What did you do to your X1/9 today ?

When it's time to put the assembly back in, call a friend to come over and help. If you have someone pulling up on the lines from the frunk (while you push the box up into place) it makes it SO MUCH EASIER! When I was installing mine, a buddy just happened to stop in the shop to see how I was doing. Perfect timing! I had the box up and in position to be bolted down in a few minutes. Trying to feed the lines through, while supporting the weight of the assembly, and lying flat on your back upside down, is a bitch! At least it was for me, before my helper showed up.
In the past I have temporarily taped those lines together to help thread them through the firewall. I also put the rubber grommets in place after pulling the lines through. And yes, another body really makes this easier. Saying this, even having done this entire process (way too) many times, I still come away with several freshly minted swear words.
 
Yeah, I know replacing it is a PITA as well. But I am replacing all the soft lines, so being able to pre-connect all the lines kinda helps. I won't be trying to re-connect the soft lines while upside-down under the dash...just the "line-threading" headache. As Dr.J. said, finding the replacement connector for the clutch master (which was totally rounded) was the hard part. Finally found one on line (12mm x 1.25 tube fitting). $6.50, free shipping...en route. Now if my "Lada" heater core gets here from the Ukraine before Christmas, I'll be pretty happy

I also just went through this on my car, rebuilding the pedal box and installing all new soft lines. I don't have stock in the company, I swear, but I get all my hoses and hardware from Belmetric.com these days. They have the right woven metric brake fluid hose you want as well as sweet clamps. Check them out.

I actually didn't have a hard time with the soft lines at all. The hard part is always that damn u-turn little hard line on the brake master union block. I ended up taking that line off and gently bending it to minimize the tug of war between it and the long bolt during assembly.

Before:

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After:

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1631893598897.png


The brakes on this car were always suspiciously hard. I mean, I had to stand on the pedal to get the car to stop. I went through all this troubleshooting testing different brake pads and checking for fluid blockages in soft lines, etc. Come to find when I took the pedal box out that the brake pedal and plastic tube were effectively bonded together! The plastic tube is effectively the shaft/bearing pivot for the pedals, the pedal should spin freely on it. It didn't. It took major press force to get the plastic tube out. Here it is in the press:

1631894068817.png


1631894087653.png


And the brake hose change, fresh new hoses! :

1631893759693.png


1631893781430.png


Good as new!!
 
I also just went through this on my car, rebuilding the pedal box and installing all new soft lines. I don't have stock in the company, I swear, but I get all my hoses and hardware from Belmetric.com these days. They have the right woven metric brake fluid hose you want as well as sweet clamps. Check them out.

I actually didn't have a hard time with the soft lines at all. The hard part is always that damn u-turn little hard line on the brake master union block. I ended up taking that line off and gently bending it to minimize the tug of war between it and the long bolt during assembly.

Before:

View attachment 52203

View attachment 52204

After:

View attachment 52205

View attachment 52206

View attachment 52207

The brakes on this car were always suspiciously hard. I mean, I had to stand on the pedal to get the car to stop. I went through all this troubleshooting testing different brake pads and checking for fluid blockages in soft lines, etc. Come to find when I took the pedal box out that the brake pedal and plastic tube were effectively bonded together! The plastic tube is effectively the shaft/bearing pivot for the pedals, the pedal should spin freely on it. It didn't. It took major press force to get the plastic tube out. Here it is in the press:

View attachment 52210

View attachment 52211

And the brake hose change, fresh new hoses! :

View attachment 52208

View attachment 52209

Good as new!!
I'm also on that job. Last year, I fitted Tygone hoses but when I noticed they were kinking in some places, I didn't trusted them, so I removed the pedal box again (and it was a PITA to fit) and changed the soft hoses. Fluid wasn't circulating to the master. I finally figured out the 3 hoses passing in the same hole where too tight and in some of them the fluid wasn't passing along. So I drilled a new hole to pass the clutch hose and put everything back together for the third time. But again, I had problem with fluid circulating to the brake master. I finally discovered one of the hose was a little too short and I pull it to get it on the master nipple. But then, the hose on the fender side of the big fluid reservoir (not the 2 singles like some years) was pinched. So I removed everything again and fitted slightly longer hoses. Now, I just bolt the pedal box in place, next step will be to bolt back the hard line on the bottom side, the "easy" ones... in theory. After that, it will be bleeding time! Yoohoo" I'm working on that pedal box for more than years...
 
I also just went through this on my car, rebuilding the pedal box and installing all new soft lines. I don't have stock in the company, I swear, but I get all my hoses and hardware from Belmetric.com these days. They have the right woven metric brake fluid hose you want as well as sweet clamps. Check them out.

I actually didn't have a hard time with the soft lines at all. The hard part is always that damn u-turn little hard line on the brake master union block. I ended up taking that line off and gently bending it to minimize the tug of war between it and the long bolt during assembly.

