Upper Middle Petrol Head:

  P3P continues to impress, proving not to be nearly as rusty as it outwardly appears to be.  So much for inferior Russian steel!  (If anyone missed it, here's a link to a piece debunking that particular myth:  https://uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com/2021/10/rusty-italians-and-russian-steel-fallacy.html .)  Even the nearside sill - rusted through and potentially hiding any amount of further horrors - survived some spirited screwdriver thrusting by my panel man, revealing that the rot had only spread marginally beyond that which was visible on the surface.  More on that later on ... . *Yet to be cleaned! The Alfa Male generously supplied a very tidy set of 14" Alfa wineglass wheels and 185 / 60 tyres from a 33, which we both think look better on P3P than they did on the donor car.  They fill the guards nicely, don't rub on lock, appear to have plenty of upper clearance, and are sure to provide better grip and handling than the old 13" 175 / 70 rubber...

The author's X1/9 and recently acquired 128 3P, manufactured in 1978 and 1976, respectively. https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2012/06/junkyard-find-1980-fiat-x19/ Let's bust some myths, shall we?  How about what is - in my opinion, anyway - the greatest, most persistent load of bollock-rot to have ever emerged about Italian cars and their propensity to rust:  inferior  Russian steel ?  Who amongst the classic car community hasn't heard the "great cars but a pity about the Russian steel" line, invariably offered as unquestionable fact? https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2013/07/junkyard-find-1978-fiat-x19/#jp-carousel-497575 It is broadly accepted that Fiat - and please note that this was before what was once the world's third largest car maker subsumed Alfa, Lancia, Ferrari and Chrysler - traded a manufacturing licence for their 124 range to the Russian government in exchange for the supply of that country's steel.  The bit about the Russians manufacturing...