POLL: how long have you owned and X, and your age bracket

[Joe F]

My X's and I

X1: 1975 Mediterranian Blue/Saddle bought new. Burned to ground in 1979 at about 90,000 miles

X2: 1978 Brown/Saddle bought used in 1979. Retired as a planter in 1987 w/180,000 miles

X3: !987 Bertone Blue/Gray bought used in 1992. Engine from 1978 car (different than above). Have put 50,000 miles on it (odo says 120,000)

That's 30 odd years in an X-1/9. Wow I didn't realize It was that much!

I have just turned 60. My wife and I took it around the block this weekend and had a ball waving to all the neighbors. I can only imagine what they were thinking (we still have a lot of snow on the ground).

I will have an X-1/9 as long as I can row a stick.

 

[Sport]

Well I...

bought my first X in 1989. I have had five X's over the years,currently have two, and I will turn 40 in March.
Rolf.

 

[Rupunzell]

Owned several over 25+ years including more than one that was used as a daily commuter which racked up well over 2xx,xxx miles. Always reliable as a daily driver, never stranded me anywhere ever, inexpensive to keep, low fuel consumption, safe and very fun to drive. Anyone who says an X is not reliable or full of problems, does not know enough about the car and has not properly addressed the required maintenance that must be done. Yes, the cheap plastic trim and stuff can go flying off, but that does not detract from the what the chassis, drive train and driving dynamics has to offer.

Then there is the performance potential that usually goes un-noticed and un-tapped except for the few who venture there to discover what is possible.

One of the X's owned was near new, an 81' with less than 5,000 miles on it. Had a number of 79's and mid 84's and a few early 80's cars which are still my favorite years for an X. Driven an number of 1.3L (kinda of a rev monster of an engine)cars, but prefer the later cars with the 1.5L.

Back in the day, FIAT dealers were common and getting parts was never a problem. They had the required part 90% of the time. If the part had to be ordered, it arrived in a few days.

Nothing today offers what the X does at it's price and cost to own and run.

Been involved with a number of racerized X1/9s over the years. Most recently the 2008 LeMons car.

Been around many, many Italian, French (Citroen DS21 / SM / CX still my faves), German, Detroit, Japan, British cars in my life, but Italian cars are my fave by far due to their personality, passion and FUN factor.

 

[bbrown]

Bought my first X in Dec 1974

It was a 1974 model, with 11K miles on it that the PO's wife slid off an icy road with. It did body damage to the LR quarter panel but was all surface. I invested $3K into it so I got a fairly new '74 with low miles and light body damage.

So I'm guessing that makes me an owner for 34+ years...

 

[jjay911]

My story is similar to Steve H. I have owned an X for most of the time over the last 16 years. Im up to 7 I believe... I have owned my 74 with the Dallara Kit on it for 2 years and have never driven it. That will change next month...:excited:

 

[Billy Bob]

I bought my 76 X new in 1976 when I was 18, now I'm 51. It has 54K on it now. I also bought a 1988 new but ex wife took that.

 

[m4ff3w]

My 81 Xer was purchased last June. I am now 29.

 

[JimD]

Hi Bob

I live over in St. Peters, Mo. I haven't seen another X on the road in the STL area in a loooong time. We do have a local Fiat-Lancia group that gets together a couple times a year.

 

[User1]

funny

MM and I both had dark blue '81 Preludes for a while back in the old school... strange coincidences :hmm:

 

[Carl_Auer]

14, 5, 37

14 years of X's, 5 of them, at 37 years old.....

One bought at a used car lot in Seattle by UW back in 95.
One bought through the Seattle Times classifieds...or little nickle....
One bought through the FS&W on X-Web 1.0 from trailered up to Bothell from Olympia
One came from Calgary in a trade for a Lancia Scorpion
Last one made the trip from Oregon to Alaska last summer and is waiting for the snow to go away.....

 

[olerascal]

All I wanted was a cheap racecar...

"First X, the RedWedge, came into my life
because I wanted a smaller racecar than my '69 Camaro CP car.
I had no particular interest in Fiats,
but wanted something to flog the crap out of,
and not spend alot of retirement funds doing so."

Turned out to be a fun sled, but was a trackonly car.
So wanted to get a streetable X to round out the fun.
Then Mac invited me to become member #2 of Xweb,
and my religion changed from V8 muscle to the
Church of High Revolutions.

