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stroker
stroker PowerDork
8/4/24 9:13 a.m.

NMNA

A bit rusty, but...

TurnerX19
TurnerX19 UberDork
8/4/24 9:25 a.m.

If someone does buy this for a Challenge car I might be interested in the doors, possibly on exchange for a set of late ones with unavailable window mechanisms. Buyback cash.  It does look good enough to restore though....

BoxheadTim
BoxheadTim GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
8/4/24 9:44 a.m.

74 should also be a small bumper car.

Given how good/bad this car is, it might make the perfect basis for a K swap or a 500 Abarth swap, although I doubt either could be done for a challenge budget.

Edit - if the small bumpers with their hardware are still with the car and they're in good nick, they're most likely worth a large portion of the asking price.

Oapfu
Oapfu GRM+ Memberand Reader
8/4/24 11:38 a.m.

meanwhile 1000 miles away (east of Denver, it's been on CL for a few months)

https://denver.craigslist.org/pts/d/bennett-1978-fiat-bertone-x19-vintage/7768855564.html

1978 Fiat Bertone X19 Vintage Racer Project - $475 (Bennett)

Great start for a vintage race car!

Engine was rebuilt years ago and then never driven.

Decent body and lots of parts.

Bring a trailer.


 

 

alfadriver
alfadriver MegaDork
8/4/24 12:15 p.m.

In reply to BoxheadTim :

Don't have to do a k swap- add boost. Just get it running at the event. 
 

BTW, back a while ago, the vintage challenge winning trophy was an x1/9 model. 

alfadriver
alfadriver MegaDork
8/4/24 12:17 p.m.

BoxheadTim
BoxheadTim GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
8/4/24 12:36 p.m.

In reply to alfadriver :

The red one doesn't have an engine to add boost to. Of course a Yugo drivetrain + all the psiz would probable work, too.

alfadriver
alfadriver MegaDork
8/4/24 12:45 p.m.

In reply to BoxheadTim :

I understand, but there are cheaper engines than the K to put in is my point.  Smaller, too.  And they also take boost.

 

BoxheadTim
BoxheadTim GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
8/4/24 12:49 p.m.

In reply to alfadriver :

Good point, although I think that not a lot of more modern engines would fit without surgery similar to what one would need to do for a K swap. Most engines with a crossflow head likely would require metalwork, although of course that would be par for the course for a challenge car.

ddavidv
ddavidv UltimaDork
8/5/24 7:12 a.m.

Back in the day (the 1990s), one of our club members (Tom Mulhall) did a DOHC 124 Spider engine swap into one. He was really just mimicking the Lancia Scorpion setup to some degree. It was a LOT of work.

I concur with other suggestions that a turbo application on an EFI 128/Strada/X1/9 drivetrain is a good way to go. When I worked at the 'ex' Fiat dealership, one of the techs had built one out of a five speed model. It used a Subaru turbo (small, so spooled up quickly) and a little Saab intercooler. That car, with a reasonable 10-12 psi boost, would run VERY well, and made for a beautifully balanced car. (More boost would cause the OEM clutch to slip). I wrote a story about it for European Car in the November 1996 issue.

I would not use a Yugo engine. While identical, the metallurgy of the Yugoslavian version is nowhere near as good as the Italian ones. Plus, most Yugos were 1100cc. The Fiat X1/9 was 1300 or 1500cc.

mr2peak
mr2peak GRM+ Memberand Dork
8/5/24 1:40 p.m.

A friendly reminder that X Prepared used to be dominated by an x19

David S. Wallens
David S. Wallens Editorial Director
8/5/24 6:08 p.m.

In reply to mr2peak :

DSP, too. 

stroker
stroker PowerDork
8/16/24 3:01 p.m.
NY Nick
NY Nick GRM+ Memberand SuperDork
8/16/24 3:39 p.m.

Why wouldn't a motorcycle engine be a good reporter choice here? Just curious. 

stuart in mn
stuart in mn MegaDork
8/16/24 4:15 p.m.

In reply to stroker :

Whitewall tires on an X1/9 is something I've never seen before.

TurnerX19
TurnerX19 UberDork
8/16/24 4:16 p.m.

In reply to NY Nick :

Packaging. It has been attempted, and documented on here by Robbie. The original Lampredi is the tiniest 1500 water cooled engine, especially narrow but a little tall, and it's crank CL is almost in line with the axle CL. Bike engines need some space there for gears and clutch that are alongside/in front of the axle CL in the original package. In short...It is too short...

TurnerX19
TurnerX19 UberDork
8/16/24 4:17 p.m.

In reply to stuart in mn :

I wish I could say the same.

VolvoHeretic
VolvoHeretic GRM+ Memberand SuperDork
8/16/24 6:08 p.m.

115 hp 2 stroke boat motor. laugh

TurnerX19
TurnerX19 UberDork
8/16/24 6:32 p.m.

In reply to VolvoHeretic :

As a Challenge car using the original transaxle that has potential with expansion chambers out through the rear trunk. As a 50,000 mile car said transaxle might make one or two launches, unlikely any more...

wspohn
wspohn UltraDork
8/17/24 12:40 p.m.

Hmmwonder if the power unit from a Cobalt SS would fit in there?  A modded turbo Ecotec LNF engine/transaxle unit with say 400 bhp would make life fairly exciting.......

BoxheadTim
BoxheadTim GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
8/17/24 1:00 p.m.

In reply to wspohn :

I don't have a Cobalt SS to check against, but my suspicion is that it'll fit about as well as a K swap. IOW, it'll require an angle grinder and welder.

As TurnerX19 mentioned, the original Lampredi engine in these is very narrow and has a non-crossflow head. It's very tightly packaged in there so there isn't much room to fit something with a crossflow engine in, at least without using the aforementioned welder and angle grinder.

NY Nick
NY Nick GRM+ Memberand SuperDork
8/17/24 1:37 p.m.

In reply to TurnerX19 :

Interesting, thanks for the insight. 

wspohn
wspohn UltraDork
8/17/24 8:34 p.m.

In reply to BoxheadTim :

Too bad - the Ecotec is about the size of a Lotus Ford engine or a Miata, but offers a small (relatively speaking) package for 400 + bhp. 

VolvoHeretic
VolvoHeretic GRM+ Memberand SuperDork
8/17/24 11:20 p.m.

As I've said before, I new a guy back in the day who would buy smashed up VW Beetles, one with a smashed front and another with the smashed back, cut them in half between the front and back windows through the B pillar, and then weld the two halves into one good car.

Cut two Fiat X1/9s in half, the front half just in front of the rear wheel well and the back half just behind the door, and weld them together resulting in a 9.3 inch increase to the engine bay with a wheelbase of 96". smiley

ddavidv
ddavidv UltimaDork
8/18/24 8:16 a.m.

I think you're adding space in the wrong place.

You can sacrifice the rear trunk for more engine bay. The only problem is you will likely have to hack out the rear suspension crossmember/engine mount point and make something to replace it.

The turbo X1/9 my former employer made cut out the rear firewall and trunk floor and routed all the turbo plumbing with that space. It's not really that much of a sacrifice, as the front trunk is still pretty large.

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