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Category Archives: Restoration

Current Status

Posted on March 5, 2013 by rmmj
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Thanks to a little off-board suggestions from Papa Tony and Bob Brown, I installed a separate fuse box to run the headlight mod, Stereo/Amp, secondary radiator fan console switch and push-button starter in a nice, clean way that allows for easy maintenance. Very happy with the results.

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I’m still tweaking the position of the Euro-style front bumpers that Ricardo re-produced, to get it just right (while leaving room for adjustment) before finalizing. They are a great fit with the revised brackets Ricardo made. Ricardo made the Euro-style side markers for me as well. I sourced the spoiler from Henk.

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Categories: Fiat, Maintenance, Restoration, X1/9

“Bluetooth” comes home

Posted on June 2, 2012 by rmmj
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It has been said that if you love something, set it free. And if it comes back to you, hopefully it’s not pissed off.

I have a lot of clean-up to do but glad to be doing it. This was a great car and will be great again soon.

Through a stroke of luck and quick action, “Bluetooth” is home again

We had a show to go to in Hollywood last night so I needed to dispatch JJ to meet the transport company at our house to take delivery. Funny that he passed it along the way there.

High-level assessment: The car needs some loving again. Looks like it has been sitting for quite a while. Also had the spoiler and right bumper cover ripped off/broken. Nose is pushed in on a couple of places – someone’s attempt at removing it to repair was unsuccessful. Nothing currently works, even with a new battery put into place. Coolant tank is less than half empty. Oil is old. Interior is a mess, reupholstered seat on the driver side got pretty worn – center armrest broken, probably from trying to push oneself up and out of the car. Newer tires on it, not the size I had running before, but they look good – slightly taller so not sure if they rub or not. Front left wheel has a narly-looking chunk missing – still holds air. Signature “Bucking Jackass” badges gone, replaced with strange FIAT ones. Door ding on driver side extends to fender and rubs when opened. Interior door handle broken – new one in the trunk. Tweeters removed and replaced with more FIAT emblems to serve as a reminder of what is being driven.

Don’t know what’s really wrong with it yet – it was a no-questions asked deal just to bring it home. It probably won’t take much at all to get it going again but I will take my time with it.

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Categories: Fiat, Restoration, X1/9

Check-up, Smog and New Tires

Posted on February 3, 2012 by rmmj
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I paid a visit to Stephen’s ALFA on 30th and Broadway in Oakland where I ended up dropping of the X1/9 for a complete once-over, brake hose replacement and smog check. The car would spend 3 days there while the mechanic would go through these items with a shop manual I have not ever seen before. Cool that he had one though, it looked OEM as well. I was happy that by the time he was done with everything, I had a completely overhauled hydraulic system, a clean motor and best of all, it passed smog with awesome results.

Next up: new tires. A fellow X-Webber had posted about a new supply of 185/60/13 tires on the Tire Easy website so I ordered 4. These tires are become more and more hard to find (at least here in the U.S.) so I thought I would jump on these. I had them delivered to Tire Sales and Service on the corner of MacArthur and Market for $50, the guys mounted, balanced and installed them. He later informed me that he could easily get the same size tires, next-day and for $60/ea installed. I’ll have to keep him in mind for the next time.

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Categories: Fiat, Maintenance, Restoration, X1/9

Herzel Frenkel’s Continued Progress

Posted on April 18, 2008 by rmmj
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Read up on the latest news and review the archiveĀ on Herzel’s X1/9 post-accident repairs. Exceptional work going on here:

http://socalx.com/?page_id=86

Categories: Fiat, Restoration, X1/9

A/C project on hold

Posted on September 12, 2007 by rmmj
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Problems with Southern Rods have derailed my project of installing after-market air conditioning into the X1/9. They have screwed up my order from Day 1, never corrected their mistakes nor took accountability for their poor customer relations and business practices. It started when they shipped the entire order for a compressor, evaporator unit, drier, hoses and a condenser to the wrong address. Then, the order was incomplete with the incorrect hose lengths I specified as custom at the time of ordering. I tried several times to get them to correct things, but they never did, nor did they ever respond without provocation. Whenever I called, no one had any knowledge of the status of my order and it seemed they never kept any good records to be able to track it in the first place. I finally ended up sending all the parts back, only to see a partial refund appear on my credit card statement. When I called to find out what the deal was on that, I was told some items returned were damaged from the shipping process and I was charged for those parts plus a 20% re-stocking fee. Despite my best efforts to work this out and then fight with the manager, Southern Rod ended up keeping several hundreds of dollars for no reason. I have since learned that the original person who I had dealt with in trying to get my order fixed no longer works there. I have filed a complaint with the South Carolina Better Business Bureau and they are investigating my claim. As of 9/10/07 the BBB has sent correspondence to Southern Rods and I am awaiting their reply.

Categories: Fiat, Restoration
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