Need urgent expert advice before I buy it. Pictures included

2

2re

True Classic
Hi guys.

I have car on hand. Its a 1978 with Uno Turbo iE + Uno 5 speed and front brakes, 140HP
The mechanics are all in good condition but the interiour and paint are not so good.
It was once a Blue Metalic speciale, I'm hoping a respray can bring it back to life either as a Blue or Green speciale.

The deal is made but I have reserved the right to walk away as there where lot's of angles missing in the photos.

But he took a bunch today. Check it out.
https://plus.google.com/photos/1175...503222678938286273/albums/5749453281179541761
So the question is do you see any reason why I should walk away.

Thanks for helping.
 
I'm not expert but it looks pretty good...

There are some areas of rust, the frame above where the pipes come together under the car for instance, but it looks ok to me. I'd buy it, depending on price of course.
 
looks fine to me

Not much rust and none too heavy.
And what is that wired plug at the engine sump drain plug?
 
I think it looks nice and for the year someone applied underspray to protect this car the rust areas are min and from what it looks like the mechanicles look nice just some cleaning and TLC that car will be a looker and rare set up:brow:.

Brian
 
Looks good

Seems to look ok. I guess you test drove the car. I did not see an asking price. I guess it would depend on what the price is.

Not much interior shots so see what the interior is like.

Good luck.
 
looks good

Looks to be structurally sound. Rust is minimal, bodywork looks decent.

A bit too handy with the spray gun methinks but if the engine is sound then it is quite an interesting buy.

Looks like the kind of X that has been meddled about though (apart from the obvious engine) so I'd have a good look through personally.

Chris.
 
Either you guys are blind or I am losing my mind

No offense intended, but I would turn around and run!

But this car looks like it has had the complete rear strut towers welded in from a completely different car! Not from an X!

Where is the dogbone?!

Where is the "crossmember" under the engine/trans?!

The rear bottom control arms have had plates welded onto them that I have not seen on mine.

The front strut towers have had rings welded to the top of them. Why?

The side of the front trunks have had the typical rust repair done, but rust is already coming through again.

The underbody is showing signs of strange welding and hints of rusty nastyness possibly lying below the layer of dirt and undercoating.
I can't prove it, but if the underbody was blasted, it suspect it would be a rusty mess of welded patch panels.

The "wrong" Uno Turbo trans was used, requiring complicated shift linkage. Shift feel may not be optimal.

Etc.....
 
Thanks for helping.

Ulix. Good to have your opinon and advice.
I really hope its you that is bonkers :mallet:becuase its to late to run.
I could try moonwalking but its not my style.

I have talked to seller on the phone a few times. He seams honest and straighforward.
He says the car is in good shape and strongly belevies it will make the 2000km trip I plan on driving.

I asked for more pictures becuase I wanted to make sure the body was sound and not in the need of a lot of cutting and welding.

Here's the info I have been given. I hope it can bring some light into the concerns Ulix raised.

Hello 2re.

The lower side beams have some paint chipping and the right one has a 2 cm rust-bud growing under the door.
The wheel arches are clean except for some small buds on the rear left.
The underside of the car looks solid. There is only one small rust hole, about 1cm in diameter behind the left jack support.
The suspension mounting points all look solid, they had work done on them soon after I bough the car. The strut mounts are also solid.
The rear strut mounts and swing arms were completely rebuilt and strengthened during the engine upgrade project and the engine bay was cleaned up too.
The front trunk looks OK with a few spots here and there. The lamp booths look decent too.
The worst looking part of the car is the rear trunk. However, it's not as bad as it looks, it can be cleaned up.
The original color of the car was light blue metallic (seen it under the dash and in the lamp booth)
It was already repainted when I bought it, it had a lighter color of metallic green.
The current color has been sprayed on in 2002. A partial respray was done last year because a friend of mine bumped it with his VW van while parking.
Only the right front quarterpanel was damaged but he had the whole right side resprayed for me so it would look proper and the friendship would remain :)

The flip-up light motors work perfectly, just like the rest of the car.
Cooling: Notorious, but no problems on this one :) I had it sorted out during the turbo project.
The pipes to the cooler have been replaced with copper pipes, the cooler was cleaned and pressure-prooved.
I changed the thermostat 2 years ago. The cooling fan turns on when it should and there is an additional fan to cool the injectors.
The temperature is always steady, even in the hottest summer, even in traffic.
An oil temperature gauge has been installed next to the turbo gauge, no problems there either.
The oil is cooled with a water-oil cooler placed under the oil filter, efficient and saves space.
I have removed the inside panel from engine bay cover so the intercooler can work more efficiently.
One more thing I forgot to mention: The gearbox is also from the Uno Turbo, so it's a proper 5 speed. It was rebuilt too so all gears sync fine.

Spare parts included: Airflow meter unit (2x), ignition computer unit, injection computer unit.
Fuel pump, ignition timing sensors, high-pressure air tubes, a set of rear lights and some other minor parts.

