One car to replace my current fleet?
Discussion
Well this is as far as I got...
...before I had to do a Taxi run for a friend of my sisters again.
Sorry if you were expecting a step by step guide, there are plenty of those on the internet and if needs be there are more Haynes Manuals out there than cars.
A couple of things the internet or Haynes fails to mention is how I do the valve followers and set the timing belt up. I dip my finger in oil and rim around the bores. This way the lubrication of the oil helps the followers in and the surface tension stops them popping out when you put the cam' section in place. The timing belt goes on as usual apart form tuning the engine over without plugs to ensure the tensioner is working and the marks line up before you put the rest of the stuff in the way. Saves a bit of faffing about later.
Stage one torque for the head bolts is 29ft/lbs so I have a little running in period before I can see if the cleaning and surfacing have improved the engine.
...before I had to do a Taxi run for a friend of my sisters again.
Sorry if you were expecting a step by step guide, there are plenty of those on the internet and if needs be there are more Haynes Manuals out there than cars.
A couple of things the internet or Haynes fails to mention is how I do the valve followers and set the timing belt up. I dip my finger in oil and rim around the bores. This way the lubrication of the oil helps the followers in and the surface tension stops them popping out when you put the cam' section in place. The timing belt goes on as usual apart form tuning the engine over without plugs to ensure the tensioner is working and the marks line up before you put the rest of the stuff in the way. Saves a bit of faffing about later.
Stage one torque for the head bolts is 29ft/lbs so I have a little running in period before I can see if the cleaning and surfacing have improved the engine.
Interesting and frustrating Driveway CSI today. My freshly retopped X1/9 engine refused to run properly. All the timing marks were aligned and to start with the distributor was a hundred and eighty degrees out much to the amusement of my neighbors who probably think I've been clay pigeon shooting in my garden.
Solved that and she ran, lumpy and with a flat spot. Checked the timing with a strobe light and she was perfect 5btdc on the crank pulley and the cam was still in check.
Hmmmmmm....
I had a look at the flywheel and there was no mark whatsoever. Messed about for a while to discover the crank pulley marks are ten degrees advanced compared to the flywheel.
I have a 1300 crank pulley on a 1500 engine to add to the list of bodges on this poor car.
Still has the slow running issue from before so I guess a carb' rebuild is next on my things to do list.
The new filter needs to imitate what the old box did...
...a couple of cable ties, duct tape and bits of old pipe later...
...looks good...
...sounds tremendous. It's nice after a week of having to do stuff I got to do something for the fun of it.
One more thing...
...the clothes pegs on the belt tensioner trick. Works every time.
Solved that and she ran, lumpy and with a flat spot. Checked the timing with a strobe light and she was perfect 5btdc on the crank pulley and the cam was still in check.
Hmmmmmm....
I had a look at the flywheel and there was no mark whatsoever. Messed about for a while to discover the crank pulley marks are ten degrees advanced compared to the flywheel.
I have a 1300 crank pulley on a 1500 engine to add to the list of bodges on this poor car.
Still has the slow running issue from before so I guess a carb' rebuild is next on my things to do list.
The new filter needs to imitate what the old box did...
...a couple of cable ties, duct tape and bits of old pipe later...
...looks good...
...sounds tremendous. It's nice after a week of having to do stuff I got to do something for the fun of it.
One more thing...
...the clothes pegs on the belt tensioner trick. Works every time.
While I had dirty hands yesterday I finally got round to fitting the new speedo' cable and it is the funniest thing I have ever done to a car. She sounds like I have playing cards in the spokes. 
Decent stereo is now added to the list of things to do.
I found myself in a layby again this morning...
...so I could take a pretty photo'.
Decent stereo is now added to the list of things to do.
I found myself in a layby again this morning...
...so I could take a pretty photo'.
You know those little jobs that make a massive difference?
Original 1979 headlights...
...thirty five years of use and abuse.
Stripped back to bare metal, etch primed, primed and painted matte black (left over paint from the Fantasia lower windscreen panel repair).
Nice eh?
The dim-dip setting is as bright as the old lights used to be.
Original 1979 headlights...
...thirty five years of use and abuse.
Stripped back to bare metal, etch primed, primed and painted matte black (left over paint from the Fantasia lower windscreen panel repair).
Nice eh?
The dim-dip setting is as bright as the old lights used to be.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FIAT-X19-X1-9-1500-1300-...
-30mm? Is that all?
Hmmmm...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8Y7te7boDk
...I wonder.
-60mm is a bit excessive.
-30mm? Is that all?
