Hello Xweb

2

2re

True Classic
Greetings from Norway to you all.

My name is Tore and I just got my self a new X after a fierce, last minute fight on Ebay. I've been reading this forum for years and now that I have a car to show for.
I figured it was time to present my X and my self. I must say it feels much better being a X owner rater than a former X owner.

If you want to take a look at new X. Follow the link to the X1/9 auction. Lot's of pictures there.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270435529337&viewitem=

Importing a car like this from the US to Norway is rare (nuts) I think. Because its a lot cheaper to take a morning airplane anywhere in central Europe and drive it back in a day.

My inspiration and motivation for buying it in the US is the Midwest X1/9 specialist. According to Google maps its about a 3 hour drive from Fort Wayne IN.

As you can read from sale info on Ebay. My X needs a little fixing, I say little and hope its true. I'm dreaming of, like most of you, to have Midwest do the K20 engine swap.

I contacted Midwest and got a long price list :shock2: Koni Coil Overs from Geforce: $2.400 I reckon the car needs racing parts like this to match the 240HP engine.
Pricing for parts and labor seams fair enough.

But when my brain cooled down after the excitement and I started going roughly over the figures, adding shipping over seas etc. (not to bad actually)
I found out that there are lots of "greedy" hands all along the way. The worst part is when it lands here in Norway.
All expenses related to the car, repairs, parts, shipping, etc. Are added to the price of the car +25% tax. And then there's car registration fees to pay. :help:

:shh: If I leave to outside and interior untouched, and ad small bill for engine repairs, i might sneak away from most of the tax but its still a heavy price, all things considered :hmm:

I'll arrange for the X to be transport over to Midwest and have them look over the car.
I want to put it back in excellent original condition but a few inches lower, Euro bumpers, new seats, panels and more.
Green metallic is my favorite X color. But I think I'll keep it red like it is, at least for a few years.
I think perhaps its a good plan to have all the mechanical problems sorted in the US + bumper conversion, and fix bodywork, Interior and paint in Norway.

BTW. My first X a Green special had black ladder decals, anyone have some good pictures how it looks on a red car.
And I don't like the "special edition" rims on my X. Suggestion are most welcome.

Thanks for reading :grouphug:
 
Congrats!

I was watching the bidding on that car through the whole auction, including every single bit of the last five minute frenzy. I was hoping nobody would go over the $710, because I was going to jump in and get it. I was willing to go $900 on it, but I know it is worth more than that.:dance: I am the person that asked about the rust issues. The man seems pretty up front and honest. You should do fine. I cannot wait to see it at Midwest X1/9 (now Midwest Bayless)! I am working on a couple of other options right now...hoping at least one of them pans out this weekend.
I think those wheels look great on your new ride, but f you don't like them take a look at the 14X6 five spoke CMS rims on Midwests storefront. He could take care of that while he is playing with the rest of the car. Refurb the interior and a little of this and that and you will be in great shape.
Having Matt at Midwest working on your side is a blessing. We all swear by him (not AT him) around these parts of the world! :laugh:
 
Hello bb4re. So that was you :cool:

Tom is the sellers name and he really seams like a good and honest man to do deal with.
He offered to help me anyway he can, even said he could load up the X on a truck and transport it over to Midwest for me.

I'm already very happy that we have agreed that he remains as owner of the car for the period its undergoing repairs.
And if I decide to go for the engine conversion, he will take it to the DMW? and get the paper work in order before signed over to me.
I take for granted the K20 conversion was declared road legal in the US. Was it tested by the DMW (Is that what its called?)

Having Midwest so close to the seller is why I bought it on Ebay. Not forgetting the magic they can do to my car.

Thanks for the tips on the Wheels, I'll check it out right away. Anyway I think I'll leave that upgrade to when I get it over here.
If the car looks a bit shady, I might sneak under the radar when it lands over here.

