XXX1/9 Build *Update 8/18/22 Tech Dive Video*

Kurt

True Classic
Update, new video added at most recent post. as of 8/18/22

*I will be updating this post with new pictures*

New series I'm doing on my youtube channel, will be updating on my channel as I can, I'll post videos here as well, adding the first video to the first post,


New to the forums not new to X1/9's. I'm posting a build my father has been working on the past couple years.
Him and his brother used to race them a while ago and we have always had some parts X1/9's in the backyard.

A few years ago we took one of those parts fiats and took a sawzall and chopped the front off just forward of the firewall and chopped the back off just behind the firewall.

That was the shell for the build. Power plant is a 4cyl ecotec supercharged out of a cobalt SS with a tune I think it's around 300hp.

My father was a fabricator for Roush racing and used this exact motor in some of their fwd drag cars, with different internals, cai, and other mods they can get close to 1000hp from it.

He did all this work himself, fabricating complete rollbars inside and all custom suspension front and rear. He is hoping to get it running this winter. Should be slightly quick :) Here are some pics!



Front Clip
Steering Rack is from a Cobalt, they use EPS which means the rack is all mechanical. Placeholder where the Penske Dampers will be. the front suspension is based off of an old Trans AM car (recycled parts from when my dad was a fabricator for a top Trans AM team). Front spindles are stock Fiat 124 with modifications to increase height and take the NASCAR brake rotors (custom machined billet hubs).


Drivers Side Front
Door bar will have an X, the lower fixed portion (not shown) will be to the rear of the door, and there's a removeable bar that will connect near the bottom of the A pillar, which is not structural itself. There is a roll bar but no 'halo bar'



Drivers Side Rear
Body work here is all for mock up, the finished product will use the standard X1/9 dallara fender flares, all in fiberglass.




Rear Clip
Cobalt SS engine, reliable, easy dry sump kit (tank goes behind driver, fuel tank behind passenger) He used the front spindles from the Cobalt in the rear, with new suspension mounts, as well as NASCAR Speedway brake rotors all around. He is working on a second engine that is turbocharged, he wants to be able to drive to the drag strip on a gasoline cal (≈450hp), switch to methanol, change injectors and calibration, and run with ≈1000 hp.


cockpit
The structure here is minimal, to save weight, and because all the paneling will act like a monocoque. Seat belt bar is twp pieces crhomoly plus the standard structure. The back panels will be 1/2" honeycomb and bonded in to replace the sheet steel originals.



Cockpit Rough
Rough in of the cockpit, the later images show the panels put in here, but overall everything is really spartan. The dead pedal is stock X1/9, plus some 'speed holes' my dad added.


Main floor
The underbody is a piece of CF and Aluminum Honeycomb, 1/2" thick and bonded / riveted to the bottom of the cabin. My dad is a master craftsman, I'm in awe of the riveting and finish work he's been doing.




Floor Detail
Amazing.



Cabin
The interior on this is going to be really spartan, with nothing but the bare essentials. The fit and finish is amazing IMO and it's not even completed yet.




Center Console
The shifter is an aftermarket kit, but uses the standard shift cables from the OE engine. There is a reverse lock out in red. The top cover panel isn't made yet, but will extend between the seats.



Console Detail
Cherry-Q rivets are 700lb in shear, good thing there's a lot of them on the seatbelt.



Passenger Seat



Engien Bay Forward
The engine bay / Firewall. The coolant lines run through the tunnel to a fron mounted radiator which will have a waterfall through the hood. Driver's seat back is not removable but passenger seat is to access the fuel tank and starter. My dad decided he wanted to use the stock fly-by-wire throttle, so he mounted the stock throttle mechanism behind the driver's seat, and ran a cable from the X1/9 pedal back to it. He added an adjustable ratio and a teflon guide.



Seatbelt Mount
Detail of the seatbelt mount, there is a full doubler, as well as a steel backing plate. Someone asked about it being strong enough, and I think this shows that it might be.


tgzZDRF.jpg



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Rear Suspension

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Front Suspension


New Intake location for the supercharger and mass air sensor, mid engine doesn't need an air filter stuffed down below like a FWD

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Custom tank


Fuel tank behind driver's seat and modified intake location

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view facing rearward from the passenger's seat, Dry sump reservior on the left, just enough room for hte battery on the floor

HsEvjdP.jpg


another angle of the dry sump reservior and intercooler



Custom dry sump pickup and routing

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With roof


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Slightly quick indeed.

There is another member who has put one of these engines into a “standard” X for the street.

Nice motor.

