Upper Middle Petrol Head:

I am genuinely in awe of the ingenuity, skill and time that many members of the X1/9, Italian and broader car communities put into their restorations.  Seeing people refurbish, adapt and engineer parts and panels - often to a higher standard than factory items - blows me away.     As a man of lesser skills, I enjoy doing what I can, generally confining myself to cleaning things up, wire-brushing, rubbing back, painting, plus wrangling electro-spaghetti and fitting the occasional accessory.  If it unbolts, I'll more than likely have a crack at it ;  anything much more complex than that, maybe not so much ... .  This is what was lurking beneath the fluid reservoirs. As the owner of a 41 year old X1/9, I do experience the odd moment of fearful anticipation.  Take, for example, the munted, bubbled sound deadener / weather sealant that greeted me when I went to explore the ominous seepage emanating from one or both of the X's fluid ...

Interesting factoid:  the Renault Fuego's rear hatch glass is putatively the same as those fitted to Porsche 924s, 944s and 968s, but reversed so that the rear edge becomes the top front. There's further goss - apocryphal, perhaps -  that the Fuego's tail lights found their way onto the TVR Wedge (reference to Google didn't really help settle this). This may not be unrealistic, though ; a joint-venture Peugeot / Renault / Volvo   V6 engine did power the GMC Delorean , so why not? When I was a kid, I didn't much like the Fuego. I don't know why ; it strikes me now as quite a nice looking car, in a Gallic sort of way.  This particular example - snapped by the Alfa Male at a rowing event down Franklin way - looked really good. The paint and panels looked really fresh and it was set off beautifully by a set of tasteful alloys. The bold-looking plastic side mouldings are, in my opinion, way better executed than the ones on the A...

The last time we saw this Alfa, it was on the back of a trailer and off for some finishing work.  It's now done and, IMHO, looking pretty damned good.  Its owner thinks so, too.  However, the painter's obviously a discerning fellow because, despite what others might think, he's not happy with it.  So, it's out with the fine grits for another rub back before it's repainted.  Again! U M P H (uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com.au.) Images stolen from the owner's FB page to save you from its Genesis- and footy-related content!