Will an X 1/9 suit me?

I live in Cornwall and would like to buy a good X 1/9. I have never sat in one and wonder if I will fit. If any menmber lives in Cornwall and could let me try sitting in their car and discussinng practibilities and what to look for I would be very greatful.

I'm in Poole, Dorset near the A35, not exactly close... but if your passing through?
I'm about 6'1 and it is very comfy. It always feels better in lighter shoes rather than trainers to drive though.

There is a wealth of info online but any questions please ask away. I would also recommend Phil Wards book which seems to have been a bit of an investment!

The reply you will usually get is to check for rust, only because any 25+ year old car would have a little by now... there are solid cars out there which are very good value at the moment.

If your into working on your own cars then the X1/9 is a pleasure to work on, its design is far from skin deep.

Thankyou. I am your height but it is mainly in my back. If i am near poole I will try to contact you. I do work on my car and would be plleased to have something without computer codes.
David Moult

David,

The earlier versions have the seats mounted directly on the floor and thus sit about 1" lower than the later cars. I am approx. 6ft and can get in a later car with no problems.
The seats are also reasonably comfortable and supportive, however, they could have new padding and covering added reasonably easily.
Good luck with your search for a car.

Andy

The seats are extremely comfy in mine

What year did the seat height change? 1300/1500 changeover?

Not sure which year they changed the seat mounting. I know my old 1983 X1/9 with vinyl seats had the rails mounted directly on the floor.
When I later got my Gran Finale it took a while to work out why I didn't have as much room for my legs.
Obviously the seats on the GF were mounted on cassette type arrangement which meant the seat sat approx. 1" higher and the flatter steering wheel meant my knees were wedged up against the centre console.
I've got used to it now, but it's not quite as comfortable as the earlier X1/9 used to be.

Interesting point Andy. Explains why my first thought when sitting in my 1989 car was that the steering wheel seemed bigger than I remembered from the 1983 car I used to own! A plus point is that I think the seat actually goes back a bit further so legroom is ok once behind the wheel. I find the seats very comfortable. Better than many modern cars with hard cushion bases. David, I'm sure you will love the driving experience, just don't expect a lot of room in the cabin or many of the modern comforts we have got used to in the last 20 years. It's worth spending some time finding a good one but you won't regret it if you take the plunge!

Thankyou everyone, it sounds good so far. I drove and looked after Citroen CX 's for some years and their heating was poor. How is the X 19 and how well does it idle on a frosty morning while I scrape ice off the windshield? I intend to use it as a daily driver.

The x is very cosy in the winter. The heater box is right down by your left leg with the roof off...

You'll probably be scraping ice off the inside of the windscreen or maybe that's just mine, I have a window that doesn't shut completely at the moment. The idling on a cold morning depends on how well the choke works... It might if your lucky.

Most have been converted to manual choke. When mine had it's carb fitted, it needed 4 pumps of the throttle then it started easy every morning. It also had lumenition ignition fitted when I got it which was nice.

Oh and mine makes a great daily driver, but I do have access to a spare car for those days the x needs some tlc...

Yes, heater is superb in really cold weather but harder to set to give slightly warm air. Mine has original auto choke set up with lumenition ignition. Starts on first touch if used regularly. Settles at around 1700 rpm after a couple of until fully warmed up. Should be some heat getting through by the time you've finished scraping.

Thanks again everyone for you very usefull comments. Are the fuel injection models good for idling and economy and is there a particular version to look out for or avoid? Also I read on another site that rust proofing was better from 1984. Is this true in reality?
Thanks again.

Fuel injection was only available in the USA, you could ship all the bits over, or perhaps knock something up from other fiat bits? quite a lot of effort involved though. easiest swap is to buy an entire Punto sporting 1.6 and fit the whole engine. The original engine is great though!

I fitted an SPI engine from a tipo/tempra. It does run smoother and uses a lot less fuel, with about the same oomph and similar sound.

I think the later cars were perhaps better quality steel, they seem to go in smaller localised areas where as the earlier cars look more spectacular when left for years... They are older of course. Apparently when Bertone took over production they increased the rust proofing treatments.

Most cars will have had at least some rust tended to by now. The VS is a good buy with leather seats and wheel. Two tone paint which is kinda retro, but then again the single colour perhaps flatters the body shape more?

The two tone 84 Bertone with the lower 'line' between the paint is the rarest of the later cars I think. Whatever you get, if you plan on using it a lot then there will be parts needed...

My 1989 car is quite well rustproofed. The only major corrosion I found was on the rear boot base floor above the exhaust silencer. This has a thick insulation pad between the base and inner floor pan which had obviously got wet in the past. Not obviously apparent from external inspection. I get the car waxoyled as necessary to give extra protection.

The 'standard' model I have lacks some of the fancier touches of the VS or Gran Finale but is still a great little car. The velour seats are much harder wearing than those in the GF and imo more comfy than the leather VS ones. Should stand up well to daily use.

Plenty of advice available on parts availability and which you might need to get in stock.

Again thanks for all your help. Is a x 19 suitable as a daily driver if looked after? How much is reasonable to pay for a good one? I can do mechanical but not body work and after driving a series 2 landrover some years ago have learned not to buy the cheapest as it turns out to be too expensive. How expensive is licensing and insurance generally for an older slower driver? Lots of questions but I don't want to make an expensive mistake.
Thankyou.

From experience over the last year you will more likely have a car that you can use most days. I managed to cover approx 6500 Mikes in a year and for about a month of the year the car was off the road being worked on. Although I have two young children so work was mainly done at night!. I don't have a garage either

I paid 1500 with full mot and reckon I was lucky as I didn't check the car all that thoroughly. However they can be had for less with an mot. Main thing is corrosion as that's usually costly to address, expect some, check the suspension turrets, inside spare wheel well behind drivers seat, under the insula/tion. Rear boot floor from underneath. Rear scuttle/spoiler. Doors... Then everywhere else... Any evidence of waxoil etc is always good.

Insurance is the cheapest Iv ever had and I'm 28! Tax is reasonable compared to more modern cars.