the lower part of the trunk firewall was beyond saving. That was disappointing, but that wasn't something I couldn't tackle.
Here's the killer though - I was storing all the parts in our basement. A couple of months ago we had some really heavy rain and our sump pump broke causing our basement to flood. I went down to rescue the parts and move them to higher ground. I was picking up the pistons and felt a abnormal jagged edge on #4. I turned it over and there were chunks missing from the skirt and pretty bad scoring. I have no idea how I missed that before. I went out to the car and closely examined the #4 bore, and sure enough, low on the stroke there were a few extremely deep pits and bad scoring - the block would absolutely have to be machined. I have no idea how I missed all that after carefully measuring the bores and pistons, and honing the cylinders.
So now I needed new pistons, and would need to machine the block - which meant I had to take the block out of the car. Not having a garage to work in, and it being the middle of winter meant this would be quite the challenge.
Why was I spending all this time, effort, and money on a car that would still needed so much work once I got it running again? Why am I putting all of these brand new or like new parts on a chassis that was rotten with so much rust that I just kept discovering more and more of as I dug deeper and deeper into the car? I still had a mountain of rust to fix, still needed a full paint job, still needed to overhaul the suspension, and still needed to do a ton of little things here and there.
I figured that for the amount of money I still needed to spend on parts, paint, and machining, I'd probably be halfway towards buying a "nice" X1/9. So started looking for a new X1/9 in fantastic condition. I could keep the 84X as a parts car and that combined with all the parts I've already bought, I'd probably never need to buy any X related parts for a long time, plus I could install the performance cam I bought into the new car.
I knew about an 85X with 60k miles that was on ebay in my area for months and months. The seller didn't have good pictures and they kept lowering the price every few weeks. I reached out to them and asked for pictures of the trunk wells, and inside of the headlight pods. I figured the levels of rust in these areas would give a good litmus test for the rest of the car. The seller sent over the pictures and I was astounded - absolutely no rust - and what more, everything was spotless - no dust, debris, nothing! I immediately sent an offer and bought the car for $5,800. (I actually ended up cashing out some crypto currency I had invested in years ago to pay for the car. I used exclusively profits and essentially didn't pay a dime.)
Turns out the car belonged to the owners boyfriend who died 3 years ago. Prior to that it belonged to a collector in Oregon who had it for at least 10 years. It's pretty clear this X has been garage kept the majority of its life.
First thing on the list is to replace the shift knob with a stock one.
The car is 99.9% complete. The paint is a solid 8.5/10. There's no rust on the entire car - I've been through everything. All the electrics work. The trunk, frunk, and cabin carpets are mint. The suspension and steering are tight. It has the original Bertone floor mats and speaker shelf mat. Nothing is broken. Even the AC works!
The only problems I've found are the non-stock shift knob, torn stitching in the drivers seat, and the muffler has a few dents in it; all of which should be easy to remedy especially considering I have a full spare exhaust in fantastic condition. I honestly couldn't believe it - I feel like I hit the lottery.
. . . . And then a week after buying the car I broke my collar bone snowboarding:
Ended up having to get surgery so a titanium plate could be put in with several screws. I won't be able to use my right hand for a month, and won't be able to do any wrenching for at least three. Maybe I'll be able to drive manual again in about 2 months. Generally not fun - do not recommend.
Anyhow, along with the car, I got a bag full of literature. There's a mint owners handbook, owner's manual, original Warranty and Service Book, Electrical Diagnostic Manual, Fiat Air Conditioning Training Manual, parts catalogues and tons and tons of original dealer handouts and literature. I'll post a sample of it all below.
If anyone wants any of these scanned in high quality, let me know - I'd be happy to make them available.
Owner's Manual, Owner's Handbook, Bertone Owner's Warranty and Service Book, X1/9 Owner's Club Magazine:
Bayless Parts Book, Fiat Air Conditioning Training Manual:
Linea Rossa Parts Catalogue, Fiat X1/9 Performance Handbook:
This is a long story - Back in November I blew the head gasket in my 84 X. The car was missing the shields that cover the accessory belts and back of the engine; as such I would never drive it in the rain. I decided to take the car to work the day before Thanksgiving and checked the weather before I left - no rain on the forecast. Got halfway to work when it suddenly started to downpour. The roads were saturated. Water ended up getting kicked up onto the accessory belts and caused the water pump belt to slip and overheated the motor. I was so focused on driving in the rain with poor viability that I didn't notice the temp gauge for probably 10 miles or so. Head gasket blown - no compression on 2 and 3.