About the car: I have bought the car in 1998 and has been in my posession ever since.
It has always been well kept and stored in my garage. The car has undergone a partial rebuild in 2003-2004
when the engine bay and rear strut mounts were rebuilt to harness the Uno Turbo engine.
The mecahnics of the car are immaculate, high quality oil changed at every 5000 km, I keep a record of all major and minor repairs.
I recently changed the cam timing belt and cam oil seals. Clean engine, no oil stains - rarely seen on Fiat's of this era.
I also put in a new battery last month. Brakes, steering, lights, instruments, everything up to spec.
Oh, the front brakes (callipers and ventillated discs) are from the Uno Turbo as well.

In the past years I have been using it less and less, I have switched to motorbikes now.
I have driven it only 700 km this year and it's sad for me to see it stand in the garage unused. So, I have decided to find a new home for it.
 
I see many of the same things you do.

The cutting out and replacing of the top of the strut towers is very odd. As well as the slight extension of the main engine compartment rear brace to the strut towers. Are the rears changed to four bolt strut mounts at the top?

The lower crossmember has been replaced by that funky weldment on the left end of the transaxle and that large plate that goes to the rear crossmember attachment point. Who knows what is providing the for aft location the dog bone offers up above (perhaps its that heavy plate attached to the crossmember mounting, three points makes a plane right?).

The shift mechanism makes sense given the placement of the operator being on the wrong side. It does appear a trifle cobby :)

There is a bunch of ugly going on in different parts of the floor/understructure. Is that a crack in whatever is making up the right door opening running from the seam in the rocker panel to the radiused corner of the door seal ridge?

I can't say that I would be at all likely to buy this car myself.
 
Did anyone notice that its got a rear shifting tranny... Very cool... I think I really like it.. accept the color. I think it needs the more traditional 70s lime green...:)
 
Hi guys.

I had a chat with Adam, the seller, once more today. I asked about the concerns Ulix raised.
I got a good explanation for the custom fabrication that's been done.
I also talked on the phone with Denes, the chairman of the Hungarian X19 club.
He's in the X restoring biz http://x19mania.hu/ He told me he knows the car well and said it’s in good condition.
I’m bringing the car over to him for a check and service and possibly some restoration work.
He asked what I’d like to do with the car. I said full resto ready for the 40th anniversary
He just laughed and told me he got 3 X's in the garage + his own car to care for before Turin, so not much chance of that happening.
The Hungarian club will bring 7 cars to the 40th Ann. That event is going to be big and fun for sure.
Just wish I could have been there with the Dallara and JJ so he could show of his masterpiece and bring the trophies back in his suitcase.
I think I’ve got myself a good X nr2 and I can hardly wait to drive it home from Budapest.

PS. JJ I need one more set of Coilovers shipped to Budapest ASAP you snail ;-)
 
Looks pretty well sorted to me. Not a huge fan of the color either but other than that and some "minor" rust issues looks like a nicely modded X to me.
 
I think I can make another Set. I am just getting the Dallara wrapped up. I just had the trans out again and put in a nicer one. Now no shifting issues at all. A few minor electrical snaffoo to tackle and waiting still for those darn wheels to come back from the wheel shop... And we are done...

:eyepop::eyepop:
 
jjay911 said:
I think I can make another Set. I am just getting the Dallara wrapped up. I just had the trans out again and put in a nicer one. Now no shifting issues at all. A few minor electrical snaffoo to tackle and waiting still for those darn wheels to come back from the wheel shop... And we are done...

:eyepop::eyepop:
Click to expand...

Oh yes.. It will be something special I know :love:
Now that you know I've dobbled up in X's and become a member in the "more than 1 club"
You can relax and take a loong breake, for lunch :no:

Don't think there's time for the coilovers this summer, but perhaps you can put them in the trunk of the Dallara?
 
Cool. I have 2 kilometers on the Dallara. I have not even test driven her yet. I will tell ya best running engine I have ever witnessed. Transmission is also Very nice. I will tell ya there are 3 areas that you need to address when converting a 74. The first one is there is a metal bar next to the shifter that keeps you from shifting into the high gears. After I cut it out I noticed that I was hung up again. SO I had to replace the Ebrake handle assembly out of a newer car because it was rubbing. then I realized I was rubbing against the Bolt that holds the seat belt in. Now I realize why they repositioned that seat-belt in the later cars. I modified the seat-belt bolt by installing an additional washer so that the bolt would not stick out into the tunnel and touch the shift rod. Wow that's a lot to deal with. Took me an entire Sunday afternoon to diagnose and resolve all of those issues.....
 
jjay911 said:
Cool. I have 2 kilometers on the Dallara. I have not even test driven her yet. I will tell ya best running engine I have ever witnessed. Transmission is also Very nice. I will tell ya there are 3 areas that you need to address when converting a 74. The first one is there is a metal bar next to the shifter that keeps you from shifting into the high gears. After I cut it out I noticed that I was hung up again. SO I had to replace the Ebrake handle assembly out of a newer car because it was rubbing. then I realized I was rubbing against the Bolt that holds the seat belt in. Now I realize why they repositioned that seat-belt in the later cars. I modified the seat-belt bolt by installing an additional washer so that the bolt would not stick out into the tunnel and touch the shift rod. Wow that's a lot to deal with. Took me an entire Sunday afternoon to diagnose and resolve all of those issues.....
Click to expand...

Ai ai.. Good for me you never knew what you signed up for.
Well you might feel better knowing that Edd China works for free too :grin:
But you can always get a hug :hug:

Looking forward to see you riding it in :headbang:
 
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