General My '76 X1/9 Project

[hydrocat]

I never intended buying the X, but after seeing it standing accross the road from where I work, month after month.....just getting into worst condition, I made an offer that was quickly accepted.....now I know why!!:bang:

Well, at least it had no rust as it came from a dry hot area.....which explains the cracked up dash panel. Everything I stripped had to be reworked or replaced and I was lucky to find a workshop about 100km away that still have a lot of original new parts. I decided to keep the motor standard and started to recondition the engine and transmission.......New pistons, bearings, oil pump, valves, watepump and carb kit did it for motor and the tranny only needed seals, 3rd gear syncro and the reverse idler gear.

This is six months later and the motor was refiited and started...sounds good. Next is cleaning the radiator and replacing the under-body water pipes.

I don't seem to be able to post the pics.....will add to the next post.

 

[hydrocat]

Here are the pics of the motor repair...before and after

 

[ChrisPR]

Wow, looking great - that's shiny engine if ever I saw one !!

 

[hydrocat]

Thanx ChrisPR.......I like to keep things neat if I can. Just got good news...the Company that makes new side and front glass for the X said it will be ready on Friday. I was worried that they may not be able to copy my badly scratched door glass. Now I can fit the electric winders in the doors over the weekend.

 

[shaun]

In the middle of doing mine at the moment what did you use on the engine to get it looking so good?

 

[hydrocat]

Shaun

Just good old "elbow grease" and a steel-wire brush for all the ally bits and a fresh coat of heat resistant paint for the rest. Show us when you're done.

 

[shaun]

Dont know if mine will come up as good as yours

 

[fastrendy]

I never intended buying the X, but after seeing it standing accross the road from where I work, month after month.....just getting into worst condition, I made an offer that was quickly accepted.....now I know why!!:bang:

But it's worth it in the end to fix it up right? Not many cars out there are as fun to drive as the x.

 

[hydrocat]

Hey Shaun.......that'l keep you busy for a while. It looks as if the parts are all there and if you're not going to remove the engine and transmission for major repairs, it will be better to strip all the electric stuff off the firewall as well as the manifolds, waterpump and starter to give you space to work. Good luck!... and keep posting those progress pics.

I ran the rear Fiat badge outer rim through my homebrew anodising plant (Bucket of acid and 12v power supply) and it came up pretty OK ... I think.

Now I must just find one for the front.

 

[hydrocat]

Fastrendy...... I have not driven the car other than round the block (only to find out the motor, tranny and brakes were shot)....so I can't wait to finish the project and take a "lekka" long drive......and I'm sure It'l be a nice little car.

The project so far: Engine - completely overhalled
Tranny - New seals, 3rd gear syncro & reverse idler gear
Diff and side shafts - New boots and joints
Rear suspension - New ball joints and shocks
Brakes - New disks, pads, caliper kits and H/brake cables
Radiator- cleaned & tested

Work in progress: New 34mm under-body water pipes being bent.
New side glass and front w/screen being made.
(Hopefully ready on Friday)
Fitting central locking and electric winders in doors
Reskinning the dashboard

Still to do: Body repair and paint ( engine compartment done)
Recover seats, new carpets and rewire interior
Front suspension, new wheels, exhaust system


Only Six more months........I hope!

 

[hydrocat]

Well........I'm at it again.

After a couple of months resting (loafing) I managed to get some energy together an painted the X. So now it should not take all that long to put it together. I'm really getting very eager to drive it.

 

[jimbro1000]

it really does look fantastic - well done indeed

 

[X19.za]

Hi Hydrocat, i see you from south africa, where abouts are you?
I've been seeing more and more ppl with x1/9's in my area. But most dont have the std motor in anymore.

 

[hydrocat]

Thanks jimbro1000, It's starting to look like a car again, but judjing by the cars in your garage, I'm playing in the junior league.

Hi X1/9.sa, I'm in Worcester (Western Cape) where there are not many X's around anymore. Please PM me with your email address.

Fanie

 

[X19.za]

My email has been sent.

Cant wait to see more pics.

 

[hydrocat]

Last weekend had an extra day off (public holiday) which came in handy, as the assembling takes longer than expected. On friday I made (actually just cut and welded) the new stainless steel exhaust system. The total cost came to just over R600-00 about $85.

 

[hydrocat]

I also got hold of a boot spoiler for a Nissan Sentra that fits the lines of the boot lid. I'm not too sure if I should fit it. Maybe you guys can help. WITH OR WITHOUT SPOILER?? (picture it in red)

 

[jimbro1000]

Personally I would say no - don't do it. The spoiler is a fairly good match but it needs to be that little bit wider so the sides are level with the edge of the rear wing, not the bootlid. It just doesn't look right as it is.

 

[hydrocat]

Thanks Jimbro1000........maybe I should paint it first and then make a final decision. I don't have much experience with this sort of thing and would not like to make a mistake. Mean-time I started looking at wheel combos and sort of settled on this one.....it's about as wide and big as the X will handle. I'll have to make adaptors for fitting 100 pcd rims to the 98 pcd hubs..... and to get away from the coil springs......which is a bit of a bummer, but I'm sure it will be worth it in the end.

 

[jimbro1000]

Make sure you use hubcentric spacers (try raiding a seicento sporting for them - they may not be thick enough though).

Adapter plates to go from 100mm down to 98mm is going to be likely excessive if the wheel is properly mounted on the central spigot. If that is not possible because the wheel has the wrong sized aperture then it is your only option. It isn't an ideal thing to do but if the spigot is correct then the standard tapered seats will do a good job of tightening the wheel against the hub. The wheel cannot move radially in this situation but it goes increase the stress on the studs/bolts

Sleeved joggle nuts/bolts would do the job just as well or better still have the holes remachined slightly offset and use straight sleeved nuts/bolts.

The final alternative is to convert the hubs but this means modifying the discs which can become a big hassle as you have to do it all again when the discs need changing.

Further options generally get more expensive that is even vaguely reallistic unless you are considering spending big bucks to start with. (floating discs on bells for example)