Black-Tooth
Tony Natoli
I have a room reserved...
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Black-Tooth
Tony Natoli
Thanks guys, it was worth the ink... and one more thing...
I have lost count of the number of whinny, sniffling, poor lost souls on this site that have come back to finally replacing the X1/9 they gave up on so many years ago.
Getting rid of these cars is like tearing your arm off and you might survive, but will always be encumbered by the loss.
Happy Motoring...
HA!
I have lost count of the number of whinny, sniffling, poor lost souls on this site that have come back to finally replacing the X1/9 they gave up on so many years ago.
Getting rid of these cars is like tearing your arm off and you might survive, but will always be encumbered by the loss.
Happy Motoring...
HA!
jvandyke
True Classic
:worship::worship::worship:
I'm loving my "shop" so far. What a great thing to have a dedicated space for projects. After decades of fiddling outside and in cold cluttered main garages, it's a just amazing. It's only going to get better as I collect more tools and hopefully more projects. I've got my lift waiting for me and am scheming to get more goodies, blast cabinets, an old oven for small powder coating, need an engine stand at some point......:lol::lol::lol:
I'm loving my "shop" so far. What a great thing to have a dedicated space for projects. After decades of fiddling outside and in cold cluttered main garages, it's a just amazing. It's only going to get better as I collect more tools and hopefully more projects. I've got my lift waiting for me and am scheming to get more goodies, blast cabinets, an old oven for small powder coating, need an engine stand at some point......:lol::lol::lol:
Tavalin
Florida Mike (again)
Rod Midkiff
True Classic
I agree with the felling of loss at the losing my 1st X. Stollen/burned did not think it was worth trying to save (kind wish I still had some of the parts now though) Fire was in the cabbin.
I have planes for a conrete slab, shop/lift. I am hoping this summer!!
I have planes for a conrete slab, shop/lift. I am hoping this summer!!
Warren Smith
Wazza
Thanks for sharing that Tony....
... I agree with most things said.
My own wife is a bit of a gem in that when I have thought about buying another Fiat she has actually been supportive!
When I was thinking of buying my first X back in 1995, we had one family car and two kids (boy and a girl). I was umming and ahhing about whether it was a good idea to buy a second car that only had two seats. She just said to me "well, it's two more seats than we have now!" Obviously, that convinced me! Had the car for 11 years.
Two of my other Fiats in years after that period she has said to me "well, you don't smoke and you hardly drink, so you deserve to have the things you like!" Wow, what a woman, eh?
That's why I now have 2 road registered Fiats in the garage ( a 1997 Coupe 20v Turbo and a 2008 Ritmo Sport (Bravo in Europe), as well as the Prototipo "tribute" exxie my son and I built.
Mike, a bloke needs a hobby (and a well kitted out shed (garage) to do it in. Full stop.
By the way Mike, when I first bought my exxie the fuel gauge didn't work due to the wires in the sender unit being worn through ( a common problem). I went to a Fiat wrecker and bought the sender unit from a Fiat 131, which although not being the same, I was able to remove the actual sender by drilling out the pop rivets and re-attaching it to the long part of the exxie's sender. It worked just fine for the next 11 years (at least!).
... I agree with most things said.
My own wife is a bit of a gem in that when I have thought about buying another Fiat she has actually been supportive!
When I was thinking of buying my first X back in 1995, we had one family car and two kids (boy and a girl). I was umming and ahhing about whether it was a good idea to buy a second car that only had two seats. She just said to me "well, it's two more seats than we have now!" Obviously, that convinced me! Had the car for 11 years.
Two of my other Fiats in years after that period she has said to me "well, you don't smoke and you hardly drink, so you deserve to have the things you like!" Wow, what a woman, eh?
That's why I now have 2 road registered Fiats in the garage ( a 1997 Coupe 20v Turbo and a 2008 Ritmo Sport (Bravo in Europe), as well as the Prototipo "tribute" exxie my son and I built.
Mike, a bloke needs a hobby (and a well kitted out shed (garage) to do it in. Full stop.
