I am ashamed to admit that I want a Fiat X1/9. Am I mad?
Discussion
Small world my first car was a 1978 1300 X-19, I loved that car so much! a few years later I bought a 1500 which again I loved until I found it was mostly held together with filler, they are prone to tin worm as many have already said, also had head gasket problems and throttle cables tended to snap or snag regularily, however they still look fantastic, and if I remember correctly there are quite a lot of aftermarket tuning parts for these cars and seem to remember a fair number that ended up with Two litre Lancia Beta engines or Fiat 130tc lumps in which must have made them very interesting to drive.
Mad? Ashamed? Should I be insulted?
X1/9 handles better than any of the old MR2's provided all the bushes and balljoints are intact, the springs havent sagged and the dampers lost all their oil...
Still currently own 4 of them (admittedly one is a total wreck and the others are all in race trim of some kind or another).
What you really want is one of these:
(and I'm not talking about any of the cars in the background).
At about 500bhp/ton it is a little bit on the dark side of fun to drive.
X1/9 handles better than any of the old MR2's provided all the bushes and balljoints are intact, the springs havent sagged and the dampers lost all their oil...
Still currently own 4 of them (admittedly one is a total wreck and the others are all in race trim of some kind or another).
What you really want is one of these:
(and I'm not talking about any of the cars in the background).
At about 500bhp/ton it is a little bit on the dark side of fun to drive.
jimbro1000 said:
What you really want is one of these:
(and I'm not talking about any of the cars in the background).
At about 500bhp/ton it is a little bit on the dark side of fun to drive.
[tanget]
Is your 600M grey? Saw one with a plate beginning T242 (I think) the other week in Chelmsford...
[/tangent]
Its pretty much all been said already
I owned an early 1500 for four years, it saw me through University and along with my Alfa Sud taught me all about MIG welding....and fuel vapourisation in summer...deep joy!
The Lancia / Fiat 2000 twin cam will fit but you have to cut sections out of the rear bulk head...its a lot of effort. The Uno Turbo engine requires additional plumbing but I think its ultimately more straightforward....maybe the Punto GT lump will fit? Go on....be the first!
That car sounds pricey, but where else do you find one with 20K miles? Probably only worth it as a keeper. Lots of us have great memories of them, but finding room for them is a different matter
I owned an early 1500 for four years, it saw me through University and along with my Alfa Sud taught me all about MIG welding....and fuel vapourisation in summer...deep joy!
The Lancia / Fiat 2000 twin cam will fit but you have to cut sections out of the rear bulk head...its a lot of effort. The Uno Turbo engine requires additional plumbing but I think its ultimately more straightforward....maybe the Punto GT lump will fit? Go on....be the first!
That car sounds pricey, but where else do you find one with 20K miles? Probably only worth it as a keeper. Lots of us have great memories of them, but finding room for them is a different matter
Podie said:
[tanget]
Is your 600M grey? Saw one with a plate beginning T242 (I think) the other week in Chelmsford...
[/tangent]
T242 is the *original* (demonstrator) 600M and lives not far away from Chelmsford (frequently seen driving through). Mine is a grey S'reg and is currently hiding around the Chelmsford district... still not quite finished yet due to some annoying f***ups with things like driveshaft lengths and the manufacturer of the inlet manifold getting it all at the wrong angle...
can't be long now though!
jimbro1000 said:
Podie said:
[tanget]
Is your 600M grey? Saw one with a plate beginning T242 (I think) the other week in Chelmsford...
[/tangent]
T242 is the *original* (demonstrator) 600M and lives not far away from Chelmsford (frequently seen driving through). Mine is a grey S'reg and is currently hiding around the Chelmsford district... still not quite finished yet due to some annoying f***ups with things like driveshaft lengths and the manufacturer of the inlet manifold getting it all at the wrong angle...
can't be long now though!
Cool.
Whatever happened to UAD Motorsport?
Was going to get them to look at my Cinq when I had it...
Lot's of fun.
Fiat X1/9 turbo. 0-400m 11.25s, huiput n. 1.7 km kohdalla 270 km/h.
The question is: would you dare?
In standard shape they're luverly:
The original X1/20 project (with 2.0 litre 4pot) became the Lancia Monte Carlo . . .
Fiat X1/9 turbo. 0-400m 11.25s, huiput n. 1.7 km kohdalla 270 km/h.
The question is: would you dare?
In standard shape they're luverly:
The original X1/20 project (with 2.0 litre 4pot) became the Lancia Monte Carlo . . .
Podie said:
X1/9 .... with a bike engine! 
It's waaaay too heavy for a bike engine!
The X1/9 was just about the only car designed to comply with some proposed US safety legislation which demanded an 85mph rollover crash test. The legislation was expected at the time to kill open-top cars stone dead but was eventally abandoned because the major manufacturers said it was impossible to achieve cost- effectively.
The X1/9 complies (at least until the shell is weakened by corrosion), but as a result weighs about 930kg in standard form, IIRC.
Edited by Sam_68 on Tuesday 13th June 13:34
I had a Bertone Runabout Barchetta as a lad (Corgi of course!), which was the inspiration for the X1/9. It looked fantastic in canary yellow. The X1/9 was pretty close to the concept, but probably a bit hairdresser in its day. They did rust in alarming 70's Italian fashion, so you will be hard pressed to find one I'd think. As mentioned, a decent bike engine in one would make it entertaining!
