Fiat x1/9 Engine

S

socaligirlx19

New Member
hay may be you guys can help me out,

I just recently got a 79 x1/9, i love the car but its stock everything. i want to start to work on it, But as a new x1/9 owner i don't know were to being to look. I would like to work on the engine first scenes everything is still in good working order.

Any ideas on engine modification or upgrades??? :grin:
 
Starting with a '79

The first order of business is to get caught up on maintenance and get it running well. If you know and trust the previous owner, you may already be most of the way there. If not, go through all the routine stuff (fluids, brake bleeding, clutch bleeding, plugs, timing, ...) that you'd do for any other 30-yr-old car of unknown history. And specific to the X1/9: change the timing belt and check and set the valve clearances.

Once it's running as well as it is supposed to in stock trim, you can look at engine and suspension mods. You'll have to ask one of your many fellow socal people what the smog requirements are for a '79, but if you are unconstrained...

The first and most useful thing you can do with a '79 is to replace the stock carb (Weber 28/30 DHTA) with the 32 DATRA used in the 75-78 1300 cars. Yes, it seems weird to go back to the 1300 carb, but the 1300 used the larger carb and generated more power per cc than the 1500 so it makes sense (Euro 1500 would use a 34 DATR).
 
Just remember that you need to get through Cal SMOG still. I'm a newbie here but good to keep in mind.
 
tdskip said:
Just remember that you need to get through Cal SMOG still. I'm a newbie here but good to keep in mind.
Click to expand...

Second that. I had a 79 once that was FUN!!!! and far from stock. It was a little rocket. But completely un-smog-able so it was a challenge every two years when it came time to renew the registration :(
 
Welcome Girl...

I'm in Santa Clarita and have owned my '79 since '83... I'm also old and not a threat to anyone... Love to meet ya...

We have a large contingent of enthusiasts in the Anaheim/Tustin area, and couple near LAX and then there is me... until ya get to the Bay Area.

Welcome to the darkside... and best of luck with your new found "hobby". We're here to help and share our knowledge, skills and tools. Best to check with us before doing ANYTHING... as we'll save ya lots of time, money and frustration.
 
Old and not a threat? WOW! Seriously SOCALGIRL, you have come to the right place for help and advice on your X. Everyone is helpful and knowledgeable to the extreme. I'm in N. Illinois which is still part of a free country, so we do whatever we want to with our cars!:nana:
 
Tony? A threat? Naaaa....

That's why I live in New Hampshire... Just about as far away from Santa Clarita as you can get without leaving the US. Haha! :innocent::innocent:
My only fear is if I post anything that has to do with "original" regarding my X1/9, Tony will be there to remind me how big
a dreamer I am. :D

Seriously, Tony and several others on this site ARE and have been the biggest help to the X1/9 community that anyone could hope for.
So welcome to the "X madness" and enjoy the ride. We love photos on this site so post them if you can. Welcome aboard!

As for engine mods or upgrades, contact Matt Brannon at Midwest Bayless. <-click
or C. Obert & Co <-click or Allison's Automotive <-click or Vick's Autosport <-click. There are others too but these folks are quite active
here and are local. (USA)
 
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Welcome!

I'm sure you'll find as I have that the forum is a wealth of info & great people! Having this resource will make owning your X a much more pleasurable experience!

EricH's advice is sound - start with the basics, once you know you have a solid running-to-spec foundation, you can better assess what type of improvements suit your driving style.
 
Welcome to the Italian X family.. Eric's advise is a great place to start. If there is anything you're not certain about, ask and 99.9% of the time another family member will have an answer.

Definitely do the basic maintenance items first before considering any performance improvements.

Curious, how did you end up with your 79' ?

Bernice

socaligirlx19 said:
hay may be you guys can help me out,

I just recently got a 79 x1/9, i love the car but its stock everything. i want to start to work on it, But as a new x1/9 owner i don't know were to being to look. I would like to work on the engine first scenes everything is still in good working order.

Any ideas on engine modification or upgrades??? :grin:
Click to expand...
 
How did i end up with the car....

LOL i got it for free from my friends dad that never really used, he just used it to go get his cigarette...
 
Goals for my x19

HI eric
the car is in good work condition, my friends dad kept it working well before he gave to me and he made sure everything working grate. If anything i might need change the transmission out because it doesn't go in reverse....

my main goal for this car is to do a Dallara replica...:grin:

i saw on youtube some guy put bike carbs in to his x19... it was crazy...dose anyone no how to do that and is that even legal?

Thanks

EricH said:
The first order of business is to get caught up on maintenance and get it running well. If you know and trust the previous owner, you may already be most of the way there. If not, go through all the routine stuff (fluids, brake bleeding, clutch bleeding, plugs, timing, ...) that you'd do for any other 30-yr-old car of unknown history. And specific to the X1/9: change the timing belt and check and set the valve clearances.

