B0b
Daily Driver
I am working on my 5th X1/9, a 1974 that si completely stock except for removing the air pump, and which is essentially free of rust. It is currently somewhat dismantled for a refresh of the engine and gearbox, and a thorough inspection. This car is identical to my first X1/9, which I bought new when I graduated from engineering school. That car was the only one n Saskatchewan, and one of 6 west of Ontario, as Fiat had just started importing them.
That car passed on to another member of this board, under whose care it survived a few Toronto winters before eventually turning into a rusted heap in mis parents driveway.
A while later, he found a more or less abandoned X1/9 missing its motor, and we decided to turn it into a autocross car. Stripped it completely, although we didn't cut off the windshield. We convinced Fiat to give us a slightly damaged 1500 that we hotrodded with an Abarth cam, a fairly big DCNF carb, etc. Lowered and stiffened a LOT ( probably too much) and put on slicks. Fun car but not competitive because of the class we wound up in. That car is still around, having gone through several metamorphoses.
My third X1/9 was an exercise in turbocharging, in a pre-electronic age. Built a couple of manifold iterations( pulling through a carburetor) , fooled around with some turbo sizes, and built a distributor that had vacuum advance and pressure retard. I determined the retard curve but trial and error, destroying the bottom end due to high speed detonation. Once sorted, it was a fun car that got passed on to a young man; lost track of it completely./
Fourth was a 1980 1500 FI 5 speed that was a business associates wife's daily driver. He was driving it to work one day when the clutch failed. He was fed up and so I got a great deal as-is, sitting in the work parking lot. Drove it home without a clutch, replaced the failed slave cylinder, and drove it for a few years until kids and other interests intervened.
Other Fiats included a 131 and a Strada, and along the way I was the last president of Fiat Auto Club Canada, ending when Fiat pulled out.
My 5th and current car was bought new by a classmate, daily driven in a non-salt area for a couple of years, then used as a summer car by him and another classmate. Because it is identical to my original car, I thought it would be nice to have and after 10-15 years of chatting, we did a deal over a beer and it arrived in Toronto on a trailer. It has 65,000 miles on it, and was running, although it definitely needed a once-over.
I immediately installed new master cylinders, wheel bearings, and brakes, just to make it safe while I figured out what to do with it. During the last few years, it has been driven a bit - enough to figure out what else is needed, and what I wanted to end up with.
I am going to keep it original, only touching up the cosmetics. I don't want a concours car as I want to drive it without worry. And there is something satisfying about it being sort of a survivor.
A couple of photos with the engine out:
That car passed on to another member of this board, under whose care it survived a few Toronto winters before eventually turning into a rusted heap in mis parents driveway.
A while later, he found a more or less abandoned X1/9 missing its motor, and we decided to turn it into a autocross car. Stripped it completely, although we didn't cut off the windshield. We convinced Fiat to give us a slightly damaged 1500 that we hotrodded with an Abarth cam, a fairly big DCNF carb, etc. Lowered and stiffened a LOT ( probably too much) and put on slicks. Fun car but not competitive because of the class we wound up in. That car is still around, having gone through several metamorphoses.
My third X1/9 was an exercise in turbocharging, in a pre-electronic age. Built a couple of manifold iterations( pulling through a carburetor) , fooled around with some turbo sizes, and built a distributor that had vacuum advance and pressure retard. I determined the retard curve but trial and error, destroying the bottom end due to high speed detonation. Once sorted, it was a fun car that got passed on to a young man; lost track of it completely./
Fourth was a 1980 1500 FI 5 speed that was a business associates wife's daily driver. He was driving it to work one day when the clutch failed. He was fed up and so I got a great deal as-is, sitting in the work parking lot. Drove it home without a clutch, replaced the failed slave cylinder, and drove it for a few years until kids and other interests intervened.
Other Fiats included a 131 and a Strada, and along the way I was the last president of Fiat Auto Club Canada, ending when Fiat pulled out.
My 5th and current car was bought new by a classmate, daily driven in a non-salt area for a couple of years, then used as a summer car by him and another classmate. Because it is identical to my original car, I thought it would be nice to have and after 10-15 years of chatting, we did a deal over a beer and it arrived in Toronto on a trailer. It has 65,000 miles on it, and was running, although it definitely needed a once-over.
I immediately installed new master cylinders, wheel bearings, and brakes, just to make it safe while I figured out what to do with it. During the last few years, it has been driven a bit - enough to figure out what else is needed, and what I wanted to end up with.
I am going to keep it original, only touching up the cosmetics. I don't want a concours car as I want to drive it without worry. And there is something satisfying about it being sort of a survivor.
A couple of photos with the engine out:
