Twenty three hours and six minutes into ownership and I've taken the really rather grey roof off...



...painted and refitted it...



...not great but a damn sight better.

Also while I was out and about one of the Aluminium center caps flew off and disappeared.

Just as well there wasn't anyone heading the other way.

Looking forward to watching your progress on this one

First break down today.

On my way home from work I thought I'd take some fun back roads. Just over a quarter of a tank so I thought I'd be okay.

After a long sweeping right hand bend...

"Chug, chug, spit, pop, bang, chug chug"

...I'd sucked air into the fuel line and had to stop, let the car settle for a moment and nearly run the battery flat restarting the old girl.

Hmmmmmm. I weren't planning any modifications but a swirl pot may be in order.

If you like the engine in your punto then you could fit one on the x eventually. I've just fitted a 93 tempra engine in mine and I think the punto is the same engine? It's economical, starts instantly and still sounds very similar. Depends if you want to retain the originality of course.

It needs an electric fuel pump, connect the ecu wiring to the starter motor for power and your away

You've made a good logical choice of course. I've had mine for 8 months now and used it as daily transport for 6 months as the clutch wore out, so took the opportunity to fit the tempra engine.

I was spending hours maintaining my mk2 punto (heater matrix - dash out job, 8hrs our something stupid) and thought I'd rather spend it on a more interesting car. Don't get me wrong I'm a huge small Fiat fan, Iv had 4 Cinqs and a punto mk2.

Hopefully this part of the forum will get a bit more busy, it's been a little quiet recently. Most owners seem to use the X19 owners club site it seems?

Any plans to mod the x?

No plans as such but the car broke down again this morning. It feels like fuel starvation. I put it down to cornering yesterday but today it happened after the on ramp to the A47. :bang:

The respray is sloppy/amateurish at best and I'm dreading looking at all the filler patches.

One of the gearbox mounts is broken.

The car needs water topping up every fifty miles.

Maybe the mechanical fuel pump is tired? I guess it might have a worn out diaphragm? I know mine had been replaced it's an 85 with 80k miles.

I guess it's the bottom gear box mount? On mine it had separated due to the rubber perishing, maybe due to oil contamination.

I don't think there is an X1/9 out there that doesn't have warts

I guess the water could be anything? Checked the rad and heater pipes under the floor?

This weekend I'm having to reseal my down pipe for maybe the 4th time this year...

Something I learned the hard and expensive (well expensive by Panda standards) is if it feels like a fuel issue it's probably electrical.

Sure enough the rotor arm was covered in cack.

A few seconds on the polisher at work and a drive to Cambridge and back without incident. Although I was taking it easy until I get the speedometer working.

Hmmm. Two things that could be related. The fuel gauge dropped below 1/4 of a tank, I drove at over 4500rpm and the result was the fuel starvation splutter, pop, bang. :bang:

I dropped the clutch, the engine cut out and as I was coasting along I restarted the car and she was faultless the rest of the way to work.

With the engine cover open I've noticed the top nut for the upper engine mount was loose and lower one snapped off the head.

The same story for the lower engine mount. It's broken where the bolt goes through the engine.

I'll nurse the car home in the morning and see what I can do. It'd be a shame to bin a perfectly good engine but I took my Punto out earlier and that car is a universe apart from the X1/9 even though the engines are almost the same.

https://www.fiatforum.com/lets-talk-fiat/353309-shared-blocks.html

Much as I like the Tipo/Tempra idea and have a nice low mileage Punto it could be worth a little more research. Especially with the money from selling the MX5.

Get a cheap old punto sporting or stilo as a doner? I need to write up my engine swap properly... Did I mention it gets almost 40mpg

First modification today. Before...



...After...



Knackered engine mount...





...well knackered cam' cover.

More worryingly is the broken gearbox mount...



...but I can extend it to the next hole in the gearbox.

The mystery of the nonfunctional speedometer is solved...



...but not resolved due to the replacement one is about a foot too short.

I also took the time to bleed the clutch properly so now she doesn't feel like a straight cut box.

I think the broken gearbox mount your looking at is actually the exhaust silencer mount? Cant see it too clearly? The gearbox mount is right underneath the bell housing on a steel bolt on cross member.

The exhaust bracket has a second bolt just below the top one.

Look in the rear boot, remove the carpet and insulation and remove the access panel - the access to the exhaust, drive shafts and alternator is amazing - it'll blow you away!

purf said:

I think the broken gearbox mount your looking at is actually the exhaust silencer mount? Cant see it too clearly? The gearbox mount is right underneath the bell housing on a steel bolt on cross member.

The exhaust bracket has a second bolt just below the top one.

Look in the rear boot, remove the carpet and insulation and remove the access panel - the access to the exhaust, drive shafts and alternator is amazing - it'll blow you away!

Click to expand...

I know this car was so well designed. The little panel behind the spare wheel to get to the distributor and fuel pump. The pop screw panels to get to the headlights, washer bag, horn and other bits. The splitting speedometer cable so you can pop dash out with a few screws.

When you think this car was designed in 1969 and we had the MG Midget and Triumph Spitfire the X1/9 must have looked like a spaceship.

A revision of my Violet and Yellow colour scheme...



...with a Grande Punto inspired stripe.

Could happen as the red paint looks like it was applied with a nail varnish brush by Stevie Wonder.

http://www.howmanyleft.co.uk/?utf8=✓&q=Fiat+X1/9

248 left. Too rare to mess about with?

You could go with Ferrari red or Kawasaki green? But don't talk to me about paint jobs... ;-)



If you put in 'bertone x1/9' into how many left.com there are a few hundred more

purf said:

You could go with Ferrari red or Kawasaki green? But don't talk to me about paint jobs... ;-)

View attachment 141153

If you put in 'bertone x1/9' into how many left.com there are a few hundred more

Click to expand...

No results for "Fiat Bertone X1/9" or "Bertone X1/9"

Also I'm not on to talk about paint jobs.







:slayer:

According to the experts I've spoken to the fuel starvation issue could be one of two things. A knackered coil (rule one if you have a fuel issue with a Fiat it's probably electrical) or a common issue the fuel pump isn't man enough to cope with more than 4,500rpm.

The latter is more likely but the coil is the cheaper option. So a nice Lucas Gold is on it's way ready to prove me wrong. If it does it's something I won't need to worry about later.

I was looking at this...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/221198687154?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

...or this...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/290478282899?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

...for my Punto and this...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/370574192267?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649



...for my MX5 but it could suit the X1/9's combination of curves and angles.

£244 for a recored radiator???



I think I'll put in a call to Proalloy...

http://www.proalloy.co.uk/

...or my guys at Wisbech Engineering...

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Wisbech-Engineering-Ltd/233778806684220?fref=ts

...to see if I can get a better one for less.

And another thing...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/261532820179?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649

...I have a little light reading for the weekend.

So your the guy who did the gulf cinq!

Nice blue, mine is similar metallic blue with light blue metallic over. It's original vs, I would prefer one colour as I think it suits the shape better.

I reckon it's your fuel pump, I found a spare pump gasket in the boot of my car...

Nice literature purchase btw