RE: SOTW: Fiat X1/9
Discussion
Owned two in My time and loved them both. Even at 6'2" I fitted in with no problem (apart from I found the throttle pedal a bit too upright - on long journeys it would eventually make My ankle ache).
First one was fitted with a Dallara wide bodykit, which looked fantastic (better than the Eurosport IMHO), and handled like a go-cart in the dry (got a bit frisky in the wet mind you with 225/50/13's on the rear end!), had an Ansa dual pipe exhaust that sounded fantastic and racing bucket seats that were nice and snug. The previous owner had done some engine mods also so it was quite responsive to the throttle (still felt like it needed more power though!).
Second one was a standard X1/9 with no mods.
In both cars, travelling at 50mph felt like you were doing 80mph and they were so flick-able in the corners.
Having said that, on the second car, the brakes worked like this: You press the pedal and the car slowed very slightly, so you press the pedal slightly harder and the car barely slowed any-more, so you pressed the pedal even harder and then all four wheels locked up solid putting you into a four wheel slide. At this point you released the pedal to start the whole process again.
They also came with a built in engine immobiliser: Just pop open the engine hatch and remove the rotor arm! No way was a car thief going to be able to get a spare rotor arm before I came back to the car!
(Thanks to My Grandad for that security tip! :thumbsup:
Downsides?:
In both cars if you even dared to touch the air vent levers they'd snap off instantly.
The window cable in the drivers door snapped on the second car - Boy did that take some figuring out to fix it, especially the convoluted route the cable takes in the winding mechanism! In the end I repaired it with a length of bicycle brake cable and did the passengers side as well as the cable was fraying (I bought the entire roll of cable from the bicycle repair shop just in case!).
I had a brake calliper stick on slightly whilst on a long drive down south to a friends house, which boiled the brake fluid!
As I approached a roundabout at "around the speed limit", I went to start braking only to have the pedal go to the floor with no braking whatsoever!
I started down-shifting to lose speed whilst bombing past a queue of cars waiting to go onto the roundabout, spotted a gap in the traffic from the right on the roundabout and hurtled round the roundabout and onto the next stretch of road, furiously pumping the brake pedal and still down-shifting. I got the car slowed down on the next dual carriageway section and received quite a few angry horns from the drivers I had previously passed coming onto the roundabout.
I pulled into a Little Chef car park to find one wheel burning hot! Once it had cooled, the brake pedal started to work again so I stamped on the pedal whilst stationary to free the calliper and after that the brakes were fine!
I had an alternator fail once, that was an interesting 130 mile drive home late at night in the rain with the electricity supply slowly failing 40 miles from home. The car started misfiring @ 60 mph, then @ 50 mph, then @ 40 mph etc., etc. The only way I could keep the car running was by shutting off the electrics bit by bit. First it was the radio, with 30 miles to go it was the heater, then I couldn't use the main beam with 20 miles to go, 5 miles to go I had sidelights only and for the last 500 yards I was crawling along at 3.00am under the street lights with no lights on at 15 mph! (naughty I know but I was determined to get it home). She just managed to crawl onto the driveway and then the battery died.
I'll give her credit though, even though mortally wounded, she still got Me home!
The clutch slave cylinder failed when I went to go to work one afternoon (another pedal that went straight to the floor). Turned out to be an easy repair though.
Would I have another? : God yes! They still make Me smile when I see one on the roads to this day!
They rust?, the electrics play up?, the trim falls to pieces?, of course they do!, it's a proper Italian car!
The thing is, you forgive them every time because when the suns out and the roofs off, you feel like you're driving a "Bambino Ferrari!" (as My family used to call Mine).
As for:
ks!
The targa top on the X1/9 is one of the easiest to use tops you'll ever find on a car! At the roadside it takes mere seconds to open the front lid, lift the top of the rubber supports in the front compartment, locate the rear lugs and then pull the two front clamps into position.
If you can't get that roof on to the car at the roadside then you must be either the biggest wimp in the country or only 3'6" in height!
It's also a fabulous design in the way it's stored. I used to drive Mine with a family of five's weekly shopping in the front compartment and the roof could still be placed in there as well.
Storage wise, the x1/9 could carry more than Ferrari's bigger 308/328 GTS series! Take the roof off the 308/328 and where does it sit?, behind the seats, great for legroom!
