So car numbers 9 and 10 entered the "Cars of My Youth" inventory the past couple of weeks. The GT6 will be enjoyed for the summer, a few maintenance and cosmentic items taken care of and it will be sold to help flinance my garage this fall. But the X1/9 is one I have not decided what to do with yet. I had one back in the 80's, little 1300cc buzz bomb, so much fun. This one was too cheap not to rescue, it had some expensive wheels on it so I had the owner keep the wheels and he put on some roller wheels (turned out to be Lancia Scorpion wheels). Car was an autocross car, had koni, springs, sway bars, etc... Will be interesting to tear down and see what has been done. Solid car, has some rust starting at the base of the windshield and the right side rear fender, but pretty solid overall with a nice interior.
So the question is do I restore it to stock (keeping the suspension upgrades) or just do a K-swap, which is really what I want to do, so why am I asking :-)
1973 GT6 (Car number 9)
1981 X1/9
X1/9 next to the AW11 MR2
I found it interesting that the MR2 is much bigger than the X1/9 by a significant difference. I always thought they were basically the same dimensions but the X is much lower and much more narrow than the MR2. And much better looking in my opinion.....
That X from Vermont? Looks familiar.
I got it from Connecticut, but has NY and Vermont inspection stickers on it. It was apparently sitting for the last few years, guy I bought it from got it running, but needs transmission work, brakes and some body work but really decent shape. What can you tell me about it?
CLH
Reader
6/19/21 9:59 p.m.
That GT6 looks fantastic. Is that Spa White?
gumby
Dork
6/19/21 10:12 p.m.
dherr (Forum Supporter) said:
....needs transmission work....
That should seal the K-swap deal right there. The cost of rebuilding the stock trans can be quite high and unless you are in love with the original drivetrain, doesn't make financial sense.
In reply to CLH :
Thanks, it really looks sharp and has a ton of upgrades. Not sure on the paint, the previous owner did not have the paint code, so I had to have a local shop do the laser scanning and mix me up some touch up paint. They called it Ivory white.
In reply to gumby :
The car came with a spare 5 speed transmission. Not in love with the original engine, but it does run, so I could get it back on the road relatively quickly if I just swapped the transmission. My guess is that is what I will do, but be looking for a K series engine and transmission for the future.
What can be said? You are the man. I even like the brown.
Though you no doubt know exactly what you're doing, the Neon swap a la Go Lucky seems pretty cheap/clean/etc,
linky
Slapping it back together stock is clearly the sensible answer, if you're into that sort of thing.
In reply to dherr (Forum Supporter) :
Probably not much? How old is the VT sticker? The fact it had autocross suspension and fancy wheels led me to believe from Ralph Cota? But could be missremembering things.
VT sticker dated from 2008. Was owned by a guy in NY up until 2020 when he sold it to the guy in CT. So was probably around your area for the last 15+ years.
Find a gearbox from a Strada sedan. Take your damaged 5 speed apart and install the gears from the Strada into your case. Longer final drive makes it so much nicer to drive. Also be certain the original problem is internal, the rubber connector link between the linkage and the box fails and gives limited selection. Always put a bolt & nut through that damn thing, the rubbers fail quickly.
Can't wait to see what you do the X. Your MR2 looks exactly like my old one. Mine didn't have the 80s art work on the hood. It's not an 87 with a 4agze swap by any chance, right?