Hmmmm...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8Y7te7boDk
...I wonder.
-60mm is a bit excessive.
The payday fairies visit Monday so I have no money but a little bit of time to spend with my car today.
Before all you wannabe "Mythbusters" set fire to the internet to tell me...
So I have put a hundred or so miles on the now working tachometer and there are no signs of any new or old leaks.
Time to clean...
...the rusty water marks from my engine bay and gearbox.
As I have no money I'm using some cleaning fluid from the parts bath at work in an old trigger bottle and washing up brush.
Impressive eh?
P.S...
I'm never using "Wonda-wheels" or "Muck Off" again.
Before all you wannabe "Mythbusters" set fire to the internet to tell me...
Troll said:
That cold air induction pipe won't make any difference. FAIL!!! BAM!!!
...it does. I'm using it to fill the gap left behind after removing the colling fan. So I have put a hundred or so miles on the now working tachometer and there are no signs of any new or old leaks.
Time to clean...
...the rusty water marks from my engine bay and gearbox.
As I have no money I'm using some cleaning fluid from the parts bath at work in an old trigger bottle and washing up brush.
Impressive eh?
P.S...
I'm never using "Wonda-wheels" or "Muck Off" again.
WinstonWolf said:
One word, Gulf!
I should explain. A friend of mine built a superb "Gulf" coloured GT40 replica. Good enough for a magazine feature but the publication got a really rather nasty letter from the legal team behind Gulf Oil suggesting this was a breach of their trade mark copyright and they should have got permission from them before putting the photo's in the magazine or online.
My "Guff" Cinquecento is the wrong shade of blue, wrong shade of orange and the stickers are custom made to avoid such a copyright issue. The car was built for the 2011 PPC £999 Challenge but didn't make it as I was too busy to finish the car in time for the event.
P.S There have already been a few Gulf X1/9's...
...I much prefer the Martini look...
...but I'm not doing anything that extreme this time as a colour change will set alarms off in Wales and we all know how well I get along with the DVLA.
...I much prefer the Martini look...
...but I'm not doing anything that extreme this time as a colour change will set alarms off in Wales and we all know how well I get along with the DVLA.
Edited by Liquid Knight on Tuesday 16th September 11:52
The bloody Ford "Motorsport" sun strip is a distraction from the rest of the Gulf car.
I think the Martini car is P1X conversion.
So I can get to the petrol station to dilute the 98ron so hopefully it doesn't boil away in my carb'...
...I've refitted the cooling fan and used Duct-Tape on a duct?
I think the Martini car is P1X conversion.
So I can get to the petrol station to dilute the 98ron so hopefully it doesn't boil away in my carb'...
...I've refitted the cooling fan and used Duct-Tape on a duct?
Doing a spot of pre-festivities wrapping today.
Exhaust wrap and ties from eBay.
Cut a few slits in the packaging and leave in a bucket of water while you strip the carb' and inlet manifold out of the way.
Plan your route and make sure you do a little at a time trying the inlet manifold between sections to make sure you have clearance.
Reassemble and let the engine run until the water in the wrap stops steaming before you take the car out anywhere.
Manifold gaskets are very tolerant to this sort of thing while they are new. I tend to add a couple of lbs to the torque setting every time until it's too much and I need to replace it again.
Some will probably wonder why not take the exhaust off and do it on a bench. If the engine was cross flow I would have but because I needed to make sure the inlet manifold would go back on it had to remain in place.
Why wet the wrap? Newer ones and the expensive Titanium weave stuff doesn't need to be damp but that's how I've always done it and fine the wrap more malleable when wet.
Why do it in the first place? I've fitted unleaded valves to the head while it was off so I don't have to use the lead additive stuff. This means the fuel burns hotter as it has a higher calorific value and has a lower evaporation/boiling/flash point. First time out the car was fine but when I did a bit of a run and needed to head off again after a short stop the fuel was boiling in the carb' float chamber. To compensate for this I've insulated the exhaust manifold to hopefully reduce the amount of heat transfer from the exhaust to inlet manifold. If this doesn't work I'll look at either a better heat shield or cooling system for it.
Exhaust wrap and ties from eBay.
Cut a few slits in the packaging and leave in a bucket of water while you strip the carb' and inlet manifold out of the way.
Plan your route and make sure you do a little at a time trying the inlet manifold between sections to make sure you have clearance.
Reassemble and let the engine run until the water in the wrap stops steaming before you take the car out anywhere.
