The most unusual thing about this car is that it’s still there! By that, I mean that most 70’s Fiats I’ve seen have rusted beyond all recognition. I’ve heard all kinds of stories that they were rusty when unloaded from the boat; that Fiat used poor-grade Eastern-bloc sourced steel at the time; and that the paintwork was sub-par. To be honest, I don’t know the reasons for sure. I just know most of them have ended up very perforated! This low-mileage, almost rust-free example located in Northbrook, Illinois is up for auction here on eBay with the reserve not yet met.

Let’s get the rust out of the way first. The seller has included a picture of the corrosion in front of the left rear wheel to show the extent of the damage. To have that much rust-through on the left and nothing on the right would surprise me, and I suspect the panels under these left-side holes won’t be pretty either. I admire the seller for being so upfront with pictures of the issue. I didn’t have any luck finding a ready-made patch panel, but there were plenty of stories on Fiat forums about people fabricating their own.

X1/9’s were powered by small SOHC four-cylinder engines, in this case a 1.3 liter making 75 horsepower. Here’s hoping the rags stuffed in the carburetor throats are a signal of preparation for long-term storage rather than the car just being parked. The seller states it was last registered in 1980, so the low quoted mileage is probably true, but what’s happened since then?

Moving on to the interior, does anyone else remember fake sheepskin seat covers? I had a pair for my first Triumph Spitfire–those houndstooth seat covers that Josh likes the look of so much didn’t hold up very well for me. One can see the tears in the driver’s cushion in the pictures. I’m not worried about the seam separation, I can easily understand the stitching going bad after 40 years, but I’m surprised to see what I think is a torn bolster as well. That has me wondering how well the car was taken care of while it was on the road.

Strut tops and other vulnerable areas look rust-free, and even what you can see of the rubber weatherstripping looks uncracked. I can’t say I’m in love with the green color, it looks like they borrowed the mid-70’s British Leyland palette, but getting the chance to pick up a mid-engined icon with so few miles outweighs my distaste for the color. If you’re interested, let us know in the comments!