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FIAT X1/9 Project Pictureless update 14/7/13

<Type desired username here> Part of things Posts: 938	FIAT X1/9 Project Pictureless update 14/7/13 <Type desired username here> @dtuning
	Mar 24, 2013 20:00:16 GMT Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Back to Top
	Still plodding away, LOL! Carrying on from last time, I treated the rust behind the radiator and blasted it with paint... The 'frunk' was looking a bit battle worn... ...so it got a splash too... Back to the headlights. I replaced the wiring and diodes on the motors... The paint was very thick but flaky. Rather than use the 'scratch it off with a screwdriver method' I took them to work and attacked them with a DA sander... Then everything was painted... I decided to replace the manky old sealed beam units with state of the art HID units and clear lenses (ebay, same as Mazda MX5!). I forgot to take pics and I'm still trying to sort out the wiring... But I've managed to stick the headlamps units together, what do you think? The guy I bought the lamps off threw in a few LED sidelight bulbs, I wont be needing them as I have something lined up for that so I stuck one in the fibre optic dash thingy. As I mentioned before, my car has fibre optics in the dash (years before BMW and Merc started using them!) to light up all the switches. They run off a puny 501 bulb so the LED bulb should make a big difference... Another worthwhile ebay purchase was some door seals. The seals run round one door frame, along the roof at the back then round the other frame. There is a guy on ebay selling them for £30 a side or you can do what I done and buy 7 metres of universal stuff for less than half that... Fitted perfectly. The edges of the roof have their own seals along the sides which are a bit thicker but an E46 BMW at work donated a door seal that was just right for them! LOL!
	PROJECT FIAT X1/9

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<Type desired username here> Part of things Posts: 938	FIAT X1/9 Project Pictureless update 14/7/13 <Type desired username here> @dtuning
	Apr 21, 2013 20:22:05 GMT Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Back to Top
	Still here! ;D Despite the weather, lack of cash, lack of motivation, lack of time, lack of garage I'm still dodging away with the FIAT. Heres what I've been up to lately... Had a bit to do around the front end. A few small rust holes and building the lights back up. Rather irritatingly there is a small hole in the wing. Its my intention to replace the front wings with fibreglass ones when its back on the road. My budget wont stretch to them at present so I'm going to have to fill it in. There were a few small holes under the nearside uncovered when I unbolted the front spoiler (and tore the captive nut out! ) When I refit the spoiler it will be covered up but I know I will think about it every time I look at the front, LOL! So I welded it up... I'll tidy it up when I'm fitting the spoiler. The drivers side looked a lot better... SPOILER ALERT... ;D I cant fit it until I finish sorting out the wiring because I'll need to reconnect the cooling fan and sensor. Next I removed the bumper mountings... Big heavy duty Turin proof ones which left me with a hole... The plan is to fit some sort of back plastic over rider (like on a MK3 Capri) to cover this up. They don't stick out too far but the MOT tester wont be impressed if he hits it with his corrosion assessment tool only to discover a yoghurt pot, LOL! Radiator bracket received a badly needed coat of paint, here it is with its 3mm thick coat of rustbeater... The popular thing to do is replace the radiator with an early VW Scirocco one because they are cheaper, lighter and easier to find. I'll be upgrading the cooling system when its back on the road. Can't wait for that job! While the welder was out I filled that annoying hole on the bulkhead... Probably should have turned the wire speed down a bit, that weld is likely to give me a steering pull, LOL! I came up with a brainwave, I have to connect my HID headlights up. This will allow me to do away with loads of manky FIAT wiring. I need to sort out the rest of the wiring (Headlamp lift, cooling fan + add wiring for 2nd fan, horn etc.) so I thought I'd pull all the wiring thru the bulkhead. That way I can trace each thing back to the fuse box or corresponding relay, Easy! Er, not really! Faced with yet more wiring repairs I decided to stick the carb back on. As you may have seen earlier in this thread I rebuilt the carb and changed the jets. I changed them to the sizes recommended on www.xwebforums.org. Anyway, the plate the carb sits on had resigned. It was made of thick plastic and had suffered a previous repair. It crumbled like a digestive on removal. These plates sell on ebay from time to time but they are expensive. Not because loads of people bid on them, because the few people who regularly post X1/9 parts on ebay are robbing gits! So I made my own... Using the old one as a template I made this one out of nice thick 5mm aluminium... Looks pretty trick when fitted, better than the last one anyway! At this point the camera decided to die. Which is a shame because I had it running! It is a bit rough because my timing and carb will need adjustment but it started and revved up on its own. It ran on 4 cylinders, didnt blow out too much smoke and all the gauges seemed to read reasonably accurately. Then it stopped! When I tried to start it the LED on my ignition module wasnt flashing. The LED indicates the signal from the cutter disc in the dizzy. Had a quick look, the wheel and optical sensor seemed ok so I think the sensor needs to be a bit closer to the disc to pick up the signal. Still, it was good to hear it running! For almost a year I've been plodding away on a big dead hunk of junk but today it burst into life and I ended the day tidying up with a smile on my face.
	PROJECT FIAT X1/9

