Jump to content

My Fiat 126 - a bit of much needed TLC...(Updated 10/09/14)


Recommended Posts

Posted

I've got a Fiat 126. I've had it since 2001. It's an aircooled FSM.

 

It had been taken off the road in 1994 due to a holy sill and sat in a garage until it became mine. After bodywork, brake renewal and a respray it passed an MOT in 2005. Since then I've rebuilt the engine to stop all the oil leaks and also my Dad drove my youngest sister to the church in it on her wedding day.

 

At the end of the summer in 2011 I let the MOT lapse and sorned it and squirelled it away for the winter. With me working on the van and the Pandas as well, the 126 got a bit neglected, so at the end of summer last year I thought I would make the effort and get it MOT'd. It needed a new choke cable so I replaced that and whilst checking over the body I found a hole near the front suspension that needed attention. To do the job properly I would have to remove the front suspension. Whilst the suspension is off it would make sense to restore that too. Also redo all the underseal as well. If I'm going to do the front I really ought to do the back end as well...

 

So during the summer I dedicated quite a bit of my spanner time to the 126. I welded up the body, cleaned all the suspension components and put them in a bath of Bilt Hamber Deox-C. I then painted them all in Por-15. The rear swing arms were 'pin holed' and very thin in the usual place so I welded in strengtheners. I also replaced all the bushes. I got a new front spring as the old was knackered. I took the steering rack off and sheared a captive nut... luckily I was able to drill out and weld a new one in from the top. I got new brake bits and track rod ends too.

 

But, I found some pin holes on the back end of the inner sills. This is awkward to get to without cutting the outer sill ends off. It can be done but it will be easier to remove the sill ends. I replaced the outer sills in 2002, so it's going to be a wrench putting a slitting disc into them. Has to be done though.

 

Now is not the time of year to do this sort of thing outside, so I've got it back on 4 wheels put it in hibernation until the spring and work can resume. There are plenty of indoor jobs, such as my van engine, to occupy my time..

 

Some pictures...

 

post-47-0-25696100-1383852888_thumb.jpg

post-47-0-77734600-1383853088_thumb.jpg

post-47-0-15127400-1383853849_thumb.jpg

post-47-0-51753200-1383853961_thumb.jpg

post-47-0-55639500-1383852991_thumb.jpg

 

Weldage

 

post-47-0-65081000-1383854112_thumb.jpg

post-47-0-99682800-1383854205_thumb.jpg

post-47-0-38082800-1383854322_thumb.jpg

post-47-0-87901700-1383854481_thumb.jpg

 

I LOVE Deox-C

 

post-47-0-43297000-1383854600_thumb.jpg

 

New front spring

 

post-47-0-89336400-1383854730_thumb.jpg

 

Swing arm repairs

 

post-47-0-83985600-1383854856_thumb.jpg

post-47-0-79755900-1383854977_thumb.jpg

 

Ready to go back on...

 

post-47-0-89551000-1383855081_thumb.jpg

 

I will obviously update this thread when work resumes in 2014...

Posted

Smashing! You need to keep that thing forever, it's not like it takes up much room. What are these 126's like to drive?

Posted

Even if its not on the road at least you can go around telling people you have an MBE even if it is just the number plate of your car.

 

Good read and I look forward to seeing more. 

Posted

Looks good mate keep it up, the one and only 126 I have driven was with sutty2006 down a Farm track we were shoulder to shoulder like a couple of sardines it was fugging hilarious

Posted

Great effort,  its the spit of a c plater i used to be taken to cubs in by a neighbour. Its impressive to see the results of that deox c bath- how long did you dunk them in for?

Posted

Great stuff. My only worry is that I was once told that with 500's swing arm repairs would not pass an MoT though I can't see why that should be different to any other repair.

Posted

Fab wee thing, used to be so common and now extinct. I'm liking the welding, wish I could do that!

Posted

got some bits for these let me know if you need owt, i'm custodian of my late friends X reg one.

Posted

As a kid we had one of these for a while as my mum's car. It was called the luxury go-kart.

 

It was shite but proper characterful shite, really easy to double declutch due to the 2 cyl motor having a big flywheel.

Posted

Superb stuff!  I had much fun hooning around in mine, 20-odd years ago - especially once I'd had 2mm machined off the cylinder head... :twisted:

Posted

I do enjoy driving it (when it's mobile) I would certainly desctibe it as 'go-kartesque' and that 50mph feels like 100mph...

 

I went down to Stanford Hall in it a couple of years ago, it's happy at 65/70 and can overtake trucks and slower stuff on the motorway.