By the way Mike, when I first bought my exxie the fuel gauge didn't work due to the wires in the sender unit being worn through ( a common problem). I went to a Fiat wrecker and bought the sender unit from a Fiat 131, which although not being the same, I was able to remove the actual sender by drilling out the pop rivets and re-attaching it to the long part of the exxie's sender. It worked just fine for the next 11 years (at least!).
MadPoet
Low Mileage
I need the pep talk
even though it wasn't aimed at me.
So I got my replacement arm, err X1/9 while the Wife was pregnant with the second kid. Sometime after, head gasket blew. This isn't my first BBQ and I am no stranger to blowing out a head gasket. But the first thing I did was park it in the garage for long term storage.
After a while my dad convinced me to spend a little time on it, when I can. My son is now 2 and when he sees it he says "Daddies car" When I am browsing on here or ebay, he sees an X1/9 and says "Daddies car". I find this very motivating. My daughter who is now 5 is also showing interest. So they both will be involved as much as I can (for example when I am not screaming and cursing). My earliest and favorite memories was "helping" my dad work on one of his classic cars.
What I have to remind myself of is the knock on effect and scope creep. You fix one thing and the next weakest link breaks. You start digging, but then dig deeper than you need to. At some point this will truly be my car, when the only person I can blame is myself.
One thing my dad taught me is, enjoy your sports car, but have a back up.
even though it wasn't aimed at me.
So I got my replacement arm, err X1/9 while the Wife was pregnant with the second kid. Sometime after, head gasket blew. This isn't my first BBQ and I am no stranger to blowing out a head gasket. But the first thing I did was park it in the garage for long term storage.
After a while my dad convinced me to spend a little time on it, when I can. My son is now 2 and when he sees it he says "Daddies car" When I am browsing on here or ebay, he sees an X1/9 and says "Daddies car". I find this very motivating. My daughter who is now 5 is also showing interest. So they both will be involved as much as I can (for example when I am not screaming and cursing). My earliest and favorite memories was "helping" my dad work on one of his classic cars.
What I have to remind myself of is the knock on effect and scope creep. You fix one thing and the next weakest link breaks. You start digging, but then dig deeper than you need to. At some point this will truly be my car, when the only person I can blame is myself.
One thing my dad taught me is, enjoy your sports car, but have a back up.
lookforjoe
True Classic
Going further OT here - my pragmatic side needs to know - did you determine the cause of failure / drain the fluids / oil the bores? Curious only because you will be looking at a much larger repair if coolant / water was allowed to sit in the cylinders for that length of time. A relatively simple job becomes an engine rebuild before you know it... 
MadPoet
Low Mileage
I hear ya
One of the first things I did was drain it, then later pulled the head - glad I did as the cylinders were full of coolant. Cleaned up fine - but rather than jump on replacing the gasket, I should have pulled the motor and did it all - oh well I'll save that pain for later. (Never done rings or barings so will have to learn that, on my spare motor.) I'll write a a full post in a new thread later, Suffice it to say, reading this thread has really helped me stay motivated.
Sorry for going OT.
One of the first things I did was drain it, then later pulled the head - glad I did as the cylinders were full of coolant. Cleaned up fine - but rather than jump on replacing the gasket, I should have pulled the motor and did it all - oh well I'll save that pain for later. (Never done rings or barings so will have to learn that, on my spare motor.) I'll write a a full post in a new thread later, Suffice it to say, reading this thread has really helped me stay motivated.
Sorry for going OT.
Black-Tooth
Tony Natoli
Warren, a rare find indeed!!!
Back in about 2001 or so I approached my wife, head down and speaking softly... how I wished to save another X1/9 from certain death. This was a Saturday evening and I needed to get it on Monday.
Long story short I paid a $1 for it, installed a battery and $10 bucks worth of gas and drove it home 50 miles with no insurance, license, or problems. My intention was to clean it up a bit and sell it, period.
After about $550 bucks overall investment, the white one looked like this...
I started to say something to the wife and she (interrupted me as usual) and said, "OK, you can keep the car as long as you build a Playhouse for Piper, our granddaughter."
I stumbled over my words, but caught myself... and said "OK, then... its a deal!"
