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Who'da thunk it....

www.detnews.com/apps/p.../901210377

Personally, I'm kinda interested in this, as I owned 2 X-1/9's back in the day and they were both VERY solid, reliable, fun cars, miss 'em to this day....just not thrilled about having to own a "Chrsyler product" in order to get one.

I hear the new Fiat 500 is a fun little ride too....kinda crazy to think it'll be in the same showrooms that once carried the massive weight of 440-cubic inch powered Newports and New Yorkers....

www.fiat.com/cgi-bin/p...dfkhdfjk.0

I owned 2 X-1/9's back in the day and they were both VERY solid, reliable, fun cars

You've got to be kidding!!!!

Catching fire , trans axles falling apart and being very expensive to replace, and pretty much a pain to work on among other things. That's been my experience. Although the Bertone X-1/9's were better made. I will say the ones I'm talking about were already aged and most likely abused, since it was the kind of car that just asked to be driven hard. This is coming from a guy who owns MG's, another self inflicted pain. Last FIAT I drove was a new "Punto" in 2002. Had to park it so I wouldn't have to back up since reverse didn't work. Went out the second day I was TDY to Germany. Usually I had to open the door and use my left leg to back out. One flimsy POS.

I know what you mean about Chrysler, never been a fan. Although they did make some good looking cars. Too bad you can't rely on looks.

Joe D

- Joe_D

I owned 2 X-1/9's back in the day and they were both VERY solid, reliable, fun cars

You've got to be kidding!!!!

Catching fire , trans axles falling apart and being very expensive to replace, and pretty much a pain to work on among other things. That's been my experience. Although the Bertone X-1/9's were better made. I will say the ones I'm talking about were already aged and most likely abused, since it was the kind of car that just asked to be driven hard. This is coming from a guy who owns MG's, another self inflicted pain.
Joe D

Fiat engines always had to be spun hard to keep up with 'Murican driving habits. The 124 Spider was pretty nice in it's class, and had a droptop mechanism that made the MGB seem like an all day excercise by comparison. Still, I had good experience with my "B", and it had the flip-the-stalk electric overdrive. Very handy. Only ever had problems with the wire wheels because the spokes would wear past the rubber tube protectors with hard driving and leave you with more flats than I could stand. I should have ordered it with the steel wheels.

Had quite a few old Brit sports cars, including a '61 XK-E roadster, but the one I loved the most and had the most fun with was a '68 Triumph GT-6 that I put the bigger valves of the MkII in. Embarrassed many a Porche with that car...faster than a 911T, easily the equal of the 911E, and succumbing only to the almighty 911S of the time. Weighing 500 lbs. less certainly didn't hurt. Only problem I ever had with it was spinning out the synchronizer rings, and in fairness, that was in competition.

Very true re: Fiat engines, I kept mine at higher RPMs since it was clear by the feel that they loved it and were made for it - I became convinced that all the bad things I heard were a result of folks used to large American grunt, lugging the poor little things and just driving 'em wrong.

I put over 90K miles on a red '76 model with the 1300 carb'ed engine and 4-speed, and well remember that it cruised down the hwy at 4000 RPM (with the engine right behind your head, you didn't need the tach to know about it). Only had one failure, and that was an alternator bearing that seized at a stoplight (the sudden shrieking of the alt. belt 1 foot behind my head really woke me up, I'll tell ya).

Liked it so much I traded up to a gold '81 model with the 1500 FI engine and 5-speed. The extra 200 cc's, FI, and extra gear made it a whole different car - drove the pants off it and put over 120K in short order, and the only things it ever needed was a new second gear synchro (my fault, banging it through the gears all the time), and a section of fuel hose replaced when it eventually cracked and started spewing fuel. For the record, it was also the best car I ever drove on snow (made it through a 2-foot blizzard in Big Bear CA that had 4x4's pulling off the road), tell ya that.

Add on top of that at the time, I was too busy chasing little furry things to bother with maintenance, and so both these poor little baby Ferraris were running around with oil in the crankcase that had more or less devolved to resemble it's original crude, unrefined state. I developed a theory that oil is to engines as shoes are to people...we don't like swapping 'em out once they've grown on us and got all comfortable...so if the engine's runnin' just leave it be....

For reliability that ranks them right up there with my long-lost beloved '95 Chevy pickup, which in 12 years needed absolutely nothing except the a serpentine belt or two, but was towed to the dealer no less than 3 times in the first 500 miles to work out bad clutch/flywheel issues that it came factory-equipped with, with a clutch master cylinder failure on top of it just to add to the saga. So I'd buy another Fiat X-1/9 in a heartbeat if I could, although I know the experience may not have been typical...and didn't live in an area that had much rust going around...

