My Fiat 126 bis: let me show you it.

[Air and water do mix]

Don't forget that the threads on oil pressure switches like that are tapered. If you try to use teflon tape (don't) you can't even feel how hard it's pushing on the surrounding aluminum when tightening it. If you go too far, you can crack the aluminum and then you're in for a complete rebuild unless the switch is located off of the block somewhere.

Teflon tape gets eaten by oil over time, so you don't want it for that reason as well.

Lookin' good and daaaaamn, I love the older green one with the green interior! (Not the Scrooge McDuck one) That thing is sweet! I assume that it's air-cooled if it's that old, correct?

[EUROBORA8V]

Those cars are so badass.

[Lupo TDI]

How did I miss this Kaszlak thread?...

How could you?


@Air and Water do Mix:

Yep, the green one is a 1976 air-cooled model. Bone stock except the interior, which used to be beige-sand leatherette. I like the green version WAY better, looks like an olive on wheels

The scrooge one is for laughs, but the owner really gets around. Each year he crosses the alps at least once in it. I am thinking about driving all the way to North Cape in Norway once, maybe avoiding that aamazing Atlantic Road as I don't want to be remembered as the first car to get washed off that road.

Thanks for the info. I screwed it in without anything in the end. I wanted to, but as I took off the old one, oil came pouring from out of the hole... So I quickly screwed the new switch in! It's been dry since. I even tightened it to the correct torque just to be on the safe side.

In other news: Tachometer!!!



I found out, after connecting it, that we've been revving the engine to a maximum of 3800-4000rpm, which is a good thing. I thought we've nearly over-revved it a couple of times already... So now I tried pushing second gear up to a indicated 5500rpm (rated power); sounds like a mix of imminent failure and VTAK just kicked in, YO! Gets out of its own feet quite nice by then, perfect for city driving as in second gear you can reach just over 60 kph (Speed limit is 50).

And some seats:



These are some sort of original seats, made in Poland, plug and play. I have never seen them before. Nice side bolsters. My dad found them at a mechanic. I'm not sure what to do; get them reupholstered in red or buy an air-cooled 126? Argh...

@EUROBORA8V:

Yes, they rock!

[Lupo TDI]

Another Saturday, another miniFiat-meet. We met at Mr. HP's house where I realized that he not only has the orange 126bis, but also a genuine 1960 Fiat 500N with suicide doors and huge canvas roof.

Anyways, as we arrived we found around 20 126 waiting for us.

Driving in a corso was a new thing for me, but we managed it quite well. And we made good use of the ex-fire dept. 126 as he blocked the roundabouts with his flashing lights and sirens for us so we could all stay together so nobody could get lost

On to the pictures:

Our miserable attempt at writing FIAT with our cars. Miserable becuse we could have done it better, but more so because we weren't even able to get a picture from the top of the mine head tower... Still, it's a beginning.







No meet without meat :













Random X1/9 along the road:

[Lethbridge_man]

Wow - I absolutely LOVE your car! But I have a bit of a thing for tiny vehicles...

The next time you go to IKEA, you should try this trick:



And I loved your photos of hauling groceries... I could only carry the cereal box in mine!

Cheers!

[Lupo TDI]

Wow - I absolutely LOVE your car! But I have a bit of a thing for tiny vehicles...

The next time you go to IKEA, you should try this trick:



And I loved your photos of hauling groceries... I could only carry the cereal box in mine!

Cheers!

Thanks! Bwahaha, I'll keep that in mind, the next time we're there! I had to look up the Daihatsu as was unknown to me until now, it looks amazingly futuristic and retro at the same time Love your Autozam btw.

Happy motoring!

EDIT: Now I know: It reminds me of an old Piaggio Ape, in a modern outfit and with 4 wheels! I used to see them all the ime when I was in Italy in younger years.

[manol2]

I really like the square plate look on the back of the 126, like the green one in the above pic

[Lupo TDI]

I really like the square plate look on the back of the 126, like the green one in the above pic

I like it too; but it wouldn't fit on mine as the hatch is completely different. By the way: did you notice where the green one is driving?? It's narrow enough to drive on the bicycle lane!

