Has anyone ever contemplated retrofitting a 'fly by wire' accelerator on an X1/9? It would seem to me that with the difficult routing of an accelerator cable being what it is, an electronic conversion would be very suitable. First prize would be to find someone who has already done a conversion

Should be fairly straight forward with a few choice parts from the Fiat part bin.

The genIII 128 powered Punto HGT would do it.

Fly by wire is one of the things I hate about those so it'll do the world a favor.

Hi, yes fly by wire has its problems sure, but I cannot imagine anyone contemplating building a car like the X1/9 today, who would not fit a fly by wire throttle control - so much easier without all that routing and friction.

That's something I don't like about the Alfa 4C, manual steering rack, flappy paddles are just there for the Jones's but the fly by wire throttle gives next to no feedback.

My MkI Punto with a cable feels great compared to my sisters MkII. Less resistance, reduced throttle control, boggy performance and crap economy. Also with little resistance she can hardly maintain a constant speed in the car because the pedal moves too easily and she finds herself speeding without noticing.

I haven't ever noticed any problems with my Barchetta's 'fly by wire' - when I first drove it I didn't notice anything different about it, and consider it to be operating perfectly.

My 2002 Mk 2 Punto 8v had a cable?

In my opinion a cable is far more reliable than a sensor and a motor - why complicate things when we're all so busy fixing everything else on an X1/9. I would be interested in how it could be done but its also just another thing that wouldn't be part of the 'original' period design of an X.

I just fitted a new cable to my X1/9 and it took about an hour, and that was a 3m universal cable which needed adjusting to the correct length...

@ Purf, yes I like originality, but many years ago I bought my X1/9 5-speed with an Uno Turbo motor fitted, and I have to say it is a really splendid combination. Where some said the X1/9 with all its marvellous engineering was underpowered, the turbo takes it to another level. I wouldn't change it for a standard configuration now. I do however concede there will be those who thumb their noses at it.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vokera-Co...arden_Hearing_Cooling_Air&hash=item3f2587876f

I was thinking about linea actuators earlier. To pull the original linkage from the top of the cam' cover. Then all you'll need is a pedal with a sensor and a couple of brackets.





In theory.

Thanks Liquid Knight, will weigh options!

Fly by wire is a little old hat as well. How about RC solenoids to control the actuators?

Reverse engineer a controller so the throttle position sensor is connected to a transmitter and have a receiver in the engine bay connected to the linea actuator.

With a secondary remote you can do your own dynographs and work the throttle from across a car park.


On the "Original vs Originality" debate....

...I have always felt it is the owner who has the right to choose whether to keep the car original or do something unique. Okay X1/9's are rare (less than 100 left in the UK) but original restoration and well cared for examples are hitting the market ceiling at about £5,000 at the moment. If we were talking about a £50,000 car or something a lot rarer "modification" would be a swear word. I hate concourse contests and museum pieces these cars were built to be driven, enjoyed and most important loved.

That's why we put up with their foibles and bend over backwards resolving issues. I'd rather keep a classic on the road than have one kept in storage.