 

On that trip I stopped at my Sisters place in Derby on the way down. As I was parking up, one of her neighbours came running out. He was a polish chap and had got all excited as he could hear a 'maluch' outside. He was pleased to see it as he had one tucked away in a garage back home and didn't realise they were sold in the UK. :-D

 

That Deox-C is great stuff. I got a bag of the powder. I just used the suggested mix, although you can make it as weak or strong as you want depending how fast you want it to work. :-D :-D

Posted
  On 07/11/2013 at 20:15, Vin said:

It had been taken off the road in 1994 due to a holy sill and sat in a garage

 

Did you invite Bishop Brennan to come and take a look at the sill while it was there?  :P

 

5684304451_1d25bf1cdf.jpg

  • 9 months later...
Posted

Update. Right I resumed work on this a few months ago. Jacked it all up and took off the rear suspension, it was all loosely done up anyway, and started attacking the rear inner sills. I did this by removing sections of the outer sill, cutting the crap out and welding new metal in. I then had to carefully re-weld all the outer sills back on without messing it up. Unsurprisingly, I found that the inner sill rot had spread up the inner wheelarches. I managed to get hold of a pair which I was able to chop about a bit to weld bits in.

 

I ended up getting a new petrol tank as well. I took the old one off last year as it looked a bit scabby and needed a repaint. When I took it off I found that the 'tank seal' that I had put in it over ten years ago had all shrivelled up and turned into a great big 'poppadom' thing in the tank... :? I couldn't get it out as it wouldn't break up. Ten years ago I had to refurbish the tank as you couldn't get hold of a new tank very easily, so I'd repaired all the pinholes with chemical metal and a coat of tankseal. Nowadays you get spares on the web easily from Germany and Holland, so I was able to get a new tank. I painted it with POR 15 and fitted it.

 

My mate came round and between us, using his tracking gauges, we set the front up and adjusted the back as well. Although I'd put new track rod ends on, we ran out of adjustment, even though they were the correct ones for the car. We think the cause is the new spring riding high... Anyway we shortened the track rod ends in the lathe and then drilled deeper and tapped more thread into them, this did the trick and we were able to set it up OK. When the spring settles down a bit, I'll adjust it again and I'll maybe have to fit some 'unmolested' ones.

 

Anyway, my mate asked me if he could borrow the 126 for his cousin's wedding on the 6th Sept. Now my mate's uncle was the chap who used to own it before me, so it was a good incentive to get it finished...

 

Well it was finished on time and I got an MOT on it last week for the first time in 4 years...No advisories either 8)  first time with this one...

 

It went down well at the wedding too...

 

I've got hardly any pictures of the past few months work tough...Sorry.

 

post-47-0-04415900-1410375449_thumb.jpg

 

post-47-0-21184700-1410375651_thumb.jpg

 

post-47-0-93951800-1410375529_thumb.jpg

 

I went out for a blat about in it earlier this evening...I'd forgotten how much I love driving this thing...I took the opportunity to take some piccies of it too...

 

post-47-0-76108400-1410375880_thumb.jpg

 

post-47-0-08829600-1410375977_thumb.jpg

 

post-47-0-26645100-1410376061_thumb.jpg

 

post-47-0-46213900-1410376141_thumb.jpg

 

post-47-0-91526700-1410376223_thumb.jpg

 

post-47-0-59885800-1410376297_thumb.jpg

 

 

 

Posted

Marvelous, I had one of these when I was 14, and a BIS later in life, they are great fun!

Posted

Amazingly, I find that so charming I can even forgive it the alloys.

Posted

I can't believe how many parts are similar to the FIAT 500 im currently in the middle of a weldathon on. Even the rear suspension arms are identical, never mind the drums and front leafspring suspension. FIAT really got their money's worth out of that design!

Posted

Stunning! You've done a cracking job but I don't care for the alloys.

Posted

Charming little thing that monsieur_du_Vin, though I reckon I prefer it on placca trims.

Posted

Cheers for the comments. Much appreciated. :-) :-)

 

Alloys are always going to be an 'interesting' subject...I got the alloys for it in 2009 as the steel wheels with plastic centre caps were getting a bit scabby and the car needed to look spot on for my sister's wedding...my Dad drove her to to the church in it...

 

I didn't really know what to go for but in the end I went for a set of genuine minilites (I bought them as blanks and they were drilled to the correct 98 pcd) mainly because I think it's a wheel that looks good on anything really. I still have the steels and have no intention of getting rid of them. They were blasted and repainted about ten years ago...as a result two of them were 'pin-holed' badly so they run with inner tubes. The alloys have been sat in the loft for the 4 years it hasn't been on the road, steels go on when it's in storage...

 

I need to get a pair of new door handles for it really and it could do with new quarterlights as the frames are letting it down a bit. It could also do with the external door window trim replacing...I can get all this from somewhere like Axel Gerstl or Ricambi500...but it will have to wait for the cash ...and the time too..as it's just had it's 'time in the sun' for the moment...other things press...

  • 2 weeks later...

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...