[manol2]

Great cars, I would love to get one someday

[Lupo TDI]

Great cars, I would love to get one someday

Oh yeah, the homologation special. I love the fact that you can buy one new from them.

Last week we were on holiday in the very north of Germany; one day we decided to drive to Denmark and go on the Island called Rømø. It's almost a giant beach, and you are allowed to drive your car up to the water, so that's just what we did:



All in all we did 2000kms; and after a couple of repairs.... joking. It's been dead reliable. A fuel filter got clogged up so I changed that, but I knew it was bound to happen as the fuel tank isn't really clean on the inside. I sourced an used one to refurbish. And I had to add a quart of liter of oil (that's like a quart of an US quart ), and that's for the 4000kms we've been driving the car. Very impressive little car.

[EUROBORA8V]

Sexy cars!

[Lupo TDI]

Updates:

Last week I wanted to use the car but I wasn't able to start it... Ignition was okay, fuel was in the tank, the starter motor is fine so what's left?? Exactly, the mechanical fuel pump. The spring was broken in two pieces... Ordered a new one, installed it and was happy again!

Today I've been driving to Aachen from Luxembourg and I decided to take the B-Roads in order to avoid the mess on the motorway ensuing from the Spa F1 race. I had a lot of fun trying to keep up with a guy on a Harley until the time I realized my car occasionally produced clouds of smoke. Car was still pulling strong though and no warning light came on so I looked for a safe place to stop and take a look. Turns out the engine didn't like the oil cap and got rid of it. Of course now the whole engine compartment is covered in it. I poured a whole Liter in the engine and measured how much is still missing and I saw that only the tip of the dipstick had contact with the oil in the sump... I'm going to have a better look tomorrow. Engine seems fine though; keeping fingers crossed!

[BRealistic]

That's one of the bad things of having the engine in the rear.
If that happened with the engine in the front, you would have smelled hot oil shortly after it happened.

[Lupo TDI]

That's one of the bad things of having the engine in the rear.
If that happened with the engine in the front, you would have smelled hot oil shortly after it happened.

Definitely. There was a slight smell of oil, but there always is in this car and it wasn't stronger so I didn't really pay attention. I just hope the engine is fine as the low oil pressure light didn't go on.

[Lupo TDI]

Update:

So... the engine still runs. Seems like it's okay. But the damn oil filler cap loosened itself yet another time. So I made sure it won't loosen itself again:

Drilled a few holes in the cap and sourced a spring:



Made an aluminum bracket to install on the engine block:



Ta-dah! Just finished right now (it's 22:30 over here), so we'll have to wait too see if it works or not...





In other news: I think I'm going to go the electric fuel pump route; since I've had to change the fuel pump it just doesn't feel the same. I'm thinking a Facet solid state should work well. Does it have to be installed lower than the fuel tank? I can't seem to find any informations about this...

[ps2375]

Just read thru the whole thread, nice work and way to stay with it. I bought a Colortune way back in the mid 80's, I think I used it once or twice. Still have it in a box out in the garage. Seeing that was like a little time machine.

[Albertkvw]

nice 126 i was think about importing a 126p from poland to the us. have to look into how hard that would be and would it be worth it.

[Lupo TDI]

Long time no update...

Car is still in use, but lately it started to misbehave... As it got colder it didn't want to start so good anymore until it didn't even want to keep running anymore... I think the problem came from a new fuel pump and more so a now welded exhaust. Yes, I've been driving around all these months with a completely cracked exhaust, hold together only by thermo tape... I fiddled with the carb a bit, we'll see if it's okay. It has to be okay as it's snowing here, and it must be a blast in the snow

nice 126 i was think about importing a 126p from poland to the us. have to look into how hard that would be and would it be worth it.

