Soon to be X1/9 owner

wray

Daily Driver
I have a contract with Felipe to buy his "1981 Orange/red with camel interior, 52,000 miles, two prior owners, original paperwork work." See http://xwebforums.com/forum/index.php?posts/206453/

My plans are to fly down in a few weeks and drive it 1600 miles from S. Florida to W. Texas. This is planned as an adventure with my 12 year old son. Felipe's description of the car gives me confidence that it won't turn into a nightmare. We have planned a pace of about 300 miles per day which doesn't seem aggressive as I sit at the computer but it has been almost 30 years since I last drove an X1/9 (I think it was in 1985). Then I was 22, now I'm old and fat...

As I stalked these forums, I have worried some about rejection by the group because I do plan to drive it, and to let my daughter drive it. She is a beautiful, smart almost 16 year old who wants to take it to car shows. Her first choice in cars was my (originally my grandmother's, now with 300,000 miles and largely unmolested) 1967 Camaro, but I said NO (or at least not yet). I don't think she has ever seen an X1/9 in person but she loves the photos.

My concerns about group rejection for driving it have calmed down after reading several posts providing the opposite perspective. I particularly enjoyed the girlfriend analogy I first read in replies to wilson340. I have never considered a tattoo, but if I do some variation of that phrase rates right up there.

More to come, I intend to post many photos of the trip and I hope I don't need to cry out for help along the way but I take great comfort in the support given to others on this forum and am confident that if problems come up I will have help finding a solution.
 
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Welcome to XWeb

Don't worry about driving... These cars were MADE to drive.
It's guys like me that spoil it for guys like me. (get it?) I had a car for 10 years that I put only 3K miles on... and sold it to someone who enjoys the crap out of it. :cry:
 
I've got an '81 I bought for $800. Nursed it back to health and have put 30,000 on it in 4 years. I drive it like I stole it, every day. I love the thing although I do wrench on it quite a bit but I'm often my own worst enemy in that respect.:hammer:
She will LOVE the thing. A street legal go-kart with a pedigree to shame most anything at a car show. Good adventure!
 
Congrats!!!

My first X was is 1985 as well. A 18 year old who, looking back on it, had the time of his life!

Everyone here is very helpful and always up for finding solutions!

Jeffery
 
Welcome.

I can't take the credit for penning the 'girlfriend' saying... read that years ago and thought it was very apt for Wilson's car.

If you want to use it as a signature line... be quick before someone else grabs it.

JimD (our resident search guru) should find SteveH's 'welcome to the dark side' quote... and that should be posted in every new X owners first post! It says it all very succinctly about why we DRIVE our X1/9's.

SteveC
 
Bob Brown wrote, "and sold it to someone who enjoys the crap out of it."
I'm that someone so let's define "crap." I drive the Queen with love, do not abuse her and maintain her well.:thumbsup::)
 
Maybe it's a generational thing Jim,

When I say "enjoys the crap out of it", in other words:
Enjoys the hell out of it, or
Really enjoys it.

Nothing abusive intended. I know you're taking good care of the Queen. :king:
 
My Third X

And I drove the crap out of every one. Like Bob says, these cars are meant to enjoy, so enjoy both the driving and the wrenching.

I hope the weather lets you and your son enjoy carefree top down adventuring! :thumbsup:
 
I've got an '81 I bought for $800. Nursed it back to health and have put 30,000 on it in 4 years. I drive it like I stole it, every day. I love the thing although I do wrench on it quite a bit but I'm often my own worst enemy in that respect.:hammer:
She will LOVE the thing. A street legal go-kart with a pedigree to shame most anything at a car show. Good adventure!

