darwoodious
Darin Nelson
So I always had planned on doing a 'proper' posting for my k20/restomod build but even tho my day job is in the software industry, I just never seem to find the time to do it right. My plan was to follow Rodger's previous advice on posting and do proper postings. I think at this point I need to face the facts: that ain't ever gonna happen.
Instead, I'm just gonna post some semi-random stuff when I can and share what I'm doing, why I'm doing it and some lame photos.
For some background, I got my first exxe sometime in 1990 - a 1976 Mediterranean Blue 1300 that had a bad 1300 that blew all kinds of smoke. I already had a 1977 VW Rabbit that I'd done a bunch of work to (on a limited budget) and auto-crossed it. At one autocross in a Boeing parking-lot in Renton WA I saw my first X1/9... wow - what a revelation. I ended up swapping the bad carb'd engined with an FI 1500 and drove that X all thru college and a bit beyond. It had the usual rust I see everywhere on this forum: around the windshield and probably other places. When I'd park it at the college, I'd get back in and there'd be a puddle of water on the floorpans. It was very irritating, but I diverge...
This particular thread is all about my stupid fascination with strengthening the X1/9 chassis. That first '76 X I bought was good but I could always "feel" some flex in the chassis. Note that the exxe is very good for a convertible, but not as tight as even my 300 lb lighter Rabbit.
So today I'm doing a ridiculous k20 build, bare-frame-on-a-rotisserie restomod. I spend a lot of time in the garage with the car looking at it from a POV that gives one a very good understanding and appreciation of the chassis. This post is just to point out the stuff I've done so far.
* rebuilding the lower tunnel (aka coolant-tube cover) with stronger and serviceable materials
* replace the coolant-tubes with .065" SS tubes and make them structural and removable
* seam-weld up the center tunnel
* extend the front tunnel box section all the way to the front 'firewall'
* replace the spare-tire cover with an aluminum structural cover
I'll close this post with some photos.
Instead, I'm just gonna post some semi-random stuff when I can and share what I'm doing, why I'm doing it and some lame photos.
For some background, I got my first exxe sometime in 1990 - a 1976 Mediterranean Blue 1300 that had a bad 1300 that blew all kinds of smoke. I already had a 1977 VW Rabbit that I'd done a bunch of work to (on a limited budget) and auto-crossed it. At one autocross in a Boeing parking-lot in Renton WA I saw my first X1/9... wow - what a revelation. I ended up swapping the bad carb'd engined with an FI 1500 and drove that X all thru college and a bit beyond. It had the usual rust I see everywhere on this forum: around the windshield and probably other places. When I'd park it at the college, I'd get back in and there'd be a puddle of water on the floorpans. It was very irritating, but I diverge...
This particular thread is all about my stupid fascination with strengthening the X1/9 chassis. That first '76 X I bought was good but I could always "feel" some flex in the chassis. Note that the exxe is very good for a convertible, but not as tight as even my 300 lb lighter Rabbit.
So today I'm doing a ridiculous k20 build, bare-frame-on-a-rotisserie restomod. I spend a lot of time in the garage with the car looking at it from a POV that gives one a very good understanding and appreciation of the chassis. This post is just to point out the stuff I've done so far.
* rebuilding the lower tunnel (aka coolant-tube cover) with stronger and serviceable materials
* replace the coolant-tubes with .065" SS tubes and make them structural and removable
* seam-weld up the center tunnel
* extend the front tunnel box section all the way to the front 'firewall'
* replace the spare-tire cover with an aluminum structural cover
I'll close this post with some photos.
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