Space reserved for tat collection thread. Updated.X1/9,Jelly Babies 50% off.

[Barry Cade]

I've just done a deal to purchase a car I have turned my back on for a couple of years. A Fiat X1/9. It will be my fifteenth- I'm in Fife, It's not far from Coventry. It has a hot start issue. Wish me luck. More to come.

[Skizzer]

Good luck.  I'm sure* you'll be fine, just as long as you don't stop anywhere.  WCPGW?

[John F]

Non-Volvo imported to Scotland SHOCK HORROR!

[brickwall]

An X19, pretty brave for the salty atmos. I admire your boldness.

 

Do they have a cooler for the carb on a temp switch?

[cms206]

Non-Volvo imported to Scotland SHOCK HORROR!

Rest assured John that here at The SVM, we are working tirelessly to bring Volvos north of the border in order to rehome them with hammer wielding psychopaths who have no fear of that there England...

[Pillock]

I'm not massively far from Coventry, if you have any problems collecting it I can come and point at engine components, make sympathetic noises, that sort of thing.

 

Good luck!

[Noel Tidybeard]

I'm not massively far from Coventry, if you have any problems collecting it I can come and point at engine components, make laughing noises, that sort of thing.

 

Good luck!

EFA

[Barry Cade]

I made it much to the amazement,bewilderment and general disbelief of everyone, including the seller...

 

Deal was done through the back door of Ebay..I've given them, and Paypal enough of my cash over the years and as much as it goes against the grain and the spirit of an auctin...fuck 'em, greedy bastards...

 

I enquired about a hoped for price for the wee car, and much to my surprise it was far FAR less than I expected to get hit with- so I agreed straight away without knowing much about the car at all or checking where it was...Anyway after a couple of emails the seller even chipped another 25 quid off, made several references to mad Scotsmen and came over as a very decent genuine fellow shite enthusiast.

 

I arranged to go down to Southam on Wednesday, as it was my day off. I was warned by my work that I HAD to be in on Thursday, and I think a book opened to lay bets on a 35 year old Fiat would manage up the road under it's own steam...especially as it had been laid up for 12 years and had only covered about 50 miles in the last year- on the upside it has a long MOT,some tax and was fully legal.

 

Train booked- just less than 50 quid...and I departed from Kirkcaldy station at 10:17 am, after leaving the Volvo at work, and picking up my X1/9 toolkit. A double ended screwdriver, an 8,10 and 13mm spanner. More warnings from work, a chuckle as to what good my expansive toolkit would do and an offer of a borrowed RAC card.

 

 

Train to Haymarket, then a change to the Penzance train..purchased a Practical Classics and an Autocar and settled down for the trip...a pair of lovesick teenagers opposite who decided to watch some crappy animated film on their laptop,saying the lines before they were said,and giggling like...well, lovesick teenagers. This was bad enough ,but even worse was the "businessman" who was "doing buisiness" very loudly on his mobile. The hard shoulder of the M6 would be bliss compared to this, anyway connections between trains were very short, so no pics of Wolverhampton,or Leamington Spa..

 

The seller picked me up at the station, and after worrying how I would find him, I spotted a bearded gentleman holding up an X1/9 Haynes manual.... After a short drive in his Daihatsu Charade, we parked behind his Scimitar  and looked over the X1/9. Looking a bit down at heel, but solid and honest I learned a bit about it's history..a genuine 1 lady owner from new retirement car from Eastbourne.

 

After talking shite for half an hour, and the insistence I took a gallon of fuel,a bottle of water for me and one for the car, a packet of cookies and directions to the M6 I departed, with a rather rough running,rough looking X1/9. Headed towards Coventry in search of fuel I hit the rush hour traffic... which is ever so slightly worse that we get up here. The X started getting tetchy, threataning to stall every time I let off the throttle and generally jumping around. After a cut out on a very busy roundabout and a restart which almost made me religious, I thought better of dicing with the traffic and pulled in at a fuel station, where it died about 20 yards from the pumps, and this time would not restart. I rolled it back and got out the tools.

 

Timing set with a little extra advance, points cleaned and regapped and the carb jets cleaned and blown through It started and idled beautifully., so I filled up at the pumps=40 quid of Asda's finest and took a fuel station shot.

