My first X1/9 what should I know

What Karl said!

An X1/9 is not a modern transportation appliance that requires no effort to drive, own or maintain.

This is an involvement car. You as the caretaker have to be fully involved in the car when driving, when maintaining, and just owning it.

One of our charter members Papa Tony says be ready for the 3-to-1 rule: For every one hour of driving, expect to devote 3 hours to maintenance and attention (with "attention" representing the tasks of researching issues, finding parts, upkeep, and explaining to people at the gas station that, no, it's not a Fiero/MR2/TR7/TR8/DeLorean).
 
Dan Sarandrea (Phila) said:
no, it's not a Fiero/MR2/TR7/TR8/DeLorean).
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Speaking of off topic, I saw a CL post several years back for a guy selling an X. Went to look at the car...it was a TR7 convertible. And a pretty trashed one at that.

On topic, others have covered most of the main points. Take your time getting to know the car before you do anything to aggressive in it. Definitely change the timing belt if it hasn't been done in the last several years. Usually the first thing I do when I acquire any belt cam FIAT is to do that...just as insurance.

Watch the temp gauge...summers in Atlanta in an older FIAT and it will likely want to run hot, unless the cooling system is fully in order.

Watch for master cylinder leaks. Both the clutch and brake master are inside the car right above your feet! Another common leak point are the reservoirs in the frunk (front trunk). The plastic bakes and cracks. Though I don't know how old are the photos you posted, it appears that the PO was an involved owner, so yours ought to be in decent running condition. Still doesn't hurt to check everything over.

These cars are generally structurally well-built and strong, but in modern traffic they are at a disadvantage due to lack of height (invisible to most drivers) and weight (a 2200lb FIAT doesn't stand much of a chance when even an modern MINI weighs 2800lbs and most people are driving 5000lb+ SUVs). You have no airbags. Keep all of that in mind.

Other than that, you will likely encounter electrical gremlins at some point. If it hasn't been done already, I recommend a relay system for the headlights so you don't burn out the light switch. Likewise, you might want to do a relay system for the windshield wipers, as it greatly improves their operation.

There are "star" grounding points in both trunks, you might spend a day and clean the contacts for each ground. That could save you a bunch of frustration down the road.

That's all I can remember at the moment, except drive the pi$$ out of it and have fun. :)

As for the comments about owning "just one" - it seems the only time I have more than one, at least one of them is a non-running project!

Last comment - I restored one to original spec, and now I'm doing a k-20 swap in another. These cars are going back up in value, but I doubt they will ever be priceless enough that it matters whether you keep them completely original. So, I echo the others' comments about making it yours.
 
Congrats! Welcome! You’ve acquired yourself a very nice example of an x. No doubt they are an absolute joy to drive. Underpowered for sure but as Jay Leno says, sometimes it’s more of a thrill to drive a slow car fast. You can really push it to its limits and it won’t let you down. That being said, it is an Italian car and therefore must be treated as such. Slow positive shifts are a must otherwise you’ll destroy the synchros and end up an expert at rebuilding x transmissions. 91 octane at least and thick oil. (15w45) As for the k20 swaps? There is good supports for this and the performance is unbelievable. Turbo, supercharged, the k20 is an excellent engine for power. But, as others have said, this is a big undertaking and will cost a fair amount. Is it worth it? Depends on what you’re looking for....Anyway, welcome again and enjoy!
 
Welcome! The car looks well sorted, rag it (with some mechanical sympathy) until it breaks. Everything said about rushing the gear change holds true, it’s not a 21st century car. Have fun!
 
Hybridfiat said:
The saying that applies best to mods that raise the power is: "Power cost money and more power costs MORE money".
Estimate what it will cost to do a transplant and then double it and you will be somewhere in the ballpark.
I have extensively modded an X and it is in it's second major overhaul resto. The first cost me $10,000AU.
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Hefty price, what work was done?
 
kmead said:
Welcome and congrats on buying a somewhat exotic, coach built true sports car from a bygone era.

I would buy some repair manuals for the car or at the very least download them. Personally I read the manual from front to back to get a better understanding of the actual mechanisms and approaches taken by the engineers in the design of the car. Having the Haynes manual and the factory manual offers different pictures and descriptions of how to take the car apart. I would rely on the factory manual for all torque values. Understand that older cars, particularly older Italian cars require a different approach than owning big iron or Asian burners. The materials it was built from and the mechanical approach to building it requires more maintenance and care than the cars of others around you.

As you learn to drive it the first rule is: do not rush shifts (power shift). If you do fast shifting you will destroy the transmission, not if will.

The second rule is (after changing the timing belt which takes a bit over an hour) feel free to use the full range of rpm this motor will support. This means go and visit the yellow range on the rev counter. This engine makes modest torque and loves to rev. Going above 6K will not hurt it (don’t over rev it either).

This is a car where you will never win the stop light Grand Prix so don’t try, it will however corner like nothing you have ever owned, by keeping the revs up and not having to slow down for corners you will be able to keep up with much ‘faster’ cars.

The third rule is learn how the brakes behave. No ABS, non vented brakes and no power brakes make it stop in a very different fashion from what you may be used to. Do some emergency stops on a deserted road and learn how to modulate the front locking which will occur with this set up. The brakes work very well once you understand how they work. Your right leg muscles will get larger while owning this car.

I would look for an autocross event in the area and start learning the way the car actually handles. You don’t want to find out how it spins out at the limit on some country road and punch a hole in some hedges backwards as you sail off the road, better in a controlled environment with the opportunity to make a mistake with little consequences.