Only after a few more years did I tire of having virtually TWO identical '79's that I maintained and upgraded as I learned more and more about the cars. White Fang was a 49 state car and ran like a scalded dog... which helped me to get Black Tooth, a constipated CA car "upgraded" to be its equal. I shared key learnings from one to the other and was proud, but tired, of caring for them both. I placed an ad on this site and heard nothing for about 2 weeks and then Mel Simmonds stopped by and paid me what I was asking and drove it home.
HA!
That and a few hundred more and a few months total finished up the Playhouse.
So I took a few hundred bucks as a loss overall... but it was one of the KEY features in the sale of this home... giving us about 10X more than I had originally invested in the playhouse. Not bad...
Hmmmm... thinking a bit further... Piper is now 21 and a Senior at U of Colorado. The proceeds just MIGHT pay for ONE semester there. Oh what fun it is to be a Papa... Talk about a LOSS! Hopefully she will be able to be gainfully employed once she gets her Bachelor's in whatever...
Back in about 2001 or so I approached my wife, head down and speaking softly... how I wished to save another X1/9 from certain death. This was a Saturday evening and I needed to get it on Monday.
Long story short I paid a $1 for it, installed a battery and $10 bucks worth of gas and drove it home 50 miles with no insurance, license, or problems. My intention was to clean it up a bit and sell it, period.
After about $550 bucks overall investment, the white one looked like this...
I started to say something to the wife and she (interrupted me as usual) and said, "OK, you can keep the car as long as you build a Playhouse for Piper, our granddaughter."
I stumbled over my words, but caught myself... and said "OK, then... its a deal!"
Only after a few more years did I tire of having virtually TWO identical '79's that I maintained and upgraded as I learned more and more about the cars. White Fang was a 49 state car and ran like a scalded dog... which helped me to get Black Tooth, a constipated CA car "upgraded" to be its equal. I shared key learnings from one to the other and was proud, but tired, of caring for them both. I placed an ad on this site and heard nothing for about 2 weeks and then Mel Simmonds stopped by and paid me what I was asking and drove it home.
HA!
That and a few hundred more and a few months total finished up the Playhouse.
So I took a few hundred bucks as a loss overall... but it was one of the KEY features in the sale of this home... giving us about 10X more than I had originally invested in the playhouse. Not bad...
Hmmmm... thinking a bit further... Piper is now 21 and a Senior at U of Colorado. The proceeds just MIGHT pay for ONE semester there. Oh what fun it is to be a Papa... Talk about a LOSS! Hopefully she will be able to be gainfully employed once she gets her Bachelor's in whatever...
Black-Tooth
Tony Natoli
Hey Eric... You reminded me of when my son Chris...
was about 4 or 5 and I was working on my '70 Duster 340.
He was hanging around and following me and playing with tools as well. I don't remember what I was doing but I had picked up a hammer and was banging on something. I would stop and start and bang away 3 or 4 times.
Then I heard something strange. My head was under the hood and as I started tapping I heard an "echo" of sorts. 1, 2, 3, 4 and stop, 1, 2, 3, 4 and stop. Then I went 1, 2, 3, and stopped and 4th bang came from outside the car. Guess who picked up a hammer and started banging on the door panel? Thankfully there was NO damage...
HA!
was about 4 or 5 and I was working on my '70 Duster 340.
He was hanging around and following me and playing with tools as well. I don't remember what I was doing but I had picked up a hammer and was banging on something. I would stop and start and bang away 3 or 4 times.
Then I heard something strange. My head was under the hood and as I started tapping I heard an "echo" of sorts. 1, 2, 3, 4 and stop, 1, 2, 3, 4 and stop. Then I went 1, 2, 3, and stopped and 4th bang came from outside the car. Guess who picked up a hammer and started banging on the door panel? Thankfully there was NO damage...
HA!
dragonsgate
True Classic
In the very early 70's I was custom painting on cars and motorcycles. My wife worked at a news paper so I took care of our almost 16 month old son. I would be in my garage with the door up working and my son would be in the driveway usually on his tricycle. He would occasionally get bored and want some attention. I tried to give as much as I could but some times I just had to get a project done and didn't want to stop so I would give him a big rubber mallet and showed him how to pound on a cinder block with it by saying POW! Anyone would say that was not a very useful thing to learn but........One day my neighbor was having a birthday party for their little girl and asked me if I wanted to let Jason come over. I said sure and handed him over the fence that separated our two properties. They had a Piñata and decided to let my son go first. They also waved the blind fold. So there stood my little boy with the stick they had handed him not knowing what to do. I was leaning on the fence watching this so I pointed at he Piñata and said POW! The kid went into immediate action swinging that stick like mad. He didn't break the thing but got in a few good whacks plus clearing the patio before the neighbor mom managed to get close enough to disarm him.