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duncanmartin Club Retro Rides Member Out of retro ownership Posts: 1,320 Club RR Member Number: 70	FIAT X1/9 Project Pictureless update 14/7/13 duncanmartin @duncanmartin Club Retro Rides Member 70
	Apr 22, 2013 21:08:27 GMT Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Back to Top
	Cool car, awesome thread. I loved my X1/9. The radio randomly killed the battery (stone dead, 0V for a while), it winked, the heater never worked (I had to dress up like Biggles to drive it when cold out!), the fan belt snapped, the exhaust gasket went, and at its first mot, it turned out the floor was riveted in! And I only owned it September to March! But it was a blast to drive, not fast, but no need to slow down for corners ! It was great sliding it around in the snow!
	Current fleet: Renault Zoe R90 Recumbent trike project, semi abandoned

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michaelx19 Kinda New Posts: 2	FIAT X1/9 Project Pictureless update 14/7/13 michaelx19 @michaelx19
	Apr 22, 2013 22:33:35 GMT Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Back to Top
	You have been a busy boy, I have sold the blue car by mistake working on a red one fitting an UNO turbo. Got a lot of bits ie a radiator in the garage if you need let me know Michael


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<Type desired username here> Part of things Posts: 938	FIAT X1/9 Project Pictureless update 14/7/13 <Type desired username here> @dtuning
	Apr 24, 2013 23:03:14 GMT Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Back to Top
	Hey Michael! The nice blue one or the 'project' blue one? I'm sure this forum would appreciate pics of the nice blue one. I'll need to get in touch soon as I'm busy finding jobs to do to avoid rewiring the front end, LOL!
	PROJECT FIAT X1/9

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<Type desired username here> Part of things Posts: 938	FIAT X1/9 Project Pictureless update 14/7/13 <Type desired username here> @dtuning
	May 26, 2013 19:49:20 GMT Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Back to Top
	Not really a full update but an important one because... I got a windscreen! And thanks to Stuart at Clearview windscreens it cost less than half of the £480 auto windscreens quoted! They offer competitive prices for all hard to find windscreens and have a scotland wide fitting service. I also got round to fitting the headlights... Just need to make them work now. After a year of 'negotiating' the FIAT might be moving to the mother in laws garage which will allow me to work on the car in all weathers. Its great staying on the scenic coast but the constant Irish sea blast is not ideal. More of that in the next installment. Hopefully by then I'll have sorted the stupid ignition system out and wired up the headlamps.
	PROJECT FIAT X1/9

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<Type desired username here> Part of things Posts: 938	FIAT X1/9 Project Pictureless update 14/7/13 <Type desired username here> @dtuning
	Jun 9, 2013 18:12:11 GMT Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Back to Top
	Hi folks! Just a quick update (to stop people PMing me to ask if they can buy bits!) Not really done much, dodgy ignition was a bit demotivating and it looks like I'm going to have to chuck the Crane cams setup out. Going to go down the lumenition route. Just about every X1/9 I have seen on the road has that setup, probably should have gone for it in the 1st place! LOL! I've also been working on getting the car into the mother in laws garage. Painting the fence in her garden seemed to win her over. Having the car in the garage will help loads as I wont be at the mercy of the weather as much and when the Mrs. and I pop round I'll be more likely to go out and work on it rather than listen to those two moaning all day! I have been working on the wiring. Its not that straight forward, bodged repairs, overcomplicated Italian electrics and the inability to find the correct wiring diagram slowed me down but I reckon I'm getting there. The wiring diagram in the 'later cars' supplement in my Haynes manual matches the engine and instrument cluster, the front end wiring colours match the earlier wiring diagrams but the way they are connected is different and for some reason my fuel sender and interior light are wired up the way later U.S. spec cars are. I disconnected everything and pulled it thru the bulkhead. It makes tracing wires a bit easier. When I get it into the garage I can get all the brakes and suspension sorted. I have a few parts already and because a lot of the parts in this area have been used in millions of Fiat 128, Pandas, Unos and even Puntos the prices are pretty low. I want to go over the bodywork again. Having seen the work some people are putting into their rides I feel guilty! The repairs I have done were to get it thru and MOT so I could fix it properly while using it. There are a few areas I want to cut out and repair properly. I'd like to give it a better paintjob too. Last time it was given a quick rub down and blast with rattle cans to make it all the same colour! I don't mind the satan black finish but it would be nice not to have to touch it up every few months. So thats it! Its not for sale, parts of it are not for sale, I fully intend finishing it (if it s*dding well kills me!)
	Last Edit: Jun 9, 2013 18:13:47 GMT by <Type desired username here> PROJECT FIAT X1/9

