Mezzanine's '77 X1/9 project

Mezzanine

Daily Driver
Hey all, my first post here and I thought I would share what I'm working on. The fine folks on the forum over at Grassroots Motorsports said this is the place to be for an X1/9, and I've been trolling here for a little while now. My name is Craig, and while this is my first Fiat, I am no stranger to European cars. I've been a vintage SAAB owner for a long time now, and used to help out the Seattle Italian Concour d'Elegance many years back.

This project started when I found this little Fiat on Craigslist in my area. After checking it out and gaining spousal approval, I decided to buy it. $800.

On Sunday, July 6th, I went back to the seller's house to get it hauled home. He lived at the top of a steep gravel driveway, and I was worried that the AAA tow truck might have a hard time getting up there and turned around. So I pushed the car out of the shop and decided to test the brakes trial-by-fire style and roll it down the hill. Lucky for me, they worked great. Here it is safely awaiting tow at the bottom of the hill:

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In these two pics, you can see that the trunk and top of the B-pillar wing have a silver/grey vinyl film applied. No idea why- perhaps a previous owner testing viability of paint alternatives? The trunk lid is yellow beneath, as evidenced through a few tears/scratches in the vinyl.

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The tow home was uneventful- the driver put it on dollies, so I didn't have to worry about the transmission. After using a come-along to pull it into my garage, I started to look it over.

The car came with about 8 boxes full of new and used parts. Some spares, some parts that need to be reinstalled. Also included is a complete set of factory service manuals as well as Clymer and Haynes manuals. In those boxes, I managed to piece together some of the car's history. The tires were made in 2004. The person that bought most of the parts for the car lived in Oregon, and by the ship-dates, I can verify that they owned the car between 2004 and 2009. Could be much longer than that, but those are the extent dates I found.

I know this is a pretty tight community- Anyone know someone named Karen Tuck from Salem OR?

The next owner I found record of (Alan Perry) was in Bainbridge Island, a little over an hour north of me. I don't know how long he had the car, but the title was in his name. Alan sold it to the guy I bought it from, who only had it for a few months before he realized it was more work than he wanted.

It is obvious that this car has sat inside and in many pieces for a long, long time now. Since some of the parts purchased as far back as 2004 are still in boxes and the tires (again, made in 2004) still have the nubbins on them, I think the car hasn't been on the road in a decade or more.

I've looked it over closely, and there is no rust to speak of. One of the previous owners was very liberal with some POR-15, but even that looks to have been preventative. No major body repairs that I've found yet. The car was originally yellow, and since a can of Sunburst Yellow Rustoleum was included in the sale, I am concluding that the rough coats of paint the car currently shows are Rustoleum. Some spots were applied nicely with a good start on wet sanding showing. Other spots have runs like crazy and it is clear that they were just slapping paint on to cover primer. Perhaps the work of different owners? The body is very straight:

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The frunk is all POR-15. All solid metal, including the battery tray. Forgive the photos- the car is very dusty, supporting my theory that it has sat for a long time. :)

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The windshield has the same marking as all the other windows, so there is a chance it is original. It is not secured- I had to gaff-tape it down for transport. Looks like it was removed to paint or possibly make repairs to where the A-pillar meets the body.

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The upholstery looks like factory, and is a little ratty, but quite serviceable for now. I'm bummed about the brown dash and door cards. I may try my hand at flocking the dash, but that is low on the priority list. A previous owner began to recover the dash in black vinyl, as shown here:

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There are some carpets included in the sale, but they aren't all that nice, and don't look factory. Plus they smell faintly of cat piss.

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...Continued

My plan is to first get it running, then see about making it look better. Since the car has changed hands so many times, I want to do a thorough check of everything. The previous owner could get it to sputter to life momentarily on starting fluid, but it appears no gas is getting to the Weber, since the filters are empty.

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Before I attempt anything on the car, I plan to spend some quality time with the service manuals. It looks like there is some new wires going in to where the fuel tank lives that I can't identify... You can't quite see them in this pic, but they are just under the fuel lines going through the bulkhead on the right. They have some different flags or tags on them that look brand new, but factory installed.

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Much of the wiring was labeled by a PO, and is all in nice condition. No melts, no damaged insulation, no corrosion on terminals to speak of. But it is a little intimidating hanging out there like that.

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One last thing that gave me the warm fuzzies: There are no hack-job electrical splices, no scotch-lock connectors, and the few screws I've turned all had anti-seize paste on them. Someone was thorough, and loved this car. I can't tell you all how much piece of mind little things like that give me, especially on a project like this.
 
