Going So Well
The X1/9 was doing so well. Having come off the ramp after a bit of winter fettling around the headlight bowls, a well-known rust trap, it was seen that the X1/9 would get a lot more use especially as the X1/9, as a car, turned 50 in 2022.
With the weather of April on the turn, the little Fiat was thrust into domestic life as a daily commuter. It was also used for a spot of pleasure driving. An open-top whizz to the Bicester Scramble went like a dream.
Stationary Revving
It wasn’t such a dream on the way home. A sticking throttle made local town driving jerky. It would only do this when hot and usually corrects itself when we reached home. But not this time thankfully.
The linkage that runs across the top of the rocker cover needed a little lubrication and the adjustable rod needed adjusting. Having dissembled it all, it was evident that a broken spring washer was also a guilty part causing the linkage not to return fully.
A quick test and all seemed good and the drive to Bedford the afternoon before the SMMT (Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders) Millbrook proving ground test day also proved it had been a success. That drive was only ruined by the elements turning against me and having to stop on the hard shoulder to put the roof on. I had up until that moment managed to avoid the deluge on the M25.
Leads To Another Problem…
The drive home however wasn’t so much fun. Possibly highlighted by driving 7 other vehicles that day but the brake pedal just didn’t feel quite right. The brakes worked okay, however, there was something that felt amiss.
So the weekends’ list of work to do on the Birdy Fleet of Broken Dreams now included the X1/9 and I had a rough idea what it might be but didn’t want to say it for fear it would be just that.
That story is to follow……