Transmission Repair in SoCal?

A

Artedatorino

Low Mileage
Hi all, been reading and following for about a year and am getting moving on my 79 X1/9.

It'd got the common no reverse/no 5th gear issue; On MWB's suggestion I tried replacing the shifter linkage parts with new, and it does shift much better in 1-4, but 5 and R are still gone. I'd like to tap out and have a grownup look at it :D

I've had trouble finding a transmission shop in my area that will work on it - any recommendations? I'm in LA in Westchester near LAX. I've got the 100 mile AAA (before the Fiat I was a VW Bus guy haha) so I can get up to the valley and down to the OC probably.

Mods, I apologize if shop recs aren't allowed - I did try to search first but was not finding anything, although I'm certain there are keywords I missed.

Thank you all for any help in advance.
 
Unfortunately, I don't know of any shops that could be recommended. I can sell you an exchange, remanufactured 5 speed that you could swap yourself or have a shop do the swap.
 
Artedatorino said:
Hi all, been reading and following for about a year and am getting moving on my 79 X1/9.

It'd got the common no reverse/no 5th gear issue; On MWB's suggestion I tried replacing the shifter linkage parts with new, and it does shift much better in 1-4, but 5 and R are still gone. I'd like to tap out and have a grownup look at it :D

I've had trouble finding a transmission shop in my area that will work on it - any recommendations? I'm in LA in Westchester near LAX. I've got the 100 mile AAA (before the Fiat I was a VW Bus guy haha) so I can get up to the valley and down to the OC probably.

Mods, I apologize if shop recs aren't allowed - I did try to search first but was not finding anything, although I'm certain there are keywords I missed.

Thank you all for any help in advance.
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Try calling Snow's Automotive in Anaheim/Orange. Dan Snow still races X1/9's, as did his father. He probably has lots of spare parts as well, which would be my only concern, i.e. what's he putting in your car, something that will last, or something that's in the back room. But as far as X1/9 knowledge, his shop is the longest running to specialize in these cars. Might be costly as well. When I asked about repairing the dreaded third-gear grind, I think the quote was in the $800-$1300 range, depending on what parts were needed.
 
tvmaster said:
Try calling Snow's Automotive in Anaheim/Orange. Dan Snow still races X1/9's, as did his father. He probably has lots of spare parts as well, which would be my only concern, i.e. what's he putting in your car, something that will last, or something that's in the back room. But as far as X1/9 knowledge, his shop is the longest running to specialize in these cars. Might be costly as well. When I asked about repairing the dreaded third-gear grind, I think the quote was in the $800-$1300 range, depending on what parts were needed.
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Thank you!
 
I’m in Silver Lake. If you feel comfortable, we can take a look at this and tackle it. Removing the tranny is the easy part, in my opinion. Opening it up and seeing inside is more difficult.

Either way, if you’re not in a hurry to get the car on the road, we can get as far as taking apart the tranny and asking the folks here what they think. Maybe that’s something to think about. My dad is knowledgeable about this as well. He’s had his X for a very long time.
 
AA Gear and Shaft, Downtown LA..
1-213-748-2194
1402 E Washington Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90021

They did my Datsun 5 speed and 128 4 speed. Nice guys..
 
addictedpunk said:
I’m in Silver Lake. If you feel comfortable, we can take a look at this and tackle it. Removing the tranny is the easy part, in my opinion. Opening it up and seeing inside is more difficult.

Either way, if you’re not in a hurry to get the car on the road, we can get as far as taking apart the tranny and asking the folks here what they think. Maybe that’s something to think about. My dad is knowledgeable about this as well. He’s had his X for a very long time.
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Thank you! I've been going through what the car needed, and...it was basically a running motor, a clean title, and a pretty rusty free and straight body, and nothing else. I got an offer on it the other day, and decided to let it go and try and hunt down a more complete car to start from.

I'll definitely be interested in assistance from people more knowledgeable than me about them! I've been a VW bus guy for a long time, but these pretty little fiats have caught me!
 
Too late this time, I guess, but I wonder whether that could've just been an issue with adjusting the linkage? Replacing it is one thing, but it can still need to be adjusted. Losing 5th and R is a natural problem when the linkage is adjusted too far to one side. Did it just totally lock you out of shifting into those gears, or did it like grind or pop in/out? (I am pretty much the least knowledgeable person on here, so take any of this with a big grain of salt!) Either way, the adjustment issue is worth keeping in mind for next time--maybe a way to pick one up on the cheap that just needs 10 minutes of wrenching :)
 
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