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<Type desired username here> Part of things Posts: 938	FIAT X1/9 Project Pictureless update 14/7/13 <Type desired username here> @dtuning
	Jul 14, 2013 19:42:12 GMT Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Back to Top
	Another update without any pictures Sorry! Camera problems and not much happening. Funds have been diverted to holidays and moving house (its def happening later in the year, lock up here we come!) Been plodding away with the wiring. Have a seperate fuse/relay box and I've been running the wiring thru that for the HID headlamps. Should be up and running soon with pictures and everything! Have been replacing corroded connectors in other parts of the wiring and cutting out un-necessary wiring. Now I know roughly what parts of wiring looms FIAT threw into my car I've been able to reroute loads. Less connectors + shorter wires = more reliable and easy to fix! Wired it for an extra cooling fan and got the wipers working better too. A couple of blades, some paint, strip/clean/regrease the wiper motor and we are away. Typical FIAT project, spend a bit of time fixing the wipers and Scotland has a heatwave! LOL! The longer term plan (when I have another house with a garage!) rather than patch the holes in the front wings and mess about tidying up the rough areas I will be replacing the front wings and front spoiler with fibreglass items. Not going for the big bodykit look as I like the basic bumperless shape of the car but fibreglass is lighter and doesnt rust! I want to replace the drivers floor panel too. I welded it up for the MOT with my old welder. Its passable but a bit rough. There are other parts that are a bit suspect on that panel so I'm gonna tear it out and weld a nice neat new section in. They are readily available and about £50. That will take up enough time to give me a chance to save up for the suspension and brake bits I don't have (the pile of bits I DO have is steadily growing!) Anyway, next update soon, WITH PICTURES!
	PROJECT FIAT X1/9

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camerashy Posted a lot Posts: 1,153	FIAT X1/9 Project Pictureless update 14/7/13 camerashy @camerashy
	Dec 10, 2013 1:36:32 GMT Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Back to Top
	Would love to see an update on this


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goldnrust West Midlands Minimalist Posts: 1,887	FIAT X1/9 Project Pictureless update 14/7/13 goldnrust @goldnrust
	Dec 10, 2013 10:10:47 GMT Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Back to Top
	Me too! Been following this build for a long time, and would love to see it finished and out being enjoyed
	1968 Daimler V8-250 Restoration 1965 Fiat 500F Restoration 1972 Suzuki T500 Cafe Racer / Custom Build

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keith777 Part of things Posts: 86	FIAT X1/9 Project Pictureless update 14/7/13 keith777 @keith777
	Dec 10, 2013 22:16:39 GMT Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Back to Top
	Think he's got it up for sale Cheers Keith.


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hilltown Kinda New Posts: 1	FIAT X1/9 Project Pictureless update 14/7/13 hilltown @hilltown
	May 6, 2017 20:34:42 GMT Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Back to Top
	Hi rr69h, followed your work on Fiat X1/9 and was interested in the aluminium plate you made that seperates the carb from the manifold. I was wondering if you had a template / drawing for this ?


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yoeddynz Posted a lot Posts: 3,332	FIAT X1/9 Project Pictureless update 14/7/13 yoeddynz @yoeddynz
	May 15, 2017 18:54:20 GMT Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Back to Top
	Bug-ger. I just read this whole thread and was really enjoying it.. but no recent update and has been possibly sold? Sad face.
	Last Edit: May 15, 2017 18:55:50 GMT by yoeddynz linktr.ee/yellowhammerworkshop

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jo0lz Part of things FucT FiAT Posts: 321	FIAT X1/9 Project Pictureless update 14/7/13 jo0lz @jo0lz
	Oct 4, 2022 11:30:15 GMT Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Back to Top
	GReaT THreaD . . . SHaMe it never got completed ah well . . .
	FIAT X1/9 '81 [sleepin] retrorides.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=readersrides&thread=85432&page=1#1115757 Suzuki SJ '86 [sleepin] retrorides.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=readersrides&thread=73616 FUCT Fiat Uno '93 [ SCRaPPeD!] retrorides.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=readersrides&action=display&thread=72909

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