This car was originally a basket case that I spent a lot of time getting road worthy. Prior to this I had overhauled the brakes, exhaust, cooling system, fuel system, electrical system, clutch, fixed a cracked transmission case, replaced wheel bearings, timing belt, and fixed a lot of rust including welding in new floor pans, patching rust on the rocker panels, frunk lid, nose, and around the windshield.
Having done all this work, I took the blown head gasket as an opportunity to completely go through the motor. I got the head resurfaced, bought and installed a performance cam, lapped the valves, bought every gasket and seal for the engine, rod bearings, piston rings, honed the cylinders, etc, etc.
During the process, of tearing the engine down, I stumbled upon a ton of more rust in the trunk. The trunk floor was basically gone (that was obscured by the trunk luggage plate and the heat shield above the exhaust), and the lower part of the trunk firewall was beyond saving. That was disappointing, but that wasn't something I couldn't tackle.
Here's the killer though - I was storing all the parts in our basement. A couple of months ago we had some really heavy rain and our sump pump broke causing our basement to flood. I went down to rescue the parts and move them to higher ground. I was picking up the pistons and felt a abnormal jagged edge on #4. I turned it over and there were chunks missing from the skirt and pretty bad scoring. I have no idea how I missed that before. I went out to the car and closely examined the #4 bore, and sure enough, low on the stroke there were a few extremely deep pits and bad scoring - the block would absolutely have to be machined. I have no idea how I missed all that after carefully measuring the bores and pistons, and honing the cylinders.
So now I needed new pistons, and would need to machine the block - which meant I had to take the block out of the car. Not having a garage to work in, and it being the middle of winter meant this would be quite the challenge.
Why was I spending all this time, effort, and money on a car that would still needed so much work once I got it running again? Why am I putting all of these brand new or like new parts on a chassis that was rotten with so much rust that I just kept discovering more and more of as I dug deeper and deeper into the car? I still had a mountain of rust to fix, still needed a full paint job, still needed to overhaul the suspension, and still needed to do a ton of little things here and there.
I figured that for the amount of money I still needed to spend on parts, paint, and machining, I'd probably be halfway towards buying a "nice" X1/9. So started looking for a new X1/9 in fantastic condition. I could keep the 84X as a parts car and that combined with all the parts I've already bought, I'd probably never need to buy any X related parts for a long time, plus I could install the performance cam I bought into the new car.
I knew about an 85X with 60k miles that was on ebay in my area for months and months. The seller didn't have good pictures and they kept lowering the price every few weeks. I reached out to them and asked for pictures of the trunk wells, and inside of the headlight pods. I figured the levels of rust in these areas would give a good litmus test for the rest of the car. The seller sent over the pictures and I was astounded - absolutely no rust - and what more, everything was spotless - no dust, debris, nothing! I immediately sent an offer and bought the car for $5,800. (I actually ended up cashing out some crypto currency I had invested in years ago to pay for the car. I used exclusively profits and essentially didn't pay a dime.)
Turns out the car belonged to the owners boyfriend who died 3 years ago. Prior to that it belonged to a collector in Oregon who had it for at least 10 years. It's pretty clear this X has been garage kept the majority of its life.
First thing on the list is to replace the shift knob with a stock one.
The car is 99.9% complete. The paint is a solid 8.5/10. There's no rust on the entire car - I've been through everything. All the electrics work. The trunk, frunk, and cabin carpets are mint. The suspension and steering are tight. It has the original Bertone floor mats and speaker shelf mat. Nothing is broken. Even the AC works!
The only problems I've found are the non-stock shift knob, torn stitching in the drivers seat, and the muffler has a few dents in it; all of which should be easy to remedy especially considering I have a full spare exhaust in fantastic condition. I honestly couldn't believe it - I feel like I hit the lottery.
. . . . And then a week after buying the car I broke my collar bone snowboarding:
Ended up having to get surgery so a titanium plate could be put in with several screws. I won't be able to use my right hand for a month, and won't be able to do any wrenching for at least three. Maybe I'll be able to drive manual again in about 2 months. Generally not fun - do not recommend.
Anyhow, along with the car, I got a bag full of literature. There's a mint owners handbook, owner's manual, original Warranty and Service Book, Electrical Diagnostic Manual, Fiat Air Conditioning Training Manual, parts catalogues and tons and tons of original dealer handouts and literature. I'll post a sample of it all below.
If anyone wants any of these scanned in high quality, let me know - I'd be happy to make them available.
Owner's Manual, Owner's Handbook, Bertone Owner's Warranty and Service Book, X1/9 Owner's Club Magazine:
Bayless Parts Book, Fiat Air Conditioning Training Manual:
Linea Rossa Parts Catalogue, Fiat X1/9 Performance Handbook:
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