1987 Bertone (aka Fiat) X1/9

theprf
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Re: 1987 Bertone (aka Fiat) X1/9

Post by theprf » Mon Jan 11, 2021 11:40 am

Those look REALLY nice. Well done!

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FRUNKenstein
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Re: 1987 Bertone (aka Fiat) X1/9

Post by FRUNKenstein » Wed Jan 13, 2021 8:54 am

Last fall, I bought a ceramic coating kit from our local car care vendor - KC Auto Car Care and Accessories. They are located in the same strip mall as the restaurant where we have our local PCA breakfasts every Saturday. So, I've gotten to know the owner, Rob. Good people who are very knowledgeable on detailing products. When they do a detailing seminar at the auto museum, it always draws a huge crowd. They do a lot of ebay sales and you can order from their website (free shipping!): https://www.kcautocarcare.com/

Anyway, Rob ordered me in a special ceramic coating that works well with single-stage paint (since that's what we used on the X1/9 for the color change last summer). I have been meaning to apply the stuff, but with a house remodel last summer & fall, it got pushed back. The car goes into the shop tomorrow, and the Fiat specialist I'm taking it to has his shop at the end of a 1 mile long gravel road. So, I figured I had better get it done before then. Last night, I did the deed.

I started by doing the targa top. I figured if I messed that up, it's no big deal since it will rarely be used. It is gloss black, and it came out terrific. Easy peasy. I put the car on our 4-poster lift to make it easier to get to the lower portions of the body. Rob had told me that since it was such a small car, the bottle of liquid in the coating kit would probably be enough to do it twice. So, I'm all fat, dumb & happy soaking the little applicator pad when doing the targa top, and the hood and the top of the trunk. Then I noticed I had used about 80% of the liquid. Crap. I stretched it out and got it covered, albeit the sides aren't coated nearly as well.

The below pics are from last night. This morning, as I was walking past the targa top (and yes, it is sitting on the roof of the Turbro - oh the shame!), I ran my finger across the surface, thinking it was going to be really slick like right after waxing. To my surprise, it is not slick at all. I don't know if that's normal or not. It looks fantastic, but I was just expecting it to be slick.

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www.kansascityautomuseum.com
Current:
2002 996TT X50, Guards Red
1987 928S4, Guards Red
1987 951, Guards Red
1973 914 2.0 Bahia Red

2006 955S, Lapis Blue
Other toys:
1988 BMW 325i Cabriolet, Alpin Weiss
1987 Bertone X1/9, Verde Chiaro
Gone but not forgotten: 1975 914 2.0, Laguna Blue; 1999 996 C4 Aerokit Black; 1990 964 C2 Guards Red; 2006 955S Arctic Silver

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32wildbilly
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Re: 1987 Bertone (aka Fiat) X1/9

Post by 32wildbilly » Wed Jan 13, 2021 10:13 am

So ceramic is like "wax on wax off"? I always thought it was something mystical that only a qualified/certified/trained ceramic expert could perform. It does look nice.
FRUNKenstein wrote: Wed Jan 13, 2021 8:54 am Last fall, I bought a ceramic coating kit from our local car care vendor - KC Auto Car Care and Accessories. They are located in the same strip mall as the restaurant where we have our local PCA breakfasts every Saturday. So, I've gotten to know the owner, Rob. Good people who are very knowledgeable on detailing products. When they do a detailing seminar at the auto museum, it always draws a huge crowd. They do a lot of ebay sales and you can order from their website (free shipping!): https://www.kcautocarcare.com/

Anyway, Rob ordered me in a special ceramic coating that works well with single-stage paint (since that's what we used on the X1/9 for the color change last summer). I have been meaning to apply the stuff, but with a house remodel last summer & fall, it got pushed back. The car goes into the shop tomorrow, and the Fiat specialist I'm taking it to has his shop at the end of a 1 mile long gravel road. So, I figured I had better get it done before then. Last night, I did the deed.

