parting out wrecked 1985 Bertone X1/9. Scary picture warning!

motoTrooper said:
Hey Chris, what's the story on the partial Fiat Moretti next to it? Such a neat looking car!
Click to expand...

I wondered if anyone would spot it...
The Yellow one was Pat Braden's car. He bought it new from the Moretti Brothers in Torino in 1967, drove it a lot in Italy, then brought it with him when he moved to the states. After Pat moved to Southern California he wanted to restore it, and had bought quite a few parts for that purpose.
When Pat went onto that great Alfa writer spot in the sky, his widow called me up. I arranged to buy the car, and to pick it up when I went to LA at the first of November for the Best of France and Italy show, and sent her my deposit. When I showed up with my transporter and trailer, she told me that a real nice man from Australia had dropped by and needed a few parts. So, since the car was so rusty she knew I would not mind.
That real nice man had brought along a sawzall, and he took the entire right rear corner of the car, the special distributor, the new windscreen glass, and the new floors. And a lot of other small bits...

Needless to say... We negotiated a new deal, and I brought the car home.

Did you catch "The yellow one"?
Originally there were 28 Moretti Sportiva first series cars imported into North America by the importer, and Pat's car was not one of them. From those 28, I have a white(red) one, a blue one, and a red one. The white and blue ones need to be restored, and will need a lot of the parts the yellow car has. So all is not lost. Someday I will either take on those projects, or sell the entire package. With the amount of work that keeps being brought to me, someday may be a while off!
The red one I will keep for my own collection, and I have big plans for it. I hope to get it done before I go onto that great racetrack in the sky!
 
Alright, I need to drive up and spend a day talking with you and seeing the cool stuff. It was nice meeting you to get the Scorpion windshield.
 
holeinthehead said:
Heya, glad to hear he's in one piece, if the car isn't. Looks like the rear suspension is toast? Need some rear struts...
Click to expand...

There is some damage to the left rear upper strut mount, but I think the struts, and other related parts, are OK. I installed new KYB units when I first started servicing the car, so they do not have a lot of miles on them.

Do you need 1300 or 1500 struts? I can supply new of both, but the 1300 are special order only...
 
Mike,
I just responded to your private message, not knowing what carrier you wanted, so I picked UPS. I had not seen this posting yet.
I also included the link to the US Post web site. If you still want me to get a postal quote, let me know.
 
Car is now disassembled. It's time for the sawzall so I can salvage some sheet metal.
It's interesting how the car folded up to protect the passengers.
If you see a section of sheet metal you want, now is the time to let me know!

to 03-15-2020 right.JPG
Here is the right side. The lower section is good from the center of the wheel arch to the front fender, but there is a slight dent in the forward part of the rocker panel.
The rear of the fender and floor of the trunk area is OK, but bent. Great no rust in the sheet metal that once off could be reformed before installing.

to 03-15-2020 rear.JPG
Most everything here is bent. The central floor of the trunk has been spoken for. I am planning on cutting it out center of the bumper shock rails from the engine compartment to the back of the car.
Shock towers are bent.
Outer trunk floors/rear of wheel wells are rust free, but some bending included.

to 03-15-2020 left.JPG
The lower section from about 10 o-clock of the wheel well to the front of the rocker is good, except for the slight fold and twist at the base of the b pillar.

to 03-15-2020 inside.JPG
Note how the car is twisted just behind the shift lever mounting area!
The left floor from just in front of the seat to the back is good, and the entire right floor from front to back is good!

to 03-15-2020 front.JPG
Yes, I have already cut off most of the front and will post the salvageable sections in the other listing. Need a battery box?
Yes, i bent the targa bar holding the car up while I was pulling stuff. It damaged the bar by bending it, but saved me from having the car fall on me!
Someone once mentioned they need the spare tire mounting bracket. It's here.
There was also someone who I can't remember the name of that wanted to know when I had the engine out. It's out.

If you need something you see here, consider this to be the last call.
 
Thanks for posting all the photos Chris, most of us will never be able to see our own cars in such detail, I know I won't be stripping my car down this far!
 
The air flow meter is right now in the box of stuff to list.
The throttle position switch is on the complete motor.
I suspect they both are OK as the car was running...
 
Chris, if you still have this wreck, could you take a photo for me of the break in the targa/roll bar, I am interested to see the internal structure inside it. I am trying to work out the best place to position a roll cage hoop, maybe recessed into the targa bar.
 
GregS, yes, it's still here. Believe me, there really is no internal structure...

Without taking pictures:
When Mark Plaia and I built our race car, seen on the left, Mark wanted the roll hoop under the targa bar. We removed the lower inner skin so only the outer skin remained, then bent up a hoop that fit up tight inside. We did the same with the front hoop, so it's right there under our "windshield". As our club rules said we had to have a specific amount of space between our helmet and a line drawn from the top of each hoop, we took the weight penalty and lowered the floor to get it.

If you still want a picture when i get back to the remains with the sawzall, let me know.
 
Thanks for the info Chris. That sounds like a neat way of doing it. I was thinking of placing the cage tube at the rear window groove, thinking that may be the strongest point, and it moves the bar further back away from my head. I would prefer not to cut too much if I don't have to, so a photo may still be usefull if it's not too much trouble.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top