1987 Bertone (aka Fiat) X1/9

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

Post by FRUNKenstein » Tue Nov 09, 2021 8:36 pm

Had a whining noise when pushing the clutch pedal in, so I figured it was the release bearing about to go. Turns out I was correct, plus the clutch disk was worn down to the rivets. It was definitely time.
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Also got a new rear main seal.
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And he pulled the distributor to reseal it to stop an oil leak. Maybe the first car I’ve owned that doesn’t leak oil!

Done by Kent Elder, same guy who did the WP/TB earlier this year. The only downside is that he lives about 2 miles down a gravel road:
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Mileage is 94,540.
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 Nov 10, 2021 5:27 am

That clutch disc appears to have been in there a looong time! Are parts hard to come by/expensive for the X1/9?
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FRUNKenstein
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Re: 1987 Bertone (aka Fiat) X1/9

Post by FRUNKenstein » Wed Nov 10, 2021 5:56 pm

32wildbilly wrote: Wed Nov 10, 2021 5:27 am That clutch disc appears to have been in there a looong time! Are parts hard to come by/expensive for the X1/9?
That’s the nice thing - they are dirt cheap compared to Porsche parts. New brake rotors are like $8. Entire clutch kit was $150 from a specialty parts supplier- Midwest Bayless.
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 » Mon Dec 20, 2021 12:49 pm

Replaced the old sealed beam headlights with LED units yesterday. I ended up changing out some of the screws, plus I've ordered a new headlight retaining ring for the passenger side as the old one was corroded. Other than that, it was an easy swap. Very pleased with the increase in light output and the quality of the pattern.

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07 ... UTF8&psc=1

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

Post by FRUNKenstein » Mon Jan 24, 2022 8:26 pm

Knocked out 6 mini projects:
-Removed the aftermarket air filter and replaced it with the OE air cleaner.
-Installed the alternator cooling duct that was missing when I bought the car. I bought the part well over a year ago, and it’s just been sitting on my workbench. Took me all of 60 seconds to install.
-Replaced the heavily corroded headlight retaining ring on the passenger side.
-Replaced the brake switch. The old one worked for a split second when you depressed the brake pedal, then went out.
-Replaced an old and corroded hose clamp on my coolant overflow tank that caused it to leak.
-Removed the locking lug nuts and replaced all of the old lug nuts.

Ready for spring!

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

Post by FRUNKenstein » Mon Apr 18, 2022 12:53 pm

Well, despite my optimism on January 24, 2022, I wasn't quite ready for spring. Long story short, after replacing the hose clamp on the coolant tank, I should have bled the air out of the system. I didn't and the first long drive in warm weather (April 10th, about 80 degrees outside), left my daughter and me on the side of the road after the car overheated.
When I went to bleed the air from the radiator in the nose of the car, the bleed screw broke off (the threaded collar the bleed screw threads into simply sheared off with the bleed screw, actually when I turned it counterclockwise to open the bleed screw). The radiator is 35 years old, so I decided to replace it. Got a CSF all-aluminum model, purchased from Midwest Bayless for a total of $426 with taxes, shipping and a new bleed screw. Swapped the new radiator in yesterday. It was relatively uneventful, except for the lower portion of the front spoiler. The mounting points had been damaged previously, so it didn't have the original bolts, plus the spoiler just was a tiny fraction of an inch from aligning with the mounting points. I managed to get it back on, but will revisit that issue later.
I took the car out for a drive afterwards, and I couldn't get it up to temperature. It was at night with an ambient temperature of about 35 degrees, and after 15 minutes of driving, the temp gauge was still reading about 140 degrees (180-190 is normal temp after warm-up). I still need to bleed the air in the radiator again, but the car showed no signs of overheating. We will see on a warm day, though.
My other concern is corrosion on the front of the coolant pipes that run under the car from the engine to the radiator. I didn't pull the rear hoses off the aft end of the pipes, nor did I pull the driver's side radiator hose on the front. But, the passenger side front of the pipe had a fair amount of corrosion.
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The coolant that had been running in the system for the past several months was still clear & relatively clean. And I have seen photos of much worse corrosion in these pipes. I will simply need to flush the system regularly until someday I replace those pipes. The problem with the pipes is that they run inside a protective box that is welded to the underside of the floor pan, so it is a pretty big job to swap the pipes.
Here are some photos of the sheared off bleed screw, plus the replacement CSF radiator (looks to be of very high quality).
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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

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

Post by theprf » Tue Apr 19, 2022 7:17 am

Those pipes look pretty gnarly for sure.

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

Post by FRUNKenstein » Tue Apr 19, 2022 1:06 pm

theprf wrote: Tue Apr 19, 2022 7:17 am Those pipes look pretty gnarly for sure.
Yeah, I'd say it's the highest priority project on the X1/9 and will probably get done next winter. I hate to plug a brand-new radiator into the system with that corrosion in there, but it's either that or it's sidelined for the next 9 months. I think everybody has some corrosion in those pipes, and I've seen photos of pipes with way more corrosion in them. But, those pipes are also 35 years old, so I don't think it's going to get a lot worse over the next few months with fresh coolant in the system. Had I found any significant sludge in the coolant when I drained the system, then I'd probably take a different course of action.
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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Dr_Strangelove
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Re: 1987 Bertone (aka Fiat) X1/9

Post by Dr_Strangelove » Tue Apr 19, 2022 1:34 pm

What is the aftermarket solution for those pipes?
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Re: 1987 Bertone (aka Fiat) X1/9

Post by FRUNKenstein » Wed Apr 20, 2022 9:13 am

Dr_Strangelove (whew!) wrote: Tue Apr 19, 2022 1:34 pm What is the aftermarket solution for those pipes?
The best solution is a set of stainless steel pipes: supply line, return line & heater line. Parts are about $500, so not horrible. The big problem is drilling out 50 spot welds to drop the protective box cover that hangs under the floor pan. Then, once the pipes are replaced, you have to either rivet or spot weld the box back into place. I'm guessing that a shop would charge around $1,000 in labor and supplies to do that, so looking at a roughly $1,500 project.

The other solution is to run a smaller diameter set of new pipes inside the old pipes. Each end of the pipe has a bend in it, so you have to cut off the end of the pipes, run the smaller diameter pipes in the straight sections, then use a section of radiator hose to re-attach the bent ends onto the new, smaller straight pipes. And or course, you need to clean the corrosion out of the bent end sections. And there's the concern that the pipes are now a smaller diameter, so less coolant flow.
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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