X1/9 style/design custom modifications

[Kurt]

I also second the removeable hard too the best of both worlds. Doesn’t feel like a tent when you have the roof on like most convertibles.

Somehow we managed to get a clear tinted hardtop, not sure if it was aftermarket or not. I think it had a big crack in it so we never used it.

I’ll have to get some pictures of my fathers custom bodywork. It will be flared out with large side scoops for inter coolers.

I believe they are fiberglass. I’ll try and get some pictures from him.

 

[Dr.Jeff]

In my opinion the kit fits so well with the car

Very cool looking flares. I've never seen them before. Thanks for posting.

 

[Hasbro]

Which flares are those? MWB used to offer a set that I really liked (might be the same as your pic). Here is a sample car with them:
View attachment 18968

Not sure, does MWB's have notches to fit into the body indentations or is a filler used? Mine are smooth.

 

[myredracer]

Back in the 70s I installed a set of flares from Art Bayless on my 128 sedan. They were waay too large for the 5-1/2" wheels I had and street use. Probably were designed for more like 8" wide rims and the large gap between fender edge and wheel just didn't look right. Took a lot of trimming of sheet metal, a lot of pop rivets and a lot of fiberglass & bondo to blend them into the body and then of course, repainting the car. That was back in my boy racer days when I didn't know better (sigh)...

I built a '74 X1/9 dedicated race car, also back in the 70s. It had 6" rims, race tires and was lowered. I simply rolled the fender lips. The wide wheels and sticky tires didn't really help much and it needed a lot more HP to accommodate the wide sticky tires (had dual DCNF and a few other engine mods).

The first thing I would say about any flares is to match them with your tire/rim size and how much a car is lowered. When it's all done well, a car looks great but get it wrong and it can look awful. Personally I don't like the add-on type that are screwed or pop-riveted on but I do understand they are a lot less work and also may be the right thing for racing. Also not a fan of the type that are made from a piece of flat sheet metal (see photo) because that's what they look like on the car - as if someone didn't spend the time to do it right. The flares and wheels & tires in the 2nd pic are sick (as in wanting to upchuck). I like flares that blend nicely into the original factory body lines and don't look like they were slapped on.

Back in the 70s, some Datsun 240Z owners added fender flares that were kinda subtle looking and had nice curves and were just wide enough to do the job and looked as if the factory had done them. I always thought they looked great. Can't seem to find a photo of them.

Sometimes when widening the fenders to accommodate wide wheels and you're lowering the tire, the inner rear wheel wells need to be modified to provide clearance. That adds a LOT of extra work and it's not an easy job.

I widened the front and rear fenders on my 600 project to match what Abarth did back in the 60s. I made the rear flares by moving the lip outwards and filling the space with some of the inner wheel well sheet metal. The front fender opening was raised about 1-1/2". I installed new fenders and used part of the fender lips off another set of new fenders and blended them together . The fender lips were done with a rolled wire edge. One heck of a lot of work is all I can say...

Lots and lots of fender flare styles out there and ways to do them as well as many different body shapes and features that affect how flares are done.

 

[carl]

I am doing it sort of ass-backwards by getting a body with the flares already installed and now trying to figure out what wheels/tires will look right.

 

[Dr.Jeff]

a LOT of extra work and it's not an easy job

Definitely a lot of work to make custom flares/widened fenders. I like how you did the ones on your 600, excellent job. I've seen a similar method to make 'boxed' fenders; basically cut out a large rectangle portion of the fender, move it outward, fill the voids and add some shape to it.

I've made a few sets of flares over the years, some came out better than others. For the most part I also prefer the use of 1/4" solid rod to make a 'framework' and then cover it with sheet metal. I've never worked with fiberglass but I can see how that would be easier to get compound shapes. But I'm more comfortable with metal. That being said, for my 'outlaw' (crappy) X I decided to take a short cut. The fenders have quite a lot of rust around the lips. But the car just isn't worth trying to repair all the rot or to put any money/serious effort into it. So I will cut away the rusty fender lips and cover them with a set of universal 'add-on' flares. They are popular with the JDM guys; a molded ABS generic shape that can be adapted to fit. Found a set of four for $30, can't beat that. Definitely not my preferred choice but good enough for this POS car. It's the same car I mentioned earlier, where I cut away the rotted rear lower panels and will cover it with a diffuser of sorts. The whole project is kind of a cheap 'boy racer' junker. That's why I call it a 'outlaw' (rat) car. It's that or the scrap yard. My other X has a very nice body and is getting proper attention.

 

[Dr.Jeff]

I am doing it sort of ass-backwards by getting a body with the flares already installed and now trying to figure out what wheels/tires will look right.

Actually I think it might be easier that way. Finding wheels/tires to fit the existing flares is much less difficult than fitting the flares to the car/wheels.

 

[Dr.Jeff]

I found a couple more pics I had saved for fender styles. These are good examples of how a widebody or boxed fender can incorporate the side air scoop. We discussed the X's side scoops extensively in one the other threads (see link at the top of this thread), but I'll just show these images as it relates to flares.

I'm not sure if this is a widebody or the stock body (not too familiar with Renaults). But I like how the side panel gets wider as it progresses to the rear fender, incorporating the side scoop with it.

And another nice example of wide flares in general.

