No Bentley Shop Manual for X 1/9?

WantAnX1/9

WantAnX1/9

Stuck in gear, leaking fluids, fire in progress...
I find it strange that FIAT isn't even listed?

http://www.bentleypublishers.com/

What is everyone's recommended go-to shop manual for the X 1/9?

Factory shop manual (rare)? Haynes? Clymer? Brooklands? Any others?

I have a Haynes, Clymer and Brooklands shop manual for the X 1/9 so far.

I have the Bentley shop manual for my MG, and it is absolutely incredible. I wish I could have one for the X 1/9, too.
 
darwoodious said:
check out this site's amazing wiki page: http://xwebforums.com/wiki/index.php/WorkshopManuals

If you're like me and prefer to have a hard-copy, our vendors sell them:
* https://www.midwest-bayless.com/c-81-manuals-and-literature_Fiat-X19-0.aspx
* http://www.fiatplus.com/FACTORY-SHOP-MANUAL/

as for 3rd party manuals, I have the Haynes one: https://haynes.com/en-us/fiat/x-19/1974-1980 - it only covers '74 thru '80. The factory manual is way better tho.
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Thank you very much, Darin!

I need to do some reading (in addition to the Fiat X 1/9 wiki on this site), before I find my X 1/9.

Want to familiarize myself on the vehicle so I know what to expect.
 
WantAnX1/9 said:
I have a Haynes, Clymer and Brooklands shop manual for the X 1/9 so far.
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Between these and the factory manual (available free online as Darin said), you'll have more than you need. Be aware, as with ALL repair manuals for ALL cars there are errors to be found throughout any of them.

Funny, I tend to collect all available manuals when I acquire a new to me vehicle to restore. But then I never refer to any of them (for the most part) while actually working on the vehicles.
 
When I was 17 with my first sports car (an AC carrying, emissions strangled metallic blue '79 which I sold a year later) I thought the Haynes manual was essential. I bought an '86 Bertone recently. Recalling how thorough and insightful that Haynes bible seemed to an inexperienced pre-internet me, I bought another the other day and wasn't all that impressed. I think of it as a DIYer's strip-down of the factory manual with a few extra photos. I only paid $20 for a used copy on eBay so no biggy. One document I have found very useful was the bound Bertone wiring diagram for '84 through '88 MWB sell. It's also available in the wiki but like Darin, I enjoy having a full size physical copy to make notes on and have in the car while troubleshooting. The later cars have an updated fusebox with spade type fuses and a few more power circuits isolated with relays by the way.
 
Cratecruncher said:
When I was 17 with my first sports car (an AC carrying, emissions strangled metallic blue '79 which I sold a year later) I thought the Haynes manual was essential. I bought an '86 Bertone recently. Recalling how thorough and insightful that Haynes bible seemed to an inexperienced pre-internet me, I bought another the other day and wasn't all that impressed. I think of it as a DIYer's strip-down of the factory manual with a few extra photos. I only paid $20 for a used copy on eBay so no biggy. One document I have found very useful was the bound Bertone wiring diagram for '84 through '88 MWB sell. It's also available in the wiki but like Darin, I enjoy having a full size physical copy to make notes on and have in the car while troubleshooting. The later cars have an updated fusebox with spade type fuses and a few more power circuits isolated with relays by the way.
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Yes. I will be getting the factory shop manual from Bayless. I've heard it is the most comprehensive.
 
Cratecruncher said:
pre-internet me
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Cratecruncher said:
I enjoy having a full size physical copy
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I hadn't really thought about it, but you bring up a point. I grew up working on cars from a very young age....many decades before the internet. So workshop manuals were all we had (if that). Perhaps that has something to do with my obsession to get manuals still today, despite not using them. Now days if a question comes up, I find that I will refer to the internet before looking in a manual. Which is funny because I'm not a real techie, and like you I generally prefer to have a hard copy of things to look at. Perhaps the internet is quicker in getting specific answers, or am I becoming more tech savvy than I realize?
 
darwoodious said:
I have the Haynes one
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In about 2017, I got a new Haynes manual to replace my first that came with a rusty 1981 X; since I have a later car ('86) this extended version caught my eye online. It came from England, complete with Royal Mail stamps on the envelope.
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I've got the "official" 1974 Fiat factory manual that I ordered from Fiat - Roosevelt Motors right after I got the car. I believe my 1974 - 1979 Haynes manual is more comprehensive and has less errors.
 
