What did you do to your X1/9 today ?

Took trans apart ,did not see anything obvious, going to have to look closer.
 

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Today I replaced the fuel level sender, the coolant temp gauge sender, and installed the passenger side door handle.

I then proceeded to fill the tank with 7 gallons of fuel (tank was near empty beforehand), after which the gauge read 1/4 tank.

Last I checked, 7/12.6 does not equal 25%.... so it appears something may be off. I installed it in the same orientation as the old one, so I guess I have some investigation to do.
 
Carpet back in today and test the results of the footwell lighting and mood lighting. Really happy with the way the blue highlights pick up.View attachment 68726View attachment 68727
I love seeing your build, your modifications and upgrades are very similar to what I plan to do with mine. It'll end up with a lot of interior lighting upgrades, probably orange LEDs around the cabin too for ambient lighting to match the other cars.
 
Last night I got the doors cleaned out, and new vapor barriers installed.

I ended up going for the external method (putting vapor barrier on the cabin side of the door rather than inside) but formed the seal outline specifically so that the lowest point in the seal is always a hole for water to drain back through. Very happy with the results, the car feels much nicer inside during a drive now, as well. Less drafty :)
 
Today, I found some cracked unibody coating in the cowl with rust lurking beneath. I'm glad I decided to rip all of it up, or else this surface rust would've developed into quite the headache.

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Today, I found some cracked unibody coating in the cowl with rust lurking beneath. I'm glad I decided to rip all of it up, or else this surface rust would've developed into quite the headache.

View attachment 68853
Never seen rust in that place, probably due to a clogged water evacuation hole. Curious place for your hoses. Are they hang there because you unplugged them or is it where they were fitted?
 
Never seen rust in that place, probably due to a clogged water evacuation hole. Curious place for your hoses. Are they hang there because you unplugged them or is it where they were fitted?
My car had a little bit of rust in that area as well, somewhat hiding under the mastic. I think if there's a brake/clutch fluid leak, it must soften the factory mastic applied in the scuttle, then attack the underlying paint, which of course in turn would allow rust to set in.
 
Never seen rust in that place, probably due to a clogged water evacuation hole. Curious place for your hoses. Are they hang there because you unplugged them or is it where they were fitted?
That's one of the most common places I find rust on otherwise rust free X's here in this dry climate. It is due to the long hydraulic hoses running across the cowl from the brake reservoir on one extreme side to the masters on the other side. A ton of leaves and debris collects under the hoses, then moisture soaks into that debris, and eventually rust forms across the cowl....even if the vent holes are open.
 
I definitely think the cause is a combination of the debris stuck in the cowl under the hoses, and a brake fluid leak softening the undercoating material on the cowl. At the very least, there are no holes present, all of the flakes you see above are the sections of undercoating I've pried away.

Rust converter gets here today, just not sure what would be best to re-coat the surface there with.
 
Never seen rust in that place, probably due to a clogged water evacuation hole. Curious place for your hoses. Are they hang there because you unplugged them or is it where they were fitted?
I had the reservoirs hanging over the frunk seal lip, in a plastic bag to prevent brake fluid from spilling, so they're just bundled up there. Otherwise they just sit on the floor of the cowl area.
 
and a brake fluid
Excellent point. There is usually spilled fluid around the hydraulic reservoirs on most vehicles. Especially on old vintage cars with dried out brittle plastic reservoirs that crack and leak. And it will eat away the paint and other protective coatings.
 
Oh man this stuff is a mess. I've decided to do the whole cowl as this coating (factory or not) has began to crack in some areas, and is allowing water to get trapped underneath. I assume this may be a factor in how the other side rusted as well.


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Edit: as tough as this stuff may be, it's no match for my MAP gas torch.
 
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Took trans apart ,did not see anything obvious, going to have to look closer.
it all looks good, I want to throw an idea out there, I used 80/90 weight in my transmission for years and it worked fine, I took a chance and used Redline MTL as suggested by many members of this forum. Incredible difference! shifting was easy, quieter, smoother. Just saying if you can't find anything obvious when you reassemble trans use this oil.
 
Going through the same right now. Sucks not knowing how its going to go. Hang in there brother.
Thanks for the support, i have now purchased a condo and am hoping to get my X in the same secure underground parking, will keep you posted, DO NOT WANT TO LOSE MY X!
 
Oh man this stuff is a mess. I've decided to do the whole cowl as this coating (factory or not) has began to crack in some areas, and is allowing water to get trapped underneath. I assume this may be a factor in how the other side rusted as well.


View attachment 68864


Edit: as tough as this stuff may be, it's no match for my MAP gas torch.
It is common for the factory applied sealant/coating to allow water underneath it. That leads to rust that you cannot see. The more you remove that coating the more rust you might find.
 
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Driver side cleaned up well, thankfully little rust over there. Getting the undercoating off the center cowl sections is an absolute pain, very little access.


And here are some shots before and after rust conversion on the opposite side.

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Now just to figure out what product is best suited to take the original coatings place....
 
it all looks good, I want to throw an idea out there, I used 80/90 weight in my transmission for years and it worked fine, I took a chance and used Redline MTL as suggested by many members of this forum. Incredible difference! shifting was easy, quieter, smoother. Just saying if you can't find anything obvious when you reassemble trans use this oil.
HI had MTL in it had done that when car was put on the road last May , will do again , there a lot of dirt in trans ,possibly from being parked for 26 years ,ordered second gear and synchros
 
View attachment 68875
Driver side cleaned up well, thankfully little rust over there. Getting the undercoating off the center cowl sections is an absolute pain, very little access.


And here are some shots before and after rust conversion on the opposite side.

View attachment 68876View attachment 68877




Now just to figure out what product is best suited to take the original coatings place....
I would just paint. You can see it, monitor it and easily repair it without needing to go through all of that again.

Paint it body color and then overcoat it with semi gloss black, this way it will be obvious when some part of the coating starts to fail.

I would change to Tygon clear tubing so you can observe any buildup. I would also get in the habit of washing out the tray regularly.

My 87 actually had a hole in this same area which thankfully didn’t negatively affect the fuse box directly under it.
 
It appears that brake fluid hoses were indeed the likey cause, whether that's fluid, debris, or both. The rust narrows down to the path of the hoses, and stops right where they go through the cowl to the horrid kink into the cabin.

Also, there is NO access to the middle section of the cowl for scraping off this undercoating. At the very least, a trick I learned just now is that the phosphoric acid in my rust converter seems to react fairly strongly with the undercoating, breaking it down.

Hopefully painting it goes more smoothly.
 
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Getting ready to chase a constant key-off full 12v draw on the '75.

  • It's not the alternator.
  • It's not the starter.
  • It's not the radio memory/clock.
  • It's not the courtesy light.
  • It's not on any fused circuit.

Everything on the X operates properly and nothing operates in the key-off position that shouldn't. This should be a real adventure, probably involving some body contortions not normally found in nature......
 
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