Where does the X1/9's roof sit?, just under the front lid, suspended on rubber holders so there is still usable space underneath, brilliant packaging!.
NOooooo...... Keep the Japanese engines away from it!, it's Italian!, it's heart needs to be Italian not Japanese!
The Alfa 3.0 V6 is a great idea but the arse of the car mentioned earlier sits too high!
Now, can we get a Ferrari 2.4 V6 transplanted into an X1/9?
First one was fitted with a Dallara wide bodykit, which looked fantastic (better than the Eurosport IMHO), and handled like a go-cart in the dry (got a bit frisky in the wet mind you with 225/50/13's on the rear end!), had an Ansa dual pipe exhaust that sounded fantastic and racing bucket seats that were nice and snug. The previous owner had done some engine mods also so it was quite responsive to the throttle (still felt like it needed more power though!).
Second one was a standard X1/9 with no mods.
In both cars, travelling at 50mph felt like you were doing 80mph and they were so flick-able in the corners.
Having said that, on the second car, the brakes worked like this: You press the pedal and the car slowed very slightly, so you press the pedal slightly harder and the car barely slowed any-more, so you pressed the pedal even harder and then all four wheels locked up solid putting you into a four wheel slide. At this point you released the pedal to start the whole process again.
They also came with a built in engine immobiliser: Just pop open the engine hatch and remove the rotor arm! No way was a car thief going to be able to get a spare rotor arm before I came back to the car!
(Thanks to My Grandad for that security tip! :thumbsup:
Downsides?:
In both cars if you even dared to touch the air vent levers they'd snap off instantly.
The window cable in the drivers door snapped on the second car - Boy did that take some figuring out to fix it, especially the convoluted route the cable takes in the winding mechanism! In the end I repaired it with a length of bicycle brake cable and did the passengers side as well as the cable was fraying (I bought the entire roll of cable from the bicycle repair shop just in case!).
I had a brake calliper stick on slightly whilst on a long drive down south to a friends house, which boiled the brake fluid!
As I approached a roundabout at "around the speed limit", I went to start braking only to have the pedal go to the floor with no braking whatsoever!
I started down-shifting to lose speed whilst bombing past a queue of cars waiting to go onto the roundabout, spotted a gap in the traffic from the right on the roundabout and hurtled round the roundabout and onto the next stretch of road, furiously pumping the brake pedal and still down-shifting. I got the car slowed down on the next dual carriageway section and received quite a few angry horns from the drivers I had previously passed coming onto the roundabout.
I pulled into a Little Chef car park to find one wheel burning hot! Once it had cooled, the brake pedal started to work again so I stamped on the pedal whilst stationary to free the calliper and after that the brakes were fine!
I had an alternator fail once, that was an interesting 130 mile drive home late at night in the rain with the electricity supply slowly failing 40 miles from home. The car started misfiring @ 60 mph, then @ 50 mph, then @ 40 mph etc., etc. The only way I could keep the car running was by shutting off the electrics bit by bit. First it was the radio, with 30 miles to go it was the heater, then I couldn't use the main beam with 20 miles to go, 5 miles to go I had sidelights only and for the last 500 yards I was crawling along at 3.00am under the street lights with no lights on at 15 mph! (naughty I know but I was determined to get it home). She just managed to crawl onto the driveway and then the battery died.
I'll give her credit though, even though mortally wounded, she still got Me home!
The clutch slave cylinder failed when I went to go to work one afternoon (another pedal that went straight to the floor). Turned out to be an easy repair though.
Would I have another? : God yes! They still make Me smile when I see one on the roads to this day!
They rust?, the electrics play up?, the trim falls to pieces?, of course they do!, it's a proper Italian car!
The thing is, you forgive them every time because when the suns out and the roofs off, you feel like you're driving a "Bambino Ferrari!" (as My family used to call Mine).
As for:
Twincam16 said:
Lovely car to drive, but quite hard-riding, hardly any legroom
Like I say, I'm 6'2" and actual leg room was never a problem (and My height is mostly in the legs)Twincam16 said:
...and because it's a targa-roof, you have to check the weather forecast every time you decide to drive it any distance with the roof off as you can't just pull over and pop it on.
