X1/9 Porn

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AKimball92 said:
Are you going to clear coat this to keep the signature on there for eternity?
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Oddly enough I was thinking about how to do just that.

It’s like when you open up the walls of a house and see the things left behind by the past builders.

Funny story, I was tearing off the paneling on a wall in our new house built in 1970. Paneling is generally installed using adhesive with nails periodically. The glue is applied with a caulking gun.

As I was tearing the panelling off, my wife starts laughing across the room. I’m like
What?
Don’t you see it? she says.
See what?
Step back she says, and then I see it:​

Written on the wall in adhesive it says:
Paul is a D—k!
​
Careful what you provide for posterity...
 
kmead said:
Written on the wall in adhesive it says:
Paul is a D—k!
​
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And it's true! ;-)
I just stamp the year. No signature....but I still take pride in it.

IMG_20180616_143701187_HDR.jpg
 
Rodger said:
Now, I have to go out and look at mine that I just got back and see if Steve signed it. If not, he is going to have to pay for shipping back and forth to do it, haha.
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HAHAHAHA!!!

I started signing them on the outside at some point last winter when somebody asked about it. I think I stamped yours but I know I packed one and remembered I hadn't signed it. Sorry about that whoever that was. :(

I actually stamp each unit inside the case with a date code. I started doing this years ago when I got back a unit that I had built many years earlier. The current owner didn't know its history as the car had changed hands a few times but it was obviously one of my builds once I got into it. It was back due to a catastrophic reverse failure (probably tried bump starting it in reverse) but I can always tell. I have had a few come back over the years. None of the stamped units so I know they are older builds. A couple were cores that were unknown when shipped to me. That was a nice surprise.

I take pride in my work and want every unit to exceed expectations. That's getting a lot harder with the limited parts availability. And its hard to justify the time and effort that goes into each build. I had somebody tell me there was no justification for the time I claimed for cleaning and prepping the cases, that they could do the entire build in less time. But then Karl posts this and I get the 'big head' about it and give the critic a private razzberry. ;)
 
kmead said:
Well, I have two X’s so one could have a signature and the other a stamp... :)
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The market is all Steve. This one was just a special case. I was thinking of maybe doing a service for Beta transmissions as I like them better (no Porsche-style synchos for one thing) and I have made all the special tools you need to work on them.
 
Paul Valente said:
The market is all Steve. This one was just a special case. I was thinking of maybe doing a service for Beta transmissions as I like them better (no Porsche-style synchos for one thing) and I have made all the special tools you need to work on them.
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I have done a couple of those. Don't get much call for them though. I have also done 850s, 124s and 131s. All pretty basic. The X1/9 is clearly the most challenging to get right.

What you guys don't know is the other stuff I do. A few Porsches, again, not much call because they aren't special and there are so many Porsche houses there is always a local shop that can do the work. I have done lots or racecar transmissions of various types over the years. Most are unique in some respect. Most are vintage racecars. Several Ferraris, a couple of Alfas, one Maseratti. Of the more mundane stuff its always some unique request. A custom ratio set in a specific case. Or a combination of gearsets that don't normally work together. Or adapting a final drive gear or LSD to something that didn't have another option. Or, much like the X1/9 units I get, I am fixing something that somebody else screwed up. But for most of these there is little if any documentation so I have to sort them out and that is the challenge. All I am told is; "it was working but the synchros, or maybe the bearings, were getting bad. So I had ____ rebuild it and it hasn't been right since." These are the fun one. I have no idea what was done and little documentation for reference.
 
Paul Valente said:
And it's true! ;-)
I just stamp the year. No signature....but I still take pride in it.

View attachment 12378
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Looks great! If it doesn't work when you put it in I know a guy... ;)

I use those tags regularly. SOP for racecars: If the unit is not installed, it has no oil, and the tag states whether its been serviced or needs service. When installed, the "no oil" tag goes on the steering wheel.
 
RJH said:
Larry, the solution is to swap out the entire engine and trany with a modern comparable size 1.5l engine. Problem, no one has made a kit for that yet. If you look online you can buy a 1 or 2 year old 1.5l, 130 hp Honda Fit engine for less than Steve's $1,650 trany rebuild price (no insult intended).
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Interesting, as I had sat there and thought for some time about this subject, a substitute engine and transmission (a bug put in my ear by Steve H about a hot Toyota motor in this case in another thread) to convert the car to.

I find this subject fascinating and one I hope someday to perform on a car.

Why didn’t I go down the path of an engine change rather than spend more than this purchase price on a transmission To end up with the same thing.

There are two simple answers to this:

Cost and time.

The cost of the motor and transmission is the tip of the iceberg in a conversion. Now the cost I can likely deal with as it would be the typical death from a thousand lashes and as long as my wife didn’t find out I will live out my natural years. The real problem with this is time. It would likely take me years to complete due to all the other things I have chosen or been chosen to take on in my life. The car was driven roughly 100 miles by me and then parked in my garage, then apart for the last 7 months which pleases my wife not a bit as she has a very nice Miata that she wants to save from the oak tree sap, branches falling etc etc. Having a full on project sitting there with constant engineering (the fascinating part) going on and a few years from now a presumably drivable car. Presumably. Go ask Odie how its going with his already mapped out conversion much less one that has not ever been done (nice work Odie, I need to come over and see it in person).

So cost and time. The newly rebuilt transmission is a cost along with the associated parts I will buy to install it and make sure it is done such that the end result is reliable. From a time perspective I can have the old transmission out and the new one back in within a day if I am motivated and it goes well. Which it won’t but either way its a pretty reasonable assumption that the car will be back on its feet and driven this summer.