20+ Xs later...nearly all derelicts dragged out of puckerbrush.

 

[Karfrik]

4 X1/9s in 15 yrs..........

if i count the Scuderia Filipenetti one,not really a road car but i guess it counts.And I "just turned 45"........
1)1985 black/grey (sucumbed to rust)
2)1988 yellow (sold it when tranfered to TX,too nice for my Faza/Abarth conversion) I`m still crying though
3)1973 Scuderia Filipinetti..sold to Dierk in Germany(no time,2 tranfers and a family $$ for me to do a decent restoration
4)1987 Light blue,,,being fitted with all Faza fiberglass

Thats me for now,.............

 

[Coupefan]

Sorry guys, I messed up the poll. I clicked on OVER 40 when I should have clicked on 30-40--I'll kick and scream for that last month and refuse to give it up. Anyway, I've had the '82 since 1987. While my then-girlfriend made the payments, but I put in the down payment. Then the idiot destroyed the transmission. I took control of the car and continued the payments myself. Good timing, the bimbo left me soon afterward. Am I bitter? Nah, I got the car man! :nana:

 

[roadster27]

One X for 30 years

I got my car as a spoiled HS kid at 16. Unlike most 16 year old's I didn't destroy it, and still have it to this day.

Mike Mittlestead went for a ride with me at the first Mirafiori Oregon event back in '98. A time before he had so many X's.

It's awaiting its re-birth (aka paint/upholstery makeover).

-Dean

 

[Maxmod]

two x's

Hey guys im 18,
Owned my first x when i was 12 and my second when i was 14 lol i figure its not looking to good for me in terms of the disease.

My father is 60 ezitag and he has owned 4 x's only two x wives though guys don't get confused.

My first x was his second until he gave it to me when he bought a new car, since then he has bought a prototipo replica and a near mint series 1.

 

[Andrew Coles]

I bought my '79 in 2004 when I was 16, it was my first car. I learnt to drive in it, drove it to school when it wasnt raining, bombed all around the local hills roads in it, drove it to 2 high school formals and my year 12 graduation, did supersprints, hillclimbs and motorkhanas in it. Drove it halfway across Australia 3 times, a holiday along the great ocean road and the roof was almost always off. Drove it to University whenever I didnt feel like catching the bus, and on more than one occasion we would go for a spin in the hills to Lobethal for lunch in it when we just couldnt handle going to a boring lecture on a sunny spring day.

I am turning 21 in a fortnight so I guess that means Ive had her for 5 years... and theres no way I'm ever selling her

 

[Robert Mose]

I bought my X in 1983 when I was 16. It was my primary summer driver for years. I would challenge my friends in their muscle cars to races down curvy roads and they would be quite annoyed when I kicked their butts with less than 80hp under the hood. I am now fully restoring it.

 

[budgetzagato]

Looking at the poll results..

We're old farts!

 

[AngeloX19]

We're old farts!

About what I was expecting but based on the age of the cars, not unreasonable. Some interesting stories and our cars appear to be a real addiction, once your hooked.

I'll expand on mine. My first car was a '74 that I bought in August of '89. The PO had installed a 5 speed and apparently modified the block and flywheel to fit a Ford 1600 crank creating a 1.8 sohc. I still have the blueprints on mods to the crank, flywheel, thrust spacer, etc. Sadly repair bills hit hard in December that year and pressure from my parents to return to college meant the sale before I could ever substantiate the clams. But, with it's 45 DCOEs a decent exhaust, a mild cam, and only about 9.5:1, that car was quicker than all the current hot hatches and sport coupes of the day. I tried doing a VIN search for it in '98 when I bought my current X, but it's history stops in '94.

Let's hear some more stories from the lurkers; 670+ views, only 81 voters, and only 30 some odd response?

 

[olerascal]

66% over 40!

We're old farts!

Amusing to see age brackets in 10 year increments,
until you hit 40.
Apparently over 40 is OleFart territory?

I guess that's improvement over adage of the '60s.
"Never trust anyone over 30".

Mike Mittelstead went for a ride with me at the first Mirafiori Oregon event back in '98.

That's right! Riding in Dean's X was a new revelation...that an X was a fun runabout.
Until then, I thought it just a cheap way to build a racecar.