The pros/The cons?

WantAnX1/9

WantAnX1/9

Stuck in gear, leaking fluids, fire in progress...
Hello all,

I have a line on two nice X 1/9s.

Both are carby 1500s.

In each of your experience, what are the biggest pros/cons/contrasts between the carby and FI 1500 X 1/9s?

Should I just hold out for a FI car? Are carbs the way to go for better induction noise on WOT?

I know cold starts are easier with FI, but I want more first-hand info, if possible?

Thank you.
 
The carb 1500s had a non-performance, emissions carb. Of course it could be upgraded, but a stock carb 1500 vs a stock FI car will usually favor the FI car.
 
MikeHynes said:
The carb 1500s had a non-performance, emissions carb. Of course it could be upgraded, but a stock carb 1500 vs a stock FI car will usually favor the FI car.
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I figured as much----but is the carby 1500 easier to upgrade than the FI, or vice-versa?
 
Upgrading the 1500 carb engine is as easy as replacing the 1500 carb with an earlier 1300 carb. Of course you could always add a bigger carb, or two carbs, or...
 
I have both. 1987 injected and 1980 carbed. The 1980 became progressively a semi-race car. At a time, it was said the carb version was easier to modify. But at that time, new x19's were still available and the buying price of the later Fi cars was probably a factor. Modifying a Fi car isn't that much more complicated than upgrading a carb car. You already know the Fi car is much more easier to drive than the carb car in stock form. So if a stock car is your goal, the Fi is the choice. On the other hand, if you intend to modify your car, there are many more questions to ask. If you want a programmable fi car then, you better start with a fi one. But if a pair of carbs is your "old timer" choice, I would say, find the best car you could afford, the carb ones will be a "little" easier (fi heads will need to be swapped for a carb one) but that's all.
 
Daniel Forest said:
I have both. 1987 injected and 1980 carbed. The 1980 became progressively a semi-race car. At a time, it was said the carb version was easier to modify. But at that time, new x19's were still available and the buying price of the later Fi cars was probably a factor. Modifying a Fi car isn't that much more complicated than upgrading a carb car. You already know the Fi car is much more easier to drive than the carb car in stock form. So if a stock car is your goal, the Fi is the choice. On the other hand, if you intend to modify your car, there are many more questions to ask. If you want a programmable fi car then, you better start with a fi one. But if a pair of carbs is your "old timer" choice, I would say, find the best car you could afford, the carb ones will be a "little" easier (fi heads will need to be swapped for a carb one) but that's all.
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I know FI cars have 85hp stock, and carb 1500 cars are 68-75, depending on who I ask...but is there much of a difference in feel, seat-of-the-pants?
 
Yes the 85 was the European 1500 carb.

AFAIK you guys had 1300 @66 bhp, 1500 carb emissions @67 (66 for CA), 1500 Fi @75
 
The cars got progressively heavier over time so I would not assume the later ones were faster. There were also some gearing changes but I'm not certain of the details or the impact. I only drove one FI car, and I would describe it as pleasant and well behaved, but I suspect a desmogged 74 would be faster.
 
Based on my experience, the FI cars are faster and generally have much better drive ability. As in get in and go with no warm up, no fuss at any point. It is basically a set it and forget it solution.

A carb car properly set up is a great car which you won’t regret, just know that it will always require some care and feeding to keep it running the way you want. An occasional carb rebuild, regular filters and a little massaging of the mixture.

I would remove the US carb and get a non smog carb, be it EU or otherwise as long as it is properly set up.

I own two carbed Fiats and have had two carbed X’s. I strongly prefer my fuel injected Xs to the point that I would absolutely love to make my 124 SC fuel injected without even thinking about it. The 850 wouldn’t be worth changing over given how little I drive it and the fact that the carb is pretty painless on that car. The 124 carb, is a horror show with a vacuum secondary and plenty of other places to leak. Ugh.

The short answer is buy the best car you can. Most anything can be corrected it just takes more time and money.

Have a look at yourself, what kind of mechanic are you and what do you want to do. If you are paying someone to work on it, do you know/have a mechanic who can deal with a carb?

If it was me, I would buy a fuel injected non AC car. That’s me.
 