FIAT drop top much much better,

I had a couple of B's, one a GT model, but neither had the "stalk" over drive. What's left of the 73 "B" is in boxes and in the shed, body was cut up an junked, too much rust to be worth repairing. Just not willing to spend the bucks on a British heritage body. The GT is somewhere in Kansas now. Have two midgets, 72 and 74. The 72 is stock as it gets and pretty much was my Wife's toy. Up on stands in garage now for the winter. The 74 is the project, I plan on using a Datsun 210 five speed with the Rivergate conversion and possibly a weber set up on the 1275cc engine. Also considering going fuel injection using the components from a Ford (Kia) Festiva. Little more work though. Gotta couple of 72 Capri MK-1's in the back yard needing attention too, a 2.6 V6 and 2.0 OHC.

Retirement, that's what I was waiting for, but then again, I might just get rid of all of them. (except the 72 Midget, sentimental reasons) Who knows.

Stoopy,

I had the same theory on oil with my '73 Nissian GTX (Japan only model, with straight six 2.0 OHC) when I was on Okinawa. Basically a Datsun 610 with a Fair Lady (Japan only 240Z) engine. Couldn't kill that car. Used to take on the Skylines and RX-3's with her.

Joe D

- Joe_D

FIAT drop top much much better,

I had a couple of B's, one a GT model, but neither had the "stalk" over drive. What's left of the 73 "B" is in boxes and in the shed, body was cut up an junked, too much rust to be worth repairing. Joe D

Joe,
My '73 "B" (the last model without the ridiculous rubber-baby-buggy-bumpers) in a slalom at UNC-Charlotte. There's a building where that lot was now, and a parking structure where the trees were.
This was in '74. I think it was activities like this one where my "tube-protector spoke thingy" kept getting displaced. Should have ordered steel wheels, but I liked how wires looked.

Ascout,

I sorta solved that "rubber thingy" problem with the wire wheels using heavy duty duct tap, believe it or not. Just wrapped it a bunch before putting on the tires and inner tubes. Mini Lites are the way to go though, beats the wires and steels. I like the wires though, mostly for the looks. My 73 "B" has/had wires along with the 72 Midget. Below is a picture of the Midget I took a few years ago.



This was my Wife's toy. She used to love giving friends and family rides around town in it.

Joe D

Joe,

"Spridgets" are nice, generally terrorized "G" Production. Here are couple with me in the pits at Charlotte (now Loews) Motor Speedway. My GT6 can be seen just beyond the Spit on the right.

Minilite wheels were not in my budget at the time, if they were even available. These full-on race-preps don't have 'em. Year is 1970.

Love those pictures,

The bottom one I spy what looks like a Super 7.

I also would love to own that Baby Blue T-bird in the first shot.

Something about those Spridget's squared off rear wheel arches that I never liked. Never knew why they did that after the Bug-eyes. They went round again 72-74, much better looking, then ruined the look in '75 combining the ugly rubber bumpers, going back square, and raising the ride height. New US crash standards probably were a big reason.

I think the 'Lites came out mid 70's. I first remember Moss Motors offering them. I don't particularly like their looks. I'm more into the stock/vintage look as far as out ward appearance goes. Don't race, just ride (or used to).

Thanks for sharing those pics.

Joe D

- Joe_D

Love those pictures,

The bottom one I spy what looks like a Super 7.

I also would love to own that Baby Blue T-bird in the first shot.

Something about those Spridget's squared off rear wheel arches that I never liked. Never knew why they did that after the Bug-eyes. They went round again 72-74, much better looking, then ruined the look in '75 combining the ugly rubber bumpers, going back square, and raising the ride height. New US crash standards probably were a big reason.

I think the 'Lites came out mid 70's. I first remember Moss Motors offering them. I don't particularly like their looks. I'm more into the stock/vintage look as far as out ward appearance goes. Don't race, just ride (or used to).

Thanks for sharing those pics.

Joe D

Yep, that's an original Super Seven. 'Lites would have been after those shots were taken, and I couldn't afford them as a student later when I got my "B". I did get some slight oversize Conti's at no cost that were better than the stock rubbers, however.

My true love was my "Le Mans Prototype" Triumph, however...the GT6 that was the Le Mans bodied Spitfire, but with the 2.0L six-cylinder from the Herald series of sedans instead of the Spitfire's four. It was a "giant killer" (read: Porsches) among sports cars when set up. The lights are self-fabricated from two Cessna Aircraft winglight and one Beech (I think) nose light. All are twelve-volt and I made mounts from sheet metal, hose clamps, some naugehyde and "L" brackets. Cheaper than Cibies and a LOT more reliable than anything Lucas, "The prince of darkness" ever made.

No snide comments about the "wet-look" jacket, please. It was freakin' 1970 fer Chrys-sakes!

fiat spyders suck. my first wife had one. The engine (carbs) always needed adjustment... looked okay, but ran like crap

However, the Bella I am now married to (her and the kids) drive alpha romeo's. they are pretty durable.

We kid about taking my 1970 Ford LTD over and leaving it at the Condo in Udine (you couldnt take it down most side streets LOL)