rx1900
1981 X1/9
Hi folks. I'm quite new here. Been lurking for about 6 months but have only posted a couple of times. You seem like a great bunch and I find this forum both interesting and informative. By far the best X site on the web.
I've always had a soft spot for Fiats. Had a '72 128, a '74 w1/9 (dark brown with a tan interior - I know not a popular colour with you guys but I loved it. I still consider '74 to be the best and purest of all X's. I have still quite a few remnants of it - maybe I'll post a list one day. I had another '74 converted for autocross with a 1500 in it. Then a '79 Brava - neat car.
I have currently a 1981 x1/9 with an interesting but shameful history. It was bought new in Germany by a member of our armed forces. Seems to be a U.S. spec. car (F/I, 85 mph speedo, cat). I guess he had some pull because he had the car flown home to Vancouver in the early eighties. Unfortunately he died not too long after and the car was inherited by his brother in Toronto who had it shipped here by train. I purchased it in maybe 1988 or so and drove it a couple of years until a brake line that ran through the engine bay rusted out. It appeared to be almost impossible to change the line with the engine in place and it was showing signs of a blown head gasket anyway so I yanked the engine (by the way, contrary to all the manuals, the engine can be removed out the top).
The car had by this time of course some of the dreaded Fiat rust so I decided to have the body fixed and painted. Underneath and all the fenders and rockers were still perfect. It was that orangy-red but I thought pure red would look better so I ended up completely stripping the car to do a proper colour change. I had a perfect door shipped in from California and a brand new nose shipped in from Italy before sending the car in to a body shop where they properly fixed the remaining rust before panting it (Acura NSX bright red).
While the car was off for painting I ended up completely rebuilding the engine to a much upgraded spec, and the transmission - all new bearings and synchos.
When the car returned from the body shop to prevent a recurrence of the rust I bought some special aircraft spec. rustproofing and sprayed it liberally inside all the chassis rails, rockers, windshield pillars, doors, etc. I then replaced every brake line (steel & rubber), all wheel bearings, struts, calipers, rotors, etc., and started to re-asssemble the car.
That was in 1991 or 1992 and I'm ashamed to admit I haven't touched the car since! Things like work, life, and home renovations seemed to take priority. At least the car has always remained indoors and warm and dry, and still looks as good as the day it arrived home from paint.
A few months ago I was surfing the web and came across this site. You guys have re-ignited my enthusiasm and I'm now determined to return my X to it's riteful place on the open road. I guess it's my own sort of barn find!
I hope I can count on you guys for a few words of encouragement and maybe some help remembering how some things go back together after 20 years or to help me find some bits lost along the way!
In return I'll help this forum any way I can. I have a complete factory parts manual and factory service manual for 79-80 models. They are great reference tools - I used them all the time. If someone out there locally wants to borrow them and maybe scan them and post them into some kind of reference archive here I would gladly oblige - I would do it if I could but I have no idea how to.
By the way, I run an auto parts warehouse up here and although we don't stock many X1/9 parts anymore - there sure aren't many cars still surviving here - we can still get same or next day most common parts (brakes, hydraulics, KYB, Bosch parts, valve shims, etc.) I'll give you wholesale pricing and at least I won't laugh at you when you call for X1/9 parts!
Sorry to be so long- winded here but I just wanted to say hello.
So for my first dilemma please see my post in the FSW section and see if you can help me out or point me in the right direction.
Thanks, Doug.
I've always had a soft spot for Fiats. Had a '72 128, a '74 w1/9 (dark brown with a tan interior - I know not a popular colour with you guys but I loved it. I still consider '74 to be the best and purest of all X's. I have still quite a few remnants of it - maybe I'll post a list one day. I had another '74 converted for autocross with a 1500 in it. Then a '79 Brava - neat car.
I have currently a 1981 x1/9 with an interesting but shameful history. It was bought new in Germany by a member of our armed forces. Seems to be a U.S. spec. car (F/I, 85 mph speedo, cat). I guess he had some pull because he had the car flown home to Vancouver in the early eighties. Unfortunately he died not too long after and the car was inherited by his brother in Toronto who had it shipped here by train. I purchased it in maybe 1988 or so and drove it a couple of years until a brake line that ran through the engine bay rusted out. It appeared to be almost impossible to change the line with the engine in place and it was showing signs of a blown head gasket anyway so I yanked the engine (by the way, contrary to all the manuals, the engine can be removed out the top).
The car had by this time of course some of the dreaded Fiat rust so I decided to have the body fixed and painted. Underneath and all the fenders and rockers were still perfect. It was that orangy-red but I thought pure red would look better so I ended up completely stripping the car to do a proper colour change. I had a perfect door shipped in from California and a brand new nose shipped in from Italy before sending the car in to a body shop where they properly fixed the remaining rust before panting it (Acura NSX bright red).
While the car was off for painting I ended up completely rebuilding the engine to a much upgraded spec, and the transmission - all new bearings and synchos.
When the car returned from the body shop to prevent a recurrence of the rust I bought some special aircraft spec. rustproofing and sprayed it liberally inside all the chassis rails, rockers, windshield pillars, doors, etc. I then replaced every brake line (steel & rubber), all wheel bearings, struts, calipers, rotors, etc., and started to re-asssemble the car.
That was in 1991 or 1992 and I'm ashamed to admit I haven't touched the car since! Things like work, life, and home renovations seemed to take priority. At least the car has always remained indoors and warm and dry, and still looks as good as the day it arrived home from paint.
A few months ago I was surfing the web and came across this site. You guys have re-ignited my enthusiasm and I'm now determined to return my X to it's riteful place on the open road. I guess it's my own sort of barn find!
I hope I can count on you guys for a few words of encouragement and maybe some help remembering how some things go back together after 20 years or to help me find some bits lost along the way!
In return I'll help this forum any way I can. I have a complete factory parts manual and factory service manual for 79-80 models. They are great reference tools - I used them all the time. If someone out there locally wants to borrow them and maybe scan them and post them into some kind of reference archive here I would gladly oblige - I would do it if I could but I have no idea how to.
By the way, I run an auto parts warehouse up here and although we don't stock many X1/9 parts anymore - there sure aren't many cars still surviving here - we can still get same or next day most common parts (brakes, hydraulics, KYB, Bosch parts, valve shims, etc.) I'll give you wholesale pricing and at least I won't laugh at you when you call for X1/9 parts!
Sorry to be so long- winded here but I just wanted to say hello.
So for my first dilemma please see my post in the FSW section and see if you can help me out or point me in the right direction.
Thanks, Doug.
