Yet Another New Owner!

[Michael Oxman]

My name is Mike. After a lifetime of wanting I finally took the plunge and am the proud owner of a 1986 Bertone. I took delivery yesterday. It seems to have sat in a barn somewhere since 1995, was donated to charity and was purchased at auction by a shop owner near me who couldn't bear to see it go to the crusher. He got the engine "almost" idling so I know there's life in her. There is a lot to do on this, and today I started just moving handles and switches to see what worked. Brake pedal is frozen, seat is frozen -- good times.

My first question of what will likely be many - the clutch pedal is depressed and does not return, but I can pull it up with my hand. When pressed it will go down with absolutely no resistance and stay down until I pull it up. Here's the thing - I can get the car to start -- does this mean that the clutch itself is frozen in "disengaged" position? If not I don't know how it could start. First i thought I'd change out the master and slave, but now I'm wondering if the clutch itself is frozen. Looking forward to many hours on the forum!! -Mike

 

[JimD]

Welcome to Xweb Mike!

Maybe the trans is in neutral? Seems that is the easiest explanation.

 

[EricH]

Here's the thing - I can get the car to start -- does this mean that the clutch itself is frozen in "disengaged" position?

Are you sure the transmission is not in in neutral? Don’t go by the position of the shift lever, look at the linkage at the transmission end.

 

[Michael Oxman]

The transmission is definitely in neutral. It's just that in manual cars I've owned the starter wouldn't engage unless the clutch was depressed. Since it starts with no clutch pedal I was wondering if something was stuck in the depressed position.

 

[ng_randolph]

The transmission is definitely in neutral. It's just that in manual cars I've owned the starter wouldn't engage unless the clutch was depressed. Since it starts with no clutch pedal I was wondering if something was stuck in the depressed position.

As you have experienced, many cars have a switch on the clutch pedal to prevent the starter from cranking unless the clutch is fully depressed. The X1/9 does not, so what you are seeing is normal.

As for the pedal not returning, that would be the clutch hydraulics. Look around the clutch master and slave cylinders and see if you see signs of a leak. The slave is infinitely easier to replace, so unless you know the master is at fault, start with the slave. But be prepared to replace both, and know that the master is quite cumbersome to work on.

 

[Andy]

Hi Mike!

Welcome to XWeb! 86 is a great year for an X! I'll echo the above comments, no clutch safety switch, clutch master is a pain to replace. In my book probably the most miserable job on the car. If you haven't found it yet,it's mounted on the pedal box so under the dash.

Be prepared to do the timing belt, and replace the flexible fuel lines. The engine is non-interference, so a broken timing belt isn't catastrophic.
Also the clutch disc could be rusted to the fly wheel, typically can be broken loose, but not always getting the clutch sorted is high on the priority list.

We want pictures too!

Please don't hesitate to ask for help here, you will get advice from multiple folks...

 

[Waterbury]

+1 to wanting pictures! Welcome to X ownership. Definitely get those clutch hydraulics sorted out and as Andy stated the fuel lines. Being a barn car the fuel lines are most likely shot and would hate to have you get an idle only to be followed by flames.

 

[Michael Oxman]

OK- here are a few pics. I'm working on locating a replacement tandem brake fluid reservoir, but it looks like I may need to got with the two-single work around someone else here did.

 

[Dan Sarandrea (Phila)]

My 2¢ worth of advice, admittedly given without knowing what your skill and experience level is mechanically or rust repair/body/paint....if your intent is to keep the car, I would concentrate on rust repair/body/paint first, especially if your skills are not accomplished in that area.

Why? Because from what I can see of the car in the pix, it has "lower outer" rust, which is almost NEVER just lower, outer so-called "surface" rust. I think it's only fair to you and the car that the extent of the rust issue be known ASAP and to the greatest level of detail possible---that way you know how much $$$ will be needed to fix and can then decide if that's in the budget or not. This plan is based on the accepted conventional wisdom for our cars----mechanicals are relatively simple and cheap and can be done piecemeal by a home mechanic, but rust repair is complicated and expensive and cannot be done piecemeal (due to the whack-a-mole nature of rust on older cars) and is difficult for the average home mechanic.

With apologies to those who have had cancer or had loved ones with cancer, the classic cancer <=> rust analogy is valid. If you had cancer, you wouldn't join a gym, start a college education, or take up a new hobby.....you'd go whole-hog on getting that cancer cured. Same with the car---spending time and resources on the best mechanicals and nicest interior are kinda silly when the car is rotting around you as you drive.

Welcome and best wishes!

PS--I will send you a private message with the name of an XWeb member who is also in North Jersey, maybe you guys can get together. Message him thru the forum.

 

[Michael Oxman]

Let's Go!!! Lots left to do, but today my little Kars for Kids rescue moved under her own power!! Just about a year since she came to me. Thanks for all the help to get this far. This is such a great and supportive forum. Oh, that crunch at the end is me running over the wheel chock I forgot to move. I'll pretend its a bottle of champagne christening the car!

 

[JimD]

Congrats Michael!

 

[7982X]

Time to celebrate...…...now let's see if you can resist lots of drives....."just to check things out", not because it's fun.

 

[Tom Ginefra]

Congrats Michael!!!
Well done.
Now ring me up and let me know when we can begin terrorizing the neighbors, "together".
If you think you get smiles and strange looks from people when they see an X go by... imagine what it's like when they see two!

 

[bjwhite]

As you have experienced, many cars have a switch on the clutch pedal to prevent the starter from cranking unless the clutch is fully depressed. The X1/9 does not, so what you are seeing is normal.

Many NEW cars (ALL cars sold in the US that is). This "feature" started with FMVSS rules starting in the late 90s or early 2000s. It also "affects" automatics as well, which require you to push the brake to put the car into gear....the brake signal "unlocks" the shifter mechanism. These are all safety features that came in over time of which the X1/9 predates them all.

My 1990 Range Rover (the first automatic I ever owned back in 2008-2011) you could shift into gear without your foot on the pedal. Came in handy a few times. I want to say the first manual I had that required you to press the clutch to start was my 2000 Audi A4 Avant 1.8T. But it could have been a couple years earlier. My 1992 Volkswagen Corrado VR6 you did NOT need to press the clutch...so it happened somewhere in that window.


And great job Michael! I love the solid red. (like that better than the two tone variants). Ditch those trons and do an early backdate bumper conversion and you have a super solid start to the project it seems! Well done rescuing that car.

 

[DanielForest]

It was a long drive!