I started by doing the targa top. I figured if I messed that up, it's no big deal since it will rarely be used. It is gloss black, and it came out terrific. Easy peasy. I put the car on our 4-poster lift to make it easier to get to the lower portions of the body. Rob had told me that since it was such a small car, the bottle of liquid in the coating kit would probably be enough to do it twice. So, I'm all fat, dumb & happy soaking the little applicator pad when doing the targa top, and the hood and the top of the trunk. Then I noticed I had used about 80% of the liquid. Crap. I stretched it out and got it covered, albeit the sides aren't coated nearly as well.

The below pics are from last night. This morning, as I was walking past the targa top (and yes, it is sitting on the roof of the Turbro - oh the shame!), I ran my finger across the surface, thinking it was going to be really slick like right after waxing. To my surprise, it is not slick at all. I don't know if that's normal or not. It looks fantastic, but I was just expecting it to be slick.
Never gonna make you cry...

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FRUNKenstein
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Re: 1987 Bertone (aka Fiat) X1/9

Post by FRUNKenstein » Sat Jan 23, 2021 1:51 pm

Yeah, pretty much. The key is to apply the product, then lightly wipe off and don’t leave any excess. Leaving excess is bad juju.

When I picked up the X1/9 on Thursday, it was filthy as the shop was about 2 miles down a gravel road. I stopped at a car wash, and all the dirt washed off easily.
www.kansascityautomuseum.com
Current:
2002 996TT X50, Guards Red
1987 928S4, Guards Red
1987 951, Guards Red
1973 914 2.0 Bahia Red

2006 955S, Lapis Blue
Other toys:
1988 BMW 325i Cabriolet, Alpin Weiss
1987 Bertone X1/9, Verde Chiaro
Gone but not forgotten: 1975 914 2.0, Laguna Blue; 1999 996 C4 Aerokit Black; 1990 964 C2 Guards Red; 2006 955S Arctic Silver

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FRUNKenstein
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Re: 1987 Bertone (aka Fiat) X1/9

Post by FRUNKenstein » Sat Jan 23, 2021 6:59 pm

So, the car came out of the shop (Kent Elder’s private garage in Plattsburgh) on 1/21/21. Work done was as follows:
-Timing belt
-Water pump
-Tensioner bearing
-Belts
-Clutch master cylinder
-Clutch slave cylinder
-Aux shaft seal
-Gasket for aux shaft seal carrier
-Crankshaft seal
-Crankshaft Seal carrier gasket
-Camshaft seal

All new parts and sourced from Midwest Bayless
Kent also adjusted some of the fuel injection system settings to correct a tendency for the car to die after warmup when the clutch is depressed at higher RPMs.
www.kansascityautomuseum.com
Current:
2002 996TT X50, Guards Red
1987 928S4, Guards Red
1987 951, Guards Red
1973 914 2.0 Bahia Red

2006 955S, Lapis Blue
Other toys:
1988 BMW 325i Cabriolet, Alpin Weiss
1987 Bertone X1/9, Verde Chiaro
Gone but not forgotten: 1975 914 2.0, Laguna Blue; 1999 996 C4 Aerokit Black; 1990 964 C2 Guards Red; 2006 955S Arctic Silver

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FRUNKenstein
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Posts: 3938
Joined: Fri Jan 05, 2018 11:02 pm
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Re: 1987 Bertone (aka Fiat) X1/9

Post by FRUNKenstein » Mon Jun 07, 2021 9:46 am

The car was on display at the museum for the month of February as it was "Board of Directors' Cars" month.

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www.kansascityautomuseum.com
Current:
2002 996TT X50, Guards Red
1987 928S4, Guards Red
1987 951, Guards Red
1973 914 2.0 Bahia Red

2006 955S, Lapis Blue
Other toys:
1988 BMW 325i Cabriolet, Alpin Weiss
1987 Bertone X1/9, Verde Chiaro
Gone but not forgotten: 1975 914 2.0, Laguna Blue; 1999 996 C4 Aerokit Black; 1990 964 C2 Guards Red; 2006 955S Arctic Silver

User avatar
FRUNKenstein
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Posts: 3938
Joined: Fri Jan 05, 2018 11:02 pm
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Re: 1987 Bertone (aka Fiat) X1/9

Post by FRUNKenstein » Mon Jun 07, 2021 10:01 am

At the end of February, it went into "The Underground", which is the museum's classic car storage facility. I pulled it out of there on Saturday, June 5th. It was a bit dusty, so I gave it a spa day (with a bit of help from my daughter).


