NeilMc
Daily Driver
Hi everyone from Aurora Ontario Canada. I've been a silent member here for some time, messaging well known members for advice. I've been encouraged to post my story and contribute what I can to this great site.
We bought our 1975 "Little Red Car" in 1980 from a student that wanted a quick sale in London Ont. She had bought the car the year before from a teacher who was the original owner. The car had a siezed front brake and other issues I did not know about at the time, but for $850 I couldn't complain. I was not familiar with the X1/9 at the time and I was looking for an 850 since a friend had one and I loved driving it. My fiancee (now wife) spotted the car in the lot and said we had to buy it. She knew more about X1/9s than I did.
After I fixed the brakes and passed the safety test we enjoyed the car for two summers.
My two favourite pictures of the X are from our wedding and honeymoon. The first is as we are leaving. "Just Married" is still visible in the paint.
Our honeymoon was a road trip through Quebec, Vermont and upstate New York. The next picture is on Île d'Orléans. I'm looking north towards the Mont St Anne ski resort.
The other issues that appeared shortly after purchase were a burnt exhaust valve, a partially torn-away front right radius rod support, and some severe corrosion where the rear control arms are supported. Thus in 1982 with this to deal with and the economy in turmoil, we took the car off the road until such time we could fix it properly.
In 1991 we had the structural rust and control arm support dealt with professionally. The control arm area after repair is shown:
While the engine was out to enable rust repair, the clutch slave piston came out and by the time I noticed the circuit was full of mouldy crud. Every five years or so, I would try again to clean it out and bleed the trapped air, and fail. This was the biggest frustration I have had with the car so far. My Ahah moment was reading Bernice's ( @Rupunzell ) post saying that the master cylinders are mounted four degrees nose down. So up went the nose and out came the trapped air with a back flush of hydraulic fluid. Thank-you Bernice!
Further progress has been slow since it is too cold to work in the garage during the winter but I am progressing where I can.
My goal is to get it on the road this summer after 39 years in storage. I have many upgrades planned, but they can wait until next summer or later. Thanks to everyone that replied to my requests for advice.
I'll update this thread as my projects get completed.
We bought our 1975 "Little Red Car" in 1980 from a student that wanted a quick sale in London Ont. She had bought the car the year before from a teacher who was the original owner. The car had a siezed front brake and other issues I did not know about at the time, but for $850 I couldn't complain. I was not familiar with the X1/9 at the time and I was looking for an 850 since a friend had one and I loved driving it. My fiancee (now wife) spotted the car in the lot and said we had to buy it. She knew more about X1/9s than I did.
After I fixed the brakes and passed the safety test we enjoyed the car for two summers.
My two favourite pictures of the X are from our wedding and honeymoon. The first is as we are leaving. "Just Married" is still visible in the paint.
Our honeymoon was a road trip through Quebec, Vermont and upstate New York. The next picture is on Île d'Orléans. I'm looking north towards the Mont St Anne ski resort.
The other issues that appeared shortly after purchase were a burnt exhaust valve, a partially torn-away front right radius rod support, and some severe corrosion where the rear control arms are supported. Thus in 1982 with this to deal with and the economy in turmoil, we took the car off the road until such time we could fix it properly.
In 1991 we had the structural rust and control arm support dealt with professionally. The control arm area after repair is shown:
While the engine was out to enable rust repair, the clutch slave piston came out and by the time I noticed the circuit was full of mouldy crud. Every five years or so, I would try again to clean it out and bleed the trapped air, and fail. This was the biggest frustration I have had with the car so far. My Ahah moment was reading Bernice's ( @Rupunzell ) post saying that the master cylinders are mounted four degrees nose down. So up went the nose and out came the trapped air with a back flush of hydraulic fluid. Thank-you Bernice!
Further progress has been slow since it is too cold to work in the garage during the winter but I am progressing where I can.
My goal is to get it on the road this summer after 39 years in storage. I have many upgrades planned, but they can wait until next summer or later. Thanks to everyone that replied to my requests for advice.
I'll update this thread as my projects get completed.
