996Outpost.com

Posted several times in the Good Week thread about this car already. Yesterday, I was able to squeeze myself into it and took it for a drive around the neighborhood. Damn, I actually like this tiny little car. So, here goes a thread on the ownership experience.

To recap, I bought a 1977 X1/9 back in my senior year of high school. I had it for about 2 years. Drove it to college my freshman and part of my sophomore year, then sold it to buy a '79 RX7.

My garage is all full, but I keep an eye on the X1/9 market 'cause someday I'll have more space for toys (but that day is at least 4 years away). Anyway, being the genius that I am, I saw an ebay auction with a starting price of $3,800, for a car that I thought should sell for between $7,000 and $8,000. So I says to myself " Self, let's help this seller out by throwing a bid on that car to get things rollin'." Well, one week and no bids later, I became the proud owner of a 1987 Bertone X1/9. And my wife was royally pissed (and remains so).

Vital statistics:

1.5 liter engine
84 hp, 87 ft lbs torque
5 speed manual transmission
mid-engine configuration with frunk and trunk
targa roof, stores in frunk
water cooled
power windows
air conditioning
4 wheel disc brakes
86.7 inch wheelbase
13 wheels, 165/70-13 tires
2,028 lb curb weight

Tracccccccckkkkk iiiiiiitttttt

DTMiller wrote: ↑Mon May 20, 2019 6:59 pm Tracccccccckkkkk iiiiiiitttttt

OOOOHHH...DT has a great idea! Strip everything not needed from inside and the AC. Put in a lower driver's seat to accommodate your (cough cough) height and trailer that iron to Topeka for some fun. Store it at the museum and even use it as an rolling billboard for the museum.

DO IT!

FRUNKenstein wrote: ↑Mon May 20, 2019 6:42 pm Vital statistics:

1.5 liter engine
84 hp, 87 ft lbs torque
5 speed manual transmission
mid-engine configuration with frunk and trunk
targa roof, stores in frunk
water cooled
power windows
air conditioning
4 wheel disc brakes
86.7 inch wheelbase
13 wheels, 165/70-13 tires
2,028 lb curb weight

The car came with this aftermarket stereo:
It worked, but the AM/FM reception was non-existent and the Aux Input didn't function. So, the only way to get music was the CD player. No bueno - I threw away all of my CDs. So, ebay and Amazon, here I come. I found the same brand new unit for $42, including shipping. Just for the hell of it, though, I check to see if there are any low priced Bluetooth units. Et voila! I found a Kenwood unit unit for $75 shipped, and better yet, I found a store selling a lightly used one for $61.77 with free shipping:
So, the little car will get an upgraded stereo with hands-free Bluetooth phone and streaming. Looks like it will be plug and play with the old unit, other than I'll need to route the telephone microphone to a mounting point on the dash.

Next, I noticed some cracks on the sidewalls of the tires. The treads are in great shape, but I suspect the tires are old (I haven't checked the DOT date codes yet). Just for the hell of it, I priced some sweet new 13" tires. A set of 4 Achilles high performance summer tires, shipping included: $190.00.
I think the Fiat life$tyle suits me.

The next step is to detail the car. Unfortunately, apparently it's monsoon season here in flyover country. I need to figure out how to wash a matte finish paint job. The interior of the car isn't bad, but will need detailing also, plus I need to dye the cloth inserts on the seats from tan to dark gray.
The engine bay needs a good detailing also.
I think I can find a used stock air cleaner for under $50, so will probably get rid of whatever the aftermarket blue CAI is.

The logo portion (inner part) of the rear trunk emblem has peeled off. I can't find anybody selling one though. I can find Fiat ones, but no Bertone emblems. I may just have to try to make one. Maybe use some sort of plastic media to print a photo of the Bertone logo, then glue that on the existing blank emblem holder.

The fluids actually look pretty decent. I might give it an oil change just to set the baseline. The 4-wheel disc brakes feel weak, so I need to take the tires off and get a look at the calipers and pads.

Lastly, I will try to find some inexpensive floormats. It came with only one floormat and it was crap, so I threw it out. I'd love to get a custom set of Lloyd's floormats like I got for the 928S4 and the 951 at Christmas. But, those were a little pricey. I'm in the budget shopping mindset, so going for sub-$50 floormats. We shall see.

Did a little research on the X1/9 forums and found a better size tire (185/60R13) than OEM spec (165/70R13). That size has a better selection. Found these Federal brand tires for $169.80 for the set, including shipping:

“Achilles” is maybe not the most confidence-inspiring brand name I could think of for a tire. Of course, neither is “Federal.”

KoB wrote: ↑Wed May 22, 2019 7:43 pm “Achilles” is maybe not the most confidence-inspiring brand name I could think of for a tire. Of course, neither is “Federal.”

True that. Of course, the top speed those tires will ever see is maybe 90 mph (going downhill with a stiff tailwind).

Just bought an oil filter, synthetic blend oil and two wiper blades for it at Advance Auto Parts. Total cost out the door: $33.67.

FRUNKenstein wrote: ↑Thu May 23, 2019 1:56 pm
Just bought an oil filter, synthetic blend oil and two wiper blades for it at Advance Auto Parts. Total cost out the door: $33.67.

Time to start the inaugural X1/9 Oil Thread?