My first car was a 75 X1/9 which I purchased when I was a senior in high school. I would park among my friends' cars which were mostly Camaros and Trans Ams. They didn't understand my taste in cars and I didn't understand theirs. Years later a Trans-Am-owning friend with whom I reconnected on Facebook admitted to me that I had the coolest car on the parking lot. As for the X, I think the most unusual aspect of the Bertone styling is the angle where the roll bar and the side windows meet. In other words, the windows are shaped like arrows pointing toward the back of the car. So how is it able to roll down? Ah, Bertone was very clever! I know of no other car in the world that has an angle like this on a window that rolls down.
soo geeked to watch this!! I learned so much form you on the 124, but I have had at least one X19 in my possession since 1986. going to be a blast to watch all the "normal" fixes us X heads have went through already. i.e. headlight motors etc...
I have an '86 that's virtually identical to yours, right down to the 2-tone colors. Those "hubcaps" go to the "tron" alloy wheels, which I have. I would love to buy them off you!
Had a 1988 up until 8 years ago. Great driving car, but a pain to maintain. The cooling and heating pipes rot and when they fail it' exciting! Spent a lot of time with my head under the dash cleaning fuses and replacing the heater valve.
@@GarageTimeTV try working on a british car and you'll start appreciating FIAT! The X1/9 actually has a pretty cool fuse box under the glove box. Mine was pretty modern looking. Consider adding a relay for the headlights. If I remember correctly, only the high beams have one.
great project...looking forward to it. As you imply clean and check all ground connections...probably, remove all fuses from the fuse box and clean all contacts.
The black plastic cover you found laying in the front trunk fits on the firewall in front of the distributor. The metal plate you found is the access panel to the right head light motor.
Super exciting! I felt your excitement when the pop up headlights went up! Definitely one of my favorite Fiat models ever made. Looking forward to seeing your progress on this one!
I'm a confirmed spider guy, but my first Fiat love was an X1/9. When I was a freshman in high school, these was a really cool fella to look up to that had one. I was just like wow, I'll never be that cool. I know I was impressionable at the time, but whatever! Its cool AF!
@@GarageTimeTV i know you will do it justice! I look forward to this series. Do some auto cross with it when you are done. These cars excel at that cone in the parking lot stuff!
1984?? looks to be free of cancer, great find, I had a habit of picking these up in the late 80's for a few hundred bucks, fixing and flipping, nobody wanted to work on them, I learned how to deal with their common issues as a teenager, mainly reverse gear fail due to drivers unaware of no 1st gear synchro if I recall, may not be remembering this correctly. Also frunk cable breakage, fuel pump issues, grounding issues.
@@GarageTimeTVtwin cam is supposed to be tricky to install for some reason. The "normal" swap options usually include all of the Lampredi SOHC variants: the 1.3 or 1.4 Turbo, the stock 1.6NA or the 1.6 16V NA
I wouldn't put any ceramic coating or sealant on a paint job until the paint has been corrected. You, yourself stated it was scuffed, marred, and had issues, why seal that imperfect paint with a ceramic spray? Get the mechanicals taken care of then properly care for the paint. If it has been resprayed, you likely have enough paint depth left for a good paint correction and may get a lot of shine out of it. Just my 2 cents.
My first car was a 75 X1/9 which I purchased when I was a senior in high school. I would park among my friends' cars which were mostly Camaros and Trans Ams. They didn't understand my taste in cars and I didn't understand theirs. Years later a Trans-Am-owning friend with whom I reconnected on Facebook admitted to me that I had the coolest car on the parking lot. As for the X, I think the most unusual aspect of the Bertone styling is the angle where the roll bar and the side windows meet. In other words, the windows are shaped like arrows pointing toward the back of the car. So how is it able to roll down? Ah, Bertone was very clever! I know of no other car in the world that has an angle like this on a window that rolls down.
I remember when the X 1/9 came out. My brother-in-law and I went to the dealer to look and drool. Glad you found one, and in pretty good shape!
