TED_fiestaHP said:Not sure but the head lights might not have a relay, so to much current could be going thru the switch. Adding a relay will greatly reduce the current load on the switch.
Most X 1/9 s didn't have sway bars, it is so low, they are not really needed. There are kits to add sway bars.
Mine I removed the large bumpers and all the bumper trim. I made bumpers out of some light steel tubing, I think the end result is lighter.
I think you are right on all counts. I'm not aware of any x1/9s that came with factory sway bars or headlight relays.
the headlight current goes through not one but two dash switches! A couple of relays would be a good upgrade which I will see if I can easily pull off. Should have all the connections I need right at the fuse box, so maybe not too hard.
for sways, this car doesn't have any and I think the prevailing rules of scca street prepared may have been part of the reason. Previously the lack of sway was made up for with spring rate.
finally, the bumpers are here largely due to scca rules as well. They are heavy (even though they are aluminum), but rules say or used to say that stock bodywork needed to be present. I'm keeping them now not so much because of the rules, but because this is how the car ran, so it's a bit of history, I guess.
I've dusted off a few brain cells with Fiat suspension info in them. Jim Susko ran sway bars on his car, the front was a huge Speedway engineering type hollow stock car unit, 1.125 dia IIRC, but it needed really long arms because it was mounted up in front by the tension rod mounts. The rear had a 5/8" solid bar, arms were about 8-10". I ended up with a lot of his cast offs on my IT car. I forget what spring rates. My IT car had stock springs that were cut and even had chunks of other stock springs used as spacers held in the coils with hose clamps in the front. I also had stock struts with different oils front and back. I was in college and broke but man that car handled, lol.
Steve Hoelsher(sp?), I remember he chuckled at Jim's elaborate calculations and modeling and finally told him he just had something like 1000lb springs all the way around. He didn't have sway bars.
I don't know what Chuck Sample was running but he had Susko help him set up this little beast of a Prepared car that looked more like a road racing car with no windshield. The coolest thing it had was power steering with a steering doubler. Lock to lock was 1 turn.
Oh, on the bumpers. MIght not be a good idea for the street but if you drill the bumper shocks the whole thing will only stick out a little more than the trim.
In reply to jgrewe :
Yeah, Red was definitely in the Steve "camp" of autox suspension design. I believe the fronts were 550lb/in and the rears 650. While that does make for nice flat cornering, it's a bit rough on the bumps, and at anything other than a large perfect concrete expanse it is too much.
for the challenge this year, I'll be dialing down the spring rates but I don't think I'll have time to add sways on the cheap.
one thing I do have is single adjustable konis, which I think are all in working condition still. What is your opinion on turning up the rebound so the car jacks down onto the bump stops?
im getting ready to install the suspension and I think I was going to start the rebound about middle of the range, but I could be convinced to go one way or the other.
Maschinenbau and dherr, thank you and yes, I am excited for the trip. A little nervous if I'm being honest but either way it should be fun!
In reply to Robbie (Forum Supporter) :
I'm nervous for my Challenge car road trip too 
In reply to maschinenbau :
Remember I did this to spectate October '22 in the middle of 3400 miles. robbie sold me the electrics he needs now. Relays everywhere including the wipers. Italian switches are less conductive than Lucas for sure.
Got the "nationals winning" koni adjustables put back on, with their associated camber plates but springs about half the rate. And I added fresh bumpstops.
Then I checked the oil and started er up and drove around the block for the first time since the fall. Bit of extra cranking but the engine sprang to life with a couple taps of the throttle. I think I've got too much fuel in the starting enrichment table at around 0-10 degrees C.
however the drive around the block was a huge improvement for suspension livability, so that is a win for now. I also found and fixed a couple loose items like some front bumper fascia pieces and the speedometer cable (which was making an annoying click click click)
did a quick detail wipe and took a beauty shot. Nice from 10 feet!
Things I need to get done before the challenge:
SWOON! I just can't get enough of the X1/9. What a great design.
In reply to Robbie (Forum Supporter) :
Great work going on in here as usual. Is the current plan still to drive Red to the Challenge or trailer it?
Ok, headlights are relay'd now!