Great advise from Karl. We never got the Fi over here.... carb cars are not plug n play especially when cold they need a bit of babying to get going. Manual choke is better than auto choke IME, the auto always seems to fall of fast idle too early or the idle is too high. Stop at the first junction and it will stall on you! You need to let them warm up for a minute before moving away. But that’s the ‘charm’ of old carb cars, it takes a bit of mechanical empathy and understanding to get them going properly....and I like the tinkering. You probably have to be a bit of a masochist to enjoy them o_O
 
kmead said:
Based on my experience, the FI cars are faster and generally have much better drive ability. As in get in and go with no warm up, no fuss at any point. It is basically a set it and forget it solution.

A carb car properly set up is a great car which you won’t regret, just know that it will always require some care and feeding to keep it running the way you want. An occasional carb rebuild, regular filters and a little massaging of the mixture.

I would remove the US carb and get a non smog carb, be it EU or otherwise as long as it is properly set up.

I own two carbed Fiats and have had two carbed X’s. I strongly prefer my fuel injected Xs to the point that I would absolutely love to make my 124 SC fuel injected without even thinking about it. The 850 wouldn’t be worth changing over given how little I drive it and the fact that the carb is pretty painless on that car. The 124 carb, is a horror show with a vacuum secondary and plenty of other places to leak. Ugh.

The short answer is buy the best car you can. Most anything can be corrected it just takes more time and money.

Have a look at yourself, what kind of mechanic are you and what do you want to do. If you are paying someone to work on it, do you know/have a mechanic who can deal with a carb?

If it was me, I would buy a fuel injected non AC car. That’s me.
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If these two carby 1500s fall through, I will set my eyes only on FI cars.

Great advice!
 
In stock form the injected X will run much better than a STOCK 1500 carbed motor. Get a carb from an earlier X or a larger 34 version and off you go. I like carbs for my hobby cars, easy to work on. The Bosch FI is great but all the Xs have forty year old systems and I'm not interested in using an Ohm meter to see why my motor does not run right or investigating a myriad of hoses, sensors, wires, black boxes etc.. Apparently there are folks out there that would rather use a volt/ohm meter than carb cleaner to see why the induction system does not work right. If you want to get really abusive you can put two carbs on.

Seriously, it depends on what your personal approach is to working on your hobby cars, I don't believe the injected motor has a major advantage over a properly carbed X.
 
carl said:
In stock form the injected X will run much better than a STOCK 1500 carbed motor. Get a carb from an earlier X or a larger 34 version and off you go. I like carbs for my hobby cars, easy to work on. The Bosch FI is great but all the Xs have forty year old systems and I'm not interested in using an Ohm meter to see why my motor does not run right or investigating a myriad of hoses, sensors, wires, black boxes etc.. Apparently there are folks out there that would rather use a volt/ohm meter than carb cleaner to see why the induction system does not work right. If you want to get really abusive you can put two carbs on.

Seriously, it depends on what your personal approach is to working on your hobby cars, I don't believe the injected motor has a major advantage over a properly carbed X.
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Thank you, Carl.

I've seen these with a single DCOE and dual DCOEs, which I heard can run like an angry ape after bananas.

I've also seen 4 single carbs on one of these which is said to be even crazier...
 
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WantAnX1/9 said:
I've seen these with a single DCOE, which I heard can run like an angry ape after bananas.
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You will hear lots of things. Here is some more opinion for you.

I have had carb and FI Xs. I have never had an FI issue, but I am sure I just jinxed myself. The only carb X I had no problems with was a brand new 1980 which I owned for a few years way back in my youth. If you understand carbs and like to play with them, like carl does, they are a good choice. If you plan to have this car sit around a lot and be driven when the weather and mood strikes, I personally think FI is the better choice. It is simply more forgiving IMHO. Just my 2 cents worth of free opinionation.
 
JimD said:
You will hear lots of things. Here is some more opinion for you.

I have had carb and FI Xs. I have never had an FI issue, but I am sure I just jinxed myself. The only carb X I had no problems with was a brand new 1980 which I owned for a few years way back in my youth. If you understand carbs and like to play with them, like carl does, they are a good choice. If you plan to have this car sit around a lot and be driven when the weather and mood strikes, I personally think FI is the better choice. It is simply more forgiving IMHO. Just my 2 cents worth of free opinionation.
Click to expand...

Yes, I have 6 vehicles, an X 1/9 will make 7. FI it is! Ha ha!
 
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