john2000online
New Member
Hey all, this is my first post. I saw an X1/9 in my neighborhood a few years ago and started getting obsessed. That one was rusty and "repaired" to a state of FUBAR but I finally bought one in late 2022 when it came up on Midwest-Bayless website. It was this one- a 1983 with Midwest-Bayless mods that they had rebuilt in 2019, 5000 miles ago- the listing is still up: https://www.midwest-bayless.com/t-1983-X19-RA.aspx
I picked it up in Columbus and drove to Chicago in November. Took it on some nice twisties in southern Ohio- all was great. I drove it all last summer around Chicago and over to Michigan once. No problems.
Decided to take it on a longer trip over to the Chesapeake for a bachelor party. Thought it would be wise to take it in for a once over so I found the local expert- Autosprint in Chicago. There were a few other X's in the lot and other Fiats- seemed great. He changed the oil and gave it a once over- found some rust in the fuel filter so drained and dried the tank and changed the fuel filter. I hit the road- first day, made it from Chicago to a campsite in West Virginia. She was cruising just fine and engine temps were solid, never budging from the middle of the gauge.
Second day, I stopped for gas and then got back out on the interstate, cruising around 70 MPH. The engine suddenly lost all power and quit. I pulled over to the shoulder and tried to see if the fuel pump had lost power - no luck. Eventually got towed to a local shop who realized it was a big problem. They thought it was "out of time" which turned out not to be right but regardless it was beyond them. I rented a Chevy, went to the bachelor party, ate a picnic table full of crabs, and then flew home from DC.
After getting her transported back to Autosprint, he found lost compression in 2 cylinders, took off the cylinder head and saw not just a blown gasket but a lot more. Engine was shot. I send his picture back to Midwest-Bayless and got the attached observations- his read is that one cylinder was running extra lean perhaps due to a blockage. Makes me wonder whether Autosprint knocked some crud loose that clogged it- regardless I don't think I can necessarily hold it against them. They think it was a result of the mods increasing the compression too much. I guess it was both- the mods put it in a condition where a flow blockage could more easily lead to high ignition temps and catastrophic failure.
Both of them say they can put in a new engine for for $6-8K, Midwest is offering a "lightly modded" one with ~15 extra HP for $2k more. I am inclined to stick with stock after this experience... I'd prefer to make it home than to risk it all to be a little quicker. Didn't know a modded car would do this but seems better to avoid.
Not sure how comfortable I'll be taking her for a road trip again... anyone take theirs for long trips at highway speeds? Seen a similar problem? Any other thoughts on what went wrong and how to avoid it?
THANKS
I picked it up in Columbus and drove to Chicago in November. Took it on some nice twisties in southern Ohio- all was great. I drove it all last summer around Chicago and over to Michigan once. No problems.
Decided to take it on a longer trip over to the Chesapeake for a bachelor party. Thought it would be wise to take it in for a once over so I found the local expert- Autosprint in Chicago. There were a few other X's in the lot and other Fiats- seemed great. He changed the oil and gave it a once over- found some rust in the fuel filter so drained and dried the tank and changed the fuel filter. I hit the road- first day, made it from Chicago to a campsite in West Virginia. She was cruising just fine and engine temps were solid, never budging from the middle of the gauge.
Second day, I stopped for gas and then got back out on the interstate, cruising around 70 MPH. The engine suddenly lost all power and quit. I pulled over to the shoulder and tried to see if the fuel pump had lost power - no luck. Eventually got towed to a local shop who realized it was a big problem. They thought it was "out of time" which turned out not to be right but regardless it was beyond them. I rented a Chevy, went to the bachelor party, ate a picnic table full of crabs, and then flew home from DC.
After getting her transported back to Autosprint, he found lost compression in 2 cylinders, took off the cylinder head and saw not just a blown gasket but a lot more. Engine was shot. I send his picture back to Midwest-Bayless and got the attached observations- his read is that one cylinder was running extra lean perhaps due to a blockage. Makes me wonder whether Autosprint knocked some crud loose that clogged it- regardless I don't think I can necessarily hold it against them. They think it was a result of the mods increasing the compression too much. I guess it was both- the mods put it in a condition where a flow blockage could more easily lead to high ignition temps and catastrophic failure.
Both of them say they can put in a new engine for for $6-8K, Midwest is offering a "lightly modded" one with ~15 extra HP for $2k more. I am inclined to stick with stock after this experience... I'd prefer to make it home than to risk it all to be a little quicker. Didn't know a modded car would do this but seems better to avoid.
Not sure how comfortable I'll be taking her for a road trip again... anyone take theirs for long trips at highway speeds? Seen a similar problem? Any other thoughts on what went wrong and how to avoid it?
THANKS