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Tavalin
Florida Mike (again)
Wow, these are great stories that we need to capture and in print. Also, motivating me more to keep my head up and get my X back running.
My five year old thinks the X is his car. His reasoning is really great, "mommy has a car, daddy has a car so the red one is my car". I say, "then you need to help me fix it". He say, "I'll be inside playing". Oh well, he a weirdo and does not like getting an inch of dirt on his hands. Not your typical 5 year old...lol
Let's keep all this going. I am really enjoying the wonderful stories.
V/r, Mike
My five year old thinks the X is his car. His reasoning is really great, "mommy has a car, daddy has a car so the red one is my car". I say, "then you need to help me fix it". He say, "I'll be inside playing". Oh well, he a weirdo and does not like getting an inch of dirt on his hands. Not your typical 5 year old...lol
Let's keep all this going. I am really enjoying the wonderful stories.
V/r, Mike
TonyK
True Classic
Gas tank repair
Here is what I did for my son's RX7 gas tank.
The product is from Eastwood.
TonyK.
Grimsby Ontario Canada.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QsL1wRaiMGs
Here is what I did for my son's RX7 gas tank.
The product is from Eastwood.
TonyK.
Grimsby Ontario Canada.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QsL1wRaiMGs
I feel your pain
My current car is my 4th X1/9 with 2 being rebuilt in the UK but sadly sold when I moved to New Zealand. My 3rd car was a barn find a couple of years after we got here..... spent a fortune on the car sourcing parts and bought my fair share of donor cars only to lose my car, my house and my self worth (but not my kids) when I seperated. As the saying goes..... times a great heeler.
Happily remarried soon to be a grandfather and my new X1/9 sits in the garage with money spent on it when I have a few spare pennies
Everything you need is on this site.... the team are amazing and I would suggest there are no issues they don't have an answer too.
Good luck with the car ..... look forward to hearing your successes.
My current car is my 4th X1/9 with 2 being rebuilt in the UK but sadly sold when I moved to New Zealand. My 3rd car was a barn find a couple of years after we got here..... spent a fortune on the car sourcing parts and bought my fair share of donor cars only to lose my car, my house and my self worth (but not my kids
) when I seperated. As the saying goes..... times a great heeler.Happily remarried soon to be a grandfather and my new X1/9 sits in the garage with money spent on it when I have a few spare pennies
Everything you need is on this site.... the team are amazing and I would suggest there are no issues they don't have an answer too.
Good luck with the car ..... look forward to hearing your successes.
Sloovis
Daily Driver
My First X
I know I don't post here a lot, but I do come in every day and read the new posts. In the spirit of keeping up the nostalgic story theme:
Around 1991 (I was about 22 yrs old, fresh out of college, and arrogant), I bought a 1980 X for $500 from a friend of mine that had tortured the poor thing. It ran okay for the first few months, but one night she overheated while I was on the NYS Thruway near Albany. After I let her cool a bit, I tried to get her started to but to no avail. I left her on the shoulder and walked to through the woods to the nearest gas station pay phone to call my dad (cell phones were only for the rich and famous at this time). Went back to the car and waited for a tow truck to show up. Boy was I surprised my my dad (who was a dairy farmer) showed up in his beat up old Chevy Custom Deluxe pickup and a tow chain! We towed her on Interstate 88 back to the house roughly 50 miles away in the middle of the night.
The next morning we pushed her into the garage, flipped the engine cover, and saw everything covered in coolant. My dad immediately knew it was the head gasket. So he took a drive to the local NAPA and ordered a new HG and Chilton's repair manual. A couple of days later everything arrived and we got to work. I really had no interest in car repair at the time, but since it was my car and I blew the engine (and he paid for the new gasket), he made me help him fix it.
