What did you do to your X1/9 today ?

[rx1900]

Thought I was going to replace the rack bushings tonight but after an hour of hammering on the tie rod ball joints, I've determined I'm too tired to deal with it.

Nahh.....those tie rod ends always pop apart quite easily. Just buy/borrow/rent a tool like I use in this thread:

Suspension re-fresh

Hi folks. As part of my restoration, I decided to re-fresh the suspension of my X1/9. Like many of yours....the car had been sitting for quite a few years. The suspension parts were looking somewhat rusty,and the bushings and boots were old, tired, hardened, and cracked in places. I also built...

xwebforums.com

Easy-peasy.....

 

[tony x19]

Hi Tony, there aren't many x19's in New Brunswick, you are not going to meet many other owners on the road in the Atlantics! Have fun!

HI as far as I know there is mine and one other owned by my uncle , his is 1981 and still going and looking good

 

[tony x19]

Today picked up too doors off of 74 striped down to save mouldings and rubbers ,window crank ,door latch etc ,doors were rusted bad but parts are good,

 

[tony x19]

Hi today started to strip fender, going to try paint stripper instead of sanding ,

 

[tigeravg]

Small task, but going thru my stash to come up with the best door chrome and rubber wipers was the task for the day. Was actually able to find good plastic runners for the top if the sill for under the chrome too. Polished, cleaned and applied. Next up, A-pillar chrome. Now if I can just find a supplier for the inside window felts...
Bueller?...Bueller?

 

[Jonohhh]

Replaced the thermostat....with the exact thermostat that was in it...but whatever. It wasn't ever warming up (and would cool down to 150 at highway speeds) in the winter.

Started replacing the rear calipers but I'm waiting for the rust dissolver to do it's job on the caliper brackets. I guess I'm gonna put caliper clear coat on them?

Verified the tachometer is reading correctly (thankfully it is) and that the ignition timing is set correctly (it is). I may have also found an exhaust leak at the manifold gasket. Fun.

Quite a busy day with it...I'm trying to get it restored and weatherproofed enough for it to be one of my dailies by the end of summer. Hoping to take it up to college and have it as my primary car for a few weeks at a time.

 

[Jonohhh]

Nahh.....those tie rod ends always pop apart quite easily. Just buy/borrow/rent a tool like I use in this thread:

Suspension re-fresh

Hi folks. As part of my restoration, I decided to re-fresh the suspension of my X1/9. Like many of yours....the car had been sitting for quite a few years. The suspension parts were looking somewhat rusty,and the bushings and boots were old, tired, hardened, and cracked in places. I also built...

xwebforums.com

Easy-peasy.....

Oh wow...to be honest I didn't realize non destructive ball joint separators existed.

I'm used to working on modern (e90) bmws where you undo the nut (which is admittedly torqued to 120lbft) and the ball joint comes right out...and 60s Chevys where nothing but an act of god can get them out.

 

[rx1900]

Oh wow...to be honest I didn't realize non destructive ball joint separators existed.

I'm used to working on modern (e90) bmws where you undo the nut (which is admittedly torqued to 120lbft) and the ball joint comes right out...and 60s Chevys where nothing but an act of god can get them out.

Yes....that tool worked great for separating the ball joints and tie rod ends. I actually found the cheaper one ( the black one only $20 Canadian ) worked better on the X as the fork part was a bit thinner. Popped them apart with ease and without damage to them. Some tools may require a bit of grinding to fit better on the X. I actually got lazy and just used it with an impact gun.

Perhaps a US member could recommend one available down there that worked well for them.

There is also this type that might work too :

Unless desperate...do not use this type of tool:

Usually works...but also usually tears the boot.

Some here claim to be able to separate the joints with a pair of heavy hammers. One resting against the side of the knuckle, and then a sharp blow on the opposite side with the other. I've not had much luck with that.....

After you do get the joint apart....I highly recommend servicing the joint. As you can see...there are no grease fittings on them...but rather "greased for life". But I dont reckon they intended a service life of more than 10 years or so. My joints were all okay with no play ( car had been sitting for many years )...but I popped off the boots... and inside was rather scary. No grease in sight !!! All dried up. Surely would not have lasted long at all like that. Clean them up inside and work in some new grease as best you can.

I think you said you you just got a new automotive multimeter ? Which one did you get ? But did you say it did not seem to test RPMs very well at all ? And which timing light did you buy ? I'm looking for a new one.

 

[Dr.Jeff]

Now if I can just find a supplier for the inside window felts...

