What did you do to your X1/9 today ?

I have my car down for general repairs. My X19 is starting to think it is British. The trans is leaking oil so I put new seals and gaskets on. I wanted to get the motor and trans hooked up to day but went to a Dr. Who 50th anniversary event. For anybody that likes SiFi and/or Dr. who The day of the doctor is an awesome movie. They pull out all the stops.
 
Cheryl and I took my X out for brunch, then drove to Fallbrook via De Luz Rd for some nice twisty turnies and a long 50 mile shakedown of the car after all the repairs have been done.

The car was wonderful... it was cheryl's first time in the car and she liked how low slung you sit and how it makes the drive much more exciting than a "regular" car.

My observations were that all works as should be, but the brakes are not stopping as well as I'd hoped. that and I'm getting a brake glaze type squeal after moderate to hard braking. Gonna change out the pads for something better. Maybe some repco metal masters??

A few pix from today:





 
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I always liked Fallbrook. I used to go through there a lot from the mid 60’s to 80’s. There was a little restaurant in Rainbow I stopped at often. For three and a half years I used to fly through there on my motorcycle via old 395 at around 3am every Monday morning heading back to my ship. My best run was 100 miles from Riverside to San Diego in one hour and fifteen minutes. On more leisurely drives I liked the going through to Oceanside where a girl friend lived. I can picture that pretty red X19 making its way through those turns.
 
I enjoy it back there as well for not only the roads, but for the scenery...it's still one of the few places in Southern Caifornia that has not seen the ravages of progress bestowed opon it.

The 600 year old live oak trees still drape themselves over the road as they always have, with little sign of a guard rail or concrete K rail anywhere to make you think the place has been sanitized for your protection.

Proof of that was stopping for a 20 something who charged a corner a bit to hard and understeered his ford escort right on top of a series of boulders. Nobody was hurt, except for the Ford, and the drivers' ego.
 
winterised.

Filled gas tank, added some fuel stable and alcohol.
Changed oil/filter. Ran engine at high idle for 20-30 minutues. Nice and hot to get the moisture out.
Removed battery and took inside so it won't freeze.
Next restart sometime in late april.
 
Fired-up the motor sans rust-flush

Connected the fuel-pump and new Wix pre-filter and fired-up the engine. Purrrrrrrred like a kitten and feels great to know she's running well again!

It seems my small projects always become greater ones. Once you have things apart it's a good opportunity to repair or replace or freshen other things.

My "rust-in-the-clogged-injector" journey began in late August and led to pulling the plenum and fuel rail, cleaning the injectors, scrubbing the hard lines, dropping the tank and cleaning/sealing it, rebuilding the fuel sender, etc. Along the way I decided to replace the fuel pump and pressure regulator with new ones.

Got several winter projects still ahead: Instrument cluster surround needs fresh (black) paint, new(old) supertuner and subwoofer install, timing belt/tensioner replacement, oil-pan fix/replacement, engine mount replacements, and radiator replacement. Can't wait for Spring :)
 
Strip-Down..!!

...pulled all the boot(Trunk!!) carpet and soundproofing out;
Removed the U-G-E-R-L-E-E Euro bumper, the car is now 6" shorter!!

removed the rear grill and valance - Valance rusty, but solid...Janspeed back-box(Muffler!) is grubby, but solid...

Next, pull the front bumper, and fix the leaky targa... :wink2:


Manic
 
I finally got back out in my shop again today. It has gotten colder than a well diggers destination here and on top of that I passed a kidney stone a week ago and it kicked my ars. I will spare the gory details but I wound up in emergency at about 3am. Anyway I have the motor and trans all buttoned up and ready to go back in. Then I can start on the front brakes. I got new rubber dust covers for the ball joints and plan on changing those out when I do the brakes.
 
Today I started an 81 Fiat X that Had not run since 2001. New rebuilt engine. It was a lot of work. I have had the car since September. New clutch. New everything really. She will get new brakes this week and will be off to the body shop very soon.......... Black Black with lots of potential... Here is a photo.

 
These are my weekend chores on the X1/9 prior to being zipped up in its bag cover until March:
Headlights
Light bezels
Heater controls
Dash lights
Carb base gaskets
Locking wheel nuts
Spot lights
Paint touch up
Clock electrics
Fuel tank cover
 
Getting withdrawals! Haven't driven in a month now. Fiat has been just sitting there sulking under a layer of dust. Hope to get the ok next week to drive again.
 