Would be great! Parts should be easy to get as there are a lot of old 500's in the US, and you could probably import two for the price of 1 normal car

Just read thru the whole thread, nice work and way to stay with it. I bought a Colortune way back in the mid 80's, I think I used it once or twice. Still have it in a box out in the garage. Seeing that was like a little time machine.

Great story

[71DubBugBug]

is there much of an aftermarket for these engines?
also, do the non polish ones, the earlier ones go for more money?

also, whats the recipe for all that cut up meat?

[eburg_DUB]

is there much of an aftermarket for these engines?
also, do the non polish ones, the earlier ones go for more money?

also, whats the recipe for all that cut up meat?

do you mean performance wise? umm little some stuff its out there.
They use them in rallys allot its fun to watch it race slow loud and side ways .

as for the early ones, 126p very early one 73 and maybe some early 74's were build with Italian parts and can fetch 15-20k usd

Italian ones not sure

[71DubBugBug]

thanks for the info
watching that thing change direction is too funny

[FuelInMyVeins]

There is one for sale in Miscellaneous Classifieds:

http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthrea...976-Fiat-126-P

[eburg_DUB]

thanks for the info
watching that thing change direction is too funny

here is one
http://moto.allegro.pl/polski-fiat-1...851432636.html
about 850 bucks one owner
but that's the year to avoid anything from 1980- 1990 is crap
My mother had one in the late 80's it was 84 or 85 cant remember but it was an export version, meaning it came with no missing parts. She sold it in 92.
My grandfather painted the whole car inside and out with ship paint so it never had any rust.
Guy that bought it from her still uses it to deliver mail in the country side.

[Lupo TDI]

here is one
http://moto.allegro.pl/polski-fiat-1...851432636.html
about 850 bucks one owner
but that's the year to avoid anything from 1980- 1990 is crap ...

They aren't bad, the ones you really don't want are the ones built at the end, like mid-90s to 2000. The sheetmetal is of a lesser quality and they really do rust. Mine is a 1989 model, sat unattended for 7 years in my sister's backyard inbetween high grass and all, and has no rust at all.

Tuning is readily available for the air-cooled models, starting from camshafts and twin-port heads and twin Webers up to new cylinders and pistons (like what's available for the Beetle) and with enough $$$ engines with 800 cu cm and around 60-70hp are possible.

The old ones do fetch apremium, albeit not like their predecessor, the 500. Mid-seventies models can be found in Italy for around 3.000 or even less.

[Air and water do mix]

Tuning is readily available for the air-cooled models, starting from camshafts and twin-port heads and twin Webers up to new cylinders and pistons (like what's available for the Beetle) and with enough $$$ engines with 800 cu cm and around 60-70hp are possible.

The old ones do fetch apremium, albeit not like their predecessor, the 500. Mid-seventies models can be found in Italy for around 3.000 or even less.

Woah, that's a lot of beans for a car like that!

Since nobody answered your Facet question, I'll fill you in if you haven't gone that route. First off, they sound like the hammers of a 1/8 scale hell back there, but are very reliable. Yes, they need to be mounted lower than the fuel tank, as electric fuel pumps don't like to pull fuel, but they're really good at pushing it. You'll also need a fuel pressure regulator, as they will put out more pressure than most European carburetors like. As an example, Weber carbs like about 1.5 lbs of pressure and if memory serves, the low pressure one puts out about 3 lbs. Sorry, I work pressures in pounds per square inch, I don't know how much atü that would work out to.

Fuel pressure regulators here in the U.S. are dominated by a cheap push-and-turn chrome dial type available in a variety of names, but they're very restrictive and when I didn't know better and used one, I had a failure that let pressure bleed through after the engine was shut off. When I went back to start my car, the pressure had pushed the float down, allowing fuel to flow into the carb and therefore the cylinder. I went to start it and it went ra-whomp! It was hydraulically locked. I pulled a plug, shot the gas out and Changed the oil. It ran for a while after that, but it had washed everything down to the point that it was never quite right again. Well, not until the rebuild, that is.

I'm sure there are good ones there, but here I use a Holley low pressure adjustable regulator. It will flow much more fuel than I'll ever need and is non-restrictive.

