For some cars, it seems like the ingredients are all there for it to be an instant hit. It’s especially true when it comes to sports models, since the manufacturer seems to be listening to every gripe and wish of the enthusiast community when building what seems like the perfect weekend runabout. The Fiat X1/9 is certainly such a car that not only offers mid-engined driving dynamics but also features attractive Bertone styling; still, it hasn’t turned into the enthusiast darling it seems like it should be. This 1978 model listed here on Facebook Marketplace is a 1-owner car with a running engine listed for $4,000.
Thanks to Barn Finds reader T.J. for the find. The X1/9 was intended to be a sports car that everyone could access, an Italian coupe without the typical price tag of a car designed in Turin. The Fiat also offered other sports car-like features, including an independent suspension and 4-wheel disc brakes, along with a removable targa top roof. The flip-up headlights and two-seater only seating configuration further build out the list of features that should make it a home run for anyone who wants a Maserati Merak on a budget, but it just didn’t shake out that way. Side note: this particular car looks quite tidy with its attractive primrose paint and no noticeable rust.
The view from the cockpit further convinces you that you’re in a true sports car; after all, hide some of the obvious details like the badge on the horn pad and I’ll bet a few folks would be fooled into saying this is a Maserati or Ferrari interior. The seller’s car is located in Bend, Oregon but the dash condition suggests it came from California; everything looks a touch dried out inside, but certainly not past the point of rejuvenation. The head unit bolted to the dash is unattractive and clearly a vestige of an era where it didn’t matter where you put your stereo equipment so long as you had stereo equipment. The Fiat otherwise looks good inside with the correct factory bucket seats as well.
Sadly, as a 1978 model, it falls short by just one year of benefitting from a bump in displacement. This X1/9 is equipped with likely the single biggest reason for its lack of sales success, and that’s the humble 1290 cc engines, good for 63 horsepower, but more to the point is that these mid-engined mills were fitted with emissions equipment that seriously throttled driving enjoyment, with a combination of charcoal systems and air pumps and exhaust gas recirculation technology that likely didn’t achieve much other than ruining some otherwise fine cars. The seller’s X1/9 runs but will still need to be trailered due to requiring a new slave cylinder before it can be driven on the road. Do you think this sporting Fiats are underappreciated at the moment?
Ah, low mileage Fiats are nothing new. It’s actually remarkable they got 62K out of one. Don’t get me wrong, I thought the X1/9 was a neat car. Only the Fiat Dino was cooler. Fiats have a poor reputation in this country, personally always wondered if the Italians just put up with its idiosyncrasies? BTW, I realize the irony of that coming from a Jeep owner. Thing on that is, I love my Jeep, it’s always going to be a Jeep. Do people love Fiats and why?
At least half of those miles are one way trips home from the dealership.
I had a Jeep Renegade, so I owned both at the same time. I have no kind words about it.
I bought a X19 in California in 1977, used, but with 11K on the clock. I had for a year and a half, put 15K on it and then sold when I moved for a new job. I certainly would buy another one for weekend fun and running errands. No maintenance except the scheduled ones. One of the best handling rides on the road at that time, and the brakes were great. You weren’t going blow the doors off of anyone, but it sure was fun to drive. My wife had the last year of the Fiat 2000 and loved it. No real problems after 10 years. You just have to drive and maintaining them.
A buddy bought a new ‘74 red with tan. Fun car and unique at the time. He added some custom wheels and I believe a different intake to help get a bit more power. Also added a smoked targa top. It turned a lot of heads. But like most Fiats something was always going wrong with it and it spent a good deal of time in the dealership service bay.
Fix it again Tony, comes to mind.
I remember seeing one of these on Van Ness,in
San Francisco parked in front of the Fiat dealer.
It was dark Apple Green,but had no badges on it.
This was before they were for sale here.
K20 swap candidate.
Did I see the fuse box hanging down in the driver’s footwell?