Absolute bks!The targa top on the X1/9 is one of the easiest to use tops you'll ever find on a car! At the roadside it takes mere seconds to open the front lid, lift the top of the rubber supports in the front compartment, locate the rear lugs and then pull the two front clamps into position.
If you can't get that roof on to the car at the roadside then you must be either the biggest wimp in the country or only 3'6" in height!
It's also a fabulous design in the way it's stored. I used to drive Mine with a family of five's weekly shopping in the front compartment and the roof could still be placed in there as well.
Storage wise, the x1/9 could carry more than Ferrari's bigger 308/328 GTS series! Take the roof off the 308/328 and where does it sit?, behind the seats, great for legroom!
Where does the X1/9's roof sit?, just under the front lid, suspended on rubber holders so there is still usable space underneath, brilliant packaging!.
Twincam16 said:
But the steering - oh my, amazingly direct and full of feel.
On this We agree! Like a go-cart!BBS-LM said:
2.0L Honda Typre-R Vtec would do wonders to this littel car, like it.
NOooooo...... Keep the Japanese engines away from it!, it's Italian!, it's heart needs to be Italian not Japanese!The Alfa 3.0 V6 is a great idea but the arse of the car mentioned earlier sits too high!
Now, can we get a Ferrari 2.4 V6 transplanted into an X1/9?
GTRene said:
jonno990 said:
Crying out for a bike engine
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7YGVEMlHPs&fea...
wow http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7YGVEMlHPs&fea...
sliding all over the place but seems to have a brilliant balance and very fast.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3n5WRxIlNQ
5lab said:
i just saw this linked off the wiki page for the x1/9
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matra_Bagheera
I had no idea it existed till now. What a nuts car - made of polyester, twin engines, 3 seats in a row. awesome.
The standard Bagheera had only one engine - the options being 1294cc or 1442cc Simca ohv units. The twin engined model - known as the U8 - was a running prototype featuring two 1294cc engines linked by a chain. One of the U8 prototypes still exists and is kept at the Matra museum at Romorantin, France. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matra_Bagheera
I had no idea it existed till now. What a nuts car - made of polyester, twin engines, 3 seats in a row. awesome.
Back on topic, here's a link to an early X1/9 appearance in a movie: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRa5Gd7gUX4
The X1/9 is on screen from 3.29 onwards.
Lurker alert...
Now these are just fabulous cars: and perhaps THE perfect example of where armchair punditry & secondhand opinions fall off a cliff, if you've never owned/driven one. I've had two, the second of which was a breathed-on Eurosport example (standard block, but Blydenstein polished/ported head, twin webers, janspeed manifold, that sort of thing)... made about 130 brake which was quite enough for my talent. It had also been waxoyled to within an inch of its life, and sat outside for years without so much as a blister anywhere (thanks also to regular waxing I guess). Find a good one, look after the oily bits(like you would any 30-year old car), and I'd be surprised if you'd ever part with it. I bitterly regret letting mine go (E595RWX, where are you now?), nothing I've driven since has been as much fun.
The Lurker has left the building...
Now these are just fabulous cars: and perhaps THE perfect example of where armchair punditry & secondhand opinions fall off a cliff, if you've never owned/driven one. I've had two, the second of which was a breathed-on Eurosport example (standard block, but Blydenstein polished/ported head, twin webers, janspeed manifold, that sort of thing)... made about 130 brake which was quite enough for my talent. It had also been waxoyled to within an inch of its life, and sat outside for years without so much as a blister anywhere (thanks also to regular waxing I guess). Find a good one, look after the oily bits(like you would any 30-year old car), and I'd be surprised if you'd ever part with it. I bitterly regret letting mine go (E595RWX, where are you now?), nothing I've driven since has been as much fun.
The Lurker has left the building...
There's a couple of mag scans here for anyone interested, courtesy of Trigger's Retro Road Tests (click for full)
Fiat X1/9 Road Test 1977 (1) by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr
Fiat X19 VS Test 1985 1 by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr
Fiat X1/9 Road Test 1977 (1) by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr
Fiat X19 VS Test 1985 1 by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr
I almost got one of these as my first car. Unfortunately I couldn't find one in my price range that was any good...