Manifold gaskets are very tolerant to this sort of thing while they are new. I tend to add a couple of lbs to the torque setting every time until it's too much and I need to replace it again.
Some will probably wonder why not take the exhaust off and do it on a bench. If the engine was cross flow I would have but because I needed to make sure the inlet manifold would go back on it had to remain in place.
Why wet the wrap? Newer ones and the expensive Titanium weave stuff doesn't need to be damp but that's how I've always done it and fine the wrap more malleable when wet.
Why do it in the first place? I've fitted unleaded valves to the head while it was off so I don't have to use the lead additive stuff. This means the fuel burns hotter as it has a higher calorific value and has a lower evaporation/boiling/flash point. First time out the car was fine but when I did a bit of a run and needed to head off again after a short stop the fuel was boiling in the carb' float chamber. To compensate for this I've insulated the exhaust manifold to hopefully reduce the amount of heat transfer from the exhaust to inlet manifold. If this doesn't work I'll look at either a better heat shield or cooling system for it.
Edited by Liquid Knight on Sunday 21st September 15:59
So the engine ticking over to temperature and the exhaust wrap stopped steaming time to take the car round the block to see if the hot start issue has been resolved.
I have no clutch fluid. No indication where it has leaked to or from.
Easy bleed caps don't fit X1/9 clutch pots.
Luckily there's a drain hole so all the fluid is now rinsed onto my driveway.
The pedal box is integrated with the steering column bracket it's less faff to get to than any car I have ever worked on before.
No sign of leakage from the fairly new looking master, the copper pipe, flexihose or slave.
The slave looks like the oldest part so that'll be first to go I think. I'll fit a new flexihose while I'm at it.
I have no clutch fluid. No indication where it has leaked to or from.
Easy bleed caps don't fit X1/9 clutch pots.
Luckily there's a drain hole so all the fluid is now rinsed onto my driveway.
The pedal box is integrated with the steering column bracket it's less faff to get to than any car I have ever worked on before.
No sign of leakage from the fairly new looking master, the copper pipe, flexihose or slave.
The slave looks like the oldest part so that'll be first to go I think. I'll fit a new flexihose while I'm at it.
Even thought my Punto didn't make reserve and technically I can't afford this...
...cycling to work for the rest of the month and eating instant noodles...
...I've bought this...
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/301050748212?_trksid=p20...
...if it doesn't solve the clutch issue then I'll have to cycle another month I guess.
...cycling to work for the rest of the month and eating instant noodles...
...I've bought this...
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/301050748212?_trksid=p20...
...if it doesn't solve the clutch issue then I'll have to cycle another month I guess.
So the flexihose still wouldn't come off the copper pipe so I cut it, put the old slave in a vice to remove the 19mm end. the new hose is fitted to the new slave ready to go with the old bolt because for some reason they don't come with new ones.
Now I have a battle on my hands to get the end of the flexihose off the copper pipe. My pipe spanner, 13mm and stilsons slip the new plan was to grind to the end so some heat gets transferred to the 13mm end, put a 19mm socket on the end of the flaxipipe and draw it off slowly.
But as soon as I took the old slave off this...
...happened.
Where a steel sleeve was "protecting" the copper pipe the end had corroded and the rust somehow either made the copper brittle or a sharp edge had cut into it during normal use.
So a bodger would cut the pipe flare both ends and use a pipe nut and bolt to repair this but I'll rather wait and get a full length pipe made up from front to back so I know it won't fail again.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FIAT-X1-9-13-1500-Front-...
Not bad; but some of the brake pipes look a little bit off as well...
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FIAT-X1-9-X19-1300-1500-...
...so a whole set pre-M.O.T could be a good idea.
Now I have a battle on my hands to get the end of the flexihose off the copper pipe. My pipe spanner, 13mm and stilsons slip the new plan was to grind to the end so some heat gets transferred to the 13mm end, put a 19mm socket on the end of the flaxipipe and draw it off slowly.
But as soon as I took the old slave off this...
...happened.
Where a steel sleeve was "protecting" the copper pipe the end had corroded and the rust somehow either made the copper brittle or a sharp edge had cut into it during normal use.
So a bodger would cut the pipe flare both ends and use a pipe nut and bolt to repair this but I'll rather wait and get a full length pipe made up from front to back so I know it won't fail again.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FIAT-X1-9-13-1500-Front-...
Not bad; but some of the brake pipes look a little bit off as well...
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FIAT-X1-9-X19-1300-1500-...
...so a whole set pre-M.O.T could be a good idea.
Gassing Station | Alfa Romeo, Fiat & Lancia | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff