General Poor mans Stratos...

[JJBradders]

Nope, that seat is staying. I'll keep the original one around but it's so much better at holding you in and it's actually comfy.

No idea what they do, but if they can do it and do it well, I'm not too fussed...

Well ideally it'll be on the road in a month!

I'll keep this one for the moment, I'll go for a pressed one eventually but I quite like the oblong plates

 

[purf]

The rectangular plates you have will look better on yours as the car is only one colour.

Getting a passenger seat or using the original? Whats the plan with the rest of the interior?

keep the photos coming

 

[JJBradders]

Well I like it so far, but we'll see how things go.

I'm keeping the passenger seat as original as it's pretty comfy and I think a bucket seat would be a bit weird for the passenger...

The driver's seat actually let's me fit as well, which I never really did before.

I've spent the day cleaning up the old vinyl and it's not actually come out too bad, but there's some overspray here and there ?

I think plan of action is to get the car on the rollers in a week, so it'll be mechanically sound by then.

 

[JJBradders]

Ooh here's a problem!

Handbrake only goes two clicks before tightening up... Not sure that's ideal?

Anyway to loosen it up a bit?

 

[purf]

I would guess theres an adjuster for the handbrake you can loosen but i've not had to mess with it yet. Haynes manual confirms there is an adjuster nut under a cover plate? Should be fully on at 4 clicks apparently.

I guess your taller than me? Im a touch over 6ft. I even have a larger diameter steering wheel fitted ☺

I wonder if the different seats vary as i know a few people have trouble fitting in an X...

Passengers usually get an authentic fiat experience when riding in these cars ? aka something stops working lol so you may as Well give then a bucket seat too ☺

 

[JJBradders]

Sorry about the lack of updates, not been too many developments.

Carbs are finally behaving - It was a vacuum leak...

I'm trying to get a pair of brake hoses made of for the rear callipers but I don't know any of the thread sizes - does anyone know? I need the calliper banjo bolt thread and the threads in the splitter thing.

 

[purf]

http://www.eurosport-uk.net/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1_2&products_id=10

not one of these then?

good to hear you're making progress

 

[JJBradders]

They're perfect, cheers Jeremy.

Any idea about the hard lines too?

I'll get some pics soon. Its all coming together nicely

 

[purf]

I think they are standard metric unions on the pipes.

http://www.eurosport-uk.net/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1_2&products_id=18

My x1/9 just failed its mot - badly! ?

 

[JJBradders]

Coolio, I'll get them ordered.

How come???

 

[purf]

Mot tester went to town on underbody corrosion... I will have to have a good look. Would be good to get it all recoated underneath tbh.

 

[JJBradders]

Don't think there are too many obvious changes.

Trusty 1965 MG Midget been jump starting the X for a while now, fortunately it has a decent battery so can finally start itself ?

Just painted the headlights and will embark on sorting out the slightly revised front end tomorrow

 

[JJBradders]

So the alternator has died on me.

Apparently it's a Lucas LRA270 but the Internet didn't bring up any results for that. Are there any standard replacements?

 

[purf]

I bought a refurbished one on eBay. And guess what... It was faulty! Iv also just bought a 2nd hand one for my seicento and... it was faulty too!!! When will I learn?

I had a problem with the plastic banana plug on the smaller alternator wire. Check its not broken/corroded/melted? The female part of the plug was broken on my car inside the plastic moulding.

I think the tipo / tempra alternators are the same but would need the pulleys swapping over. Possibly the stilo 1.6 (same block) but it's a long shot...

Also worth changing the voltage regulator on the back off the alternator as these are quite cheap to replace. The regulator unbolts and the part number should be on it.

 

[purf]

If you google Lucas lra270 the first hit is yoyo parts. Its a good site. Click on cross interchange parts and it lists other manufacturers part numbers. It's really good for finding cheaper parts online as the big parts dealers like euro etc fix the prices..

Keep in mind you might need to change the pulleys over. Which can be very tricky without an air / electric impact gun.

How's the front end going?

 

[JJBradders]

I have an impact gun fortunately...
That's great, managed to find a Bosch part pretty quickly. Its only 45A though, will that be enough to run all the stuff on the car?

I've been sorting brakes, now that I've got those new lines. Having trouble bleeding them but it's getting there. Also been putting in the better nick shocks on the front end. Slowly coming together!

 

[purf]

45amps should be enough. Im not site what's in my x1/9 but the seicento for comparison has a 60 amp alternator but I suspect its due to electric power steering and front spot lights etc.

It might be outdone if you fit a bank of rally spots on the front or a winch ☺

 

[purf]

Original European 1300 x1/9 had a 35 amp alternator [emoji106]

 

[JJBradders]

Okay I'll run with 45A, buycarparts looks like a good place to go for parts like this.

Finally drove the car for the first time! Only 100 yards but many issues in that time - stalling and a weird clunk once every turn of one of the rear wheels. I suspect that I didn't bolt them down properly

 

[purf]

Nice one!

Nothing major then ☺. I have made that mistake a few times. I even drove off with the wheel brace still in place once!