Early this morning the latest addition to our family arrived.

She's just 17 years old with only 5940 miles on the clock. I bought her from an 84 year old lady that has had her since new.

The car has never been out in the wet or the dark and was laid up on blocks between October and April every year.

There is a full history file with every MOT and bill since new. I've also got both keys and all the Fiat folders that came with it.

I'm looking forward to some Bertone designed mid engined fun.

I've got to say - I'm very much in love. :orb_love_

The condition is mint, good buy.

Plenty of fun to be had.

Crikey, time warp motoring.

Verynice indeed,you have a superb buy there.

I am just trying to envisage an 84 year old driving that to Tesco each week;)

Not that you have to answer, but how much did it cost to prise this gem of a find away from the owner?.

Not that you have to answer, but how much did it cost to prise this gem of a find away from the owner?.

Lets just say that it was a few grand cheaper than an entry level Fabia

nice!

is it all solid underneath??

a mate at work wants one of these and saw one in oxford that he considered saving but it had more holes than a sieve :(

is it all solid underneath??

a mate at work wants one of these and saw one in oxford that he considered saving but it had more holes than a sieve :(

Its in a time warp state. No rust, no wear and its only been wet when it needed the dust rinsing off it in summer. It's only done 5900 miles in 17 years and only on sunny dry days.

Very nice! Will you be preserving it in the condition to which it's become accustomed, or will you be enjoying it?

Chris

[cat]so what is it?[/cat]

little old RWD mid engined fiat that should be a giggle

1.5 aren't they?

Very nice! Will you be preserving it in the condition to which it's become accustomed, or will you be enjoying it?

Chris

I will be limiting the mileage to 3000 a year, partly for insurance reasons and also , as you say, to preserve its condition. 3000 will be plenty when its only use will be summer evenings and the odd X1/9 owners club meet.

little old RWD mid engined fiat that should be a giggle

1.5 aren't they?

Yes its a 1500 with about 90 wild Italian horses. .

Would you mind not calling my pride and joy a Fiat . The late "Gran finale" cars like this one were all built by Bertone at their factory with just the oily bits coming from Fiat. Theres not a single Fiat badge visible anywhere on it. Mind you Fiat must have taught them a thing or two about rust traps, 'cause most X1/9's converted to brown flakes years ago.

and there's me thinking it was a FIAT X1/9 :P

i think i actually worked on one of those Grand Finales when they first come out , its soooo long ago i cant remember what i did to it though

cracking find , i can't believe these sorts cars still turn up , after being hidden away in garages

lovely looking car.

Right then........ Due to the cars general lack of use it needs the clutch master and slave cylinders and the heater water valve changing, not to mention the brakes stripping and a full service including belts and a water pump.

You may remeber in the first post I said we were very much in love, well after an evening with my backside in the air and head under the dash I've finally got the master cylinder out. Mr Bertone, bless him, never really gave the DIY mechanic much thought when he mounted all the hydraulics in the deepest recesses of the footwells, not to mention that bl**dy water valve. It's certainely stretching my patience, but to be honest I never expected it to be an easy car to work on. Most of the skin from my knuckles now resides on the array of sharp bracketry holding the dash together.

Hopefully I'm doing the right thing by getting all the known problem components sorted before we start to use it in anger. Theres nothing worst than coming home on a tow truck every time you go out. (Although this is not an uncommon scenario for the X1/9 owner)

No doubt when all the mechanical side is sorted and it's down to a detailing session we'll be back in love again.

Drop a 130TC or Uno Turbo engine in

I know someone who did that and it was "brisk" Handled like a hippo on rollerskates though

have you still got it,what a beauty

I had one of these & so did my girlfriend (now wife) in around 1989/1990. Mine was XEV 903S I think. Our's were 1.3's though. Lovely to drive but I feel your pain as per maintenance.

As per above; what's it been like to own over the past two years.

That is a gorgeous car!

Slightly OT, Hyundai are looking for a home for a Moggy Minor too with only 36k on the clock after a scrappage deal. It's no longer road legal as it's been signed off for scrap but those nice people at Hyundai want it to go to a good home rather than the scrap dealer in the sky. A museum piece or...?

heard they are a truck to drive....................................:rotz:

Very nice find!