X1/9 On Upcoming Season Of Wheeler Dealers

Dan Sarandrea (Phila)

Waitin' On Parts...
On his facebook page on 2/18/20, Mike Brewer posted picture below with the caption, "We have many amazing cars coming up for this seasons #wheelerdealers Some of you will be clever enough to work out from these pictures what those cars are. Everyone is for sale and available from our Californian workshop. If you want to shake my hand and do a deal then please email wheelerdealers@wilmatvinc.com .. good luck"

Note the verde car in the upper left hand corner....

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So it is likely a 1975 given the color, perhaps 76. Do we know whose car it was before they got their mits on it?
 
Do we know whose car it was before they got their mits on it?
You'd think someone on this forum has a good chance of knowing. After all, there aren't THAT many X's out there. ;)

It seems they tend to buy very nice, solid examples to start with for most of their project cars...at least in recent seasons. In the old days with Edd they restored some really bad hulks that were purchased cheap. Now they seem to be spending more up front and only do a few repairs and clean-up rather than full restorations. So for a X1/9 that could indicate it was a SoCal car? But not necessarily, it might have been previously restored. Many of you guys have built excellent examples all over the country.

It will interesting to see what the episode says about the X1/9. They often speak very kindly about their choice of project vehicles. That may help boost public awareness a little? Gosh, some day my cars may be worth what I've spent on them. :D
 
The pic below was posted yesterday, so the Wheeler-Dealers crew may be in the process of recording the X1/9 episode.

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Some things I noticed:

1. Gaffer's tape (aka duct tape) holding up the sun visor.
2. Mike's taking a selfie with an iPhone which mirrors the picture---this is NOT a right hand drive car.
3. Non-OEM seating materials.
4. Non-OEM door and targa bar seals.
 
Non electric window so you won't see Ant make electric windows go up and down faster.
Do we get to see Mike strut into the MWB parts department and start buying parts?
Will Ant do a Honda motor swap?
Will I get a phone call asking if I want to sell my FAZA snorkel?
Will they do the same "patina" rubbish they did with the spider?
 
Non-OEM seating materials.
Kinda looks like a universal slip-on seat cover?
Along with the items Dan noted, I'd suspect things like the paint are also not original - looks too good. Therefore this may not be the original color. Given all of that I'm sure it has been restored previously. So most likely this will be a simple clean-up and service rather than a big project. They seem to favor stock original builds over customs for the most part - often stating there is more resale value that way. But somehow I doubt this will end up a truly original example (even if they portray it to be)? Still it's nice to see any show feature a X.
 
At first I thought "RHD tho, so the earliest year of that model?", then I looked at the hat and saw it was flipped. Here it is in proper form.
wd.jpg
 
Here's a link if anyone's interested:

It's a big file, almost 4GB.

If you don't want to download it, you can take MotorTrend up on their 7-day free trial offer by selecting the "$4.99 a month / free trial" box, then enter an email adress and a payment method, Once your trial account is activated you have the same level of access to their library that full-customers have. If you just signed up to see this particular episode, DON"T FORGET TO CANCEL YOUR TRIAL, or else you'll get auto-billed every month!!!
 
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Enjoyed the video.
Only discretion IMHO was the restoration price rundown. They didn't include the cost of repairing the windshield surround and the paint they obviously applied to the surround, the front air scoop or other areas that looked freshly painted. I also think 23 man-hours to do all that work as displayed was a bit of a stretch. But good video none the less. Well done. Wish I owned that car.
 
I read a comment on the Wheeler Dealer FB page, that they NEVER include the cost of the ’safety’ measures which get replaced, namely anything to do with brakes (discs, pads, shoes, calipers, bleeding, master cylinders, hoses, etc.), new tires, shocks & struts on any car which needs them. You can see in one shot when they‘re inspecting underside rust, a lot of new material is close to the wheels.
 
Fun to watch Ant work on a car that I have worked on many times. What is the windshield surround he put on, doesn't look stock.
 
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