My wife is a killer; X1/9 advice needed

"ImmoralMinority" (araimondo)
03/03/2019 at 12:43 • Filed to: None

Damn, sweetheart. Crush the boy. She texted these to him and me.

He has not responded. Bonus Toby:

She is nice enough to go look at a 1979 X1/9 with me. Any tips on what to look at in a 40 year old Fiat? The ad is suspiciously slim.

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DISCUSSION (24)

someassemblyrequired > ImmoralMinority
03/03/2019 at 12:48

We all know this ends with your son driving a 90s Buick.

I’ve heard the Fiats are good little cars, main issues are rust/cooling/heater.

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > ImmoralMinority
03/03/2019 at 12:49

“Any tips on what to look at in a 40 year old Fiat?”

If there isn’t any oil underneath it, it’s out of oil.

If it doesn’t take a jump start to get going, the trickle charger was on before you got there

Basically - if it seems perfect, the seller is a liar. A friend had one for about 3 months after he crashed a Fiero another friend of mine owned and it......it ran I think two or three times? He wanted it as a daily driver. He ended up selling it and got an NB miata.

Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap > ImmoralMinority
03/03/2019 at 12:53

That’s just brutal.

Side note, we could probably find your family online anyway. But you probably should blur out the names.

PS9 > ImmoralMinority
03/03/2019 at 12:53

Buy the honda and secretly swap a turbo K20 in it.

Problem = solved. Don’t let her drive it though...

RacinBob > ImmoralMinority
03/03/2019 at 12:54

If it is non-operational. I would see if it turns over and verify that the cam belt is intact. I believe these are inter ference engines so a broken belt means bent valves.

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > ImmoralMinority
03/03/2019 at 12:55

Recommending a PT Cruiser with horrible aftermarket tail lights and a Chevy Cavalier? Your wife is a savage.

facw > ImmoralMinority
03/03/2019 at 12:56

Hmm, yeah, except for the X1/9, I’d drive a smashed up Subie over those.

Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo > ImmoralMinority
03/03/2019 at 12:58

On the Fiat I’d want to know why it couldn’t pass smog, which is most likely why is black tagged. Could be an easy fix, but my impression is these early post-smog cars are difficult to get to pass.

Spamfeller Loves Nazi Clicks > ImmoralMinority
03/03/2019 at 12:58

EVERYTHING . There is nothing on these cars that does not break and require repair or rebuild. Paint is WAY too clean so check for respray. Also a common way to hide rust, because these things rust like Mazdas. Seriously. Pull every access panel and the rear luggage. It comes out.

Electrical’s full on shitshow. Every single light, every gauge, every button, every switch.

Non-op is a red flag too. “Ran when parked” on a 1.5 is X1/9 for “I blew the motor.” If it don’t drive today, walk away. Bad synchros are not uncommon on the 5 speed, but parts availability and serviceability on it are actually excellent.

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > ImmoralMinority
03/03/2019 at 13:07

That fiat looks to be in fantasy condition but I would not touch it with a 20-foot pole. My high school principal had one and she said one day the rear wheel passed her on the highway after the hub failed... she replaced it with a dodge Daytona...

Spamfeller Loves Nazi Clicks > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
03/03/2019 at 13:09

Oh, no, that’s a total lie. I used to be friends with a serious Fiat X1/9 fanatic... who lived in California. These things breeze through smog unless there’s major problems like completely shot rings or pulling smog equipment (EGR, air pump, charcoal can .) Fiat didn’t even have a California specific engine.

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > ImmoralMinority
03/03/2019 at 13:13

Skip the Fiat, get this MX-6 instead. Just tell your son it’s “One bett er than the MX-5"

https://fresno.craigslist.org/cto/d/clovis-1993-mazda-mx-6-ls-5-speed-manual/6818334621.html

ttyymmnn > Spamfeller Loves Nazi Clicks
03/03/2019 at 13:20

“Ran when parked” on a 1.5 is X1/9 for “I blew the motor.”

LOL

Spamfeller Loves Nazi Clicks > ttyymmnn
03/03/2019 at 13:24

Timing belt and an interference engine. Lots of people just skip the timing belt because it’s an actual engine-out job.