PS. Do you work or live close by Midwest? Since you say you'll see it.
In any case. Thats great news for me because you could perhaps tell what it looks like in the flesh :dance:
 
ng_randolph said:
I hope Matt has the reverse synchronizers in stock... :hmm:
Click to expand...

I'm in no rush to get parts, seller said he could keep the car at least until the snow is falling.

PS. You wrote "Gratulerer" in the title. And your signature says Polarbear. Please explain.

Oh, btw. "Tusen Takk"
 
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I have been helping Matt...

...for the last few weeks sorting, inventorying and learning his systems. He just bought an extensive FIAT parts company (Bayless) from its' retiring owners and has over 8 semi truck loads of parts.
I have been fortunate to live reasonably close to his shop off an on for the last six years, or so.
I am hoping to find a decent X again real soon (since the one you bought got away from me!). I may put a set of those CMS wheels on whatever I end up getting. The Cromodora "Daytona" rims are my favorite (very Ferrari-esque), though. Another nice style for a red car is the Cromodora CD30. It is a 4 spoke wheel.
I do look forward to seeing your car in the flesh! I don't know that you will have any DMV problems with the K20 conversion, at least in Ohio. I am sure Matt can get you over any hurdles there. There are lots of hot rods and other cars here that people put different brand motors in.
When the car gets titled from Indiana to Ohio, an inspection has to be performed, but I don't think it is much more than checking to make certain the VIN matches the paperwork, and that is usually just performed by any car dealer, not any authority. I don't recall anyone even looking at the engine, and Matt would have that part done before any conversion was performed.
 
Sorry for snatching that X away from you bb4re. I almost lost it the last few seconds, he rasied his bid manualy in the last few seconds, a second or so before me, a window poped up saying I coulden't bid less than the higest bid. I typed in 1600 and slamed the keyboard and phew it raised 5 bucks :wink2:
 
I am glad you got it!

It's always great to see a proper enthusiast acquire these cars, and not someone who has no idea what they are doing. Also good to have more wonderful people on XWeb! :woot:
 
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Never never trust a guy named Tom

Ha! Got all you Toms out there looking, right? :laugh: Disclaimer: just kidding!

Well 2RE, congrats on your purchase. Your X will be in good hands!
Looking over the car, I notice a bit of rust on one side of the rear tower, so when Matt
does the conversion for ya, have him fix that while he's in there. The other tower is hidden
from view by the nice stainless coolant tank but it's likely to look the same. Overall,
the car doesn't look too bad from the photos. Some rust underneath the doors, a dent in the
front corner but some inside / outside TLC should surely bring the car back to life.

The car has relatively low miles, so I'm betting the ignition problem would be a minor (inexpensive)
one to address. You might want to think about that first, but then again, if you have the $$
to do a Midwest conversion, that certainly is a good option and opportunity as well.

Good luck with your new X... keep us posted!
 
So true. And if you don't treat her like a princess, she'll fade away rater quickly :wink2:
 
Sounds like your ready to make the X what it should have been from the factory! :nod:

Hopefully after its all said and done, you don't get caught up in red tape in import.

You can always have All the work done, then remove the k20 and have the car shipped w/o an engine, and get the engine shipped by itself. That might get around some of the red tape, OR buy a euro motor once the cars been retrofitted to accept a k20 and shipped to you.
 
welcome a-'board' (pun)

Late to the thread as always but wanted to say welcome out of lurking and into posting and welcome back to X ownership! Glad to have you along for the ride :)
 
If you don't mind a “little” reading.
I’ll tell you how my X craving went from: 25% to 100% GOT TO HAVE AN X.

I think perhaps it was the YouTube clips with Di Fulvio that started it all a few years back.
I started to dream about buying a cheap but fairly good X and then someday drive it down to Italy.
Let Di Fulvio do some magic to it and then perhaps a Dallara kit. My girlfriend was pregnant, so I put my X project on hold.
My first and only child was born 19 December 2008. A beautiful baby girl, we named Maya. My life had changed drastically, for the better.
I kept checking the auto pages in Norway every now and then. If you find one the day you look for it, you’ve won the lottery.

