Upper Middle Petrol Head:

Questa Serie X 1/9 del 1978, completamente priva di ruggine e completamente priva di ruggine, è uno dei quattro articoli Work in Progress contemporanei che includono o saranno presenti su UMPH al minuto, unendo Alfa GTV di Todd, Alfa 33 maschile e ancora pezzo da pubblicare su un ex Ed Ordynski Suzuki Sierra che sta subendo una ricostruzione completa del telaio. È anche di particolare interesse personale per l'autore, come potresti presto riconoscere. Il proprietario originale dell'auto non è noto. Tuttavia, il compianto Peter Prestage - il visionario ex capo della Tasmania Police Forensic Services - lo comprò intorno al 1980, prima di venderlo a Iain Watson nei primi anni '90. Iain (aka John) ha avuto un lungo amore per tutto ciò che riguarda l'industria automobilistica e il coinvolgimento negli sport motoristici, avendo posseduto tutto da MG della serie T, una GT Cortina, una vettura da rally Beetle VW e numerose Fiat, oltre ad essere un membro fondato...

You win some, you lose some!  That's just how it is sometimes.   The debit side of the ledger first:  The earlier "totally rust-free" status has had a big asterisk placed against it, pending further investigations of the cooling system.  In its defence, the car's not overheating, nor is there any evidence of weeping from the radiator or the cooling pipes, which is cause for some optimism.   The fluid - or "liquid metallic orange" - arrived on the concrete  via the overflow tank, suggesting that the system's robust enough to cope with a bit of internal pressure without popping anything.  A good flush-out's jumped up the priority list and joins an urgent tune-up and service as a must-do. Some ying to the yang (or is it yang to ying?):  Beneath the seat covers were these slightly grotty but relatively unfaded and very unworn original seats.  Definitely nothing that a good steam clean won't sort and, giv...

This dead-straight, totally rust free 1978 Series 1 Fiat X1/9 is one of four concurrent Work in Progress articles featuring or to be featured on UMPH at the minute, joining Todd's Alfa GTV, the Alfa Male's 33 and a yet-to-be-published piece on an ex-Ed Ordynski Suzuki Sierra that's undergoing a full chassis-up rebuild .  It's also of particular personal interest to the author, as you might soon recognise.   The car's original owner is not known.  However, the late Peter Prestage - the visionary former head of Tasmania Police Forensic  Services - bought it around 1980, before selling it to Iain Watson in the early 1990s.  Iain (aka John) has had a long love of all things automotive and involvement in motorsports, having owned everything from T-series MGs, a GT Cortina, a VW Beetle rally car and numerous Fiats, as well as being a founding member of the Light Car Club of Canberra and Targa Tasmania competitor.  He also raced m...