hybridfiat

This is one of my Guzzis. The latest addition to the family. It's an 88 Le Mans 1000. 34.000 kms. I got it in pieces and have been painstakingly cleaning it up and reassembling it. All original except for the seat which has been recovered and paint on the engine which as you can see was a bit tired. Many trips to Mario at Thunderbikes for bits and pieces. New bearing throughout, rear disk and an Ohlins Damper. I'll have it on the road in a couple of weeks. I can't wait as it's my first Le Mans and probably the best of the batch.

Yes it is pretty good but it is noticeably thin when compared to the offering from Angostura.

For a change I'm reviewing some Jamaican style dark Rums; First of all we can discount the local offering. In a moment of madness and jetlag I bought 2 litres of Bundy OP at the duty free. I had to give it away. Nothing I did with it made it drinkable. I'll qualify all of this by saying I sip rums straight and don't disguise the flavours with 'American Champagne' or other fizzy pops. No 1. Ron Zacapa Centenario Systema Solera. Smooth and redolent of caramel and vanilla. I have not tasted a better rum. Costly but worth every cent. 2. Angostura 1919 8 Year Old Rum. Surpassingly good for the price. Again rich with caramel and a smooth finish. 3. Appleton Estate Extra 12 Year Old Rum. Tying here for third place with Pussers. I haven't had the opportunity to sample them at the same time but I suspect the Appleton may edge the Pussers out slightly on after taste. 3. British Navy Pussers Rum. Blue Label. Very drinkable unmixed and no major faults. Avoid Bacardi 8 year old. It tastes like it has been aged 1 year in wood and 7 in stainless steel. It can be redeemed somewhat by the addition of a whole split vanilla bean. It nearly compensates for the rough 'cough medicine' finish.

Yes the metallic blue is a factory colour. The upholstery is a bit daggy. Should I keep it a recover would be in order. I already have an X1/9 with a 4EFTE motor and Microtechnology 8 Eco. I want a stock car for comparison. An engine exchange is never as cheap or as simple as it seems. Budget $10,000 and expect to pay half that again.

Hard to tell but it may have been silver once. The head is off and it was just a blown gasket nothing else. The studs had frozen on to the head so getting the head off was a major undertaking. I had to employ someone with a special tool to come and get the damm thing off. Should be going by mid next week.I'll post some pics soon.

No I think it was silver I'll go over to the garage and check later and let you know.

I would look seriously at an engine-motor replacement if the makers ever got their act together. Lift the motor gearbox out and drop in an electric motor coupled to the drive train and put batteries where ever they will fit. I'd convert one of my X1-9s to electric if it were economical to do so.

My latest toy. 1978 X1/9 1300cc 4 Speed No mods and complete. Bought from Queensland recently. There are a few issues with the paint. There have been a couple of attempts to do the paint work after rust removal and the front end has some bubbling under the paint especially on the bonnet. I've removed paint in a couple of spots and it is only surface rust that has bubbled the primer and paint. It still means a strip back to bare metal and respray. So I'll do the whole car as the paint matching has not been done well and I have 4 different shades of metallic blue. I want it to be totally original.

Nice one. What make? A friend and I had 360 Nitro Express No2s. When asked why we had such overpowered rifles my mate would say " for keeping the elephants out of the vege garden". "You have elephants in your garden"?! "Nope, see how well they work"! I got tired of the recoil and the cost of loading something I would never have a real use for. My mate has converted his to .300 Rem Ultra Mag.

Choose which you prefer: Wikileaks MUST to run all it's material passed a committee of Right leaning academics and journalists from The Australian before publishing! Wikileaks MUST to run all it's material passed a committee of left leaning academics and journalists from The Guardian before publishing! Wikileaks MUST run all it's material!

The wind generator delivers 37% of Rottnest's power.

Absolute classic, I laughed like a drain. Is there humour (wit) like that on TV today? If so where?

Sent to me by an irreverent nephew: The Terrible Cost of Brexit .....and now the latest news from inner city London: Hipsters have been seen running around, spilling their Mochachino Lattes, man buns askew shouting: "The Sky is Falling, The Sky is Falling". Further news from inner London: Hipsters are finding a focus for their despair and anger and are now throwing cups of lukewarm Latte and their organic beancurd and caviar breakfasts at passing labourers and the elderly while shouting: "Damm the working class!" "curse the proletariat!" "swivel eyed older persons!" FYI: I have no personal opinion of the result. Hybridfiat

Barnaby should have thanked John for keeping Australian quarantine laws in the spotlight. The publicity must be invaluable.

Global Knives are very very hard steel. Harder than German steel. If you can't sharpen a knife compently then you might want to take lessons. They chip easily. So be aware of the surface you cut onto and how you store them.

Not often I tear up over an obituary but Ronnie Corbett's has. I must be going soft. Listening to the Two Ronnies theme music brings back memories of my childhood and having to go to bed straight after the show on TV had finished. How many shows on TV today are there where the whole family sits down and has a good clean laugh?

Also the sportsman did it in public but the dickwad poli's message was meant to be private. I quite often insult people in private but never in public. Should I be censured or possibly arrested?

I never ask attractive women out as it demeans them and if a woman asks me I always inform her that "objectifying me as an object of desire is both demeaning and sexist"! I haven't had sex for years :,(

She oak is what I use. 2nd most popular wood for smoking in Australia

Roleystone WA $2340

Great post. My wife wants me to build her one. Any advice or links?

10 years ago I restored a wrecked Fiat X1.9 welding a whole front end on and fitting a Toyota 1.3L 4EFTE (Factory Turbo-charged) motor and 5 speed box. Microtech EMS, 2.5" straight through exhaust, 14" rear 13" front Mag rims. It went from a nominal 64 horsepower at the crank to 118 HP at the back wheels. Resulted in an exciting increase in performance. 104Kw at crank for 720Kg. So I adopted the Hybridfiat avatar on the X1.9 discussion board.

A golfer was enjoying a round of golf when he accidentally overturned his motorised golf buggy. A beautiful lady who lived in a villa overlooking the golf course heard the commotion and called out to him. She asked his name and he replied, "Dan". She said, "Dan, forget your problems, come into my villa and I will get some assistance for you to get the buggy later". Dan went into her villa but protested, "But I don't think my wife will like it". After a few drinks, a little dancing, etc. etc. he again stated, "Really I don't think my wife will be happy with me". The lady responded, "Don't be foolish, she wont know anything, by the way, where is she?" Dan replied, "Under the golf buggy".