A Different X1/9 Abarth Engine Swap

kmead said:
Airbags in the seats and along the roof,they are really not in the a pillar, just the labels. Some cars will have part of the actuator in the pillar.

Knee bag also in that car.

Sensor placement will be interesting.

You won’t need power steering in an X.
Click to expand...

True on the power steering, Just dont know how the sport button will act as its removes some of the assist when its turned on.
 
Stealthmagic27 said:
Hi All,
Been a long time lurker here and starting this as an introduction and build thread.

My name is Giovanni and am from Rhode Island, USA.👋 I recently purchased a 74' X from Matt @ Midwest and currently in the process of finding a shipping company to get her home. Super excited to get going on this project!

My plan is to take as much from a new gen 500 Abarth and transplant into the X. Interior including dash, seats, electronics etc., and of course the engine swap. My goal is to keep as much functionality from the 500 as possible. Will be working on a good mix of performance/drivability whilst keeping it as reliable as possible. Thanks everyone!


View attachment 75959
Click to expand...
Every time I prep 500 for a swap into an X I’m toying with idea of swapping as much as possible, I’ve done three so far, but when time comes to it you have to decide between the effort and the outcome. This is what you absolutely need to keep: engine harness to the ECU, ECU, engine compartment and cabin fuse box, ABS module, transmission control module, and the rest you can remove or keep and try to swap in the X. It is possible to keep almost everything from 500 with just a few exceptions like front and rear seats😁, roof airbags.
 
Serhiy Luchkey said:
Every time I prep 500 for a swap into an X I’m toying with idea of swapping as much as possible, I’ve done three so far, but when time comes to it you have to decide between the effort and the outcome. This is what you absolutely need to keep: engine harness to the ECU, ECU, engine compartment and cabin fuse box, ABS module, transmission control module, and the rest you can remove or keep and try to swap in the X. It is possible to keep almost everything from 500 with just a few exceptions like front and rear seats😁, roof airbags.
Click to expand...
Thank you Serhiy! Have you tried the front seats, how do they fit? Or did they fit at all lol
 
Stealthmagic27 said:
Well I'm only 3'5 so I should be ok... just kidding 😂
Click to expand...
The big issue would be the height of the cushion relative to the steering wheel. There isn’t much vertical room in an X. A 500 is a tall box which trades height to make a small car reasonably roomy for 4 people. A 500 has a 90” wheel base, the X has just under 87” which shoehorns two seats, a gas tank/spare tire and an engine in there.
 
IMG_8924.jpeg
IMG_8925.jpeg
IMG_8926.jpeg
IMG_8927.jpeg
IMG_8928.jpeg
Will Fiat 500 seats fit in the Fiat X1/9?
IMG_8929.jpeg
 
You might find driving a bit tricky tho :)

Great to have a real life visualisation of how they do or do not fit.

btw the dash looks great, how much work was it to fit in the binacle?.
 
You guys are somethin..lol Prb take the plastics off and modify the brackets the seats will drop a ton. Those back bolsters are huge compared to abarth seats.
 
Serhiy Luchkey said:
Since I’m curious too sometime this week I will try to modify the seats and brackets to see if they can fit better
Click to expand...
Keep in mind the entire X seat cushion and structure is just the height of the upholstered section of the 500 based seat. Using the removable seat slides from a late X could be used with the understructure of the 500 seats. X seats don’t take the load of the seat belt like a 500 does thus why its structure and floor tracks are so heavy duty.
 
Striped and pulled the rest of the wiring today. And a bunch of other pieces. The PO must of been a roofer, flashing and roofing tar for a trunk pan lol. Also tar undercoating all over the frunk which I'm having a hell of a time removing.

Also, discover some covered up rot under the windshield and top right corner which will need to be corrected. PO or whoever did the work just loaded it up with bondo.I ordered a windshield removal kit so I can remove it.

1000001286.jpg
1000001290.jpg
1000001291.jpg
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top