 

[lookforjoe]

Great topic Dr. Jeff. I think flares look great on an X. I wanted to add these pics to the discussion, since I think they really look good. I'd love to find who makes/made the kit...

The image came from the Italian X club, but I can't find it any more. In my opinion the kit fits so well with the car, the angles, the shapes, the radius on the corners, and I really like the fill in panel below the air intake. I posted it here once before, but the discussion focused on the giant indicator...

Those were my favorites when I was looking around prior to settling on Dallara body

 

[Dr.Jeff]

Awhile back "JRT" posted this video of a hill climb X1/9 with Alfa V6 engine: https://xwebforums.com/forum/index.php?threads/video-of-fiat-x1-9-at-ascoli-2017.36035/

Impressive car. Looking at the vid I noticed the Dallara bodywork has been modified. Googling it for more images I realize it has gone through several modifications over time. Some of the mods are examples of things we have discussed in this current thread, applied to a X1/9. Here are some of them...

Notice the front fenders have "trailer fender" extensions added to the tops of the Dallara fenders.

Another view of them, and you can also see how the rear portion of the front fenders has been scalloped away.

A rear view of those scallops. Plus a look at a very large rear diffuser.

Better view of that massive diffuser. As well as a grill added into the rear panel.

Couple more pics of the car, just because.

 

[carl]

Those pics do have me thinking of painting my Fat X a light blue.

 

[Dr.Jeff]

painting my Fat X a light blue

I think it would depend on the choice of blue. That one looks great. But mine with the factory light blue metallic makes it look even more like a "chick car" (or as our UK members would say, "hairdresser's car").

 

[carl]

I can always use my fallback, Rustoleum Sunrise Red with some hotrod black accents.

 

[fastx19]

Here is my old race car just after painting. We had Dallara flares as well, however the rear was a real pita. The center of the wheel arch was not in line with the stock location of the rear tires. Had to move it about an inch or more forward so it fit in the wheel well. Regardless, there is tons of time spent on fiberglass work to make it look right.

 

[Kurt]

Just talked with my father about his design.

I guess he chopped almost 3 inches off the bottom of the body for his x. Adding the tubular cage and honeycomb floor added about and inch back so overall height of the car is reduced by about 2” for lower cg.

The width of the car is roughly the same as a 2005 Chevy cobalt since the rear halfshafta are used and the entire front steering rack.

However offset in the rear is greater so it will be a little wider yet.

His plan for the fenders will be similar to dalara although he will make the top part of the fender wider so it’s not just a super flared fender, he says it will be extremely wide and low.

As for styling he plans to have the back of the front fender open similar to that of the Ferrari F40 to allow airflow. Since the doors will be in their stock location and the fenders both front and rear will be sticking out. This will allow for large scoops for inter coolers on the rear and an inset door from the side skirts

Here are the fender openings on the Ferrari behind the front wheels
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferrari_F40#/media/File:Ferrari_F40_(7330342010).jpg

 

[Dr.Jeff]

The center of the wheel arch was not in line with the stock location of the rear tires.

I think it was Rachael that discussed this on one of her builds. Apparently the actual Dallara car has a modified wheelbase and bodywork to match. If I'm not mistaken some of the aftermarket Dallara style kits have modified the rear fenders to correct that for use on a stock X shell.

I noticed in your picture you added a air scoop to the roof. I assume that is for interior ventilation/cooling?

But a similar scoop located on the roof might be made to duct air toward the engine bay. Maybe a larger one like this.

 

[Dr.Jeff]

he chopped almost 3 inches off the bottom of the body for his x

I love it, a body-dropped X1/9.

he will make the top part of the fender wider so it’s not just a super flared fender

There is another X that has widened fenders something like that.

 

[Hasbro]

Not sure this will be of interest to anyone but regarding the 3" drop - I noticed that the 1974 Stratos roof height is over 3" lower than the X roof height. If anyone could tell me where specifically the difference is in the driver position I'd appreciate it. Couldn't find the ground clearance height. I gather most of it is in the seat height, rails, and floor? The seat angle looks similar to the X but not sure. Is the body position or cockpit more foreword than the X?

This is a good video of a walk around of a Stratos and also an inboard camera shows the tightness of the cockpit.

 

[Janis]

Not sure this will be of interest to anyone but regarding the 3" drop - I noticed that the 1974 Stratos roof height is over 3" lower than the X roof height. If anyone could tell me where specifically the difference is in the driver position I'd appreciate it. Couldn't find the ground clearance height. I gather most of it is in the seat height, rails, and floor? The seat angle looks similar to the X but not sure. Is the body position or cockpit more foreword than the X?

This is a good video of a walk around of a Stratos and also an inboard camera shows the tightness of the cockpit.

As I have read Ground clearance is bigger on Stratos,so position of seat should be more in “laying position”, or much lower bottom part

 

[fastx19]

I noticed in your picture you added a air scoop to the roof. I assume that is for interior ventilation/cooling?

Hi Jeff, yes indeed it was for cooling. With a rotary sitting behind you, things get hot. In fact my roof was actually based off the other picture you also posted. I thought about using it for air to the engine but instead opted for keeping the driver cool. I used the front scoop out of a Subaru wrx for the opening and the rest was create with foam, then a bit of fiberglass and presto. Funny, I thought the scoop from the Subaru was huge, but nothing like the Hydroplane scoop on the blue car!