April 29.2009
I just happened to see an X for sale on the Norwegian Sports car pages.
http://www.sportsvogn.no/sorlandet/marked/index.html Scroll down almost to the end; it’s a red X with ladder stripes.
He wanted 5000Kr for it. ( 5,000.00 NOK = 817.862 USD )

I jumped up and went looking for my mobile. Sorry he said an “X head” from Bergen in Norway had beaten me to it by a few minutes.
I said, I’ll double the price. No can do, He had made a promise to the buyer he could come and pick it the same day. Ahhhhrg.

May 10.2009
Posted a Car wanted ad on the Sports car pages. http://www.sportsvogn.no/sorlandet/marked/index.html
Scroll down until you see the Green X special, that’s how my first X looked like. And this is what I wrote, translated from Norwegian.
Hi there. I dream about driving my first love again. You have had it long enough, now it’s my turn ;-)

I also posted an ad on the Swedish X club pages. 3 weeks later or so, I got a call from Lillehammer (1994 Winter Olympics)
If I remember correct he had an 80 something Red US model, probably imported. He wanted 60.000,- NOK for it.
I turned it down, it wasn’t green and I don’t like the bumpers. On a side note.
I bought my first X for 60.000 sold it for 60.000. The guy from Lillehammer wanted 60.000.
A few weeks later I got a call from a Swedish X owner, he wanted bids over 60.000 and that was understandable.
But it still wasn’t green and the extra HP not enough, but most of all there was nothing to add to it.
You can see the car here. It’s a beauty http://www.kramnetkund.se/jss/fiat/

Then about 1 month later. I found a 1979 Green metallic special for sale in Germany. Price 40.000 NOK. A dream come true.
One owner since new. No rust what so ever. Low mileage, it was, as you say, in mint condition.
The old man who was selling it. Had driven it occasionally on Sundays. Always been stored in a garage and only hand washed.
All inspections done by Fiat. He was selling it because he had lost he license because of old age. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity.

I went ballistic and started calling lots of friends asking if anyone spoke German, or knew somebody.
I was desperate, clock was ticking, then I remembered, I knew a guy from Austria, it’s the same language.
I got hold of him, yes sure he could make the call but I had to wait until he got back from work. Shiiiit. Ok ok calm down, its only 2 hours.
Christian came back from work and I found me anxiously waiting at his door step.
He made the call and the old man told him he had made appointments with a few people 2 days later 18:00 Thursday.
He said to Christian he was going to call him back if he didn’t sell the car that day.

Those two days was spent arguing with my girlfriend. It was useless, like talking to a brick wall.
She rents out her own apartment and we live in mine. She earns pretty much the same as me, but haven’t paid a single bill after we moved in together.
Baby food, dog food, our food, that’s her domain, but I find myself paying for that too, more often than I like.
I’m a professional house/interior painter by trade. I had a lump of cash coming my way after working my ass off for almost 3 months.
I said, I want it, I’ll buy it and there’s nothing you can do about it.
I told her I understood perfectly her point of view but I disliked arguments like, it’s not going to make you 18 again. Hahaha.
And wish she could be happy and support me; I would have done that for you, for anything.
Its probably been like this for every man since the stone ages. I want that Mamut, NO you can’t have it.

Thursday passed without a call. No X head would pass up on an opportunity like this, I was dead sertain it was sold.
Friday afternoon: I got a call from the old German, Poor man lost his license because of old age and could not drive his X no more.
It turns out that his English was perhaps better than mine, except I don’t use Z that much. Stupid me, I should have called him myself that day.
He called up Christian to get my number so he could inform me in person that he had sold the car to the first person who came that day.
I asked how much, same price as advertized he said 40.000 NOK. I told him there are lots of people who probably would have given him 80.000 or even more for the car.
It was the price he wanted he said. I think both car and man was truly special.

