New from Lima, Ohio

D

danm7890

Low Mileage
just bought my first 1977 X19. im very excited so far. it sat in my gfs pasture for almost 11yrs and i was never told about it. been dating only a couple months. so i bought the car for $100.
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a lil about myself. i grew up in dublin, ohio, graduated from coffman high school. i now attend the university of northwestern ohio for high performance. currently im on an arca race team which takes up all my weekends. i have a lowered 07 ranger as my daily. also have a 86 cougar block that im building up to 400hp with a holset turbo. so i have a lot on my plate right now. but im clueless when it comes to older cars. this car looks like a great project for road racing, which i would love to get into. first things are where to start guys...it sat for 11yrs. what needs to be replaced first.

fuel filter
plugs and wires
oil change and filter
...basic tune up stuff. but what else?

Pics of my current dd and projects:

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Welcome aboard!

Good luck with the project. First will probably be to get the field mice out of it! Fuel system will need an over-haul with removal of any old gas before you attempt to start. The fuel lines are easy to replace, all right up top.
 
welcome!

Any car that sits for 11 years in a field will need a bunch of stuff, an X especially so...

• Be prepared to replace the clutch and brake M/C's, the clutch slave, cooling hoses and possibly radiator.

• Carb rebuild, fuel lines, brake pads and rotors. Possibly calipers.

• If it were mine, I'd get a timing belt and tensioner as well, and consider a new W/P/.

• Replace all fuses, bulbs. Lube everything, and clean a lot.

These things would make the car very reliable.:love:
 
Welcome...

I guess if ya tell us a bit more about yurself, yur name is Dan?

Included is a foto of my second pickup...

55Pickup.jpg


I got it all running mechanically for my Dad... and then my stupid brother buys it off him! Anyway, It's a '55 Chevy Shortbed, Large Window, 1/2 ton...I haven't any photos of it completed... but it ran a rather hot 283, 4 speed and ended up being painted Rootbeer with a Black interior and Chromed Reversed Rims with Cheater Slicks on the rear. We didn't care about turning back then... just going straight! That's me on roof... I was 17 in '65, my first pickup as a '46 with Tri-Power on a 230 CI 6-banger, Split Exhaust, three speed, 4.11 rear and I thI was 11 when I first pulled the trans on that one...

HA!

As for this '77 of yours... I think you will be KILLING yourself if ya don't prop it up on stands and take it apart for a COMPLETE and THOROUGH overhaul. My car sat for 7 years once, but it was properly stored. I'm sure as the others have stated, most anything that has RUBBER seals inside or out will need replacing.

You may indeed get it fired up and rolling just doing what it takes to get to that going... but you'll have constant failures down the road on probably a daily basis.

If the engine was kept dry... it MAY be OK internally, same with the trans. I might be inclined also to get it fired off and THEN do all the rest... before I drove it too far, especially the brakes!

You'll also find that parts sources are rather limited BUT are available and for reasonable prices. Also... there is Matt Brannon (Midwest-Bayless) right in your backyard... who will be happy to help with advice and a hand. He is in business though... but I think you'll find that you will be ecstatic over the prices as compared to some of the stuff you've been playing with.

Have fun, and with everything on your plate, you'll need to set some priorities. I hope the X1/9 will be, and continue to be, one of them...
 
Cool!

Hope it has some floors beneath it. We can help you out with most all of your parts needs. Midwest-Bayless is right here in Columbus.
I spoke with someone from Lima just last week. Would that have been you?
 
Welcome Dan

Once you pull it out of it's hole, try to get us some photos of the engine bay, trunk areas, and underside.
 
I would get it up on a lift and evaluate the body before I spent a dime or a minute on any kind of repair.

11 years on the ground in an open field...BIG potential for terminal rust.

While on the lift, take a ton of well-lit digital pix of the underside and the four corners, post 'em up on a free pic host (example: photobucket) and provide the link...we'll be more than happy to opine.
 
yes that was me on the phone. i figured i would run into you on a forum. yea im trailering it to school tonight to put it on a lift to take some pics. i havent inspected the car to much just the general idea of it. it will be placed on jack stands once i figure out what it needs. as i said should be a fun lil project. ill do everything up front before i even think about dd it. no reason to rush something like this when i have time...safety first :)

thanks for all the replies
 
lol i will take pics for ya. and if ya havent noticed ive already posted pics...no forum newbie here :) im on like 20, 5 daily. its pretty sad.

should be interesting though ill keep you guys updated.
 
