I've got one of my dream motors

[Taff]

I had the same interior in mine. Tried everything. Was close to giving up, and had nothing to lose- tried cellulose thinners, and it made them like new.

 

awesome! you can quite clearly see the before & after bits

 

 

the difference was startling, the amount of grime that came off them.

 

Of course, the downside is that the whole interior less the door cards has to come out now...

[Taff]

so I have been hard at it with the cutting compound to get the fence over spray off the car. The front end bodywork is done, along with the drivers door and drivers side rear quarter. I made a start on the engine cover and this is how it looks after an hours work.

 

 

note the recess, where I'm going through the paint. I didn't even go at it that hard, it started to thin almost immediately

 

 

Hmm. The remainder is coming up ok with a bit of elbow grease. It's supposed to be gloss black, so spraying the whole thing would (at my level of skill, funds & resources) be beyond me. My inclination is to t-cut back the upper ribs (which are responding well) then mask those off and key the recessed areas before going at them with a gloss black rattle can.

WCPGW?

 

oh and yeah, Aldi are knocking out those ratchet spanners again, set of five for £9.99 I think. I needed the 13 for the X's hand brake.

 

 

note fence over spray on the badge & bootlid

[Junkman]

the door cards are currently off while I sorted out the winder mechs and I wondered about cleaning them.

 

Any suggestions? I don't expect them to come up like the virgin area where the arm rest was, but getting the ingrained stuff out of the, er, grain would be nice.

 

 

 

Try Melamine sponges.

[Taff]

Try Melamine sponges.

 

 

I had the same interior in mine. Tried everything. Was close to giving up, and had nothing to lose- tried cellulose thinners, and it made them like new.

 

 

 

awesome! you can quite clearly see the before & after bits

 

 

the difference was startling, the amount of grime that came off them.

 

Of course, the downside is that the whole interior less the door cards has to come out now...

 

Senor Cade and his thinners beat you to it, mate

[flat4alfa]

Signor Cade in this italophilic thread, shirley

[Taff]

payday! any idea how much brake fluid one of these takes? 2 litres should be enough for a fluid change, Shirley?

[tul66]

Sure I've got a set of braided brake hoses for one of things kicking around if you're doing the brakes.

Can check at the weekend if you want.

[Barry Cade]

Sure I've got a set of braided brake hoses for one of things kicking around if you're doing the brakes.

Can check at the weekend if you want.

There are 2 different types- catches people out. Early X1/9's had very coarse threads, later ones are normal metric. Don't force them!

 

2 litres will me more than enough to do a full flush and fill. Remember you can adjust the brake and clutch pedal heights on the pedal box, makes a big difference to pedal feel, and the X1/9 is the only car I've ever driven where I naturally heel and toe. Saves gearbox wear too.

[Taff]

Sure I've got a set of braided brake hoses for one of things kicking around if you're doing the brakes.

Can check at the weekend if you want.

 

if they fit, I would be very much interested. Any chance of a part number off the box fella?

 

 

 

[Taff]

despite having a hangover that would kill an Englishman, I made a start on the X brakes today. I wan't going to bother but my neighbour (top bloke) had moved his works van and loaned me a diesel fuel can, so I felt obliged to at least show willing.

 

her new temporary parking place

 

 

Having stripped them off the other week, they came apart fairly easily this time, freed off the bleed nipples without shearing them

 

 

But I did manage to shear this pipe. The union came undone from the flexi ok but had seized on the pipe. There is plenty of slack in that pipe so it can be re-flared easily enough.

 

 

and an hours grumpy graft resulted in this

 

 

and then into the diesel they went, and that's where they will stay for now. Date tonight, and football tomorrow means the earliest I shall look at them will be Monday after work. Hopefully they will be nicely lubricated by then

 

[crapcarcollector]

I'm feeling very nostalgic for mine now, a 1980 VS I had when I was 19 in 1989. Beautiful thing, handled amazingly, taken as a laugh by a close friend of mine without my knowledge with the keys on a joy ride. He wrote it off on a major roundabout poking it through the barrier leaving teetering over the pedestrian subway below. I forgave him because he was man enough to own up. He died at the age of 39 to lung cancer after never smoking a fag in his life. I finished his last IT install (2 weeks labour) with some more of our friends so his widow could bury him. RIP Evo. RIP X/1 aged just 9 sad to see you both go too soon.

[flat4alfa]

Looking good!

 

Just remembered - the fluid was bled through with fresh in 2013.  Reason for that was when we fetched it, the entire system was dry and pedal was on floor.  I got it off the beavertail and up onto the garage ramp on handbrake only, right when the throttle cable decided to stick revs up around 3k and gave me fright 

 

Left it with the garage fellas to sort it. Pipes/unions all good, so the seized and suspect front calipers were replaced with new as it was not expensive (£23 a caliper I think it was) to swap-out rather than pay them time on rebuild fuss. Likewise the master cylinder, and while that akward area under the dash was apart the clutch slave was changed too as advised by the men from Icsunonove

 

Rears freed ok and seals proved to be tight, but rear efficiency was -ahem- still borderline on the rollers when doing the ticket.  I hoped it would improve with a bit of use

 

And that's how it was saved, rather than broken 

[Taff]

well, bled the brakes today, that's a twattish job on these. Rear cylinders offer fucking huge pressue while the fronts require no effort at all.  Oh well, I think they are done, although the pedal feels dead. I can't test drive it as it's now refusing to start.