Once it's running as well as it is supposed to in stock trim, you can look at engine and suspension mods. You'll have to ask one of your many fellow socal people what the smog requirements are for a '79, but if you are unconstrained...

The first and most useful thing you can do with a '79 is to replace the stock carb (Weber 28/30 DHTA) with the 32 DATRA used in the 75-78 1300 cars. Yes, it seems weird to go back to the 1300 carb, but the 1300 used the larger carb and generated more power per cc than the 1500 so it makes sense (Euro 1500 would use a 34 DATR).
Click to expand...
 
Depends where you live...

socaligirlx19 said:
i saw on youtube some guy put bike carbs in to his x19... it was crazy...dose anyone no how to do that and is that even legal?

Thanks
Click to expand...

Kelvin here in N TX has this setup, among other people. But in TX, not all counties are emission-controlled, and even the ones that are stop testing when the car becomes 25 years old.

I'm not an expert on California law, but what I have heard is that only cars prior to 1975 (a fixed year, not a rolling 25 like in TX) are exempt from the smog procedures. And the CA smog procedures include both emissions testing and a visual check. So to do this to a '79 in CA would definitely not be legal.

Pete
 
Wow, never heard this before...

I'm in Santa Clarita and have owned my '79 since '83... I'm also old and not a threat to anyone... Love to meet ya...

Come on Tony, do you really believe she is going to go for it...? :D
.
 
Serial number and build date?

I have an early 79 build date Dec 1978, they had the small reverse idler shaft and were prone to have reverse problems. Serial 100638, The latter cars had the heavy reverse idler shaft.

TonyK.

Grimsby Ontario Canada.
 
welcome!

socaligirlx19 said:
hay may be you guys can help me out,

I just recently got a 79 x1/9, i love the car but its stock everything. i want to start to work on it, But as a new x1/9 owner i don't know were to being to look. I would like to work on the engine first scenes everything is still in good working order.

Any ideas on engine modification or upgrades??? :grin:
Click to expand...

welcome! my X1/9 is a 79' too and I'm in Orange County.

Smog emissions test you'll need to consider, I was wonder to have a big engine on mine when I bought, but with this smog test every two years and a " picky " visual inspections I change of mind.
I rebuild my engine 2 years ago as "original" without any modification, just to avoid any headache every 2 years, on that way just I need to review all.

my 2 cents.
 
I can't wait to hear Ricardo's answer to this one...

It's called a Saratoga Top and was an aftermarket option back in the mid 70's. Rare as hen's teeth. Jim Decker in STL Missouri has an original... Ricardo MADE his on his kitchen table...

Let us know the PRICE Ricardo quotes ya... he can also direct you to his illustrated instructions so you can make your own!

Again... welcome!
 
No reverse is a common problem in the 5 speed transaxle. FIAT made more than one change in it's production life to address this problem.

What usually happens, drive is less than easy/careful engaging reverse at times when reverse does not easily engage, which results in the driver using more force causing the gear to crash and grind the teeth off the reverse idler gear. If there is even more abuse, then the results are usually a bent reverse idler shaft and very likely cracking the shaft boss in the transaxle case and chipping the teeth on the input gear set and grinding all the teeth off the 1st/2nd slider on top of grinding all the teeth off the reverse idler gear.

If you're mechanically handy, rebuilding the transaxle is not too difficult and parts are availiable.

We did bike carbs on the LeMons racer...
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTt4jhsq620"]YouTube- Lemons X1/9 Bike Carb Test Run (Italian Stallions)[/ame]

Getting the bike carbs to work properly required much tweaking and some dyno time:
http://xwebforums.com/forum/index.php?threads/7276/

We had a guess dyno numbers contest too:
http://xwebforums.com/forum/index.php?threads/7481/

Resulting in a LeMons X that runs like this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9o7...outube.com/user/jmarsh4441#p/u/19/Y9o7KoVxJ7I

Dallara body parts are available via a number of the X1/9 parts suppliers..

As for being legal in CA.. Bike carbs will not be smoggable. Might be better and easier to install an alternative more modern engine and transaxle that meet CA smog requirements, like a Honda K20A engine and transaxle complete then take it to a CA smog ref station and spend some time explaining all that has happened.

Anyway, enjoy your X.
Bernice

socaligirlx19 said:
HI eric
the car is in good work condition, my friends dad kept it working well before he gave to me and he made sure everything working grate. If anything i might need change the transmission out because it doesn't go in reverse....

my main goal for this car is to do a Dallara replica...:grin:

i saw on youtube some guy put bike carbs in to his x19... it was crazy...dose anyone no how to do that and is that even legal?

Thanks
Click to expand...
 
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