Interestingly enough though my lust for them fell away once I reached the age of about 23 - and I have to say I don't think the X1/9's a particularly dignified choice for anyone older than that, male or female. But for that price I'd be so tempted to buy it for when my daughter starts driving!
Incidentally I did come across a few that had Fiat/Lancia twin-cams transplanted into them, so yes for those asking it's eminently possible, and improves the car no end. The only real weak point (at least in the driving experience) is the low tech engine.
Interestingly enough though my lust for them fell away once I reached the age of about 23 - and I have to say I don't think the X1/9's a particularly dignified choice for anyone older than that, male or female. But for that price I'd be so tempted to buy it for when my daughter starts driving!
Incidentally I did come across a few that had Fiat/Lancia twin-cams transplanted into them, so yes for those asking it's eminently possible, and improves the car no end. The only real weak point (at least in the driving experience) is the low tech engine.
gforceg said:
That looks great. Which show was that at please?
I took the photo at the rally car demo at the Silverstone Classic in 2010.I saw the car again this year at Race Retro, Stoneleigh.
The actual 16v 2.0 cars were driven in period by Bernard Darniche who was one of the most successful Stratos drivers.
I think the cars had potential, but the Fiat/Lancia group already had the 131 Abarth and Stratos.
Here's some info:
http://www.sportingfiatsclub.com/forum/topic.asp?T...
ChrisJ. said:
I took the photo at the rally car demo at the Silverstone Classic in 2010.
I saw the car again this year at Race Retro, Stoneleigh.
The actual 16v 2.0 cars were driven in period by Bernard Darniche who was one of the most successful Stratos drivers.
I think the cars had potential, but the Fiat/Lancia group already had the 131 Abarth and Stratos.
Here's some info:
http://www.sportingfiatsclub.com/forum/topic.asp?T...
Thanks!I saw the car again this year at Race Retro, Stoneleigh.
The actual 16v 2.0 cars were driven in period by Bernard Darniche who was one of the most successful Stratos drivers.
I think the cars had potential, but the Fiat/Lancia group already had the 131 Abarth and Stratos.
Here's some info:
http://www.sportingfiatsclub.com/forum/topic.asp?T...
Although I personally "would not", I admit have a soft spot for these. Definitely a decent shed of the week. Despite the terrible reputation of these cars they are anything but boring.
I reckon they suffer from being inadequately maintained, and having been owned by poseurs who never cared for them in their early years. The X1/9 was often derided as a "hairdresser's car". Those of us who remember driving Fiat models of similar vintage back in the day probably appreciate how much more character and flair they had than the junk being sold by British Leyland and Vauxhall at the time.
The X1/9 looked like something off of the Space 1999 set when Austin were flogging Maxis and Allegros, and Vauxhall's Chevette was supposed to be contemporary. MG were still selling the ancient MGB (which I admit was more robust).
Like I say "I would not". Especially for a daily driver. But as a hobby car for a bit of fun in the summer this looks OK really.
I reckon they suffer from being inadequately maintained, and having been owned by poseurs who never cared for them in their early years. The X1/9 was often derided as a "hairdresser's car". Those of us who remember driving Fiat models of similar vintage back in the day probably appreciate how much more character and flair they had than the junk being sold by British Leyland and Vauxhall at the time.
The X1/9 looked like something off of the Space 1999 set when Austin were flogging Maxis and Allegros, and Vauxhall's Chevette was supposed to be contemporary. MG were still selling the ancient MGB (which I admit was more robust).
Like I say "I would not". Especially for a daily driver. But as a hobby car for a bit of fun in the summer this looks OK really.
Sorry if this has been said (haven't read whole thread) but this particular car is a very rare 1st edition vs. Note low waistline of two tone border, unique four spoke alloys and brown leather patch on black seat headrest. I had one identical 12 odd years ago. It was reckoned to be one of only 14 or so (memory may not be precise) rhd in the country originally imported. To the aficionado this is a very desirable variant!
DrMekon said:
ChrisJ. said:
Here's a 2.0 twin cam Abarth replica.
The guy that owns car that lives at the bottom of my road. Only ever see it out when there is not a cloud in the sky.I remember being told, at some point, the Abarth car was intended for use as a rally car. Also it was very fast, faster than the Lancia Stratos on the right road. Could a cheap car like this be used to create a new Abarth?
