Honda powered X

Great job, Matt.....

Well thought out and well executed. It will make a great street machine.

How does this one sound? My only knock on Hondas is that they all sound the same and do not have the brio of an Italian engine.

This swap conversion would make for an awesome D Mod autocrosser. The only thing that Chris Obert's Dallara is lacking is the big time horsepower that a Fiat powerplant cannot provide. But then there is the thing with the sound.......
 
Shaken, not Stirred....

Absolutely astonishing, Matt!

I have the pleasure of owning both an 02 Acura RSX-S and and 87 Bertone.

Many times I have dreamed of putting both cars in my garage, shake it up and pour the results onto my driveway.

You have done it! I will look anxously for your videos.

Make mine RED!
 
GRMS Article, May 2007

Here is the article. The owner is John S, I believe he is on X web. We at the FIAT America holiday party yesterday night and Gary L found me and we had a chat about this car. He got a chance to drive it at a track day. To give an idea of just how fast this Honda K20A powered X is, Gary chased down a Corvette Z06 on race tires (Slicks and this Z06 is not stock) and was was going to pass this Z06 on the straight except Gary miss the shift up to 6th (like 140+ Mph), got 4th instead and zinnged the K20A past 10,000 RPM... Nothing broke. Yes, Gary L is a really good driver, regardless, this is X is that fast. This X appears at many a track day, always very fast, never breaks even when abused. Says much about the chassis and what it's capable of if given the chance. Bernice.
 
Laguna Seca Trackday Photo

Yup, it's fast and more importantly really fun to drive on the track. I'll agree with Bernice's point on having this type of power to weight ratio as it's a bit much for back road driving. I had another 74 X1/9 with the PBS 1600cc motor and upgraded suspension and it was perfect for the back roads.


 
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Slideshow updated... New pix

Hi everyone,

Just wanted to pass along that I have updated the photo-journal with new pictures of the interior fully fitted, (including Bob Brown instrument cluster) and some much more flattering shots of the car overall.

http://www.midwest-x19.com/FiatX19Acura_files/frame.htm

car-complete-a1.jpg


I also had to adjust some information (technical retraction, oops). We put the car on the scales tonight for a final set-up after adjusting ride height, and with a full tank of fuel, spare tire, and everything bolted in, top on and a sway bar, the car now tips the scales at 2095 lbs.

Sadly, this car will be leaving the shop and going to its owner on Wednesday.

As always, comments are welcome.

-M
 
Hi my name is Rotem, I'm new here. Originally from Israel, now I live in miami. I like the project with the B16B, I had it on my Civic, very nice engine. I have one question for you: what are you planning to do with the cables to the trasmission? Cause its not like K20 or H22, there is linkcage.
 
copy rights!

I knew I should've got a patent, Ha Ha (although I did used Spider window switches. ;) )

That car looks FANTASTIC!! Very well done. Definitely a motivation for any X project.

DSCN3914.jpg
 
uploaded X1/9Cruiser's honda/X

until it reaches its permanent home once finished, I published his working on my site. its a flash version of the power point so it should work with all systems. Interesting to see the engine layout differences!

http://autox19.com/b16/

Odie
 
I remember seeing another green X like this on the UK X Forum yrs ago and later

bought the AutoItalia magazine were they showcase it along with 2 Dallara bodied x1/9`s.The one from UK being different in having rounded Fender flares,Revolution wheels and a TC engine.I`m not sure but i believe it was also supercharged.
All in all a nice beautifull color for an X.Again Matt,great job.Told my wife I`m gonna start saving $$ in order to buy a K20 and have my X (with Faza/Abarth bodyparts)send your way for the conversion.Wish me luck,.........
 
Thanks for scanning the GRM article....

I was a phone call away to call them as I did never received this issue and i have been subscribing for yrs now........Thanks again:)
 
Love you car!!.....

as you don`t see that many X`s with Faza/Abarth fiberglass fitted to them.I have them and am in the process of fitting them to my X.I`ll be using this pic as my screensaver for sure...........Albert

jsoman said:
Yup, it's fast and more importantly really fun to drive on the track. I'll agree with Bernice's point on having this type of power to weight ratio as it's a bit much for back road driving. I had another 74 X1/9 with the PBS 1600cc motor and upgraded suspension and it was perfect for the back roads.


Click to expand...
 
Awesome^!

Thanks for taking the time to document your swap in such detail!
This is a great help for anyone thinking about swapping a different engine into the X.

What I do miss in most engine swap reports is an evaluation of the end result. How does the car feel different now?
Maybe have someone test drive it and do a writeup? :)
(Too bad I am too far away :)

Ulix
 
answer...

I'm using a later model b16a/tranny that doesn't use cables but rather shift rods which get extended to the tranny shift lever.
 
not exactly...

both B18 and B16 engines came with either cable or shift rods depending on the year of manufacture and model. You can do a swap with either type transmission.
 
cable

so when I go to purchase, I dont need to worry about which the tranny has as I can always convert?


odie
 
Correction...I must have been asleep last night

The Honda/Acura transmissions I'm referring to have either a cable or a hydraulic line to activate the clutch. Both types use shift rods to actually change gears. Since your Fiat is already set up to use a hydraulically activated clutch it would be MUCH easier to use a Honda/Acura hydraulic transmission. They are readily available on ebay and other places.
 
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