...Removed front bumper of my '89 Gran Finale...It is now 12" shorter than when I bought it, and much prettier..!!

Removed black plastic door trim, to find there is a sh*tload of rivety things holding it on...will have to drill out and fill...:sigh:
 
george130 said:
Getting withdrawals! Haven't driven in a month now. Fiat has been just sitting there sulking under a layer of dust. Hope to get the ok next week to drive again.
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I know what you mean. I got my car back together a week ago and was going to move it out of the workshop and into the garage connected to the house. There is a slope from the shop up to the driveway. After all the melted snow the ground was a bit mushy. I pulled out of the shop and started up the rise and sure enough the tires started spinning so I rolled back down and got a bit of a run and made it to the drive way but the car got pretty muddy. It is to cold to wash outside so I spent the next two days blowing junk off with the air hose a gentle wipe down. I drove it this last Monday and it was big smile time but I noticed a slight but annoying hum. After some head scratching and serious mental rebuild I realized I had forgot to put the rubber dampener between the top of the transmission bell housing and the aluminum battery rack resting on top. For those that don't know my X19 is electric and it is so quiet that it there is a body rattle you will hear it. I always liked the sound of my Fiats winding out but there is also something enjoyable about being abele to hold a conversation in a normal voice at 70mph. Anyway I am going to crawl under the car today and see if I can get that rubber piece in place with out pulling the batteries. Oh and graveling that slope between the shop and driveway is on my to do list.
 
dragonsgate said:
I know what you mean. I got my car back together a week ago and was going to move it out of the workshop and into the garage connected to the house. There is a slope from the shop up to the driveway. After all the melted snow the ground was a bit mushy. I pulled out of the shop and started up the rise and sure enough the tires started spinning so I rolled back down and got a bit of a run and made it to the drive way but the car got pretty muddy. It is to cold to wash outside so I spent the next two days blowing junk off with the air hose a gentle wipe down. I drove it this last Monday and it was big smile time but I noticed a slight but annoying hum. After some head scratching and serious mental rebuild I realized I had forgot to put the rubber dampener between the top of the transmission bell housing and the aluminum battery rack resting on top. For those that don't know my X19 is electric and it is so quiet that it there is a body rattle you will hear it. I always liked the sound of my Fiats winding out but there is also something enjoyable about being abele to hold a conversation in a normal voice at 70mph. Anyway I am going to crawl under the car today and see if I can get that rubber piece in place with out pulling the batteries. Oh and graveling that slope between the shop and driveway is on my to do list.
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Thanks.
Mine is a health issue. It's prime summer time is AUS right now. Been banned from driving by the Doc since 1 JAN. Next check up is Thursday, hope to get the OK to drive and maybe return to work even.
I haven't done any of the things I planned on the beast or the house but I have had a real rest for the last few weeks.
 
george130 said:
Thanks.
Mine is a health issue. It's prime summer time is AUS right now. Been banned from driving by the Doc since 1 JAN. Next check up is Thursday, hope to get the OK to drive and maybe return to work even.
I haven't done any of the things I planned on the beast or the house but I have had a real rest for the last few weeks.
Click to expand...
Sorry to hear that. I have always loved driving and as I get older wonder what I will do when I can't drive anymore. I guess it will be like my experience at 6am. this morning. I had my X19 up to 167mph and then I woke up and got out of bed.
 
Staying indoors....

Finished a small relay-wiring harness to plug-in my new/old pioneer supertuner into the original radio harness plug and a separate battery positive feed. Also connects to a subwoofer which will go in this Spring.

Removed the cluster surround on my late model dash and freshened it with some flat black vinyl paint. The old (original) paint on top of the brown plastic was faded and worn and really showed-it on sunny days. Rest of dash is in excellent condition and the surround looked especially bad. Looks much better now!
 
Resprayed my center console and trial fitted the parts


I can't decide whether or not I should repaint the silver accents again
 
I don't often go for bling but someone on here had shiny kick guards in their door shuts so I bought some too. I also wanted to see how good the Permabag storage thing has been over 2 weeks. Very good l am happy to report. X1/9 nice and dry.

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