Quite an amazing car.

Shows what is possible when you toss off all the self restrictions.

Is this still in Michigan? Would be interesting to have a get together as there are two Fiat club chapter in MI, one on the west side and the other on the east side.

Welcome and thanks for sharing and amazing ride.
 
Awesome build. I love go-Karts! We will all be watching, and encouraging, as you progress and hopefully post more pictures. Right off the bat, I really like what you did with the pedal assembly. Is that from a different vehicle or sourced from a race parts builder?
 
This is all of my fathers doing but I will try to answer any questions!

Yes it's currently in Frankfort, MI (tip of the pinkie for those that aren't familiar). We have a street 1500 mostly stock X1/9 there along with this. It will be licensed and street legal (since no inspections at all in MI).

We went to the fiat freak out maybe 7 years ago with the now 1500.

I'm not positive on the pedal assembly.
 
And yes this is a proper build, my father has a passion for this along with the knowledge and correct tools.

Written in sharpie on the b pillar says something along the lines of "cut no corners"
 
Thanks, it really is done right. He isn't holding back anywhere.

Crazy build by a crazy old man! Only person crazier is whoever jumps behind the wheel!
 
Hi Kurt, welcome and thanks for joining the forum and for sharing your dad's project. Amazing build indeed, love it!
Definitely post as many details and progress photos as you can. I respect your dad's skills.

You will find the members here tend to have slightly different views about stock, original X1/9's vs highly modified, custom projects. But everyone is a fan of the X and will welcome your participation.


[Andrew, the pics work for me]
 
Thanks for the welcome!

Main plans I know so far are to have fiberglass door shells and fiberglass front and rear ends. Obviously wide flares to fit the tires. Also will have ducts for air behind the front tires and a single large scoop for air to the engine.

I believe he was going to have the option to bypass the muffler for the track and option to use it for the street.

Any questions I'll try to answer!
 
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This is all of my fathers doing but I will try to answer any questions!

Yes it's currently in Frankfort, MI (tip of the pinkie for those that aren't familiar). We have a street 1500 mostly stock X1/9 there along with this. It will be licensed and street legal (since no inspections at all in MI).

We went to the fiat freak out maybe 7 years ago with the now 1500.

I'm not positive on the pedal assembly.
frank.png
 
Kurt, it looks like the entire Cobalt/Ecotec drivetrain is being used - including axles, uprights/hubs, brakes, etc?

Does your dad make sketches of what he is planning, or is he like me and does everything from his head? If there are any images of what the body will look like we would enjoy seeing it. Thanks

Autox19, took me a moment to determine what the hell you were showing there (I'm not from MI).
 
Hi Kurt, welcome and thanks for joining the forum and for sharing your dad's project. Amazing build indeed, love it!
Definitely post as many details and progress photos as you can. I respect your dad's skills.

You will find the members here tend to have slightly different views about stock, original X1/9's vs highly modified, custom projects. But everyone is a fan of the X and will welcome your participation.


[Andrew, the pics work for me]

I too think it is a great build. I have spent some time looking over the all to few pictures you posted and it makes me very humble when I think of the piddly stuff I had the nerve to call modification. I take it you are going to hang X19 fenders on it and you already have the steering wheel and I guess you have to put it in some category but I still can't get around the question, at what point is it no longer a Fiat?
This applies to any other make of automobile that is radically modified.
I often ask this about my own car as it has a different motor that Fiat.
 
Kurt, it looks like the entire Cobalt/Ecotec drivetrain is being used - including axles, uprights/hubs, brakes, etc?

Does your dad make sketches of what he is planning, or is he like me and does everything from his head? If there are any images of what the body will look like we would enjoy seeing it. Thanks

Autox19, took me a moment to determine what the hell you were showing there (I'm not from MI).

better?
michhand.png
 
Good questions! It really won't be much of a fiat other than the exterior. Not sure what he is planning for the interior, I'm guessing he will put the x1/9 dash in though.

It does pretty much have all the cobalt stuff, trans axles and front steering rack too I believe. All the control arms are completely custom from sheet metal or tubing.

It pretty much is a race car built around the fiat shell.

Keep the questions coming!
 
Good questions! It really won't be much of a fiat other than the exterior. Not sure what he is planning for the interior, I'm guessing he will put the x1/9 dash in though.

It does pretty much have all the cobalt stuff, trans axles and front steering rack too I believe. All the control arms are completely custom from sheet metal or tubing.

It pretty much is a race car built around the fiat shell.

Keep the questions coming!
Where do you intend to race it? You're not far from Grattan.
 
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