Enjoy the car, it is one of the most enjoyable cars I have owned (I have had four of them to date). Treat it with respect, care for it and it will give you a life time of enjoyment.

If you do have to do something on the car do not proceed blindly on your own. The people here have had every possible thing fail on these cars that can and fixed it, they have the expertise and will share it. Ask for help so you don’t replace a part that doesn’t need to be or damage something inadvertantly. We can save you some time, effort and likely money.

All the best and welcome to a great hobby.
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Thanks for the info kmead huge cheers!
 
Mike Schofield said:
Congrats! Welcome! You’ve acquired yourself a very nice example of an x. No doubt they are an absolute joy to drive. Underpowered for sure but as Jay Leno says, sometimes it’s more of a thrill to drive a slow car fast. You can really push it to its limits and it won’t let you down. That being said, it is an Italian car and therefore must be treated as such. Slow positive shifts are a must otherwise you’ll destroy the synchros and end up an expert at rebuilding x transmissions. 91 octane at least and thick oil. (15w45) As for the k20 swaps? There is good supports for this and the performance is unbelievable. Turbo, supercharged, the k20 is an excellent engine for power. But, as others have said, this is a big undertaking and will cost a fair amount. Is it worth it? Depends on what you’re looking for....Anyway, welcome again and enjoy!
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thanks mate, will keep it all in mind!
 
CandBMotorworks said:
Speaking of off topic, I saw a CL post several years back for a guy selling an X. Went to look at the car...it was a TR7 convertible. And a pretty trashed one at that.

On topic, others have covered most of the main points. Take your time getting to know the car before you do anything to aggressive in it. Definitely change the timing belt if it hasn't been done in the last several years. Usually the first thing I do when I acquire any belt cam FIAT is to do that...just as insurance.

Watch the temp gauge...summers in Atlanta in an older FIAT and it will likely want to run hot, unless the cooling system is fully in order.

Watch for master cylinder leaks. Both the clutch and brake master are inside the car right above your feet! Another common leak point are the reservoirs in the frunk (front trunk). The plastic bakes and cracks. Though I don't know how old are the photos you posted, it appears that the PO was an involved owner, so yours ought to be in decent running condition. Still doesn't hurt to check everything over.

These cars are generally structurally well-built and strong, but in modern traffic they are at a disadvantage due to lack of height (invisible to most drivers) and weight (a 2200lb FIAT doesn't stand much of a chance when even an modern MINI weighs 2800lbs and most people are driving 5000lb+ SUVs). You have no airbags. Keep all of that in mind.

Other than that, you will likely encounter electrical gremlins at some point. If it hasn't been done already, I recommend a relay system for the headlights so you don't burn out the light switch. Likewise, you might want to do a relay system for the windshield wipers, as it greatly improves their operation.

There are "star" grounding points in both trunks, you might spend a day and clean the contacts for each ground. That could save you a bunch of frustration down the road.

That's all I can remember at the moment, except drive the pi$$ out of it and have fun. :)

As for the comments about owning "just one" - it seems the only time I have more than one, at least one of them is a non-running project!

Last comment - I restored one to original spec, and now I'm doing a k-20 swap in another. These cars are going back up in value, but I doubt they will ever be priceless enough that it matters whether you keep them completely original. So, I echo the others' comments about making it yours.
Click to expand...
sick info really helpful
 
Dan Sarandrea (Phila) said:
What Karl said!

An X1/9 is not a modern transportation appliance that requires no effort to drive, own or maintain.

This is an involvement car. You as the caretaker have to be fully involved in the car when driving, when maintaining, and just owning it.

One of our charter members Papa Tony says be ready for the 3-to-1 rule: For every one hour of driving, expect to devote 3 hours to maintenance and attention (with "attention" representing the tasks of researching issues, finding parts, upkeep, and explaining to people at the gas station that, no, it's not a Fiero/MR2/TR7/TR8/DeLorean).
Click to expand...

hope to do a lot more driving than working but if that's what it takes to drive her that's what it takes ;)
 
Dine said:
sick info really helpful
Click to expand...
By they way, there are WIKI articles here on Xweb that will guide you on how to do the relay set ups for high/low beams and fast/slow for the wipers. There is a LOT of knowledge "hidden" on this website. I consider this site as a "factory manual" of a sort.

For the relays, while you can use probably any 30 amp relay with the correct number of poles, I suggest getting marine quality. A bit pricier, but they will wear longer and not mind weather exposure as much.
 
To diverge a little LOL, I purchased the LED headlights thinking because they use less power the X would be less likely to have any headlight gremlins. Does this make sense?
 
RZSR X said:
To diverge a little LOL, I purchased the LED headlights thinking because they use less power the X would be less likely to have any headlight gremlins. Does this make sense?
Click to expand...
All I know is you're probably blinding people in front of you lol
 
RZSR X said:
To diverge a little LOL, I purchased the LED headlights thinking because they use less power the X would be less likely to have any headlight gremlins. Does this make sense?
Click to expand...

Not as much as you would think. A decent LED that will put out sustained light for your headlights and not burn out too quickly will still consume a fair bit of power. Maybe not as much as a Halogen. But if you were expecting to cut your current draw in half, I think you would be surprised. OTOH, with the LEDs you do get a brighter looking light, so possibly increased visibility. I put a set in my van, but so far I'm not thrilled. Mine seem to create odd light patterns. I have yet to adjust them. They are bright, though.
 
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