Before:

View attachment 52203

View attachment 52204

After:

View attachment 52205

View attachment 52206

View attachment 52207

The brakes on this car were always suspiciously hard. I mean, I had to stand on the pedal to get the car to stop. I went through all this troubleshooting testing different brake pads and checking for fluid blockages in soft lines, etc. Come to find when I took the pedal box out that the brake pedal and plastic tube were effectively bonded together! The plastic tube is effectively the shaft/bearing pivot for the pedals, the pedal should spin freely on it. It didn't. It took major press force to get the plastic tube out. Here it is in the press:

View attachment 52210

View attachment 52211

And the brake hose change, fresh new hoses! :

View attachment 52208

View attachment 52209

Good as new!!
I've found the exact same thing on all of the pedal boxes I've done; the pivot shaft seized to the plastic bushing. When that happens the bushing begins to twist (rotate) with the shaft, causing the little slot on the end of the bushing to become destroyed:
1631894087653.png


Is this the "U-bend" line you are referring to?
1631893759693.png
 
I'm also on that job. Last year, I fitted Tygone hoses but when I noticed they were kinking in some places, I didn't trusted them, so I removed the pedal box again (and it was a PITA to fit) and changed the soft hoses. Fluid wasn't circulating to the master. I finally figured out the 3 hoses passing in the same hole where too tight and in some of them the fluid wasn't passing along. So I drilled a new hole to pass the clutch hose and put everything back together for the third time. But again, I had problem with fluid circulating to the brake master. I finally discovered one of the hose was a little too short and I pull it to get it on the master nipple. But then, the hose on the fender side of the big fluid reservoir (not the 2 singles like some years) was pinched. So I removed everything again and fitted slightly longer hoses. Now, I just bolt the pedal box in place, next step will be to bolt back the hard line on the bottom side, the "easy" ones... in theory. After that, it will be bleeding time! Yoohoo" I'm working on that pedal box for more than years...
I also feel the commonly used Tygon line is too soft and flexible and will kink.
 
I also feel the commonly used Tygon line is too soft and flexible and will kink.
I like the Tygone for their "see-thru" feature, but I much prefer something not prone to kinking. I'm using Gates Plant Master 1/4 (6.3mm). You can see in the first picture I got somme extra length of hose, so I can play with it...!
And, yes, the battery cable is not properly tied. In fact, the negative is off and the battery is just temporary there. And this is not rust you can see in the picture, it's just dirt.
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20210917_142216[1].jpg
 
I also just went through this on my car, rebuilding the pedal box and installing all new soft lines. I don't have stock in the company, I swear, but I get all my hoses and hardware from Belmetric.com these days. They have the right woven metric brake fluid hose you want as well as sweet clamps. Check them out.

I actually didn't have a hard time with the soft lines at all. The hard part is always that damn u-turn little hard line on the brake master union block. I ended up taking that line off and gently bending it to minimize the tug of war between it and the long bolt during assembly.

Before:

View attachment 52203

View attachment 52204

After:

View attachment 52205

View attachment 52206

View attachment 52207

The brakes on this car were always suspiciously hard. I mean, I had to stand on the pedal to get the car to stop. I went through all this troubleshooting testing different brake pads and checking for fluid blockages in soft lines, etc. Come to find when I took the pedal box out that the brake pedal and plastic tube were effectively bonded together! The plastic tube is effectively the shaft/bearing pivot for the pedals, the pedal should spin freely on it. It didn't. It took major press force to get the plastic tube out. Here it is in the press:

View attachment 52210

View attachment 52211

And the brake hose change, fresh new hoses! :

View attachment 52208

View attachment 52209

Good as new!!
I'm using the same simple 3 container system (as above). As for the teflon (plastic) pivot axle in the pedal box, mine seems to be in good shape.
In fact, I was pleasantly surprised at how clean the pedal box was after disassembly. A tad of surface rust on top, but that was it. All pivots and joints in good working order. Spray, clean, reassemble with new parts...Robert's your dad's brother.
 
I finally got around to replacing my dead X battery today. Since I resurrected the car a few years ago, I've been using a spare battery for my Volvo. It was so big that it had to be turned 90 degrees to fit since it was almost as wide as the X battery is long. I had bought a JC Penney Lifetime Battery in 1980. They got out of the auto business decades ago and made a deal with Firestone to provide warranty service. I think this is battery #6 as far as replacements go. This time they gave me a size 24 DieHard Silver.

DieHard Battery - 2021_09_17.jpg


It is about 15 pounds lighter than the Volvo battery so no complaints.

This is the first time the car was driven with the battery cover installed since 1995 (First time it fit!).

Battery Box - 2021_09_17.jpg
 
I finally got around to replacing my dead X battery today. Since I resurrected the car a few years ago, I've been using a spare battery for my Volvo. It was so big that it had to be turned 90 degrees to fit since it was almost as wide as the X battery is long. I had bought a JC Penney Lifetime Battery in 1980. They got out of the auto business decades ago and made a deal with Firestone to provide warranty service. I think this is battery #6 as far as replacements go. This time they gave me a size 24 DieHard Silver.

View attachment 52231

It is about 15 pounds lighter than the Volvo battery so no complaints.

This is the first time the car was driven with the battery cover installed since 1995 (First time it fit!).

View attachment 52233
Nice that you are still getting warranty service on the battery. :)
 
"I had bought a JC Penney Lifetime Battery in 1980. They got out of the auto business decades ago"

Not surprising. That was a great deal for you. The idea of lifetime warranties have certainly changed in my lifetime.....
 
Out with the old...
All reservoirs replaced, hot-rod style...use what you have in the stash.
Feels good to do a sanno job on all the little stuff. A page out of Mark Fiat Freak's playbook. If you have ever seen his attention to detail, you'll know exactly what i'm talking about.
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IMG_6906.jpg
 
I finally got around to replacing my dead X battery today. Since I resurrected the car a few years ago, I've been using a spare battery for my Volvo. It was so big that it had to be turned 90 degrees to fit since it was almost as wide as the X battery is long. I had bought a JC Penney Lifetime Battery in 1980. They got out of the auto business decades ago and made a deal with Firestone to provide warranty service. I think this is battery #6 as far as replacements go. This time they gave me a size 24 DieHard Silver.

View attachment 52231

It is about 15 pounds lighter than the Volvo battery so no complaints.

This is the first time the car was driven with the battery cover installed since 1995 (First time it fit!).

View attachment 52233
Your frunk is so clean for a ‘74?
 
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