FREE fiat x1/9 carcass with title - Detriot

TurnerX19 said:

X1/9 is FWD drivetrain in the back from day one. Honda swaps have been done and work well, RSX with 6 speed in particular.

That's a top runner, or 2001ish Civic Si, but Duster's idea has TORQUE. I am gravitating towards a Probe GT/Mazda 6GT. Either the glorious F2T, or the V6 would be fine by me. 

Any FWD platform is up for consideration. Cobalt SS, yep. PT cruiser with the baby SRT engine, yep. Old school Dodge turbo, yep. It all depends on what wreck/missing title P.O.S. I can come up with. I feel a largely single donor car is key.

I have yet to read the challenge supreme court thread post-purchase. Anyone know how deep I'm in monetarily? It was free, but 1024 miles at 20 mpg with 3.00 diesel puts me at $153.60 in fuel to go get it. The U-Haul was $208 one way. Those wonderful fellows up North paid $150,(Edit, reading their thread, they paid $250) before stripping it. Fair Market Value =???

I will, of course read up on all this, but dove straight back into home repair upon my return, so as not to be a complete slacker.

Here are some interweb pictures to keep this all revved up.

In reply to wheelsmithy :

You Sir are at $0 budget.

I can hardly wait to see what this turns into.  Nice score

Stampie said:

In reply to wheelsmithy :

You Sir are at $0 budget.

you could go with that inline 6 cylinder daewoo motor, but I don't think there was a manual transmission available. 

VR6 would be a compact but potent choice. 

Something like a longitudinal saab or audi or the acura legend? would be neat. 

But I think if you want to go fast the answer is honda motor, b, d, or k series, whatever you can find in budget. 

and I agree you are at $0 budget. Car was advertised as free to the entire world. Transportation costs to pick up the vehicle are not included in budget. 

 The x1/9 as sort of built from the 128, the 128 was a front drive car.    They sort of put the front suspension from the 128 at the front and at the back, with some minor changes.    If you cut the bulkhead between the engine and rear trunk you will have a lot more room to work with.

X 1/ 9 cart! ...wait, it already is a cart......

The answer here is definitely 2.4 Chrysler.

I feel longitudinal is out. I'd really like all aluminum, but am keeping an open mind.

The gas tank in these was behind the driver, and spare behind the passenger. If that lower crossmember were moved, and possibly the rear one as well, there is a lot of space fore and aft. Width will be the trick, likely eliminating the VR6. It is a bit of a porker, too. I'm not sure if I'll retain struts, or weather this will go A-arms. The frame rails do look decent, and this thing is stout, so I'd like to keep a lot of that intact. 

It seems like Burrito used some V-dub strut parts on one of these (or was that another mad Fiat build of his?). 

The more I look at it, the less I want to ruin its svelte looks with huge flairs, and even 15" wheels with 50 series rubber are huge on these.

     Even with the original tiny fiat engine, not much room, but the rear trunk provides some additional space.

I'm going to insert some links for my OCD. I am unashamed of my Fiat love.

Neon Engine GRM build

X1/9 BEC -Note, also some of this car's history.

Mezzanine's Build

Mblommel's build

Jumper's 850

More of Jumper's 850

Burrito's Build(s)

Anyone should feel free to add links I missed.

Mine is hibernating and subsequently the thread has not seen much action. It is available for purchase as well. I have not started advertising it as yet, but will begin that push in the spring.

https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/build-projects-and-project-cars/expanding-my-horizons-fiat-content/137172/page1/

In reply to gumby :

Ahhh yes, that car was just a couple of hours from me, and caused me some neurotic discomfort. You have done very nice work. Someone will get a beaut.

Please put in an F2T! 

Scottah said:

Please put in an F2T! 

I LOVE this idea. Maybe one will turn up.

I'm kind of polluting this thread with stuff that's not actually building. I apologize, but I'm dropping inspiration and details for the build, also, just neat stuff like the concept car:

and pictures I simply like:

History of the X1/9

Pictures to help with suspension design (Thanks, Robbie, et al):

Stuff that's just plain cool:

X1/9 Data

After this, I think I'm good for a bit.

I was trying to figure out the toe adjustment on the rear suspension. It appears to be part of that big V. Simple. 

Struts are looking like the way forward. 

Keep It Simple Stupid.

In reply to wheelsmithy :

The factory rear strut system works very well, and the toe is adjusted with the tie rods you see on the big V. The big ball joint is hard to find if worn, but mine are still OK after 150,000 hard miles. It is a little difficult to get enough negative camber for serious cornering unless you move the inboard pickup point at the rear of the arm. If the pictured parts are yours, they are from a 1500cc car and the axles and c.v.s are able to handle a great deal more torque than the Lampredi ever made. C.V. is larger than Audi 5000!

In reply to TurnerX19 :

Thanks for the Info! Those are not my parts. I got a completely stripped shell, but the mounting points are still good. I'm looking at adapting a AW11 MR2 strut setup to the X, and making control arms that bridge Fiat and Toyota parts, and an engine swap of some variety. I expect no Fiat parts other than body to go back on. Not that there's anything wrong with Fiat Parts.

In reply to wheelsmithy :

There are still quite a few X1/9 parts cars around to get the suspension parts from, frequently cheap too. The easy button regardless of power unit. Also another inspirational photo taken today 

In reply to TurnerX19 :

Nice stuff. 

I'm seeing a theme emerge:

NSX1/9, anyone?

J35AB

Ummm... yes please. The Honda subframe and suspension would be easily (ish) transplanted if you are going in a fender flare direction. 

You know, prior to joining this forum, I didn't even know the Fiat x1/9 existed. I was unsure at first, but the more I see them posted on here the more I see the appeal. Might have to start expanding my craigslist searches some more.

Might be a dumb question, but given what you have, why re-use the Fiat suspension?

Another option would be to make your own suspension, or perhaps even use a chassis from another car that has a suspension on it.  Perhaps a Miata rear sub frame or something?  Or read the Midlania book as make a Lowcost style rear end?  Or something like that.