Cash Rewards > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles
03/03/2019 at 13:32

Oof. That's a Ford probe wearing Mazda pants

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > ImmoralMinority
03/03/2019 at 13:34

YAY! X1/9! DO EEETTT!

One of us Oppos has one in Europe - BiTurbo I think?

https://kinja.com/biturbo228

Could any Euro Oppos page him here from your Whatsapp group (he hasn’t posted in awhile) to maybe help IM with some X1/9 infos?

They are relatively simple cars, mechanically....as long as it checks out and you could get it to pass smog, I’d think it would be a fun car!

I can offer the User Manual in Italian if that helps? :P

http://www.iw1axr.eu/manuali_uso/Uso%20e%20Manutenzione%20X1-9%201300%20'73.pdf

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > ImmoralMinority
03/03/2019 at 13:36

PT Cruiser would probably be the most useful, least likely to be stolen, and cheapest to maintain.

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > Spamfeller Loves Nazi Clicks
03/03/2019 at 13:51

Truly ahead of its time in the planned obsolescence department

Chariotoflove > ImmoralMinority
03/03/2019 at 13:56

I like the Cavalier. It’s the final stab to the heart.

I pulled up to a light with two PT Cruisers in front of me yesterday. I said to my daughter next to me that that would be a good first car. She rolled her eyes and snorted.

She’s a good kid.

f86sabre > ImmoralMinority
03/03/2019 at 14:12

Man, that Fiat has huge pumpers. As far as what to look for, try and find the part of the car that isn’t rusted.

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > Cash Rewards
03/03/2019 at 14:25

And? It’s not a smashed subaru. It also has the V6 and a 5-speed. It’s a coupe. The paint needs a buff, but 200k miles? It happens. For a kid going to college so it might sit for a few day s at a time (or possibly might not get to take it at all?) it’s pretty solid.

Cash Rewards > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles
03/03/2019 at 14:46

Oh, for basic transportation I’m sure it’s great. Might even be better than basic. Is it one better than a Miata? No, no it’s not. Behind the FD rx7 and the na Miata, this is a distant third for Mazda coupes in 93. Hell, fourth behind the mx3.

TheRealBicycleBuck > ImmoralMinority
03/03/2019 at 15:57

Nice ring.

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > ImmoralMinority
03/05/2019 at 09:40

Ooh if that isn’t a minty one!

Things to look at would be rust first and foremost. From the pictures this one looks very, very good but they can get pretty crusty so have a good poke around. Take a decent magnet so you can see if any structural bits have been patched up with bondo or the like.

Engine-wise there aren’t really any deal-breakers, but have a good look around for the general condition of it and how well it’s been maintained.

Check the coolant pipes that run underneath the car inside a box section. If you’re lucky they will have been replaced with long sections of copper tube that run inside them. If not then it’s still possible they’re in good nick if the coolant’#s been kept at 50/50 antifreeze which helps inhibit rust a bit.

There are some good practice modifications that you can do to these, especially around the electrical system. Most of it is pretty robust, but there are improvements you can make around the starter, headlights and positive cable. The car will work fine if these aren’t done , but they do improve it.

1. The whole electrical load for the car (aside from the starte r motor ) goes through one cable and spade terminal in the fusebox. It’s an easy job to add a second parallel cable which does wonders for everything from starting to headlight brightness and is an easy first step into doing electrical work.

2. The power for the headlights goes directly through both of the headlight switches and there’s a fair bit of voltage drop causing dim brightness . The fix is to use the standard headlight wiring as a trigger circuit for a relay, taking direct power from the battery.

3. A similar thing happens with the starter solenoid, with a similar approach to sorting it out.

Here’s some wiring diagrams I did when sorting mine (mine has an Uno Turbo engine in, so some of the electronic injection gubbins will be the same as a 1500 injected US model) : https://oppositelock.kinja.com/let-there-be-light-1829433035

If you do end up getting it and need to fix anything just let me know! I’ve ended up doing most things on mine by now :)