...Continued

In the evening this week, I started working on getting the engine started.

First off, I hooked up the instrument cluster and tried the key. The door ajar/remove key buzzer works, and it is wake-the-dead loud. Are Italians hard of hearing or something? The car positively vibrated when it went off. No power to the starter though. Remember when I said the PO could get it to run a little? He was jumping the starter directly, but I wanted it to work the way it is supposed to. I spent a few minutes going through the troubleshooting section of the FSM. Surprisingly good troubleshooting guides. I have to say that I am quite impressed by the manual and wiring schematics.

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The car is low enough that the targa top makes a great desk for your manuals.

After poking around for a few minutes, I discovered that one of the plugs that powers the starter relay was not connected. Just like that, the starter turns the engine over. WOOHOO!!

I gave it a shot of starting fluid just to see if I would get lucky, but it wouldn't catch. I followed the troubleshooting guide in the manual to chase down spark, and I think I have an issue. I have 12v at the coil, but I can't get spark anywhere: points, plugs, etc. Shouldn't there be a resistor somewhere supplying <8V to the coil? I have 12V at the C14 connector too. Coil tests good for resistance, and I swapped in a spare that was included with the car for no change in results.

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Also, this schematic shows a green and black wire at the D terminal of the coil, but black at the distributor. Mine is green and black all the way there.

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What is 0510, Idle fuel flow shut-off solenoid, and where can I find it? The points and condenser appear to be brand new, and I made sure everything was adjusted and gapped to the manual specifications.

Since I can't get any spark out of the coil what so ever, I'm really curious how the PO had the thing sputtering. I only saw it on video...

In other news, remember when I said I drove the car down the hill at the PO's place? Notice anything missing in this photo?

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Yeah, no bolt connecting the steering column to the rack. Spooky.


I'd love some advice on the spark issue. Thanks!
 
tipo158, Alan Perry

Search for posts by tipo158 in the FSW forum. You'll find some history on your car.
 
Neat!

What is 0510, Idle fuel flow shut-off solenoid, and where can I find it?

Looks like a fun project. the idle fuel shut off solenoid is part of the carburetor. Look for a wire with key-on power going to a tab on a cylindrical thing screwed into the base of that carb, if it still has one.

You can ohm test the coil but I think you're right about the resistor, and it not being present could have caused damage to the points and/or condenser. Make sure the points wire isn't grounding on the dizzy housing.
 
Welcome to the addiction Craig...

Now where to START (pun intended)...

I'm unsure what year your car is... Could be an '80 carbed model but the deck-lid and dash say otherwise. THe wheels are 1980 and appear to have 175/70x13 rubber on them which will need to be tossed later on.

You have quite a PROJECT in front of you but a good start (no pun intended) it would appear. But like eating an elephant, its best to take one bite at a time...

Starting the car... OK, you have it turning over and no hits using either. I too would go after the spark. Yes... there SHOULD be a "ballast resister" mounted to the right of the engine that drops the 12 volts down to 9 or so... and this leads to the + side of the coil. You can do without the resister for a while... just get 12 volts to the coil and try again.

I would pull a plug with the lead attached and ground it to see if there is fire. Takes two people usually...

Next... as you have done... pull the cab and see if you have spark on the points.

Let us know what ya find.

The FUEL issue we will discuss next, but I suspect a bunch of crud in the tank as the mechanical pumps are pretty sound... and I would then suspect there would be crud in the carb after that.

Lots to do... the tank has a convenient access from the top... remove the wiring and plumbing and rubber surround, undo the 6 or 8 nuts and pull the sending unit and pick-up tube out by gently twisting and lifting. Using a flashlight... take a peek.

More to come and always CHECK here FIRST before doing ANYTHING. Your manuals may be GOOD, but the experience, comradery and willingness to help by the folks on this site are second to none.
 
THANKS!

I was told there was a good chance someone here would be able to identify the car, but I didn't expect it to be the very first response! Thank you so much! :grouphug:
 
Getting closer...

Progress continues on the efforts to get it started. As I had said before, I couldn't get spark at the points at all. I used a test light to verify that the coil is good, at which point I noticed that the one I had taken out was marked as not requiring a resistor. I put that one back in and then I hooked up the test light to the primary coil windings to see if it was firing. I had a steady light when cranking instead of a flashing/flickering light indicating the points were doing their job. I tested the continuity between every wire on the coil, distributor, and ground and determined that the condenser was bad and was grounding out, preventing the coil from firing across the secondary.