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The ceramic coating made clean up a snap. The tires only had about 20 psi each, so those got pumped back up. I swapped out the gearshift knob - the old one wasn't too bad, but it had red stitching on the leather knob, which really didn't match well. Several months ago, I found a black and carbon fiber knob that I liked, so I installed that. I drove it around quite a bit on both Saturday and Sunday, and both days were in the upper 80s temperature-wise. It died once at the first stoplight after leaving The Underground, but started right back up, so I'll chalk that up to having not been run in over 3 months. Other than that, the old tendency it had to die at stops after getting warmed up was gone. So, I'm guessing the new waterpump and coolant back in January cured that problem.

It was time for a photo shoot outside Casa FRUNKenstein. The car photographs pretty well, if I do say so myself:

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www.kansascityautomuseum.com
Current:
2002 996TT X50, Guards Red
1987 928S4, Guards Red
1987 951, Guards Red
1973 914 2.0 Bahia Red

2006 955S, Lapis Blue
Other toys:
1988 BMW 325i Cabriolet, Alpin Weiss
1987 Bertone X1/9, Verde Chiaro
Gone but not forgotten: 1975 914 2.0, Laguna Blue; 1999 996 C4 Aerokit Black; 1990 964 C2 Guards Red; 2006 955S Arctic Silver

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32wildbilly
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Re: 1987 Bertone (aka Fiat) X1/9

Post by 32wildbilly » Mon Jun 07, 2021 10:16 am

So your definition of "a bit of help from my daughter" means she does all the work while you take photos!? :lol:

The car does look very nice.
FRUNKenstein wrote: Mon Jun 07, 2021 10:01 am At the end of February, it went into "The Underground", which is the museum's classic car storage facility. I pulled it out of there on Saturday, June 5th. It was a bit dusty, so I gave it a spa day (with a bit of help from my daughter).

IMG_0750.jpg
Never gonna make you cry...

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FRUNKenstein
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Re: 1987 Bertone (aka Fiat) X1/9

Post by FRUNKenstein » Mon Jun 07, 2021 11:57 am

32wildbilly wrote: Mon Jun 07, 2021 10:16 am So your definition of "a bit of help from my daughter" means she does all the work while you take photos!? :lol:

The car does look very nice.
FRUNKenstein wrote: Mon Jun 07, 2021 10:01 am At the end of February, it went into "The Underground", which is the museum's classic car storage facility. I pulled it out of there on Saturday, June 5th. It was a bit dusty, so I gave it a spa day (with a bit of help from my daughter).

IMG_0750.jpg
Ha - yeah, she was definitely there for the "spraying it off at the car wash" part. I don't recall seeing her during the "down on my hands & knees detailing the rocker panels" part.
www.kansascityautomuseum.com
Current:
2002 996TT X50, Guards Red
1987 928S4, Guards Red
1987 951, Guards Red
1973 914 2.0 Bahia Red

2006 955S, Lapis Blue
Other toys:
1988 BMW 325i Cabriolet, Alpin Weiss
1987 Bertone X1/9, Verde Chiaro
Gone but not forgotten: 1975 914 2.0, Laguna Blue; 1999 996 C4 Aerokit Black; 1990 964 C2 Guards Red; 2006 955S Arctic Silver

User avatar
32wildbilly
Never gonna run around and desert you
Posts: 5758
Joined: Sat Jan 06, 2018 2:46 pm
Location: Kneebraska

Re: 1987 Bertone (aka Fiat) X1/9

Post by 32wildbilly » Mon Jun 07, 2021 12:01 pm

That just proves she is smarter than Dad!
FRUNKenstein wrote: Mon Jun 07, 2021 11:57 am
Ha - yeah, she was definitely there for the "spraying it off at the car wash" part. I don't recall seeing her during the "down on my hands & knees detailing the rocker panels" part.
Never gonna make you cry...

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