Another Italian project

[NEG]

I'm a glutton for punishment, still waiting upon the return of my GTV6 so I can crack on and finish it I've gone and bought this:




Loads of stuff wrong with it and the interior is falling apart, the body work needs fixing and spraying but at least it starts and stops, just...it also likes to spray boiling hot water over my feet when the heater controls are moved!

One nice aspect though is most parts are still available! WhooHoo! I'll update as I progress.....first job is to degrease the engine and carry out a full service including cam belt...this thing is not easy to work on!

[alfasuddriver]

Nice, always liked the look of those. Is it the one with a removable roof?

[NEG]

Yup Targa roof. I thought the Alfasud interior was cheap, it’s quality compared to the Fiat

[NEG]

Engine came up well.



Should have taken a before picture.

Next jobs, fix autochoke, fix heater matrix, full service + Cam belt, replace brake pads and fluid, replace front disk brakes, fit electronic points replacement form ultraspark, replace all coolant hoses (not an easy process, the system isn’t easy to bleed and air locks common).

[junior]

Don't forget all the tasks you will create whilst doing that work !

Good luck.

[NEG]

Interesting day, set the dwell angle up and retimed the car as it was too far advanced.....drove like a pig, hesitant no pick up from idle. Took the top off the carb and cleaned the jets, some crud in the fuel bowl but the floats where way off, far too high so lean mixture. Thought I’d look at the auto choke while I was at it and found the water chamber completely blocked with crud and the cast inlets completely blocked and one cracked! New parts on order.

[KevJTD]

I've often lusted over an X1/9 but I don't fit inside well enough

Some serious crud in that auto choke

[Kegsti66]

It does look very nice and genuine.

[NEG]

It’s a pig to work on engine wise. Started on the cam belt today should be an easy job but access is very tight and somehow I’ve managed to loose the cam timing, stupid mistake so will rectify tomorrow if I get the chance.

[Spacenut]

I know pictures can be deceptive, but the bodywork looks to be in good order. Underneath those US crash bumpers there is a lovely Bertone design

When I was thinking about pop-up headlights for the Nova I liberated a pair of lift motors from an X1/9 Lido that was sitting behind my friend's workshop. I didn't have any tools with me at the time, I just peeled back the front wings and bent the inner panel until it fatigued around the motor mounts

To say there wasn't much left of the car would be an understatement, and at the time it was only 10 years old

So... are you going to keep it stock or make a Dallara race replica out of it?

[NEG]

I’ll keep it standard. The pics are very flattering! Lido’s are highly sort after now and go for good money if in top nic.

Sorted out the cam timing and got the belt and new tensioner on. New fan belt as well. Also sorted out the auto choke which now works and after some adjustment the fast idle is right and the choke cuts off at the right point.

Will need to replace all the fuel hose as they are going brittle, I had one snap in half but today I replaced all the main coolant hoses...what a job! Worse job than the cambelt, you have to drop the rad out to replace the front hoses and as all the clips are corroded I had to cut each one off with a hacksaw! I flushed the system out, never seen so much crap n rust in a system before, I think the last time this car saw anti-freeze was when it was first made There was also quite a build up of lime scale most of which I managed to scrape of...

Next up, I need to fit new dizzy cap, rotor and points plus ignition lead set and get to work on the brakes...

How much crap can a radiator hold!

[NEG]

At the moment I seem to be taking one step forward and two back with the x19. Got all the new ignition bits installed and was feeling quite chuffed when I noticed a coolant leak from the steel thermostat to water pump transfer pipe. Turns out there is an extra hole in it that should not be there! I hope this is not an indication of possible issues elsewhere...

This will be a real bugger I suspect as it looks like the inlet and exhaust manifolds need to come off....which means the exhaust may need to be removed and then there’s the risk of sheared studs.....such fun

[NEG]

Found the hole in the pipe



There’s a handy access panel in the rear ‘boot’, quite a few screws to remove it though



So no way to get pipe out without removing the manifold



Not that it matters really as I spotted this:



I think this car hates me.

[NEG]

Managed to get the exhaust and manifolds off today. Couldn’t shift the bolts holding the transfer pipe to the water pump so had to remove the water pump. On the bench was no easier and they unfortunately sheared...so for piece of mind I’ve a new one on order.

[Spacenut]

Yes, I see what you mean - she's clearly fighting you all the way, but you seem to be making forward progress!

Interesting that the cylinder head is non-crossflow. Handy too as it reduces the overall width of the engine in such a confined space.

I agree the Lido had some nice features - cream suede leather seats, matching centre console padding, black metallic paint and those snazzy 3-spoke wheels. This one had already had the wheels nicked off it, and the roof panel, so was slowly filling up with rusty water, it wasn't a pretty sight

Lauren

[NEG]

Thanks! Shame about that old Lido. The only saving grace for the x19 is the spare parts situation, they are in relatively ample supply. Some stuff has to be used but a lot of the mechanical stuff and body work is still available.

