Neil's Fiat/Bertone X1/9

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AncientGeek
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Re: Neil's Fiat/Bertone X1/9

Post by AncientGeek »

After some philosophication and study I can see what I did wrong. The retainer has been staked to stop it from turning and I removed enough stake to get it to loosen but the thread is on the outside and as soon as it came into contact with the staked metal it jammed. A full size 19mm spanner was too much for it, it is not very strong, nice brittle cast ali as you observed.

But its not so bad! Turned out I did not need to remove it at all despite what the manual says. As soon as I released the damper I was able to pull the rack far enough to one side to insert the bush. I used a punch to rotate the retainer back to its original position and some metal epoxy to seal the broken bits. The retainer itself seems to be total unobtainium. One day I will it get out again and and get a replacement made.

Steering rack assembly now ready to go back in the car. That will be a mission and a half.
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Fred
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Re: Neil's Fiat/Bertone X1/9

Post by Fred »

AncientGeek wrote:After a lot of beer and study while hung over I can see what I did wrong.
Good progress! :-)
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Re: Neil's Fiat/Bertone X1/9

Post by AncientGeek »

I finally got into the old girl's pants. Not a pretty sight!
pipe1.jpg
I started off trying to drill out the spot welds but soon said "golly this is not worth it" or words to that effect, and just cut the damn thing open. It was not worth saving anyway, I will make a replacement out of galvanized sheet metal.

I don't have access to any lift or pit, so all this was done with ramps and jack stands and working inches from my nose.

These spots are radiator stop-leak. Lots of muckies in the pipes, the rad will also have to come out and be professionally cleaned.
pipe3.jpg
I managed to find a genuine original unused pipe from a local guy, the other one I will have to get made up. It has a series of complicated bends at both ends.
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Re: Neil's Fiat/Bertone X1/9

Post by AncientGeek »

A few ructions in my life so work has proceed slowly.

I drilled out most of the spot welds in the end, but left one side of the original belly pan.

I had a second pipe made up from stainless as nobody would make one in aluminium for me. the small heater pipe was made in alu.
The old and new pipes. the small one is the heater pipe.
The old and new pipes. the small one is the heater pipe.
The inside of the belly pan was cleaned up and sprayed with rust converter and hammerite. The right hand side you see here I made in alu and riveted on to the body. I attached the small heater pipe first.
Empty belly pan with the pipes removed
Empty belly pan with the pipes removed
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This is the inside of the old pipe. Mind boggling. I fear for the block.
This is the inside of the old pipe. Mind boggling. I fear for the block.
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Re: Neil's Fiat/Bertone X1/9

Post by AncientGeek »

Interlude: the driver's floor was rusted right through. Thoroughly cleaned with wire wheel and rust remover, coated with rust converter, sanded, etched primed and painted with anti-rust paint before being glass fibred and covered with sound block.
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fixed_floor.jpg
holes-In_floor.jpg
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Re: Neil's Fiat/Bertone X1/9

Post by AncientGeek »

The pipes were then fitted and held in place temporarily with cable ties. I put some rivnuts on the inner pipe supports so when the bottom cover was riveted on I could bolt them tight to stop any rattles. I also glued some rubber to the inside of the bottom cover.
Pipes fitted
Pipes fitted
A view from the front with the cover riveted on
A view from the front with the cover riveted on
I then made supports for the front of the pipe near the radiator.
Home made front pipe support
Home made front pipe support
AncientGeek
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Re: Neil's Fiat/Bertone X1/9

Post by AncientGeek »

Interlude: cleaning the radiator.
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rad_sludge.jpg
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Re: Neil's Fiat/Bertone X1/9

Post by AncientGeek »

The finished product, car is back on the road although it will soon be taken off again to do a engine out serpentine belt conversion with a triggerwheel. And to to check the block of course. Plenty of work to do. I've also acquired a hotter cam.
Attachments
A view from rear prior to sealing and painting. The cable on the left is the speedo cable (which Haynes claims is an accelerator cable)
A view from rear prior to sealing and painting. The cable on the left is the speedo cable (which Haynes claims is an accelerator cable)
The final product spayed with stone-chip. The gooey looking black stuff on the left is Devil's Diarrhea (bitumen based chassis black) to seal under the driver's floor.
The final product spayed with stone-chip. The gooey looking black stuff on the left is Devil's Diarrhea (bitumen based chassis black) to seal under the driver's floor.
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Re: Neil's Fiat/Bertone X1/9

Post by Fred »

Good work,keep it up! :-)
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How many ways can a PO stuff up? Let me count the ways

Post by AncientGeek »

Well I've found a lot wrong with this car and lost heart a bit but I'm working on it again.

Fixing one always reveals 10 other things that need fixing.

For example, I replaced the headlight switch and added some relays. While there I noticed some dodgy wiring for the electric windows with an unfused connection direct from the battery. I opened up the left door where the window had never worked properly.

I found

1. The inner weatherstrip was missing.
2. The wiring was incorrectly routed and loose inside the door getting entangled in the mechanism
3. The glass was not original and too thick for the guides
4. the glass was not tempered auto safety glass. :o
5. The glass was mounted skew on the base plate.
6. The height adjuster screw was stuck solid (might have been welded from the inside) requiring drilling out and re-tapping.

All on one little door window.

I was unable to find a local replacement (international shipping costs are crazy) so had one made. Works great.
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