I was searching forum posts and found that other had noticed there is an empty spot on the later x1/9 relay panel that is already marked as headlight, and the relay holders simply clip to each other. So I was able to scavenge an ac relay I'm not using and put it in the headlight spot.
now I've got the low beams going through a relay. Switch controls the relay, relay gets power directly at relay panel and sends to headlights through factory fuses and wires.
before:
after:
Ok, getting really close to "challenge ready"!
saturday, I used some leftover scraps of vinyl from a previous challenge car (the amc spirit) to make a party hat.
also, I struggled a bit with the alignment (measuring issues and making changes that were too conservative had me confused), but then I got some lasers involved and figured it out. Have to test drive this afternoon to confirm all is good.
Current plan is to leave for challenge Thursday morning!
Watching with envy, should do well on the autocross for sure!
I have a set of the Tenhulzen alignment plates I am planning to bring down. You're welcome to check again with them.
leaving for the challenge!
These are the best small GT car. My first chassis did FL-PA 6 or 7 times plus Tail of the Dragon.
Go Robbie!
Robbie - how did your trip go?
Just adding that so I can find it later.
trip is going great so far! Made it to Atlanta area yesterday, remainder today.
If you want to do a "Drive and Fly" and maybe leave the car in Florida, I'll give it a good home.
made it to the dance!
biggest turnout I've ever seen I think, which is amazing!
jgrewe said:If you want to do a "Drive and Fly" and maybe leave the car in Florida, I'll give it a good home.
Are you going to be at the challenge?
im not sure I'm ready to sell but I'm always down for showing it off!
I think this is my favorite car at the Challenge.
I can't believe it's been 2 weeks already! Here's some more pics and story from the challenge and the day after track day.
During the autox, I went out and did 3 pretty good runs, but coned my fastest. Bummer. For the next 3, I was going to hand the reins to the pro drivers and see what they could do.
Unfortunatley Alan came back after just a second lap saying that Red was only running on 3 cylinders, and sure enough he was right. I confirmed with a temp gun on the headers that number 1 did not seem to have any fire. A quick pull of the spark plug lead told me I still had spark. So it was either compression or the fuel injector.
i was a little dejected about it, and didn't really want to do anything, but some friends convinced me to dive into the fuel injector and see if we could revive it. We tested that we were getting electrical signal to the injector (and accidentally blew a fuse in the process), pulled the injector, used test leads and direct 12v power to tap it a few times while spraying carb cleaner through it, and it did start working again! We reassembled (with a new hose clamp and a new fuse), and we had all 4 cylinders again.
some very melty Girl Scout cookies randomly showed up out of nowhere and we enjoyed our success with them. Even though I didn't get my final autox time (and my best recorded time was done on 3 cylinders), I was happy that I would be able to run the drags. Not pictured below is Mr asa, who was helping but not sure where he was when the photo was taken.
The car was not fast in the drags, and was maybe a bit slower than it has been in the past. I've recently learned from prior owners that 15.8s have been achieved in the past with Red, which would be a LOT faster. I wonder if Red wasn't down on power a bit from either my tune or from the injectors being a bit dirty. Still, I ran 2 consistent passes.
at the concour Sunday it rained like crazy. But still I gave a good presentation and hit my points and I think the judges liked it. I also enjoyed all the really cool people and really cool cars.
before heading back to the hotel, I grabbed a couple shots with a fun background
The next day was the track day at the firm. Which is the best track day of the year for the company, the track time, and laid back atmosphere. Seriously I don't know why more people don't do it!
unfortunately I only got a few good laps in before Red was down on 3 cylinders again... grrr.
fortunately, my wife has the genius idea to make Florida our spring break trip with the kids this year, so not only did they all get to experience some of the challenge, but I also knew that I didn't need to fix Red in order to get home. So I did try a new fuel filter and some seafoam, but it didn't work. I spent the rest of the day hanging out, riding along, driving others cars (thanks TB and wvmtnbkr!). And of course, enjoying cheese burgers a la Tim.
at the end of the day I only had to get up to where my family was staying near Jacksonville. It wasn't a fun drive, but I was able to limp there and park in a relatively unique parking spot.
as a family we spent the next few days enjoying time on the beach, going to sea turtle sanctuary, visiting Congaree national park (it's NOT a swamp, ok?), and driving home.
finally home:
I will add that my wife was very smart to have me bring the tow bar for the ride home (if with a perfectly running car it was much nicer to be all in one car to split the driving).
and I did drill the holes for the tow bar before I left. However they perfectly hide under the rubber bumper trims (the trims sit on top of the black tape).
so flat towing is very straightforward.
Now, my next step is to figure out what the heck is going on with plugging up fuel injectors...
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