 

 

Traffic was a bit lighter now, so I headed out of the city and towards the M6, slightly concerned about a sharp crack every time I hit a bump with the front left wheel. I stopped again at Lymm,and as the heater was ferocious, whipped off the roof, put on my jacket and motored on by the dull gloom that are X1/9 sealed beams...ignoring the shared dull glow of the charge light. A bit further up I needed a fuel stop, so had my usual road trip treat of an overpriced Burger King, an Amsterdam something or other,which was excellent!

 

 

Back on the M6, and after getting a headache straining to see, I switched to main beam, which was slightly better...never got flashed once. I even managed to get a station on the 1979, state of the art, AM/FM..

 

 

Motoring on, enjoying the tunes, the buzz of the Lampredi four and the wind in my hair, I lost all power. That horrible,sickening mind rush that is the realisation that you are hundreds of miles from home in a shed, and the racing thoughts of forming some sort of plan, I eased off, only to get a little surge. Back on the throttle and it started to die again...... Blocked second choke jet, Yeah!  A sign for the services had just been passed, 2 miles- so i nursed it along with a light throttle, at about 35 mph and made it, triumphantly, into the service station. Air filter top off, jet taken out, blown through and normal service was resumed. I grabbed a Costa, a Boost,a Wispa and a packet of out of date Jelly Babies for half price, popped the roof on for the cold bit and started off again.

 

 

I decided upon the 701, and threw the wee two seater around a bit on the deserted road, stopping only once more for another Costa at Ratho, before getting home at 2.30 am. I made it to work this morning much to the disbelief of my workmates, and milked it for all it was worth as I seem to spend my whole life defending Fiat. I've promised the wife we will go to Italy in it next year for her 40th. Time to get cracking with getting it fettled!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[dollywobbler]

Brilliant. We should collect these excellent collection threads.

[dome]

Brilliant. Good effort. There is one that colour parks near my old work in Edinburgh, not far from Roseburn.

 

Oh and the 701 is one of my favourite roads, hope you had fun.

[RoadworkUK]

Brilliant. Just brilliant. And how fab does that Voxson look!

[beko1987]

Amazing!

[Pillock]

Bravo!!

[Partridge]

I love trips like that

[trigger]

Love it! Great post.

[richardmorris]

blocked jets do seem common on cars that stand for a while. Hot starting could be a dying coil too if it continues to do so now you've done the timing, points, etc. Love the radio - mine has the original blaupunkt cassette deck.

[Essex V6]

Great collection thread. Many moons ago, I had a 1985 X1/9. Great fun and would happily have another one.

 

Having said that, just picked up my Manta GSi today and absolutely love it!

[HillmanImp]

Great read and with added excitement.

[plasticvandan]

Excellent collection,a little bit of past knowledge and experience can work wonders,and undoubtedly helped you complete your journey

[drum]

Great write up.

 

Are you available for riding shotgun on the collection trips of those of us less good with spanners?

[skattrd]

Top work and good luck for Italy

[fairkens]

Great collection, pez shot made me slightly homesick - previously my local Asda in Cov.

[Danblez]

Brilliant! I love the way you casually mention you partially stripped the carb amongst other things and got it running again.

 

I would have panicked and hit things with a hammer in desperate hope. Your way seems far more efficient!

[Fabergé Greggs]

Amazing. I used mine as a daily for 3 years in Glasgow. Hot start is vapour lock- ditch the carb fan and fit an electric fuel pump with the remaining wiring.

 

Alternator light always glows- to fix google "brown wire mod" or put relays on high & low beams. Sorted.

[Fabergé Greggs]

Oh, and to fix carb related nastiness fit new gaskets between carb and heat shield.

[holbeck]

I had a 1979 1300 X1/9 back around 1990. Mine had hot start problems plus glowing charge lamp also! Always started in the end.

[Cavcraft]

Brilliant stuff! Oddly enough my lad and I spotted a really tidy looking X1/9 for sale in Chester the other day and were both admiring it.

[New POD]

Ah Rat-Ho. My aunt used to live there. Home of the International Indoor Climbing wall Now IIRC

[richardmorris]

Brilliant stuff! Oddly enough my lad and I spotted a really tidy looking X1/9 for sale in Chester the other day and were both admiring it.

 

 

Hope it wasn't mine - my Dad said he'd gone for a drive in it!

[dugong]

Brilliant. We should collect these excellent collection threads.

Sod the calendar - let's do a glossy Christmas mag in that vein.