[NEG]

Coming together slowly, new manifold, water pump and transfer pipe fitted. Carb cleaned up, hope it functions ok! Fuel hose in place and I’m attacking some rust in the box section where the exhaust resides...waiting on some Dinitrol to arrive to finish the job. Ive painted up a new rear valance and the exhaust grill vent has been cleaned....next is brakes while I wait for the remaining parts to arrive.

[NEG]

She’s still fighting back, new pads discs today and whilst bleeding the brakes the master cylinder decided that was enough!

Nice...I now have to remove the steering column to get at the dam thing!

[junior]

Don't forget all the tasks you will create whilst doing that work !

Good luck.

Did I tempt fate ? When it rolls down the road well, it will all seem worthwhile. Good luck

[NEG]

Nah, just wise words, thank you!

I’m taking a pragmatic approach, it’s 30 years old and has not seen much love in the last 15 years or so. Parts will need replacing.

Advice on the Fiat forums is to replace the clutch master cylinder at the same time because this is one pig of a job to do and you really don’t want to repeat it....I’m also replacing the hoses and reservoirs along with the heater matrix valve as this is leaking dumping water on to my feet.

It really is a pig of a job, one where the Haynes manual is not much use. It’s impossible to get the cylinders off individually so the pedal assembly is best removed as one unit.....so, seat out, steering wheel off and move the column out of the way by laying it on the floor. Drain the brake and clutch fluid as best as you can then undue 4 unions catching as much brake fluid as you can in two containers. Remove two nuts holding the assembly in and it should drop down attached by the reservoir hoses, as I’m replacing these I just cut them off.

This is what I’m working with, not much space.


Column


Assembly removed and access now available to the heater valve


Pedal assembly



Weather is meant to be crap tomorrow so I’ll have something to do indoors!

[junior]

That looks like a real pig of a job. Hope it all works out well. Makes my 500 fiat rear brake shoes look like child's play.

Material came off the Bosch shoes. Jammed a wheel at a 3 lane roundabout.

[NEG]

Ooops! Brown trouser moment!


Got the new cylinders on today and finished up some pipe work on the engine.

I decided to completely strip and clean the pedal assembly...now........that clutch pedal return spring is something else. I managed to get it off ok but after cleaning everything and reassembling could i get it back on.....could I heck! You need the strength of Jeff Capes to stretch that bloody thing!

To my embarrassment it took me an hour to figure out I needed to put the assembly on the floor with one foot on it to steady and use a large screwdriver inserted into one end of it and leveraged against the hook point to get it on. Doh!

New bits

[NEG]

Progress. New exhaust on, new rear valance bolted on, Dinitrol liberally spayed about ......and new heater valve installed....something I never wish to repeat! Getting the matrix out and back in is a real PIA, glad it’s out of the way.

Started her up and ran up to temp to fully bleed the cooling system and check for leaks...all good, Phew!

Next the pedal assembly goes back in along with new hoses and reservoirs

[KevJTD]

Really impressive progress you're making mate, great work

[Kegsti66]

This will be a well fettle'd car with the added knowledge that you have sorted some areas that may have given you trouble once you started using it ,that you didn't anticipate.
Great work done with a good write up.
Roll on summer.

[NEG]

Thanks guys. Progress has slowed a little. Got the pedal box back in the car and fitted new reservoirs and hoses but one of the brake pipe unions refuses to go back into a three way brass distribution block, I hope the threads are ok in the block unlike the union which looks like it may have had poor threads from new.

Decided I’ll replace the pipe with a copper one as it only runs to the offside front. Just waiting on some unions to arrive...whilst I do I fitted new brake disks, hoses and pads to the front.

Probably should have painted the calipers but.....I’d have ended up taking the suspension off and painting that as well!

[NEG]

Yay I now have brakes! Unfortunately no clutch yet. Ran out of brake fluid as I had to resort to using an old Gunson ‘not so easy’ bleed. traditional one man bleed kit didn’t work couldn’t get the fluid through to the reservoirs....so Gunson it was, flippin thing works ok if you can get a good seal, on the brakes it was ok but on the clutch reservoir is just spewed brake fluid every where. Messy. I’ll have a mother shot at it tomorrow.

[NEG]

Managed to get everything back together over the last couple of days. I hope that’s the major work out of the way however I suspect the clutch bearing will need replacing at some point.

Test drive today resulted in the car spluttring to a halt half a mile from home....managed to get it back and took the jets out and blew them through. Second test drive got a mile from home and she came to a spluttering halt....not as bad as the first, again managed to crawl home and this time took the top off the carb and cleared everything out with an air can. Seems to have done the trick fingers crossed.

Engine came up well.


Lots of cosmetic stuff to work on now...

[KevJTD]

looks great under there now, well done you.
teething troubles will hopefully iron themselves out

[Kegsti66]

Looking great. Nice one.