Sam_68 said:
Podie said:
X1/9 .... with a bike engine!
It's waaaay too heavy for a bike engine!
The X1/9 was just about the only car designed to comply with some proposed US safety legislation which demanded an 85mph rollover crash test. The legislation was expected at the time to kill open-top cars stone dead but was eventally abandoned because the major manufacturers said it was impossible to achieve cost- effectively.
The X1/9 complies (at least until the shell is weakened by corrosion), but as a result weighs about 930kg in standard form, IIRC.
Edited by Sam_68 on Tuesday 13th June 13:34
Blimey! You learn summat new every day
I grew up with 2 of them .... I still hanker after a 'Grande Finale' and I'll never forgive the MR2 for killing them off. (Well .... maybe it was the rust, not the japs).
I saw one at a customer's a few weeks ago .... poor thing looked like it was held together with bailing twine.
Go for it ... it's only £3.5k and you'll have lots of fun. Just check for rust, check all the electrics - you know those pop up lights will fail sooner or later, if not already.
But it ... life's too short.
I saw one at a customer's a few weeks ago .... poor thing looked like it was held together with bailing twine.
Go for it ... it's only £3.5k and you'll have lots of fun. Just check for rust, check all the electrics - you know those pop up lights will fail sooner or later, if not already.
But it ... life's too short.
r988 said:
But you already have a Ferrari 328 
or are you selling that for something cheaper to run?
or are you selling that for something cheaper to run?I intend to keep the Ferrari, but it is not the sort of car you would want to leave parked up in Manchester or Liverpool whilst at work.
I would also like to do a few track days and I can't afford to stuff a £30,000 car.
I want a cheap chuckable RWD soft top that I am not too precious about.
An MX5 or Westfield, maybe a Caterham or even a scruffy Elise would undoubtedly do a better job of it than an X1/9, but I've already owned both a Westfield and Caterham and fancy something a bit different from an MX5.
Outright performance is less important than handling, steering and fun.
£3500 is not an awful lot of money for a car with the dynamics of an X1/9, even though it is a heap of cash for an old 85hp Fiat.
This particular X1/9 is an absolute peach. It has never been painted and there is no rot whatsoever. The bodywork is unblemished and the interior is just like new. The history confirms the 20,000 miles as genuine and the chap that is selling it has owned it for 10 years.
If it was £1000 cheaper, I would just buy the thing and be done with it. At £3500 I am just hesitating because most serviceable X1/9s seem to sell for about a grand.
Hey ho..
Podie said:
jimbro1000 said:
Podie said:
[tanget]
Is your 600M grey? Saw one with a plate beginning T242 (I think) the other week in Chelmsford...
[/tangent]
T242 is the *original* (demonstrator) 600M and lives not far away from Chelmsford (frequently seen driving through). Mine is a grey S'reg and is currently hiding around the Chelmsford district... still not quite finished yet due to some annoying f***ups with things like driveshaft lengths and the manufacturer of the inlet manifold getting it all at the wrong angle...
can't be long now though!
Cool.
Whatever happened to UAD Motorsport?
Was going to get them to look at my Cinq when I had it...
UAD was folded a few years ago when the engineer (Mr Beaty) came down with cancer and his (business) partner realised it was all over. Said Mr Beaty started "Wolfdirect Racing" (WDR) about 12 months later as a "hobby" while he was recovering from cancer - he has built more 600Ms since starting WDR than were built while UAD was still a going concern. My car is likely to be the last one as things stand as there is very little business for the previous 500/600 models. The new 500 might resurrect the concept but that it a good couple of years away. The only real reason I am getting one is that I am now sponsored by WDR for racing (once the car is finished) and handle the parts orders (as opposed to whole cars).
Just been told that T242 is up for sale and an offer has been made of £6000 for it.
mungo said:
Podie said:
mungo said:
Podie said:
X1/9 .... with a bike engine!
An x1/9 is far too heavy for a bike engine!!!
Do keep up dear boy - already been told that!
Well... I'm sorry I can't be reading PH every second to know who's posted what!
Yes, yes.... we all know that an X1/9 is too fu
ing heavy for a bike engine. When you have all finished hijacking my sodding thread you might apply yourselves to the main issue.
Is even the most delicious X1/9 worth £3500, or should I look elsewhere for cheap thrills?
Cheers
Pat H said:
It has never been painted and there is no rot whatsoever.
Are you sure? Check carefully, as X1/9s (and most Italian cars of this vintage), rot from the inside out. They can look fine, but a little poke with a screwdriver and have the chassis falls out.
I do love X1/9s though, so if it IS a good one, go for it! The handling is SUPERB, and they are a lot quicker than 85bhp might suggest.
Podie said:
mungo said:
£3,500 is a lot of money for an old Fiat... if it was a lot less then £1k then maybe a fun cheap hack
It'd have to be a minter for that
Yep.
It is absolutely mint, real timewarp material.
It was undersealed when new and allegedly hasn't been used in the wet.
Probably as close to a new X1/9 that you are ever likely to see.
Still, I think it is probably too much money and I expect that I'd soon get frustrated with fewer than 100 horses.
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