My face was hanging down like a tranquilized monkey for a week after that.
July 31. 2009 I saw the red X on Ebay. $555 that’s practically for free over here. And a perfect 43 year birthday present for myself on August 4th.
I called a buddy who imported a Harley Davidson last year. You can get the shipping down to about 10.000 NOK he said, and it’s a 1978 model so it will pass as a Veteran in Norway.
You just have to pay 25% Tax on the car + shipping. If you add a lot of parts and labor to the cost, and try to sneak it in. You better have thick wallet.

Finally I had found an X that could be a starting point for my restoration project, and perhaps later a trip down to Italy and visit Di Fulvio.
Then I saw the Snake green k20 modern conversion by Midwest. And its only a 3 hour drive from Fort Wayne.
My modest plans went ballistic again and I wrote a letter to Matt two days before the auction was over.
I got a friendly reply and a price list. Shiit. It was like getting a bucket of cold water poured down your neck. Monkey faced again.

Total conversion, not a chance. K20 engine conversion, just out of reach unless Matt hires a bunch of illegal immigrants to do the work.

In any case. I’m a proud and very very happy X owner again.

Matt was close to getting the car picked up on Sunday, but Tom is away on a camping trip with family.
It might get transported over to Midwest ca 18-19 August. I can’t wait to hear what they have to say about it, and how mechanically sound it is.

Phew. Nearly cramped up. But it was felt good letting it out.

Thanks for reading ;-)
 
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Congrats on the "new" x

And welcome to Xweb! :)

Here is a orangish/redish rendition of a Series-1 X with the ladder stripes. Click for the larger version, it's pretty big so may be slow on the download.



This car in this picture was originally green, but I transformed it in Photoshop. If you look closely, you can still see some greenish reflections in the wheel, fog lamps, etc. I can't seem to find the green original I started with. :(

UPDATE!! Found it!! :)

 
Hi Jim and thanks for the photo. Even got the black plastic front spoiler.
It looks awesome, should be nice on the red colur too.

You found the Green X :) Thanks. Saved too desktop
Do you know if they made the special series in Red Metalic too?
 
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Just be careful now that you bought another X, it's addictive.

Much like you, I bought an X after about 25 years. I had a brand new 1980 in 1980, sold it in 1983. Always regretted it. Once the kids were older and I had some "extra" money I started looking for another X.

So I bought this really nice one owner 1978 in 2003:


Then I decided the 78 should be kept original, and got all excited about a 3-X package deal of a decent 79 and two parts cars. I bought these in 2004:

1979:
1977:
1975:

Then I came to my senses and realized it would cost a fortune to really fix up the 79, so I bought an 86 with only 21,000 miles on it in 2005:


When you have to climb on the roof of your house to get a decent picture of your cars, you know you have an issue.


I did get rid of the parts cars and the 79 eventually. That was way too many cars. My wife is very understanding, but she does have a limit. Apparently that limit is reached when I start parking cars in the back yard where she can see them.

So just be careful, no one has developed a treatment for this disease!! :)
 
JimD said:
When you have to climb on the roof of your house to get a decent picture of your cars, you know you have an issue.


I did get rid of the parts cars and the 79 eventually. That was way too many cars. My wife is very understanding, but she does have a limit. Apparently that limit is reached when I start parking cars in the back yard where she can see them.

So just be careful, no one has developed a treatment for this disease!! :)
Click to expand...

Hahaha.. :thumbsup: Good post.
BTW. Don't think I've ever seen a black X look this good, and there's 3 of them. I hate the bumber on mine, but it look good on yours?
Well i'm happy to be here, with so much expertise, I should be "safe"
 
I really like the euro bumpers

that you are planning to put on your X. I think they are the best looking bumpers for the X. I am not a fan of the big US spec "ladder" bumpers on my 78, the late model bumpers are blended into the car a little better, but I would still like to have the Euro style bumpers some day.

Matt is supposed to have an open house sometime in September, so if your car hasn't shipped out by then, a lot of us will get a chance to see it.
 
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