What a find! I’m looking forward for to seeing what you do with it!
soo geeked to watch this!! I learned so much form you on the 124, but I have had at least one X19 in my possession since 1986. going to be a blast to watch all the "normal" fixes us X heads have went through already. i.e. headlight motors etc...
I have an '86 that's virtually identical to yours, right down to the 2-tone colors. Those "hubcaps" go to the "tron" alloy wheels, which I have. I would love to buy them off you!
Had a 1988 up until 8 years ago. Great driving car, but a pain to maintain. The cooling and heating pipes rot and when they fail it' exciting! Spent a lot of time with my head under the dash cleaning fuses and replacing the heater valve.
Fiat electrical is just the best! Not fun to chase down anything. It’s my weakest subject for sure
@@GarageTimeTV try working on a british car and you'll start appreciating FIAT! The X1/9 actually has a pretty cool fuse box under the glove box. Mine was pretty modern looking. Consider adding a relay for the headlights. If I remember correctly, only the high beams have one.
@@pseixaspal good tip! I found the fuse panel with modern fuses… so happy about that! No more glass fuses.
Had my 81 X1/9 for about 11 years till it succumbed to rust and because of kids didn't have time to weld it up. Loved it
Man that’s sad! Rust is the worst. Luckily this one is very minimal!
Cool vid man and a nice find. Look forward to more on this.
I appreciate it!
Thanks for the shout out
Of course!
@GarageTimeTV oh, and plus 1 on that dash removal video. I want to put in the LEDs and I need to bend those needles as well.
@@ELDESTBuilds I’ll be right behind you! It’s super easy
great project...looking forward to it. As you imply clean and check all ground connections...probably, remove all fuses from the fuse box and clean all contacts.
The black plastic cover you found laying in the front trunk fits on the firewall in front of the distributor. The metal plate you found is the access panel to the right head light motor.
Super exciting! I felt your excitement when the pop up headlights went up! Definitely one of my favorite Fiat models ever made. Looking forward to seeing your progress on this one!
I'm a confirmed spider guy, but my first Fiat love was an X1/9. When I was a freshman in high school, these was a really cool fella to look up to that had one. I was just like wow, I'll never be that cool. I know I was impressionable at the time, but whatever! Its cool AF!
What a cool story! I want this car to be someone’s love story with Fiats too!
@@GarageTimeTV i know you will do it justice! I look forward to this series.
Do some auto cross with it when you are done. These cars excel at that cone in the parking lot stuff!
1984?? looks to be free of cancer, great find, I had a habit of picking these up in the late 80's for a few hundred bucks, fixing and flipping, nobody wanted to work on them, I learned how to deal with their common issues as a teenager, mainly reverse gear fail due to drivers unaware of no 1st gear synchro if I recall, may not be remembering this correctly. Also frunk cable breakage, fuel pump issues, grounding issues.
i can predict the future, i see a twin cam in that car
That would be pretty cool!
@@GarageTimeTVtwin cam is supposed to be tricky to install for some reason. The "normal" swap options usually include all of the Lampredi SOHC variants: the 1.3 or 1.4 Turbo, the stock 1.6NA or the 1.6 16V NA
@@pseixaspal I know the Honda K swap is common too
I wouldn't put any ceramic coating or sealant on a paint job until the paint has been corrected. You, yourself stated it was scuffed, marred, and had issues, why seal that imperfect paint with a ceramic spray? Get the mechanicals taken care of then properly care for the paint. If it has been resprayed, you likely have enough paint depth left for a good paint correction and may get a lot of shine out of it. Just my 2 cents.
Never thought of that. I appreciate the advice!
My first car was a 76 in 86 pretty much that same color. Want to sell it?
That’s cool! As of now, no. I’ve wanted one of these for a very long time!
If he sold it now I'd kill him. I'd drive down and hug him so hard he'd die. Then I'd drive home and feel terrible that I had to kill a friend.