Rodger
True Classic
Epilogue, February 2, 2021. This thread documents my 5 1/2 year journey to do a K20 swap on a 1981 Fiat X1/9. It didn't start out to be that, but it turned out to be a great adventure. I learned a ton about automotive repair, restoration, and fabrication along the way. This thread is part 1 of the build. I started a part 2, when issues with Photobucket not hosting photos anymore created havoc with a lot of threads on this and other forums. I have since gotten rid of all of the Photobucket links, so all of my photos are now hosted on Xweb. There may be a few broken photo links, but they are from postings by other forum members that I can't edit. There are a few other related threads that I created as part of this project that are not in the main build thread. Here they are:
Part 2: https://xwebforums.com/forum/index.php?threads/k20-project-off-to-a-good-start-volume-2.32624/
Custom instrument cluster: https://xwebforums.com/forum/index.php?threads/marshall-electronic-gauge-install.28204/
Air conditioning custom install: https://xwebforums.com/forum/index.php?threads/air-conditioning-retrofit.25483/
Sound system install: https://xwebforums.com/forum/index.php?threads/sound-system-install.30509/
Rotisserie build: https://xwebforums.com/forum/index.php?threads/budget-rotisserie.26511/
I hope future K20 swappers get some useful ideas from my adventure. Feel free to PM me with questions or reply to any of the threads.
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My '81 shell was already at the body shop when I decided to turn it into a K20 conversion two weeks ago. I ordered the 1 Stage kit and some Koni coil overs from Matt and it's on the way. I hadn't even started to look for an engine when I get an email last Thursday from Gerald (Roobus) that he found a wrecked 2002 RSX Type S on Craigslist right here in Olympia. Turns out it was only about 15 minutes from my house. The engine fired right up and sounded great. I bought the whole car that night for $3K and had it towed to the body shop the next day. They had dropped the engine out by end of business on Monday and were already busy cutting up the firewall and frame rails. No turning back now.
Went up to Gerald's this afternoon to take pictures of his K20 and to go for a ride. Holy sh***, that thing really get's up and goes. :shock: It will take me a while to get mine together as I have to rebuild the whole car but I am really pumped. I can't thank Gerald enough for finding the engine for me and for sharing his knowledge of his K20.
Part 2: https://xwebforums.com/forum/index.php?threads/k20-project-off-to-a-good-start-volume-2.32624/
Custom instrument cluster: https://xwebforums.com/forum/index.php?threads/marshall-electronic-gauge-install.28204/
Air conditioning custom install: https://xwebforums.com/forum/index.php?threads/air-conditioning-retrofit.25483/
Sound system install: https://xwebforums.com/forum/index.php?threads/sound-system-install.30509/
Rotisserie build: https://xwebforums.com/forum/index.php?threads/budget-rotisserie.26511/
I hope future K20 swappers get some useful ideas from my adventure. Feel free to PM me with questions or reply to any of the threads.
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My '81 shell was already at the body shop when I decided to turn it into a K20 conversion two weeks ago. I ordered the 1 Stage kit and some Koni coil overs from Matt and it's on the way. I hadn't even started to look for an engine when I get an email last Thursday from Gerald (Roobus) that he found a wrecked 2002 RSX Type S on Craigslist right here in Olympia. Turns out it was only about 15 minutes from my house. The engine fired right up and sounded great. I bought the whole car that night for $3K and had it towed to the body shop the next day. They had dropped the engine out by end of business on Monday and were already busy cutting up the firewall and frame rails. No turning back now.
Went up to Gerald's this afternoon to take pictures of his K20 and to go for a ride. Holy sh***, that thing really get's up and goes. :shock: It will take me a while to get mine together as I have to rebuild the whole car but I am really pumped. I can't thank Gerald enough for finding the engine for me and for sharing his knowledge of his K20.
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