So, I've been without a car for the last 9 months, and there's word that there's a Fiat 126 that'll become available... "sometime". It'd probably be a good thing for scooting around the city... but I know nothing about Fiats, or these cars. It's probably a late '80's or early '90's car. It "needs a battery, and then I can come check it out".
My mechanical ability so far stands at:
I can change the oil, check tire pressures, torque wheels, and blow the shock tops out of Hyundai Sonatas.
I've read this topic... and maybe I should post this over in Classic Motorsports side... but we'll see.
So... what do I need to know? What should I take a look at? Are there any upgrades I can do to this thing? What parts should I start to horde... I mean, acquire in advance of bring it back to the US around ~2021?
Am I completely nuts?
You should do it.
I was just looking at these on the Hungarian classifieds the other day...
A 2 cylinder Fiat will be very power challenged for North American driving. Zero parts available readily here in the US. Your only hope would be http://www.fiatplus.com/
Though it is a simple car your mechanic level is probably not up to dealing with a car you have to wait a week to get parts for (if you're lucky) and can't get any brand/model specific advice from anyone locally. May be an okay car for where you currently live but it would be nothing more than a toy in the US.
Its a cool little icon car. It would be pretty rare once gotten state-side. Rare can equal both good and bad.
That is some exceptional film work for the one shown in the linked video. Would it be that exact red one or just something similar?
yes, it would be that exact one... although I'd buying it off the person who bought from the family in the video.
Apparently it's pretty well known around town, because of that video. So, I might have to hold off on any major mods... although, I don't think that's enough 'provenance' to necessarily keep it 'pristine'
one thought I've batted around for when I bring it back, is to convert it to {gasp} electric. maybe push the tires out wide and make it into an uncompetitive d-mod, thing. Although, then I'd have to read the GCR... and I'm not allowed to do that until after OneLap.
With its history around the Embassy, would it be frowned upon to take it out of Poland?
I don't think so. It's in personal ownership... the video got good traction and "did it's job". But, a lot has changed since that video was released.
1/2 the current owning family wants to take it back with them this summer, but they brought a car over... so, they really need to take that one back with them.
I probably have more direct Fiat 126/500 experience than most here.
I built that little orange 126 and have built/driven/repaired a fair few Fiat 500 derivatives.
I love them. They are simple enough to make Colin Chapman blush. Don't think "car" think Vespa with a roof.
A polski 126 will have a slightly larger motor and include a synchro or two in the gearbox our Italian 126 didn't have but it will still be mind bendingly slow.
They are rough, loud and crude. You will know instantly if you like them or not. You just have to drive one first.
The hot Abarth motor you can buy from vendors is very disappointing and my butt dyno says power is half of rated spec. I have installed two of these 60hp motors from different vendors and my heavier 45hp mini is twice as fast.
Now as far as the electric conversion idea goes, I have thought about this a lot. My take is this. Everything that makes an old featherweight fiat awesome would be ruined by the conversion. You would be adding ~400lbs to a car thats defining feature is that it is under 1300lbs. There is no room for battery packs. If you filled the tiny trunk you would be adding a lot of weight awkwardly high up and still wouldn't have enough for much range. These cars are just so tiny that normal car pieces seem hilariously oversized in them.
Anyway the electric conversion stuff is probably worthy of its own thread. I think I have decided on what I will be converting and it took a lot of thought to get there.
This is why I want one. And then after inevitably grenading the original engine, throw some sort of Italian motorcycle engine in it. I've looked at enough pictures of the suspension to be convinced that an imported control arm kit, some steel reinforcements, and properly spec'd UTV coilovers would make an absolute little beast of a car.
Evan, if you get serious about importing one, let's double up on a container. 
I can go on at length about the suspension design and possible improvements. Up front they use a transverse leaf spring as the lower control arms connected to king pin housings that originated on late 50's Fiat 500's. The fixed 9 degree caster angle results in some serious pro brake dive geometry. There are kits to convert the drums to front discs which are fine. The aftermarket leaf spring replacement lower control arm and coilover kits do allow you to spec your own spring rates but do nothing to tame the ludicrous camber curve and extreme brake dive.
Out back the semi trailing arm geometry has wild camber changes and with that comes crazy toe changes. In my turbo 850 this meant for some really lairy understeer issues.