I got some from a place that supplies restoration shops for old American cars. The same felt was used on many old cars, it isn't anything "special", a generic product. It comes in a 10' long stick so you have to cut the pieces to length. There's enough to do two cars, cost about $30.

 

[nichol01]

Just finished up Led bulbs in my gauge cluster. What a difference. I wish I would have done this sooner. It's amazing what a simple job like this does to the overall appearance of the interior. I bought the kit from Voloce Solutions. It came with two interior led bulbs probably for later cars with door panel lights. But my car only has one on the Targa bar. The only downside was I broke my interior light lens holder. So gonna glue the lens in with clear silicone and do without the on off feature.
Before.

After

 

[Dr.Jeff]

Just finished up Led bulbs in my gauge cluster. What a difference. I wish I would have done this sooner. It's amazing what a simple job like this does to the overall appearance of the interior. I bought the kit from Voloce Solutions. It came with two interior led bulbs probably for later cars with door panel lights. But my car only has one on the Targa bar. The only downside was I broke my interior light lens holder. So gonna glue the lens in with clear silicone and do without the on off feature.
Before.
View attachment 47825
After
View attachment 47826
View attachment 47827

I'm in the middle of doing this as well. I just looked at the website; what type of bulbs do they include for the gauge cluster? I'm referring to the type of lens on the LED. For example here are some of the (many) various types available in the T5 size:

There are even more but these seem to be the most common. Did the ones you got look like any of these?

 

[nichol01]

They looked more like the last one pictured with the led facing forward. They had, not sure now, but four or six individual leds.The reason I went with there kit was I was unsure which ones to get. And as you said there are many to choose from. I probably could have saved some money buying from a buld supplier but decided to go with what they found to work well. It was I think 35.00 for the four cluster bulbs and two festoon interior bulbs.

 

[Dr.Jeff]

They looked more like the last one pictured with the led facing forward. They had, not sure now, but four or six individual leds.The reason I went with there kit was I was unsure which ones to get. And as you said there are many to choose from. I probably could have saved some money buying from a buld supplier but decided to go with what they found to work well. It was I think 35.00 for the four cluster bulbs and two festoon interior bulbs.

Thanks for the feedback. So something more like this:

Each of those different types gives a different light pattern. By looking at the pictures of your dash and knowing the style of bulb, it helps me to compare with some of the other styles I've seen.

Prices for LED's are all over the board. To assemble all of the correct ones for a particular application you either have to pay a separate shipping fee for each one or buy a bundle of 10 or 20 bulbs. That all adds up, so what you got isn't bad at all. Plus you know it is the right type for your needs.

 

[JimD]

I gave the 85X an oil change and also installed one of the hard start relays Gregory Smith's Vanagaon buddy made up for us years ago. I hope that solves my intermittent starting issue. Put in an MWB gear reduction starter before COVID, still had issues, new battery this spring, still had issues, so its probably the ignition switch getting flaky. I had the relay kit on hand, so in it went.

Of course the car fired right up several times with the relay installed, but I wont declare victory for a few weeks yet.

 

[Jonohhh]

Found a few new water leaks. Living in south Mississippi with an X1/9 is quite stressful, especially one that hasn't been completely restored and sealed up. Living 1000ft from a saltwater gulf + water leaks into a car aren't very classic fiat friendly I do imagine. Considering my car is almost entirely original and rust free...I'd rather not find out.


Water drips in very slowly on both the passenger and driver side foot wells, right in the middle near the vinyl patches.

I first thought was that the water is getting in via the HVAC inlet in the middle of the cowl...but I'll have to rest that theory. As far as I am aware the cowl is completely sealed up inside, and has had sections re-undercoated for protection.



I also finished installing a new right rear caliper. No more adding brake fluid every 3 days... hopefully no more spongy pedal either.
The left rear is getting installed soon as the parking brake assembly regularly gets stuck at full...stop. 75hp (wishful thinking considering how mine runs out of puff at 5500) and a stuck on brake don't blend too well.

Very glad to not have to look at this anymore.

The previous owner painted the caliper brackets yellow, the calipers some weird green that turns blue in the right light, the tie rods metallic sparkly green, and the top part of the oem bicolor paint job orange. To each their own.

 

[kmead]

Found a few new water leaks. Living in south Mississippi with an X1/9 is quite stressful, especially one that hasn't been completely restored and sealed up. Living 1000ft from a saltwater gulf + water leaks into a car aren't very classic fiat friendly I do imagine. Considering my car is almost entirely original and rust free...I'd rather not find out.


Water drips in very slowly on both the passenger and driver side foot wells, right in the middle near the vinyl patches.