 

Fuck it, pub. There is rugby to watch

[Taff]

well, it starts now. I reckon the ignition switch is on it's last legs, it either works perfectly and starts or I get no ignition lights, no starting & my side lights come on. How very Fiat.

 

Brakes are better but there isn't much feel to the pedal.

[Barry Cade]

well, it starts now. I reckon the ignition switch is on it's last legs, it either works perfectly and starts or I get no ignition lights, no starting & my side lights come on. How very Fiat.

Google "The brown wire mod". this may cure your fault...

[Skizzer]

Tales of successful brake bleeding are giving me heart, partly because that's tomorrow's job for me and partly because we're behind at half time.

 

I like this car a lot, BTW.

[Taff]

Mr Cade, is the brake pedal usually quite "dead" on these? The cat literally screeched to halt on test drive but there is no "feel" to the pedal at all.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Taff]

Tales of successful brake bleeding are giving me heart, partly because that's tomorrow's job for me and partly because we're behind at half time.

 

I like this car a lot, BTW.

With this hangover, I may* give the spanners a miss today

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Barry Cade]

Mr Cade, is the brake pedal usually quite "dead" on these? The cat literally screeched to halt on test drive but there is no "feel" to the pedal at all.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Never heard them described that way before- people usually complain they're shite, which they are unless 100%. What do you mean by "dead" ? A lot of travel, or just no feel. No servo so they will feel much different to a "modern cars brakes.

[Taff]

Never heard them described that way before- people usually complain they're shite, which they are unless 100%. What do you mean by "dead" ? A lot of travel, or just no feel. No servo so they will feel much different to a "modern cars brakes.

 

ignore me...

 

I had forgot the lack of servo. They pull up fine, little pedal travel, nice and even, locked up when slammed on but no "feel" to the pedal.

 

More like my Galaxie than my F. One of which I drive daily and has a servo... Thanks

[Taff]

Google "The brown wire mod". this may cure your fault...

 

that's a great google search, talk about confusion!  Am I right in thinoing that the gist of the BWM is to run an additional 8g cable from the battery positive terminal to the ignition switch terminal currently fitted with a brown wire?

 

for info,  the lighting relay mod is already done. I haven't pulled the steering column shroud off yet to check for a BWM.

[flat4alfa]

I had it cutting out when out on the road a couple of times (i.e. rare) and so did the fella who had it after me.  Ignition off, count to five, restart.

Solution was to clean and re-seat the fusebox.  Worked.

 

Never trouble with starting it though, even after winter lay-up.

That's a new treat.

[Taff]

no mate, it hasn't cut out while running. It's refusing to start, regardless of engine temp.

 

Last night, I sorted the garage out & went to move it back under cover. The X hadn't been started since Saturday, it caught first turn and burbled away as it does. I got it into the garage, switched it off and then realised that the radio in the garage was still on and that I can't reach it to turn it off with the car in there. And the car wouldn't start. No dash lights, nothing, but the side slights come on when you turn the key.

 

I'll drop the shroud off it at the weekend and have a mooch about, I think the ign switch is to blame. When  it works, the car firs up and runs very well, so I doubt that the fault it ignition-based (other than the switch)

[Barry Cade]

 Am I right in thinoing that the gist of the BWM is to run an additional 8g cable from the battery positive terminal to the ignition switch terminal currently fitted with a brown wire?

 

 

Yup, that's pretty much it. Does sound like the ign switch, they can go faulty like this.Pretty much all the electrics run through it hence the BWM.

 

http://www.eurosport-uk.net/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1_6&products_id=30

[Taff]

Yup, that's pretty much it. Does sound like the ign switch, they can go faulty like this.Pretty much all the electrics run through it hence the BWM.

 

http://www.eurosport-uk.net/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1_6&products_id=30

 

Top man, Mr C, thank you

[flat4alfa]

By 'cutting out' I meant 'no 'leccy whatsoever / dead / norwegian blue'.

 

You would then have to pull over and remove key, count 5, insert key. Dash lights returned and it would crank and you could carry on as if nothing had happened.  Happened so rarely it was forgotten about and accepted as part of the Fiat experience.  

[Fabergé Greggs]

I did the BWM on mine and it made everything behave really strangely. The wipers wouldn't park, the headlight motors became intermittent, and so i disconnected it and it's all back to normal... Very odd..

[Barry Cade]

I did the BWM on mine and it made everything behave really strangely. The wipers wouldn't park, the headlight motors became intermittent, and so i disconnected it and it's all back to normal... Very odd..

?? All you are doing is bypassing all the old connectors and tired wiring and giving the electrics full battery voltage- shouldn't upset anything? Well worth putting a meter on the wire beforehand to see the voltage drop.

[Taff]

By 'cutting out' I meant 'no 'leccy whatsoever / dead / norwegian blue'.

 

You would then have to pull over and remove key, count 5, insert key. Dash lights returned and it would crank and you could carry on as if nothing had happened.  Happened so rarely it was forgotten about and accepted as part of the Fiat experience.  

 

close, it has enough electrickery left to switch on the side lights when you turn the key!

 

I hadn't actually counted to five but I'll try that next. It's [probably in a Fiat service bulletin somewhere

[Taff]

Stripped the steering column shroud off and, with some wire-wiggling, the car starts. Maybe it's not the switch after all and just a duff connection, I'll have a better look at the weekend, probably strip the whole switch assembly off and see what's what

 

I thought I had the brown wire mod for a moment but on closer inspection, that's all standard, I think.