As with most cars with fundamentally bad suspension geometry limiting movement helps but will only get you so far. This isn't to say they are not fun to drive though. They can be a riot. Often it is the flaws that make a car fun.
I will try and find some pics of the engine details.
One funny thing about the 126 2 cylinder is that it vibrates like a Harley. The engine is mounted on a soft spring to allow it to move an alarming amount and if you stiffen up the motor mounts you can't see anything when sitting in the car. It vibrates so much your eyes can not focus at idle.
The orange 126 recieved the big valve abarth motor with a DCOE and the synchro gearbox and I would say it still took over 30 seconds to hit 50mph. It sounds like a V twin
In reply to Jumper K Balls (Trent) :
Could you comment on how well a 60-90deg twin might fit in the engine bay? I really appreciate you writing stuff up about these, given the lack of US knowledge about the cars in general.
In reply to ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ :
Yes, Trent's insight is very entertaining, as well as useful.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯ said:
This is why I want one. And then after inevitably grenading the original engine, throw some sort of Italian motorcycle engine in it. I've looked at enough pictures of the suspension to be convinced that an imported control arm kit, some steel reinforcements, and properly spec'd UTV coilovers would make an absolute little beast of a car.
Evan, if you get serious about importing one, let's double up on a container.
yeah after watching that let's triple up!
It is a very short motor. I know berk all about V twin motorcycles. I have seen photos of the Fiat 600/850 engine family stuffed into the back of these and those are about 16" long, I just can't see that happening. I know the 126p motor weighs around 100lbs. I carried it around the shop because it was easier than finding a dolly to move it. That DCOE 40 even fitted with the smallest chokes available is still grossly oversized. The actual intake port on the head is less than one inch, and that is after porting!
The disc brake and coilover conversion
It was a real pain to find tires that would fit inside the arches. We were going for a tucked lowrider look and most GRM types would probably flare and go with wide meats. A set of 175/50-13's would require at least 2" flares. Seriously.
In reply to Robbie :
It's worth mentioning that I'm relatively close to a port and could store at least a dozen of these things.
there's another one, literally "in the neighborhood" sitting parked sideways in a 'driveway' with a window cracked open.
but the guy who owns it is a drunk.. and he's already accosted me twice drunk at 8am, and made rude comments accompanied with hand gestures about how sleepywife and I need "more" sleepykids.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯ said:
Evan, if you get serious about importing one, let's double up on a container.
If I did end up importing something it would probably be a Lada or Skoda 120.
Maybe a Zastava or Trabant.
We could fit all of those in one container probably.
In reply to Jumper K Balls (Trent) :
thanks for that Trent! Lots to mull over there.
I have no allusions that driving one of these is tantamount to the Italian/Polish version of this:
if I did convert it to electric... I'd probably spec it like a IOM TT with four wheels. 30miles with 40kW... I mean, that's a lot of autoX runs? And those bikes only weighed 300#'s, right?
also, I'll state that if anyone gets a container headed states-side... it has to have a Lada Niva inside it for mazdeuce
What about something very American while in Poland but uniquely European once back state side?
Maybe a Jeep XJ but diesel.
In reply to John Welsh :
too new, can't import it
1995 or older, afaik
edit: and we don't really need a car here. It'd be nice to have something for me to get out to the hardware store in under an hour, one way... once sleepykid#2 starts going to pre-school. But we can do most things walking or on the bus. parking around town is... hard/expensive... or both and on the sidewalk.
Just for more (sick) inspiration: A K20 Honda in an earlier Fiat 500. Pictures from Greenwich concourse 2011.
Alright, Maluch update time...
Went and saw/drove it this morning. Came to find out I’m first in line of three interested in it. Which bodes we’ll in two years when I have to sell it on again. Yup, that’s right, it’s a ‘97... so I can’t import it back to the US when/if we head back in 2021.
The “original” owner had interest in keeping it stock, “in working order”, and passed down as consevership amongst people posted here. Apparently there is even a stipulation about making it available for press if requested, but I think that’s died down since that video was first made.
All that being said, it’s a ‘97 with 57k km. It’s been pinged lightly in the pax rear quarter, has rust in the front and back window seams, and in the unibody behind the driver’s rear wheel...
Shot of rust in the engine bay, behind driver’s rear wheel:
Shot up from the ground of the same area...
There’s some rust in the bottom of the frunk... hard to tell how bad. The rest of the pan seems solid.
Price is $1k, negotiable.
