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I've just finished a 12 month part restoration on my Dad's Volvo 480 so now I can get back to giving the X1/9 some attention. I've been playing around with the avo coilovers using stiffer springs, I've fitted another steering rack and I'm in the middle of adding a tubular manifold for the turbo engine. The construction was poor so I've had to fill parts with stainless weld and then port. I've also had a 3D printer make me some gauge pods for the charge cooler temps and inlet temps.

What have you done?

Hi Rob,

I’m afraid I’ve done nothing on my car since before lockdown. I’ve still got to finish its brakes, get the windscreen replaced and I think it may also need a new water pump. However in order not to miss a third summer of opening top motoring I’ve just bought a Mazda MX5, it’s a stopgap until I can get my X1/9 going again.

looking at that pipe work makes me think , you aren't a children's entertainer twisting balloons into animals are you ?

Had the radiator recored on BART, then the bumpers Chromed as they where painted and fitted period Carello fog lights bought from Henk. Also did some cosmetic tidying up and some rust treatment and prevention in the doors and rear sills. Have leaky drive shaft boots to sort out in the not too distant future.

An mx5 is a great choice. My mother has had one for the last 20 years and still drives her MK1 daily!

Lido is looking superb. I feel your pain on the driveshaft boots. My 1300 always leaked even when replaced with new ones.

Been a busy year for this one I’ve had for only 16 months it’s come a long way hoping to have a folder as I have photos of all the progress. Should be back out within the next month

All this lovely stuf...do remember your Club Magazine needs you...

Dusting

Finally forced into doing something about the drive shaft boots as the driver side decided to make things a little worse!

Is that gearbox oil leaking out?

Sure is! Or I should say was…

Did the relay mod for the wipers, thought it a good idea ahead of the club event in Wales!

I fitted a Lumenition ignition system.

I got fed up with it stopping due to crappy capacitors failing after very few miles, (fewer than 20 miles in one case)

The idle was improved immediately and a small air leak under the carburetor was found and cured.

@Neal - that relay job looks really neat. Are they in a proper holder, if so where did you get that?

Mine seems to be the love child of a GF and SE, so wipers are already on a relay, I think.

I assume you already did the same for headlights. I understand dipped beam goes through the column and headlight switches even on the later models (don't think the changeover relay caters for that, please correct me if I'm wrong, I need to get down and close up to the wiring diagrams). If so, I should do that on mine, intercept the wire as it heads for the fuse box and make that the low current side of a relay (with a small inline fuse I guess), and attach the new power source to the wire that goes into the original fuses for dipped beam.

12voltplanet. www.12voltplanet.co.uk/standard-mini-rel...-with-terminals.html

They clip together along with a fuse holder. www.12voltplanet.co.uk/standard-blade-fu...-with-terminals.html

Yes on my 1300 both dip and main beam goes through the column switch and the master switch so fitting relays to both circuits made a heck of a difference. Just intercept the feed to the headlights in the headlight pods themselves and mount the relays there.