Jeff's photo of those two manuals are exactly the issues I had. The one on the left I had in 1980 and thought was fantastic for learning about a US '79 (at least way back then when it was all I had). The one on the right I recently purchased on eBay and found the first 3/4 of the book is '74-78 1300 4 speed and covers it pretty well. The last 1/4 is a "supplement" chapter covering European 1500 models and most of that is wiring diagrams copied verbatim from the factory manual. Not one single page even mentions Bosch L-Jetronic. So, having a US '86 car it's close to useless in my view.
 
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dllubin said:
I've got the "official" 1974 Fiat factory manual that I ordered from Fiat - Roosevelt Motors right after I got the car. I believe my 1974 - 1979 Haynes manual is more comprehensive and has less errors.
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Sad, that an OEM would allow so many errors, but back in the day, Haynes was a hard act to follow.

Cratecruncher said:
Jeff's photo of those two manuals are exactly the issues I had. The one on the left I had in 1980 and thought was fantastic for learning about a US '79 (at least way back then when it was all I had). The one on the right I recently purchased on eBay and found the first 3/4 of the book is '74-78 1300 4 speed and covers it pretty good. The last 1/4 is a "supplement" chapter covering European 1500 models and most of that is wiring diagrams copied verbatim from the factory manual. Not one single page even mentions Bosch L-Jetronic. So, having a US '86 car it's close to useless.
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I have since ordered the factory shop manual for the X 1/9s I will be looking for: '79-'82. I'm hoping to nab one with EFI...but a carb would not be the end of my world...
 
Cratecruncher said:
The last 1/4 is a "supplement" chapter
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Over the decades I've found that to be very typical of pretty much all of the aftermarket (non factory) manuals. Especially for models that carried on for many years, and the manuals were issued in several editions to try and keep up. And the supplement is rarely very comprehensive, as you found in this case. Some aftermarket manuals seem to take a lot from the factory manuals, other use their own photography (sometimes good, sometimes bad), the common ones for import cars were usually based on the European versions of the cars and written in British English. Before the internet, when they were all we had, you were often left with as many questions as answers. Unfortunately many factory manuals are not a lot better. In some circles the aftermarket version is so much better than the factory one, even the dedicated service facilities (including dealers) will refer to them. Bentley manuals were mentioned at the beginning of this thread. They tend to be among the better ones in my opinion. Unfortunately they are more limited in the models they cover though. Beyond that, I'll agree Haynes tends to be the next best choice for many applications.
 
Haynes made a great manual back in the '80s in my opinion. When I bought my first new car, an '87 RX-7, I went straight to the parts department and bought a fac-tree manual! It was so "technical" I could hardly understand it. I broke down and bought a Haynes and it was like Mazda 101. Then I cracked open the Mazda 401 manual when the jobs started getting more complicated. I use the FSM mainly for the wiring diagrams now but both books helped me rebuild both the engine and transmission among other things.
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I have multiples as well. Each has a slightly different approach. I still appreciate the Haynes manuals as they are well written and often have pictures which are much clearer than the factory ones.
 
WantAnX1/9, consider joining at mirafiori.com too, they have an extensive library for members, with manuals and wiring diagrams regardless what model(s) Fiat you may end up with.
 
Jefco said:
WantAnX1/9, consider joining at mirafiori.com too, they have an extensive library for members, with manuals and wiring diagrams regardless what model(s) Fiat you may end up with.
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Thank you, Jefco!
 
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