I've accidentally another car

"BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires" (biturbo228) 08/31/2013 at 14:23 • Filed to: None

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Guess what it is. I'll give you a clue: it's got pop-up headlights. Answer's after the jump.

Safety text.

It's a little Fiat X1/9! 1500cc, later car with the big bumpers (those will soon be gone). The starter's dead, but it ran before that. However, the body's in good condition (very important on these old Italians) and the interior's good too.

All for the princely sum of £330.

I put in £350 as a cheeky 'what if' bid, and no-one bid any higher than 330.

Worse things have happened at sea :)

YSI-what can brown do for you > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires 08/31/2013 at 14:26

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Damn you, and your awesome cars!

Blondude > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires 08/31/2013 at 14:28

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Awesome.

I'll just leave this here...

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > YSI-what can brown do for you 08/31/2013 at 14:29

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'Awesome cheap cars' :)

'Awesome partially functional cars' would also be fairly accurate.

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > Blondude 08/31/2013 at 14:31

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It'll be getting debumpered, a couple of light engine mods and some wider tyres put on it in short order.

The full Abarth treatment may come at a later stage :)

YSI-what can brown do for you > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires 08/31/2013 at 14:33

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But you have like 324323 different "partially functional but fully awesome cars" which means you have like 5 awesome cars when you factor in math.

Jaaag Hartley > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires 08/31/2013 at 14:41

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£330? Really!? well done :)

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > Jaaag Hartley 08/31/2013 at 14:43

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I know. Slightly incredulous. I thought 'ok, I'd be willing to pay about 800 for it as they go for 1500 in reasonable nick'.

Put in an initial bid to test the waters and no-one advanced on that.

Very pleased :)

Jaaag Hartley > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires 08/31/2013 at 14:44

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Much work to do on it?

AddMustard > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires 08/31/2013 at 14:59

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Create a YouTube version of Wheeler Dealers, budget 1,000!

Boxer_4 > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires 08/31/2013 at 15:04

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Great acquisition. These are already great fun with the 1300cc engine, so I can only imagine how much fun they are with the 1500cc engine.

JasonStern911 > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires 08/31/2013 at 15:53

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Wouldn't have guessed a Fiat X1/9. Cool cars, but the Porsche 914s are more plentiful in America and they tended to be more reliable (but just as expensive!). :)

You had me worried when you said "The starter was dead, but it ran before that" (I was internally thinking "So try to bump-start it!"), but at that price... As long as you can turn a wrench, you still did awesome even if you have to spend a bit of cash on parts.

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > Jaaag Hartley 08/31/2013 at 16:13

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Not that much, but there is stuff to do. It needs a new starter, the brake lights don't work, the handbrake is completely ineffectual and there's a leaking coolant pipe on the underside (that Fiat in their wisdom decided should be built into one of the box sections).

Apart from that, and a little cosmetic touching up and rust proofing, it's all functional. Even the popup headlights work smoothly. Popups are awesome.

Jaaag Hartley > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires 08/31/2013 at 16:16

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pop ups improve everything

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > JasonStern911 08/31/2013 at 16:20

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914s do seem to be more plentiful in the States. I've seen a couple around here, but not loads.

Plus, we've got the 914/6 for our mid-engined Porsche fix :)

It's parked at the top of a small gradient, so we'll try to bump-start it tomorrow.

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > Boxer_4 08/31/2013 at 16:25

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I'll be doing a little engine work to get it from it's stock 84hp to around 100-110. Should be great :)

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > AddMustard 08/31/2013 at 16:30

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That's a great idea. All I need is a GoPro :)

JasonStern911 > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires 09/01/2013 at 02:50

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Porsche made just over 3,000 914-6s, so if they're readily available overseas, I highly recommend picking up one in good shape as they have already appreciated heavily in Germany and USA.

Best of luck bump-starting the car, and please make sure to keep us all informed with your restoration.

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > JasonStern911 09/01/2013 at 05:44

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We've already got one :) it was actually the first one imported to the UK as a press car. Unfortunately, it was crashed by a journalist and all of the mechanicals were swapped over to a new chassis. The chassis number was also transferred over, which is not how I've seen it work in any other case. Despite having the documents to prove this, we haven't been able to get the chassis number back.

Either way, there's very little point going for originality. The engine in it is from a 2.0l 911E, it's got the wider 916 bodykit and my dad converted it to RHD. Not sure whether this'll add value in today's classic market, but that's not something I'm overly concerned with. It's just so damn cool :)

JasonStern911 > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires 09/01/2013 at 15:43

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Absolutely beautiful.

And, since you're less worried about the car's resale value, drive it! :D