purf said:

So your the guy who did the gulf cinq!

Click to expand...

"Guff" as gulf is copyright protected.

A friend of mine built a GT40 replica good enough for a magazine feature only then some legal representatives from Gulf Oil to moan about the unauthorised use if their trademarks. So my Cinquecento was the wrong colour blue, wrong colour orange and the stickers said "Guff". My little protest.

You'd think they'd lap up the free advertising. Its only about 50 years since they paid ford to wear their colours on GT40s. I'd say that's good value marketing...

I'd say the best X1/9 colour scheme is the dark blue Isconouve dellara, Shame you have to fit the wide body etc... In the old photos they look dark satin green and orange???

http://www.carstyling.ru/en/car/1975_fiat_x1_9_dallara/images/6952/

My old X1/9 was two tone midnight blue base with a lighter almost silver blue with a red dividing pinstripe along the upper trim line. Red leather seats and blue carpet.


As if by coincidence my old racing colours violet and yellow are almost the same as the haynes manual.

Spooky.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Lancia-Stratos-/281397328841

Hmmmm....

I wonder if they'll take a part exchange and £100 a month?

Liquid Knight said:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Lancia-Stratos-/281397328841

Hmmmm....

I wonder if they'll take a part exchange and £100 a month?

Click to expand...

Who puts a car with an asking price of nearly half a million on Ebay?

Someone who doesn't mind the 10% sellers fee.

I've been pretty pleased with my £1,250 purchase, but I am ecstatic with my £12.95 purchase. I fitted the new coil last night and this morning it was like driving a totally different car. At least 10bhp more and enough torque to accelerate from thirty to sixty behind a downshifting Audi A3 1.8 turbo without losing any ground.

I retract my previous comment that my X1/9 was almost as quick as my MX5 if anything she's a little quicker now.

Now the MX5 is on eBay I cleaned and polished the car and decided to polish the X1/9 to see just how bad the paint job is.

I've often used humor to describe bodywork on other cars. "More filler than the complete works of Marshall Mathers III" for example but my X1/9 has filler on every single panel, including some structural places that should have failed the MOT. The car is all one colour but painted a various angles so the paint has settled flat and doesn't reflect the light properly. I have no idea what the clear coat is. It is not lacquer. Feels like an epoxy resin gel coat but lays like a brushed on marine varnish.

So I have two options. Strip the car to a bare shell, get her sand blasted to discover there's nothing left or get the mechanical side of things perfect and find a donor shell.

So torque is cheap. I set off in third by mistake as I left for work this evening.

But the fuel starving over 4,000rpm isn't cured.
Could be loose jets, vaporisation in the float chamber or low fuel pressure.

I'll start with the next cheapest option.

The jets are tightened. The two on the left bank were a quarter of a turn loose. I doubt this will make any difference on the way home as the engine is still cold on the bypass. The real test will be tomorrow evening.

A little photographic catch up.



The new coil transformed the car's low end torque and must have added a good few broken horses but didn't cure the fuel starvation issue.



Starting with the cheapest first I have replaced the fuel filter and squirted carb' cleaner liberally around the butterflies and jets. The left bank squirted straight through and the right bank (front butterfly) filled up first time and popped and went trough the second so I'm guessing that jet may have been blocked.

I'm optimistic that the fueling may be solved this time as I took the old filter off I noticed...





...some green plastic in the end of the line and filter itself.

I think at some time in the cars past the car ran out of fuel and was filled up with petrol from a can with a cross threaded or old plastic can.
It's plausible that the as the rpm increased the plastic was pushed into the filter restricting the flow causing or contributing to the starvation. This would also explain why the car started and ran perfectly almost immediately. As the engine cut out the fuel line pressure reduced and the plastic stopped acting as a valve.

I'll find out on the way to work tonight.

Myth confirmed. If you go over fifty in the rain with the roof off you don't get wet.

Didn't help in the 30 and 40 zones but I may have set a new record fitting the roof in eleven seconds flat when I got to work.

I'm so glad the car behaved herself with no fuel or suck, squeeze, bang, blow issues.

well done with the low cost fix!

Iv noticed while working to fix my X1/9 its lines get better and better? Is it me - the rear quarter looks amazing with no wheel fitted!

its amazing how much exposure ebay adds get. I guess they probably don't plan on selling the Stratos through ebay...

I didn't win the lottery this weekend so I haven't bought the Stratos.
I'd buy it via eBay just to annoy the vendor and imagine my feedback profile.

Typical Monday morning commute. Some plonker in a VW Caddy who couldn't keep up with me in the sixty zone and had to overtake in a forty. I kept up on the dual carriageway 5,500rpm in fifth? I'd better get the speedometer fixed next.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FORD-RS-C...arts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item5d4eb3b1ff

That's a lot better than a recored one for £244 and no fans.

have you seen the used x1/9 Rad on ebay for £25 ?? Or is it too late?
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/161384158676?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649
Nicer to have a new ali one of course

Certainly looks as good as mine but it's a seven hour drive away.
Besides a nice dual core Aluminium radiator will give me more scope later. ;-)

£25 for the radiator.
£40-£50 for 300 miles of petrol.
£10 lunch.

£85? That half a new one.


Man maths rule.

Good morning.

You know how I've replaced my MX5 with my X1/9?

Well the X1/9 is so much better in the wet it made the MX5 feel like a shopping trolley on a supermarket isle covered in olive oil.

With MX5 money burning a hole in my eBay account I've done a bit of shopping. The correct speedometer cable (hopefully), H4 headlights and a new air filter.

Has your car had the headlight relay mod? I did it on mine and it made the headlights work A LOT better. They were like dim candles on dipped beam before...

I think if yours is anything like mine was, the halogens will need this mod too. It doesn't cost much and also saves your headlight switchgear from being toasted by the full current.

I will post a link