Willy’s Fiat X1/9

Well, this is the story of my love affair with the Fiat X1/9, our long separation and reunion and the ongoing projects with my latest X.

I hope you enjoy reading…

In the Beginning…

Well, it was the summer of 1983, I was 17 and growing up in Corner Brook, Newfoundland (Canada) population ~25,000, not that much different from any other town in the US or Canada. My first car was a 1980 Dodge Aspen, automatic, 318, posi-traction rear end… station wagon – not exactly the coolest car on the road. Loved the roar of the V8, but back then things were different, 318 (5.2L), 155 hp, 240 lb/ft of torque. Not exactly a Challenger SRT Hellcat. Sadly no pictures of the old Dodge, but me and my buddies still managed to have fun cruising on Friday nights.

So one day in July, driving home from my summer job, I passed a small garage that sold used cars. Two different cars caught my eye, a 1974 Datsun 240Z and a 1977 Fiat X1/9. I was well aware of the Datsun as there were a few of them around and were also written about a lot in the car mags of the day, but the Fiat I had never seen before. It was the coolest car in town, and the only X1/9 in the province that I knew of. Drove both cars, really didn’t know which one to buy, the 240Z had lots of power (relatively speaking) with that inline 6 but the Fiat was was just so darn cool. By fluke, I pulled up the carpeting in the Datsun and could see clear though to the ground. It was a Fred Flintstone car!!! That made the decision easy, the X1/9 would be mine. So we made the deal, traded in the Dodge Aspen and my 1978 Yamaha 750 Special (big mistake), kicked in $500 and the X1/9 was mine. Yee haw. My Dad was not too impressed. I was about to move away to go to college and I ditched my practical car for a “useless” 2 seater. But I didn’t care, I loved my new car. It was $3,500 well spent in my mind.