All The Cars I’ve Ever Bought

Bertone X1/9

Used car addict Keith Adams looks back on his best – and worst – classic buys. This week, an X1/9 picked up for fun before being painfully recommissioned… WHY DID YOU WANT ONE?

I’ve loved the Fiat X1/9’s shape ever since I was given a Corgi miniature in the early 1970s. What fascinated me as a small child was that the engine was under a cover where the boot should be. How silly was that? There’s more than that, though – I am a real lover of Bertonedesigned cars, especially the supercars, and in the X1/9, you had a scale model of a Ferrari Dino that anyone could afford to buy. Fast forward 30 years and I couldn’t resist taking a look when a best mate told me that he had an X1/9 that he hadn’t driven for some time and was looking to move on. The car in question was a 1984 Bertone, re-sprayed in an unusual gunmetal grey metallic and it looked fantastic under its deep layer of dust. Of course I took it on… all with the knowledge that it would need work to get through its next MoT.

WAS IT A JOY – OR A NIGHTMARE – TO LIVE WITH?

Oh, it was a joy on all levels. I remember extracting it from its north London garage and then driving it back to my then-base in the East Midlands. After an initial acclimatisation session, I hunkered down to a mid-winter amble around the M25 and on to the M1, making a mental note of everything that needed doing. But it didn’t feel like much from my perspective – I’d have a few months to fix anything it needed. But I fell in love with it, and ended up using it rather than fixing it! The MoT came far too quickly, and I ended up not preparing at all. My local classicfriendly tester broke the news – it would need extensive welding to pass. Its sills, suspension turrets and door pillars all needing to be repaired… I gulped and accepted that it had to be done and that it would cost me. He called me back a week later and presented me with a hefty fourfigure bill, but at least it was thorough. Me being me, though, I sold it back to my mate once it was saved and its future assured and he ended up paying me enough to cover the MoT… much to my considerable relief!

WHAT’S YOUR ABIDING MEMORY OF IT?

This was my first experience of opentopped motoring, and I found myself absolutely loving it despite my previous cynicism of convertibles. I ran the car through winter and into spring, and soon adopted the attitude that I would always drive it with the targa top stowed in the front luggage compartment unless it was absolutely tipping it down. I remember the Northamptonshire-Peterborough commute, learning all the best B- and unclassified road routes between the two points on the map and falling in love with driving to (and from) work. Who can honestly say that these days? I loved its burbling exhaust note and super-quick steering with all the feel and response that you could ever want from a sports car. I could never get tired of its looks, inside and out, and adored the fact that I could get the roof panel on and off in seconds. Back in the 1970s, this was the future of sports cars – and it’s a tragedy that we’ve rather forgotten that fact since then.

WHAT ARE YOUR TOP TIPS FOR BUYING ONE?

There’s a reasonable supply of X1/9s out there and it’s worth spending the money on them to keep them healthy now that they’re worth decent money. But don’t fall prey to rust like I did – check the door pillars, inner and outer sills, scuttle, suspension turrets and the entire underside for evidence of the brown crumbly stuff. The wings and outer panels are also prone to corrosion, but at least they’re easier to sort. The good news is that the engine and gearbox are almost unbreakable and the electrics are flaky, but simple to fix. In short, be picky and take a very close look at anywhere that looks like it could suffer from rust.