These are a blast and are like goKarts. You have to be a DYIer. Good $2500 car
Jeez Jeff, you a little biased. Lol
I grew up in this era, God they were crap, every year was crap. They handled horrible and every one of them were sitting on the side of the road or back at the service department that didn’t fix them long enough to even get them through the warranty.
My brother and I drove one that was only a year old and we didn’t think we were going to make it back to the dealership. True story
Good looking cars but you just couldn’t keep them on the road long enough to make it worthwhile. IMHO
I didn’t have that experience. Sorry, you did.
Not sure what was wrong with the one you test-drove, maybe bad alignment or something broken, but nearly everyone else who’s driven one raves about the razor-sharp, tenacious and communicative go-kart handling of these, even in car magazine road tests back in its day.
As my Scottish cousin used to say , F-ailure I-n A-utomotive T-echnology
My sister bought a new x19 in 1980 dark maroon with a buck interior it was a fun little car that truly handled like a go cart she had no issues with it during the 3 years she owned it traded it in on a new
Volvo
One of my jobs at a dealership back in the early 80s was to sign off on any cars that was to go on the used car lot. We checked them out and serviced them. Any frame damage would not be OK’ed for the lot, etc. The UC manager bought these Fiats at auction and we sold several. Every one came back with water leaks and running problems.
I finally told the UC manager that in the future I would never sign off on another of these POS cars if he were silly enough to buy one.
They are junk.
Well, to all the naysayers out there, my ’74 took my wife and I, with our toddler on her lap, on vacation from Baltimore, MD to Provincetown, MA and back without so much as a hiccup. True the tin worm got to it eventually, but it was was of the most fun cars I ever owned.
We had a 77, did a mild cosmetic restoration on it, loved it to death for several years. Handling is amazing, with the little 1300, this is definitely a momentum car and was great fun to drive. My wife drove it and we only sold it when it started having an electrical issue with the battery running down when it sat for more than week. Did not have the time to troubleshoot what was draining the battery, but these are really a budget exotic car, designed by Bertone and are really well thought out. All cars of this era had horrible emission controls and weak engines but this was one of the better ones. If I had one today, I would do the K20 swap as that would solve pretty much all the reliability and performance issues!
We had a 77, did a mild cosmetic restoration on it, loved it to death for several years. Handling is amazing, with the little 1300, this is definitely a momentum car and was great fun to drive. My wife drove it and we only sold it when it started having an electrical issue with the battery running down when it sat for more than week. Did not have the time to troubleshoot what was draining the battery, but these are really a budget exotic car, designed by Bertone and are really well thought out. All cars of this era had horrible emission controls and weak engines but this was one of the better ones. If I had one today, I would do the K20 swap as that would solve pretty much all the reliability and performance issues!
I’ve had about 25 cars since I started driving 50 years ago. One of those was a Fiat X 1/9. Out of the 25, I would rank it as 25th best.
Fun to drive , NOT fun to work on. Especially constantly. You haven’t lived until you have to deal with the “cable” side window set up and size XL hands. The ex mother in law traded her Scirocco for one of these. HUGE MISTAKE! I don’t think she drove it for .more than a year.
You call $4000 cheap?
To many unknown things with this ride I think it’s overpriced at $4,000. At $400 I would consider it then I would get a wrecked smart for two and see if I can get the power plant to work in it
I doubt if a lot of the disparaging comments here are from people that have ever owned one. Through the years I’ve owned three X1/9’s. A 74, 76 and a 84 Bertone. True, a little self maintance is required, but they ae easy to work on and a delight to drive. They are little Ferrari’s. Mid-engine, targa top, low, two-seater pocket rockets. So much fun, akin to driving a go cart. Yes, they did rust but no more than any other car of their generation, especially Italian cars. These cars are starting to bring some serious money nowadays. This advertised yellow 78 has some needs but nothing insurmountable. I say install the clutch slave cylinder, remove the bumpers, put on decent tires, tune it up and drive the heck out of it. A spirited ride in one of these will always bring a smile to your face.
