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tobydmv

tobydmv

True Classic
A few weeks ago I added some Italian car themed books to the library. I bought Lancia Sporting Coupes by Brian Long 2003 and Alfa Romeo Sports Coupes 1954-1989 The Classic Pedigree by Graham Robson . The Lancia book doesnt talk much about the Fiat years which is kinda sad but the Fulvia chapter is nice. I call these fiction or light reading since they arent workshop manuals. I dont have anything about Fiat or the x1/9 except workshop manuals. Can you recommend any light reading for me? I was trying to find some books on Abarth but not having much luck.

Thanks,
Toby
 
The Phil Ward book was always a standard recommendation in the past. If you search Ebay for "Fiat x1/9 books" you can come up with some offerings of the Ward book and a few others that are not shop manuals. The prices seem a little steep on the Ward book, but I guess they are out of print and commanding "collector" prices.

My sister gave me a copy of this book a few years ago. It is basically a compilation of old articles on the X.

Henk was offering a X1/9 book he published called "La Storia" recently. Henk has a few pages of literature.
 
Bookseller Alibris has lots of Fiat and Abarth literature, but not too much on the X.
www.alibris.com

Edit: I see they have a copy of Al's Abarth Guide (1990) for $486. The 1984 edition starts at $1000+. I doubt that it comes with the packet of pictures and ads that Al sent with books that you bought from him.
 
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This is a great book if you like a little bit of technical talk. Its on the Maserati 250f
www.hortonsbooks.co.uk

Maserati 250F A Technical Appraisal

The Maserati 250F was one of the last of the great front engined Grand Prix cars: big, heavy brutes slurping alcohol, bellowing with raw power and sliding around on low grip tyres. In the hands of a master such as Fangio these cars came to life in a spectacle of tyre smoke and ear shattering megapho
www.hortonsbooks.co.uk www.hortonsbooks.co.uk
 
I wish I was a writer. I bought maintaining the Italian roadster. Great book on maintaining the fiat spider. It is directly written from information obtained form life with one as well as quite a bit of forum knowledge. I would love to see one for the X. Yes I am old school and love the feel of a book over a book online. yes I realize there is a ton of info here in digital form. I would love to see the key info about maintaining our little cars in print with pictures and such.

Oh and if someone does this, I think I should get a discount :)
Odie
 
There is a great book by the lead engineer for Fiat covering his career from the 1930s to the 1970s. It is available as both a printed book and was made available as a PDF a few years ago when the Fiat 500 was released in the US. I have both: https://www.amazon.com/Forty-years-design-Dante-Giacosa/dp/B0007AX4PQ

I have the PDF and would be happy to share it as it was distributed for free by Fiat America.

There are a number of magazine article compilations one from Road and Track and then some others compiling various British motoring magazines. These are a good way to learn more about the cars and the changes over time in different markets.
 
Just ordered the Guy Croft book accelerating the trip down the engine building rabbit hole. Available again now direct at more reasonable pricing.
 
Agnelli said:
Just ordered the Guy Croft book accelerating the trip down the engine building rabbit hole. Available again now direct at more reasonable pricing.
Click to expand...
Jim, where did you find that book at a reasonable price? I only see PDF's available for download.
 
tobydmv said:
Jim, where did you find that book at a reasonable price? I only see PDF's available for download.
Click to expand...
Direct from him -

Guy Croft <guy@gcre.uk>

MODIFYING AND TUNING Fiat/Lancia ENGINES

416 pages incl 23 full color fold-flat plastic cover ring-bound

£80 plus mailing

UK £22 Europe £31 USA £38 Other £40 not available in Canada due to mailing weight
 
I have a 1984 edition of Al's book. I knew they were not cheap, but I had no idea of the value. I guess I need to store it in a better place than an unheated barn.
I do enjoy looking through it.
 
Anyone have an opinion on the book FIat Sports Cars 1945 to the X1/9 by Graham Robson?
FSCGR.jpg
 
I've been pretty happy with my other books in the Osprey AutoHistory series. I still remember finding the first two in a bargain bin of a little bookstore in my neighborhood when I was 12. The Countach and Boxer were the coolest cars I'd ever seen. The Countach is still pretty far up there. I want to snag the X1/9 but waiting for a good one like the one pictured above.
 
You need a FAZA bible to complete this set, try to get the one with all the Xs in front of his shop.
 
There are two versions of the FAZA both with the cars paked on the ramp outside his shop one has less content
 
kmead said:
There is a great book by the lead engineer for Fiat covering his career from the 1930s to the 1970s. It is available as both a printed book and was made available as a PDF a few years ago when the Fiat 500 was released in the US. I have both: https://www.amazon.com/Forty-years-design-Dante-Giacosa/dp/B0007AX4PQ

I have the PDF and would be happy to share it as it was distributed for free by Fiat America.

There are a number of magazine article compilations one from Road and Track and then some others compiling various British motoring magazines. These are a good way to learn more about the cars and the changes over time in different markets.
Click to expand...
"Forty Years of Design with Fiat" by Dante Giacosa is now available for free on the Fiat Centro Storico website. I have the paper version, and it is a very good read.
 
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