Project Mutant: Wherein I am resurrecting a true basket case 1982 X1/9. The car was purchased, non-running, and in so many separate pieces that I can't count, along with 4 large containers of misc. parts. After tearing apart large sections of the beast, including the clutch, clutch cylinder, brake cylinders, replacing master cylinders for the brake and clutch, the water pump, the whole interior, removing the radiator, and the coolant tubes and the tray underneath the car that contains them, (drilling out nearly 100 spot welds), and other components and parts too numerous to mention), I got the new improved stainless steel 1.5" tubes in place, the new stainless steel heater tubes in place (both running in the under-tray), and the tray completely rebuilt, after adding approx 3/8" to the top of the tray.
Today, the tray and tubes have been reunited with the car. Body panel bonding epoxy, plus pop rivets plus self-tapping screws. Getting the tray mounted is the biggest component of the cooling system that can now proceed to be connected to the rebuilt heater core, the new aluminum 2-fan radiator, and etc. I will try to attach some horror story and success photos in this link.
Whoever owned the car before me had apparently used radiator leak seal in it, and then left it in place. I have MANY more pictures of the horror that ensued. I am now getting ready to wrap up the cooling system stage of the resurrection, and expect to have the radiator, heater core, new tubes, and ALL associate plumbing connected and back in place and functioning by next weekend. 11 months of a few hours a weekend in, and the car is still not drivable. It runs, and most of the peripheral parts and pieces are slowly getting serviced and replaced and rebuilt and improved. Once the cooling system is completed, the remainder of the list of to-do items is still as long as my arm.