I disconnected it and suddenly had spark. I think there was a new spare in the parts boxes somewhere, but I'll fish that out later. I can continue testing for now without one. I put the plugs back in and connected everything up to see if it would catch on some starting fluid, but still no joy. I need to find TDC and make sure the distributor is where it belongs.

I need to siphon off the fuel tank- cranking the engine a few times has some fuel coming into the filters now, and it is pretty brown in color. No big surprise given that according to the owner history (I discovered thanks to X Due) the gas is over 15 years old. Carb is probably going to need a little cleaning too...

I should have a first-start video to post soon!
 
newbe

$800 and it smells like catpss. dude whatta steal:thumbsup:
remember one thing at a time, and TAKE YOUR TIME.
my first x (74) bought in 76 had a blown head gasket and I fixed in his driveway to drive it home. a hack job indeed. but it served me well for 6 months before I did the job right... aw hell I was a kid fer Christ sake. and avoid the but first.... well I can do this ....but first I gotta....
anyway welcome to the family. and you won't find a better gang of guys and gals anywhere!!!!!!
mikemo90*aol.com
 
Very cool,

Welcome to X1/9 ownership! I'm sure you'll sort out all the minor bugs and get it presentable to the way you need it. They're quite simple to work on.

After you do get it running, I'd change the timing belt and tensioner - it would be a shame to have it snap on you due to age. They're fairly easy to change, and it buys you extra insurance to prevent valve damage.

Keep us updated!
 
ITS ALIVE!!

After determining that I had spark, I needed to get the timing set. The POs had it way out of time, so with that corrected I went ahead and pulled the cam/valve cover off and applied some assembly lube to the lobes. I was pretty confident it would fire right off with a shot of starting fluid, and I wanted to do what I could to get it some lubrication. The bottom end would have to fend for itself until the oil pressure built up.
Just like that, she lives! Warning: pale shirtless white boy in video. Don't judge me. It was hot out. First Start video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5IYmsEDKxA

I plugged hoses and ports and made sure there was no possible place for tramp air to bypass the throttle plates, but still the engine wanted to race. I made another video with my phone for that awesome shaky hand-held effect, complete with distracted videographer moments. This video includes a seriously custom Kydex restrictor plate so I could get the engine to idle a bit. It runs really smoothly, without any weird or angry sounds. It revs very freely and feels like it has more in common with a motorcycle than your average car engine. As an added bonus, this second video includes unscripted narration and loud sucking-carb induction noises. Sadly, there is no shirtless dude for you to ogle. :doh:Here it is, running not racing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAclkI8wVL0

I actually let it get some heat into the engine after seeing that the oil pressure came right up in the first start.

I'm guessing that the throttle plate(s) aren't closing completely. The throttle cable and linkage aren't causing it, but I'm not familiar with the Weber 32 DATRA, so there could be some other trickery or witchcraft causing them to open. Advice?

myronx19, the new timing belt is already in the shop- I'm planning to do it and the tensioner once I verify the viability of the engine. Thanks!
 
idle speed adjustment?

Glad to see the car in good hands that will finish it and get it back on the road. I considered the car when it was first offered, but shipping costs to the Chicago area were too high to make it worthwhile.

I hate to ask the obvious question that you've probably already considered, but you didn't mention it - did you try adjusting the idle speed screw?
 
Re: idle speed adjustment?

I hate to ask the obvious question that you've probably already considered, but you didn't mention it - did you try adjusting the idle speed screw?


I cranked it in a full turn and saw no noticeable chance. In the second video when I put a plate over the throttle, I was impressed by how high the vacuum was- this is more than just a little leak. It made me think that the idle speed screw was not likely enough to make that much difference, but as I said before: I'm not familiar with this model of carb.

When I get home tonight, I'll run the screw all the way in and then back it out half a turn just to eliminate that as a possibility. Thanks for the idea. :thumbsup:
 
Craig...

Good going, especially with the videos. Taking the time to give us good fotos like this can make things a whole lot easier for you...

Alas, it SOUNDS to me that ONE cylinder is NOT hitting though at low RPM. I had a problem with a vacuum leak at the intake manifold on a line that connected between cylinders 3 and 4. #3 did not hit at idle as it was too lean, but ran kinda smooth when the revs were increased.

Secondly, Weber 32's are a rather simple carb... and if you look at the INDEX on this site... there are TONS of information in Xweb 1.0, "Best Of" in 1.0, and "Best of" - Wiki.

The following is from Wiki...

http://xwebforums.com/wiki/index.php?title=FuelSystem

Anxious to see more... HTH!
 
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