1986 Bertone X1/9 barn find

I shouldn't ask because I already know what the hive will say

Friend is clearing out his parents estate, and there is an '86 Fiat / Bertone X1/9 in the barn. Hasn't moved since 1992, don't know why. Body has some rust on the rockers, but no holes. Looks like there is an anti-chip coating flaking off with rust behind it. Panels are straight from what I can tell. Interior is in good shape and the car is complete. I can get it for scrap value.

I understand the general complexities of re-starting something after sitting for this long, but is this car worth it? I'm assuming new fuel pump, injectors, tank re-new, timing belt, calipers...

Not something I'd want to keep, profit?

Sorry, no pics yet.

Not much profit, especially if it has rust. The body structure on these is pretty complicated so fixing a rusty one is a long undertaking.

I'd say do it if it isn't too rusty. They are fun little cars. Little, but not as light as one would hope.

Well if you part it out I need the passenger door latch assembly. LOL sorry I had to.

Probably your biggest bang for buck profit wise would be parting it out. If you want to save the car you can probably get it going and make a small profit ignoring your time into it.

what kind of floor has it been sitting on? lotsa moisture can condense on the bottom of a car in 20 years.

still, unless it really looks from hell, i'd roll the dice on it.

The 86's were the best equipped of the exxies and best built. Stupid simple Bosch EFI on a 1500cc non-interference motor and 5-speed transaxle.

The motor is easily converted to MegaSquirt if desired and the engines like boost (within limits as the transaxle won't handle it for too long)

They are built hell for stout, so they weigh about 2000+lbs, but they use a lot of 70's/80's Italian supercar touches (lambo used the trunk handle, Ferrari used the door handles, etc) The roof stores in the front trunk or "frunk" which is very nice.

Check out the following sites:

http://xwebforums.org/

http://socalx.com/

http://x19.xwebforums.org/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page

http://mirafiori.com/

Also, I can confirm that 15x7 wheels with 195/45 15's will fit under the stock fenders with the proper offset (4x100 wheels will fit with wobble bolts to fit the 4x98) and they look mean that way.

Or you could add flares:

I miss mine. If you were closer, I'd gladly take it off your hands.

I once tried to part out an 82... I wound up throwing parts away because nobody wanted them.

124s you can make a profit on.. nobody wants Exxie parts

In reply to mad_machine:

If you have an X1/9, you go straight to Xweb if you want to unload parts. Don't waste your time anywhere else. That's were the majority of US owners hang out, along with a few international owners.

In reply to Gearheadotaku:

Go to Xwebforums.org for advice

In reply to AngryCorvair:

it's been on a concrete floor. Non-heated building.

Coupefan:

I'll check out X-web, thanks for the advice.

The gas tanks rust

most cars end up in a barn for something wrong with them. but if you are talking scrap money for it...dont think twice grab it....then look it over good and decide what you are going to do with it

cutter67 wrote: most cars end up in a barn for something wrong with them. but if you are talking scrap money for it...dont think twice grab it....then look it over good and decide what you are going to do with it

This makes sense. I have pounced on vehicles simply because they were a steal. Then take some time to figure out what you'll do with it. The worst I've ever done was break even.

Hey Jeff, if its that cheap I may be interested in it; I've been looking for a cheap one to mess around with.

He's in no hurry to move it, so we could probably make something happen. It's northwest of Detroit, exit 101 off I-75

I want an X, but I'm In ATL