It’s interesting how some owners report rust no worse than any other car of the era, while others report premature, severe, catastrophic rust, even for cars of the very same model and year. This inconsistency indicates the issue was probably not generally poor quality steel (“Russian” or otherwise) or lack of attention to rust prevention.
Rather, the more likely culprit was labor unrest rife across Italy at the time. Strikes and spontaneous walkouts would sporadically leave bare body shells and panels sitting idle and exposed to the elements for variable, sometimes extended, periods of time. Whether and how badly any particular car was affected by rust depended largely on whether its construction was interrupted, at what point, for how long, in what weather conditions. The survivor examples we can find today tend to be those lesser-affected by such interruptions.
Perhaps labor unrest, Triumph TR7’s had similar issues. But as always, where the car lived it’s “first” life has a lot to do with it, as any car from states where winter involves lots of salt tend to be much worse. I bought a TR250 that came from Indiana which was a mess, bought another one from the Carolinas which is remarkably rust free. So design issues (pockets that collect water and dirt), build quality and the quality of the steel used are all factors. but a survivor X1/9 can be a great find!
Located in Bend, OR
I had the ’79 version in the same color. Not quick by any era, but if you’ve got the time, she’d do 100. Smooth and predictable handling, great brakes, easy on gas, a real joy to drive. Not unreliable, as so many have cast FIAT. This was a tried and true engine, designed by the same fellow who did the Ferrari 308. Transmission was superb, and no need for power anything.
This car is 2 blocks from my home. I see it every day… for the past number of years… It shares the same door handles, hatch release pulls and other bits and pieces as a number of Fiat based Italian machinery such as the Ferrari 308 GT4, Lamborghini Urraco and my Lancia Stratos (Lister Bell STR replica) so I kept noticing it thinking: “If I ever need a door handle….”. LoL
Those handles are Bertone hardware, generally always and only appearing on series-production bodies styled and built by Bertone, tho’ some micro-production (kit and cottage-industry) specials sourced them from Bertone as well. That Lister Bell was both cottage-industry and keeping faithful to the original Bertone-produced Stratos in using those Bertone handles.
Likewise, the teardrop-shaped handles found on Fiat and Alfa Spiders and the Ferrari 400/412 (among others) are Pininfarina hardware generally always and only appearing on bodies they styled and built, or kit/cottage specials (like many Daytona replicas) who sourced them from Pininfarina.
@SubGothius Interesting! Thanks for that additional info! When my Lister Bell was constructed, the builder was only willing to use N.O.S. parts and had to hunt to find those handles, pulls and catches new in the box. Because you are so knowledgeable about this stuff already, I am sure you know about Midwest-Bayless which is where many of the parts of my build were sourced from. The builder even located a brand new, crate engine (226hp 3.0L 24V Busso V6 and 5-speed transmission) for the build.
https://www.midwest-bayless.com/p-26637-424546742454684245480-oe-door-handle-exterior-trunk-release-lever-assy-set-wkeys-fiat-bertone-x19-1973-84-ferrari-308-gt4-oe-nos.aspx
I’ve owned 2 of these X 1/9s. The first one was an ’81 fuel injected, great car, sadly it was rear ended and totaled. The second X is a ’79 that I drive as often as possible, great handling car although not a rocket ship, comfortable, good brakes and 28 mpg. My car has won several trophies at local car shows. Fairly simple car to work on, very reliable, change the oil every 3k miles and don’t overheat it. Parts support is good and there are a few X 1/9 forums (XWEB) online that provide great tech support. Yup, I like my X 1/9.
Overheat is avoided is you install a radiator with double fluid content (the factory provided the space for such a radiator) and you add a second fan (the factory also provided the screws on the radiator’s body and the wires for the 2nd fan). Also there are metal sculpted lines in the front luggage compartment (horizontal lines behind the fans and horizontal lines in the sock absorber towers that suggest cutting there for better ventilation if needed.