Fiats in general are mechanically easy to repair, so don't think about that yet. Definitely look into the body first as the steel, especially in Ohio with it's winter-salted roads, is a weakness with all the Fiats. Look for rusted strut towers and other structure rust. Pull out the carpeting and the front and rear trunk mats and look for bad rust there. Small places that just need patches are not bad, but structure rust is, unless you really really like to weld!
 
janet80 said:
Fiats in general are mechanically easy to repair, so don't think about that yet. Definitely look into the body first as the steel, especially in Ohio with it's winter-salted roads, is a weakness with all the Fiats. Look for rusted strut towers and other structure rust. Pull out the carpeting and the front and rear trunk mats and look for bad rust there. Small places that just need patches are not bad, but structure rust is, unless you really really like to weld!
Click to expand...


thanks for some locations to look at. im going to head over there in a little bit and see what it looks like. ill bring the camera.welding is fun....to a certain degree :)
 
We have a couple for sale....

...that need some restoration....and we also have the parts needed to restore them! One stop shopping.
Seriously, if you aren't interested in the cars we have for sale currently, I might know of a couple within a hundred miles or so that are also available.
Call me Wednesday at Midwest-Bayless. 1-800-241-1446.
 
it would be some talent to restore it. theres a lot of 5in round holes in the front compartment. the rear lower body is missing, rusted off. fenders are rusted under neath. pinch welds and **** are rusted through. its just a bad disease, i feel bad for her. :(

i would love to find another that needs a lil less of some restoration. wouldnt mind spending some more if itll save me some money down the road in body work. i can deal with a roller as long as theres a title and the body is nice. ill give ya a call wed.
 
I'm sure many forum members would still like to see the pix....experienced eyes know that certain areas of rust are catastrophic but perimeter rust always looks worse that it really is.

If it is a goner, you can always part it out here and on eBay. You should be able to make back your "Benjamin."

Or add it to MaddMatt's collection.

Or hang onto it for the moment (it's not like it's gonna get any worse in a week:devil:) and see what else turns up--you may be able to use it as a parts car for the one you eventually buy.
 
Bad enough when parked over dirt...

...but when they're parked IN dirt, not a good sign.
I once accepted a free X that wasn't sitting that deep in dirt.
After yarding it out, I realized I paid too much...

Labor and money to resurrect a derelict exceeds cost
of buying a good one in the first place.
 
I agree with Olerascal; that's why I bought my current X from California and had it shipped here. It cost more to ship it than the price of the car, but it was worth it to have one that was virtually rust-free. My 1970 Fiat 124 Spider was in seriously bad shape, and would have gone to the boneyard if she were not a rarer early version with a newly rebuilt engine. see:
www.photobucket.com/janet70allmyfiats124 The date stamps on the photos are incorrect; most of the bodywork was done this year, and the paint right before Fiat Freakout2009.
The bodyman estimated that he welded in about 150 pounds of new steel and used 12 pounds of welding wire. The car looks great now, but still needs stuff.
Consult with Matt or another local expert about was you can use from the car. Actually, all the bits and pieces of trim, glass, mechanicals, little trim parts and rubber pieces, panel pieces, good upholstery and such might be worth your hundred dollars or perhaps more. What a shame, she looks so pretty in green! I hope you eventually end up with a good X1/9. There's nothing like it in the motoring world!
 
This was one of my programs when I was a Chief Engineer at ASC. It was known as the Ranger GTA. Techstar was doing a similar concept with the Focus. A blue truck went to ASC and was bought by one of tech center guys and this truck went to Ford. I never knew what happened to it. Good stuff in it Prodrive Super Charger, Brembo brakes, etc.

http://images.google.com/imgres?img...rd+ranger+sema&hl=en&rlz=1T4DKUS_enUS306&um=1

Price point killed the project however the front facia and grille was coupled with a Mazda bed and turned in to the ranger STX. One of those obscure things in my past. Paul Valente, Brad Garska, and I live in the Detroit suburbs so we are not to far away too. Look in the members list to get our info for reference. Give us a shout if you need an opinion on something, we will give you a straight answer.



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