I had two as daily drivers and they were fantastic to drive - really sublime through the wrigglies although I had Spax adjustables and Pirelli Psomething tyres on. With the roof off great fun.
They were underpowered because they were heavy as they had been designed to meet proposed US safety regs hence a roll bar made of corrugated iron and big sprung bumpers. I was rear ended by a Sierra and the bumpers did their job and I had no damage, not so for the front of the Seierra.
I didn't have a problen with rust although I leapt apon any sight of it very fast. Having said that I spent a lot of time on them, pretty much every weekend either the electrics or the mechanicals needed some time. What sticks in my mind is the single-handed engine replacement I did in a borrowed open carport in sub-zero temperatures with snow around.
The Twin cam conversion was fast but reports say the extra weight compromised the handling.
I looked at buying another one for some fun recently but as soon as I looked inside the engine cover it brought back all those memories of fixing it every week.
They are not fast but are a real drivers car and a lot of fun but you do need to know which end of a spanner is which.
They were underpowered because they were heavy as they had been designed to meet proposed US safety regs hence a roll bar made of corrugated iron and big sprung bumpers. I was rear ended by a Sierra and the bumpers did their job and I had no damage, not so for the front of the Seierra.
I didn't have a problen with rust although I leapt apon any sight of it very fast. Having said that I spent a lot of time on them, pretty much every weekend either the electrics or the mechanicals needed some time. What sticks in my mind is the single-handed engine replacement I did in a borrowed open carport in sub-zero temperatures with snow around.
The Twin cam conversion was fast but reports say the extra weight compromised the handling.
I looked at buying another one for some fun recently but as soon as I looked inside the engine cover it brought back all those memories of fixing it every week.
They are not fast but are a real drivers car and a lot of fun but you do need to know which end of a spanner is which.
KDIcarmad said:
Could a cheap car like this be used to create a new Abarth?
Yes, why not, but the cheaper the base car, the more welding you'd be doing.You need downdraught Webers for the twin cam. Either twin DCNFs or twin IDFs.
The Abarth cars dispensed with the boot area, and had some bracing in the back.
julian64 said:
I had both versions, but prefered the earlier 1300 with the non nancy boy bumpers. As I remember it the gearstick in the later car looked like something off an atari console.
The 1300 was the best. I had one as a student at university in the eighties. Picnic basket in the front, top off, girlfriend at the side, in the hills and dales of yorkshire.
Happiest moment, 3.5 litre rover police car admitting they couldn't catch me and lost me due to the fact I wasn't bothering to brake for the bends.
Saddest moment, 3.5 litre rover police car finding me based on knowing where my distinctive car for a student was usually parked outside.
Cool story - I was once complimented for my driving skills (!) in mine when they caught up with me.The 1300 was the best. I had one as a student at university in the eighties. Picnic basket in the front, top off, girlfriend at the side, in the hills and dales of yorkshire.
Happiest moment, 3.5 litre rover police car admitting they couldn't catch me and lost me due to the fact I wasn't bothering to brake for the bends.
Saddest moment, 3.5 litre rover police car finding me based on knowing where my distinctive car for a student was usually parked outside.
Fantastic little car.
My first ever car back in 1981 when I was 18
I bought the car which was from 1974 before I had my license at 18, because already then a lot work to do on it...rust
anyway, here my 2 little sisters (twins) standing next to my pride ;-)back in
1981, the time that girls love to have a passenger ride in my car, how can I resist and no I do not mean my sisters but other girls ofcorse.
to attract even more attention, my brother in law who worked at the marine those days, brought back a special cow-horn from Italy when they docked there, that was big fun but you had to be careful for the police because such cow-horn was forbidden.
I bought the car which was from 1974 before I had my license at 18, because already then a lot work to do on it...rust
anyway, here my 2 little sisters (twins) standing next to my pride ;-)back in
1981, the time that girls love to have a passenger ride in my car, how can I resist
and no I do not mean my sisters but other girls ofcorse.to attract even more attention, my brother in law who worked at the marine those days, brought back a special cow-horn from Italy when they docked there, that was big fun but you had to be careful for the police because such cow-horn was forbidden.
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