After we fixed it, we couldn't get her started. She would crank and crank and crank, but we simply couldn't get her going. So we pushed her out of the garage, onto the road, and hooked her up to the tow chain and Custom Deluxe one more time. I depressed the clutch, put her in 2nd and gear, and got rolling with my dad pulling the car from his pick up. We got up a little bit of speed (10 MPH maybe, but i'm only guessing) he gave me a hand signal, I popped the clutch and she fired up almost immediately. I drove that car for another 2 years with no problems before I sold her for $500.
My dad has late stage Parkinson's and dementia now. I bring this story up to him often when I see him hoping he'll snap back into reality, if only for just a bit. Sometimes it works.
College had distanced us some, but that experience brought me closer to my dad than I had been in a long time.
-Bill
I know I don't post here a lot, but I do come in every day and read the new posts. In the spirit of keeping up the nostalgic story theme:
Around 1991 (I was about 22 yrs old, fresh out of college, and arrogant), I bought a 1980 X for $500 from a friend of mine that had tortured the poor thing. It ran okay for the first few months, but one night she overheated while I was on the NYS Thruway near Albany. After I let her cool a bit, I tried to get her started to but to no avail. I left her on the shoulder and walked to through the woods to the nearest gas station pay phone to call my dad (cell phones were only for the rich and famous at this time). Went back to the car and waited for a tow truck to show up. Boy was I surprised my my dad (who was a dairy farmer) showed up in his beat up old Chevy Custom Deluxe pickup and a tow chain! We towed her on Interstate 88 back to the house roughly 50 miles away in the middle of the night.
The next morning we pushed her into the garage, flipped the engine cover, and saw everything covered in coolant. My dad immediately knew it was the head gasket. So he took a drive to the local NAPA and ordered a new HG and Chilton's repair manual. A couple of days later everything arrived and we got to work. I really had no interest in car repair at the time, but since it was my car and I blew the engine (and he paid for the new gasket), he made me help him fix it.
After we fixed it, we couldn't get her started. She would crank and crank and crank, but we simply couldn't get her going. So we pushed her out of the garage, onto the road, and hooked her up to the tow chain and Custom Deluxe one more time. I depressed the clutch, put her in 2nd and gear, and got rolling with my dad pulling the car from his pick up. We got up a little bit of speed (10 MPH maybe, but i'm only guessing) he gave me a hand signal, I popped the clutch and she fired up almost immediately. I drove that car for another 2 years with no problems before I sold her for $500.
My dad has late stage Parkinson's and dementia now. I bring this story up to him often when I see him hoping he'll snap back into reality, if only for just a bit. Sometimes it works.
College had distanced us some, but that experience brought me closer to my dad than I had been in a long time.
-Bill
dragonsgate
True Classic
Good story Bill. My dad had dementia and it is was hard to watch but I still remember him for all he did for me. Keep telling your dad the stories. We have kind of gotten off Tavalin's thread but I am sure we have not forgotten his problems. Hang in there Tav, we are still rooting for you.
Tavalin
Florida Mike (again)
All of these stories are so motivating that I do not see we are off topic. I want to keep these going and hopefully have a moderator archive them later.
I am dredging through a car that the PO (and dear friend) thought was being service correctly. The more I dig the more I find that the mech did incorrectly or just outright lied to the PO about.
I am more determined to try and correct everything and keep my X then ever before. Thank-you, everyone for sharing.
I too remember my father (passed in 1978) working on euro cars all the time in the garage. I guess I need to be more like him and just provide for my family the short time we have together and work on my X in between for therapy.
You guys are great and I wish I lived closer so we could meet. Maybe, when get my X reliable I can drive and say hello to some of you with my son.
Thanks again, Mike
I am dredging through a car that the PO (and dear friend) thought was being service correctly. The more I dig the more I find that the mech did incorrectly or just outright lied to the PO about.
I am more determined to try and correct everything and keep my X then ever before. Thank-you, everyone for sharing.
I too remember my father (passed in 1978) working on euro cars all the time in the garage. I guess I need to be more like him and just provide for my family the short time we have together and work on my X in between for therapy.
You guys are great and I wish I lived closer so we could meet. Maybe, when get my X reliable I can drive and say hello to some of you with my son.
Thanks again, Mike