So what do I end up with? The car as it was sold, which is a car I have always liked and enjoyed. On my X’s the engines are free and rev to redline with ease. When they cross over 5k they develop this satisfying WoooHaaammmmp as the revs rise to redline. It happens right behind my head, I can feel it and hear it and I smile a bit every time it happens. It may not be fast to the viewer from outside but man its just music every time I run through the gears and I love it.

I made the right choice for me, for now.
 
Steve Hoelscher said:
Looks great! If it doesn't work when you put it in I know a guy... ;)

I use those tags regularly. SOP for racecars: If the unit is not installed, it has no oil, and the tag states whether its been serviced or needs service. When installed, the "no oil" tag goes on the steering wheel.
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Noted
 
Steve Hoelscher said:
If we were that concerned with you're idea of "the solution" then why bother with an X1/9 at all? Just buy a nice, clean, 10 year old Miata and be done with it. That's far cheaper, faster and easier (and therefore more logical) than restoring a neglected, 35 year old, X1/9.
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A 10 year old Miata is not the same as a low displacement mid engine 2 seat car. Look, I've read all these trany posts and fact is parts for these transmission are getting harder and harder to find. It will only get worse. The trany has a reputation as a "glass trany." Back in the 1980's the reverse gear went on mine and it was repaired ($$$) by an old Fiat tech. Almost every day I see new postings on the owner's X1/9's breaking down. I wish I had $1 for every posting. I'm sure that you do real nice work. For me, I'd rather put that $1,650 into a K20 swap (even though I think the engine is too big for the car).

A while back I was looking at buying an X from a person who owned x's since the 1970's. They were selling because they moved onto a Porsche Boxster. I asked him what he thought of it compared to the X. He said "when you step on the gas it goes" and that "the car has A/C and it works." I don't think he'll ever be an X owner again. Right now, I'm considering a used Porsche Cayman in manual trans.
 
A while back I was looking at buying an X from a person who owned x's since the 1970's. They were selling because they moved onto a Porsche Boxster. I asked him what he thought of it compared to the X. He said "when you step on the gas it goes" and that "the car has A/C and it works." I don't think he'll ever be an X owner again. Right now, I'm considering a used Porsche Cayman in manual trans.
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Hopefully you can find a friendly Porsche forum to chat on, too! Don't let the door hit your bum on your way out.
 
The centerfold-worthy photos that Karl shared with us at the top of this thread really puts the itch in my head to see if Steve might refurbish my two X transmissions. In addition to his willingness to take on another pair of them I'll need to see if my car budget can be expanded to address what feels like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity (or maybe a few times in this lifetime).

Both of my X1/9s have what I think are reasonable transmissions, but my low-mileage '85 (44,574 miles) is surprisingly rougher than my high-mileage '82 (199,122 miles). For example, both cars resist going into first, even after trying the usual tricks, including the one described in the owner's manual, but the '85 is definitely more stubborn, sometimes, about letting me go into first gear. The low-mileage '85 has had more owners, so it's possible there were more interpretations of the correct way to shift a car.

The discussions on XWeb about people taking their own X transmissions out, and putting them back in, is also slowly emboldening me to try it. [Dr.McCoy-voice] "I'm a computer guru, Jim. Not a car mechanic!" [/Dr.McCoy-voice] :D If I do try it I'll let you guys know. That way if I stop posting here you'll know that one of my transmissions probably fell on top of me and put me out of commission. ;)
 
raillard said:
Hopefully you can find a friendly Porsche forum to chat on, too! Don't let the door hit your bum on your way out.
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I wont be going anywhere.

raillard said:
but my low-mileage '85 (44,574 miles) is surprisingly rougher than my high-mileage '82 (199,122 miles). For example, both cars resist going into first, even after trying the usual tricks, including the one described in the owner's manual, but the '85 is definitely more stubborn, sometimes, about letting me go into first gear. The low-mileage '85 has had more owners, so it's possible there were more interpretations of the correct way to shift a car.
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I'll be waiting to see when your tranies blow up and you can no longer find the correct parts to get it repaired. LOL!

This former Miata owner seems very happy unlike an old constantly broken down X1/9 we all read about daily on this site.

 
I wont be going anywhere.
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All kidding aside, I'm glad you're here, too. Earlier this month I didn't have time to watch the Gandini interview video, but I watched the thread to make sure I could get back to it easily. I finally had a chance to watch the interview last night, and I noticed that you had created the thread to share the video link. Thank you very much for doing so! As a youngster I admired many Gandini designs (namely the Carabo, Countach, Khamsin, X1/9, and Stratos) and only learned later that they were all from the pen of the same artist. There was definitely something about a Gandini design that resonated with my own sense of what is beautiful and stylish.

I'll be waiting to see when your tranies blow up and you can no longer find the correct parts to get it repaired. LOL!
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I'm actually impressed with how much longer we can keep these machines going in contrast to things in the computer industry. Or perhaps I should rather be unimpressed with the computer industry's pathetically short product life and support cycles.
 
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RJH said:
I wont be going anywhere.

I'll be waiting to see when your tranies blow up and you can no longer find the correct parts to get it repaired. LOL!
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Actually RJH, you are not in control of your ability to post here on Xweb. It is a privilege that can be revoked by the moderator team.

Let's say you have a group of people that gather to discuss how much they like hardwood floors. One visitor doesn't really like hardwood floors, but shows up frequently just to take a dump on the hardwoods. Eventually, this visitor will become unwelcome.

That visitor is you, Richard. Your posts have been reported to the mod team over the last few days. That happens because your recent posts on Xweb have been attempts to stir up trouble. Which makes you a frequent violator of Wheaton's Law. This is a reminder that you are already on notice from your previous temporary ban.
 
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