These were called baby Ferraris in Europe and some sold in Ferrari dealerships. Bought mine in Jan 1981, put gradually some power goodies in it (Abarth exhaust, Weber 40 carb, wilder camshaft, Koni shocks a Mag-Mar distributor and the 2nd spare fan that can be installed in the provided by the factory space. Drive it hard especially for the 1st 100,000km. Now it has about 500,000km and its more fun with the roof stored in the front luggage compartment (it’s designed to take no space from the luggage). Drove it up and down Europe several times, Greece as well. Recently i did an overhaul, exchanged the valves w. others suited for unleaded fuel and the pistons with forged racing units. Problems were a mechanic put the wrong distances in the valves 0,45-0,60 instead 0,15-0,20 broke a belt no other damage, a distributor broke while in Swiss i managed to get to Italy and get a new one, eventually exchanged with an expensive Mag-Mar in Greece (as said). Upgraded the cooler, the lights and the brakes with drilled units. I always used Paraflu for the cooling water. No rust found after almost 1/2 century!
now there’s a smart (& therefore proud) owner.
Loved mine back in the day. SCCA week end fun,
daily 1 hr 30 mi commute to Boston. Got married (was
almost told “me or the car”) divorced. Shoulda kept the car
traded off the wife. I really picked the wrong person. Miss the
car, not the woman, it was all her idea, could not get in the relation
even sideways, backwards, underneath…
Your post reminded me of a weekend track event at the old Bryar Motorsports Park. A fellow competitor running an X1/9 decided to remove his valves and lap them between his runs. So someone put a sign on his car, valves done while U wait.
Good mix of positive and negative comments by all, but to me (and it’s just opinion) but these are ugly cars.
Interesting, first time I have heard someone think an X1/9 was ugly, it has almost perfect lines compared to similar cars like an MR2 or Fiero. I had both an 80’s MR2 and the X1/9 parked side by side and I had always thought they were similar until I could compare them together. Beautiful car in my opinion, interesting how different we all are.
The main reason Gruppo Fiat never upgraded the Bertone-Fiat X1/9 to a bigger engine was that it was equally beautiful to the Ferrari 308 (at the time) and they thought that is going to take customers away from the much more expensive 308 (328 later).
Yep, the old X. I loved mine. It was an 83, fuel injected, 5 speed, bought used for almost nothing. At 60K miles, the interior was worn out, but the mechanicals were great. I replaced the doors with ones featuring mechanical windows, as the power windows were never staisfactory…..and yes, as noted above, the cable operated manual window winders were really something if they ever needed work. Trunk and hood release in the door pillar were cool but fragile…..look to other Italian cars (certain Lambo’s!) or a Volvo Bertone coupe for replacements. Overheated until I had the radiator and block boiled and flushed: probably 20 pounds of sludge in the rad! You MUST become familiar with XANA, an online forum with all the answers. Leave the mechanicals alone if they’re working and re-do the suspension first. My suspension had pretty much turned wooden……bushings, shocks, mounts, etc. were all dead. Study up on all the electrical fixes posted in XANA if you want well-functioning headlights, wipers, etc: electrics are a weakness. A great engine and a great chassis. Brake and clutch master cylinders require under-dash work: a difficult fit! If you replace the clutch slave cylinder, try back bleeding it through the bleeder screw. And finally, you can’t mention the X1/9 (or 128 or 850) without mention of FAZA and the late Al Cosentino….a controversial, colorful figure, but a guy who loved these cars. His books and catalogs are kind of incredible: self- illustrated and self- published and full of incredible stories/rants. X1/9s aren’t for everyone. This one looks like a good place to start if you are that X kind of person. Good luck!
Great post MKU!! So many great post!! Especially mentioning the Alfred S. Consentino books!! I have one of his books, and it is a wealth of information!! Thank you for mentioning X1/9 Automobili North America ( XANA )!! X 1/9s are great cars as long as you do the work yourself and are patient!! Fiats are generally still affordable!! Midwest Bayless Italian Auto is a source for parts and service. PBS Engineering is a source too!! PBS Engineering
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