I first thought was that the water is getting in via the HVAC inlet in the middle of the cowl...but I'll have to rest that theory. As far as I am aware the cowl is completely sealed up inside, and has had sections re-undercoated for protection.



I also finished installing a new right rear caliper. No more adding brake fluid every 3 days... hopefully no more spongy pedal either.
The left rear is getting installed soon as the parking brake assembly regularly gets stuck at full...stop. 75hp (wishful thinking considering how mine runs out of puff at 5500) and a stuck on brake don't blend too well.

Very glad to not have to look at this anymore.
View attachment 47876
View attachment 47877
The previous owner painted the caliper brackets yellow, the calipers some weird green that turns blue in the right light, the tie rods metallic sparkly green, and the top part of the oem bicolor paint job orange. To each their own.

Were they missing the boots on the e brake system? Whoa.

 

[tvmaster]

Found a few new water leaks. Living in south Mississippi with an X1/9 is quite stressful, especially one that hasn't been completely restored and sealed up. Living 1000ft from a saltwater gulf + water leaks into a car aren't very classic fiat friendly I do imagine. Considering my car is almost entirely original and rust free...I'd rather not find out.


Water drips in very slowly on both the passenger and driver side foot wells, right in the middle near the vinyl patches.

I first thought was that the water is getting in via the HVAC inlet in the middle of the cowl...but I'll have to rest that theory. As far as I am aware the cowl is completely sealed up inside, and has had sections re-undercoated for protection.



I also finished installing a new right rear caliper. No more adding brake fluid every 3 days... hopefully no more spongy pedal either.
The left rear is getting installed soon as the parking brake assembly regularly gets stuck at full...stop. 75hp (wishful thinking considering how mine runs out of puff at 5500) and a stuck on brake don't blend too well.

Very glad to not have to look at this anymore.
View attachment 47876
View attachment 47877
The previous owner painted the caliper brackets yellow, the calipers some weird green that turns blue in the right light, the tie rods metallic sparkly green, and the top part of the oem bicolor paint job orange. To each their own.

I haven’t thought about my brakes yet - is keeping an eye on the fluid level in the reservoir where you start, as basic safety maintenance?

 

[kmead]

I haven’t thought about my brakes yet - is keeping an eye on the fluid level in the reservoir where you start, as basic safety maintenance?

Yes that is one thing.

The pads should last a long while, 30k at least on the front, possibly longer on the rear.

You can inspect them by removing the wheel and looking at the thickness of the black pad material next to the disk. When the steel backer plate gets close to the face of the disk it is time to replace them on the front @ around 2mm of thickness.

The rears can also be inspected the same way but replace them when they get to 1mm as they are not thick to start with.

Some pads may have a wear indicator which is a small piece of steel which will drag on the face of the disk when the pad gets to the ‘worn’ point. You don’t seem them on Fiat pads in general.

A ‘brake job’ on one of these cars is remarkably simple. Replace pads and rotors at the same time as the rotors are not worth machining given how cheap they are (others may disagree on this point) but its so easy to replace them it is worth doing together in my view. Rears are more involved but still pretty easy as long as the calipers are in good condition.

I doubt you have anything to worry about for a while

 

[tvmaster]

Yes that is one thing.

The pads should last a long while, 30k at least on the front, possibly longer on the rear.

You can inspect them by removing the wheel and looking at the thickness of the black pad material next to the disk. When the steel backer plate gets close to the face of the disk it is time to replace them on the front @ around 2mm of thickness.

The rears can also be inspected the same way but replace them when they get to 1mm as they are not thick to start with.

Some pads may have a wear indicator which is a small piece of steel which will drag on the face of the disk when the pad gets to the ‘worn’ point. You don’t seem them on Fiat pads in general.

A ‘brake job’ on one of these cars is remarkably simple. Replace pads and rotors at the same time as the rotors are not worth machining given how cheap they are (others may disagree on this point) but its so easy to replace them it is worth doing together in my view. Rears are more involved but still pretty easy as long as the calipers are in good condition.

I doubt you have anything to worry about for a while

The WD gang replace everything as Discovery Channel requires them to for safety reasons. However, as they bled the brakes, changed the fluid etc., they also spilled a load of fluid in the frunk, so my bigger worry is them not tying up the hoses properly, etc. I think I read here somewhere that by pumping the brakes, if there's a leak, it will squirt out the calipers?

 

[Jefco]

if there's a leak, it will squirt out the calipers?

If there's a leak on the pressure side, it will squirt out the leak. You will likely not have a solid pedal.
Most likely leak is internal to the MC, pedal sinks, but system does not lose fluid.
External leakage usually bad hose or rusted out line.
Where would it squirt out the caliper?