If you've already solved the issue, then don't read those paragraphs.

[Lupo TDI]

Thanks for your answer. What happened to you is scary as hell...! I've seen the bigger Facet pumps, and they claim to be self-regulating. Do you think this could help? If I could I'd prefer to not use an FPR. On the other hand, I've bought a Weber 36 IDF off eBay, so if I use an FPR I can adapt one pump to work with the stock carb and the new one. The brand that gets used here often is called King Filter, and has a Filter included in it, and a connection for a fuel pressure gauge. Typically you'D mount the FPR close to the carbs, right?

And the engine bay would look more like a racecar

[DevilDuck]

these are so nice, i like that you actualy use yours =)
wonder why theres not more of them in norway,

[Lupo TDI]

these are so nice, i like that you actualy use yours =)
wonder why theres not more of them in norway,

Thanks for that!

It's true, I once browsed garaget.org and there weren't that may there. But the ones I found had something nice: Headlight wipers! I'd love to have a couple...

As for the starting problems: Why did nobody tell me that I had to set the points in the dizzy?? They were almost always making contact, thus not giving spark at all or not allowing a strong enough one by giving the coil too little time to recharge. It pulls strong to 6k now, and the tach doesnÄt jump around lie it's dancing the MC Hammer dance anymore.

I love that cookie box!

[maloosheck]

There is one 126p recently imported in NoVA...

[DevilDuck]

Thanks for that!

It's true, I once browsed garaget.org and there weren't that may there. But the ones I found had something nice: Headlight wipers! I'd love to have a couple...

As for the starting problems: Why did nobody tell me that I had to set the points in the dizzy?? They were almost always making contact, thus not giving spark at all or not allowing a strong enough one by giving the coil too little time to recharge. It pulls strong to 6k now, and the tach doesnÄt jump around lie it's dancing the MC Hammer dance anymore.

I love that cookie box!

ahh it must be alot better with the right clerance?

[Lupo TDI]

ahh it must be alot better with the right clerance?

Yes, especially because it starts after turning the starter key for 1.5 seconds at most, no joke.

I have a Weber 36 IDF from an Alfa Romeo 33, I need a camshaft and more compression now

[Fantomasz]

ale popierdalają

[Lupo TDI]

ale popierdalają

This is a very brave man...!

Amazing control, really. He seems to have the suspension sorted out really good, the car is really stable, and I don't mean this as a joke, they are extremely unstable at certain speeds on wet roads (For those who don't know: Rear wheels have positive camber and the engine is behind the rear axle); he seems to be able to make the rear slide whenever he wants.

Update: I have bought a set of 13" wheels, Speedline model 439, the original Fiat Uno Turbo wheels. I'm thinking of putting on Yokohamas A048 so I won't need to brake for corners ever again!

[Air and water do mix]

Thanks for your answer. What happened to you is scary as hell...! I've seen the bigger Facet pumps, and they claim to be self-regulating. Do you think this could help? If I could I'd prefer to not use an FPR. On the other hand, I've bought a Weber 36 IDF off eBay, so if I use an FPR I can adapt one pump to work with the stock carb and the new one. The brand that gets used here often is called King Filter, and has a Filter included in it, and a connection for a fuel pressure gauge. Typically you'D mount the FPR close to the carbs, right?

And the engine bay would look more like a racecar

If memory serves, they are self regulating but all are at higher pressures than you'd want. Yes, you need to put the regulator close to the carb, as the pressure on an open system can vary, since it's not subject to Pascal's Law.

A Weber 36 seems pretty big for that engine! I suppose you'll have to ease into the throttle from off idle, eh?

[Air and water do mix]

Rear wheels have positive camber and the engine is behind the rear axle); he seems to be able to make the rear slide whenever he wants.

You get used to it.

I have a period correct camber compensator for my Beetle, which is simply a center-mounted single leaf spring to control camber progressively as the wheels move away from their static position. With that, a good alignment and nice shocks they can be set up to handle quite well. Ask any Porsche 356 fan.