I can relate to what you say about own worst enemy. Usually anything that ever went wrong with my fiats was something I had tinkered with and not the basic car design. As for driving hard...that is how to keep Italian cars tuned. My first Fiat was a 1975 Fiat 128 sedan. My wife's friend bought it new and had alternator problems that her mechanic could never seem to solve. The friend had it for sale and asked me to pick it up from the garage for her. I liked the car and bought in 76 it and after putting a higher amp alternator on it never had a problem. The friend bought a brand new Alfa and brought it over to our house to show it off. We took it around the city park and she let me drive it. That was the first time I ever drove an Alfa. Every time I would take off the tires would give a little bark. The friend was a little annoyed buy it and said it never did that when she drove it. I was not the Italian car expert then that I am now ( chuckle) but I knew enough to now this is one of those cars that is referred to as a thoroughbred so I told her when she drove in town to hardly ever take it out of first and never go past second. Also take it on the free way and wind it out through the gears every once in a while. She didn't and wound up having problems in the first year. She said she would take it to her mechanic Franco (guess his nationality ) who would take it down the road at 80mph in third gear and then tell her there was nothing wrong with the car. After a little over a year the friend put the Alfa up for sale. I didn't have enough money to buy it which probably saved my life. A 75 year old lady from Palm Springs bought it. The lady told our friend that this was her third Alfa and loved the cars. According to the friend the lady had a long white scarf a tam and driving gloves and after the sale was final the 75 year old lady said Ta Ta with a big wave and pealed rubber.
 
Congrats!

I think it is great that you are getting an X, and even better that your daughters wants to drive it and take it to car shows. You brought her up right :)

I wax a little nostalgic on your planned trip. I did just the opposite a few years back. I bought a car in southern Texas, a small town right on the Mexican border, and drove that car all the way back to the Tampa area in Florida.

It was a scary, but fun experience, the car lost it's internal lights in Texas (at night of course) and lost it's ability to heat the cabin the next day. Finally about 50 miles from home it decided to overheat every 5-10 miles...sigh.

But we made it!

I hope your trip goes smoother, it is a fun road (Rt 10) and lots of things to look at.

Be sure to bring water, oil, brake fluid, spare belts, flashlight, fix a flat, reflectors and most importantly tools with you. And have fun! It's a nice ride with a new X.
 
WOW... what an intro you make here...

Welcome to the addiction from me as well...

I could add tons more stuff but just let me add... I have about 173,000 on my '79, have cared for it for 31 years, spent very little in doing so, and DRIVE THE CRAP OUTTA IT every chance I get.

As for your lovely daughter... I suggest that you buy her a used Honda Civic and just liability insurance and tell here when she's got a job, proves she wants to and can maintain her Honda, and can afford a HOBBY car... you 'll help her find an X of her own.

Otherwise, it would be more humane to douse it with gas and burn it down in your driveway.

Do let her drive the X with you along so to learn all she needs to know and to also catch the "virus" that will stick with her forever... Its worked for me and my kids...

Below is a foto of my then 18 year old Granddaughter at a show last year... Folks ask her to sit in their cars at shows... but not me. I must be doing something wrong...

 
:thumbsup:

Love it, thanks for the story.

I drive my restored Alfa hard and it's really happy. When my X is back on the road, that's how it will be driven. too. Cared for but driven the way they were intended to be driven.
 
Okay, okay I drive the crap out of it!
Bob, I knew exactly what you meant, I was just having a little fun.:)
 
Jim... have you noticed Mr. Brown has become...

a very SERIOUS fellow lately... ever since he has become an ADMIN/MODERATOR for this site?

I bet he even wears a uniform of sorts (with a cap and badge) when he logs on...

(BTW... Did you get your Secret Decoder Ring yet? If not, send two Cheerio's Box Tops and $20 bucks to me in a SASE and allow 4-6 weeks for delivery...)
 
Welcome and joy

And never listen to the bad voices' it IS a great little car. I know, I've had one for 25 years.
Enjoy :thumbsup:
 
BTW Tony, I've got a 17 year old grandson that would just LOVE to be sitting in the passenger seat of that Jag...nod, nod, wink, wink... :innocent:
 
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