Borsuq's Fs (FSO Polonez Caro and Fiat 126p)

[Borsuq]

The time has come for my cars to get their own thread, so I can quit spamming in the one meant for legitimate news.

I've owned my 1999 Fiat 126p Town since January 2015 when my dad and I just went out and bought one on a whim. While the car drove fine-ish we ended up giving it what ended up being a complete restoration - sans new paint job. With parts being hilariously cheap, we ended up replacing pretty much everything we could.

Here are some photos of the process:

We weren't going to go this far initially, but after tearing into the supposedly healthy engine out of boredom we discovered a cracked main bearing, which ended being a bit of a catalyst to us deciding to go through the car properly.

Since then the car's been serving as my fun summer car, and while it's had a few small issues it's been a pretty reliable little thing overall. Great fun to drive too, as there is nothing else like it (let's gloss over the Fiat 500 :P).

Here are some more current photos:

Car's currently at just above 77 thousand km. I only really ever drive it when the weather's nice. It'll probably never see winter again and I even avoid getting it wet.

Fairly sure this is a car I'll be keeping forever.

[Borsuq]

In June of this year I acquired another shed - a 1995 FSO Polonez Caro 1.6 GLI.

This car was purchased with a goal of taking it on a road trip to the UK and back, so I made sure I got the best one I could find. When I bought it it had just above 35 thousand kilometres on the odometer and I've added 2k since, while slowly working to improve it further.

Here's a photo from the evening I got it home:

It's a nice car with a local history but it's still not perfect. While it's overall amazingly rust free (and very heavily rust protected), when I first got it rot was appearing under rear side windows:

After I got a body shop to sort that out (and fix the rear spoiler as some bastard had dinged that as I was enjoying dinner at my parents' place), I could finally declare the car completely rust free, which for a Polonez is an amazing achievement.

Here are a few current photos of the Polonez:

A few jobs remain before next year's trip:

- idle's too high and a bit lumpy at times, new stepper motor required (already got one, CBA to fit it currently) [EDIT Jan 2022: I think the rev counter may be overreading slightly hence idle seems too high]

- car runs a bit cool when driving (new coolant thermostat purchased, will fit at some point)

- heater valve leaks when operated and sticks in the open position (struggling to find a direct replacement valve, considering other options) [EDIT Jan 2022: New valve has been acquired last year. Will fit before driving long distance]

- intake air thermostat stuck closed (considering replacement or bodge to keep open) [EDIT Jan 2022: Working new old stock air thermostat acquired. Awaits fitting.]

- needs a couple new bulbs in the binnacle, something's loose in there as well (will get round to it at some point)

- check wheel bearings, grease or replace if needed

- slight occassional rattle in passenger side front door, probably something iffy with the lock

- interior light doesn't turn on when doors open, only works in fixed on or off positions

- driver's door limiter a bit dodgy, door opens slightly too wide

- driver's side door seals in bad shape, could use replacing even if they don't seem leaky

- bonnet insulation slightly torn up, might replace might not

- needs tyres as current ones are old (front), winter spec (rear) and slightly wrong size (all of them)

- current radio is crap, needs a new one

Jobs already completed:

- fix rust under rear side windows

- new cambelt as the car was still on the original 25 year old one when purchased

- replace wiring loom going to the rear hatch as insulation started cracking

- driver's door speaker not working, wiring needs fixing

- fix wiring in central console as someone's done a hack job on it trying to fit a radio

- wing mirror adjustment needs unsticking

- new wiper blades

Car's passed its inspection earlier this month with flying colours and no advisories.

[stuboy]

lovely motors.

 

mate had a caro diesel and took out the front seats as too hard and got some softer ones from a polonez

[Borsuq]

9 hours ago, stuboy said:

lovely motors.

 

mate had a caro diesel and took out the front seats as too hard and got some softer ones from a polonez

Cheers

And yeah, the updated seats they put in Caros were a bit controversial. A much more modern design in some ways, but also much harder and less 'couchy' than seats in older poldis.

I've actually had to have my driver's seat fixed already, as part of the seat's frame pushed through and split the sponge in a certain place on the bottom cushion. The upholstery shop ended up redoing both sides of the cushion in tougher foam, so now my driver's seat feels quite bolstered.

[St.Jude]

I hate you. Although I hate anyone in the UK who owns a Polonez. Saying that, you don't happen to have a gearbox from the 1.4 Caro do you? 😂

Joking aside I love the Polonez. Never a fan of the newer ones but they're growing on me. Plus someone commented on my site last week that they were part of the Rover team that worked with FSO to put the K-Series in these. I need to tap his head for more information about it.

But lovely cars though, look after them!

 

[Borsuq]

7 minutes ago, sgtberbatov said:

I hate you. Although I hate anyone in the UK who owns a Polonez. Saying that, you don't happen to have a gearbox from the 1.4 Caro do you? 😂

Joking aside I love the Polonez. Never a fan of the newer ones but they're growing on me. Plus someone commented on my site last week that they were part of the Rover team that worked with FSO to put the K-Series in these. I need to tap his head for more information about it.

But lovely cars though, look after them!

 

Oooh, I remember your article from before I got my Polonez. I used to look for any information on FSOs I could find and came across your article a few times. A great read it was too!

I specifically wanted a pre-Daewoo Polonez Caro from the start. They don't look nearly as cool as the older ones, but I do genuinely really like the rear end treatment they got and I thought all the updates (fuel injection, wider track, improved brakes, better wipers, backlit switches on the dash, etc.) fitted from 1993 on could be useful since I want to take the car on road trips. I'm not that keen on the "Plus" era cars made after the Daewoo takeover (unless they're an estate ).

As for Poldorover gearboxes, they were known for not lasting that well from the get go. I guess the immense power produced by 1.4 Kettles was just overwhelming.  Also, they were often driven rather hard by various youths, which definitely didn't help.  Since my car has the regular 1.6 OHV "bearing spreader" (a nickname derived from muck spreaders) I hope to at least be able to avoid gearbox issues (knock on wood).

Also, I'm not in the UK.

[St.Jude]

1 hour ago, Borsuq said:

Oooh, I remember your article from before I got my Polonez. I used to look for any information on FSOs I could find and came across your article a few times. A great read it was too!

I specifically wanted a pre-Daewoo Polonez Caro from the start. They don't look nearly as cool as the older ones, but I do genuinely really like the rear end treatment they got and I thought all the updates (fuel injection, wider track, improved brakes, better wipers, backlit switches on the dash, etc.) fitted from 1993 on could be useful since I want to take the car on road trips. I'm not that keen on the "Plus" era cars made after the Daewoo takeover (unless they're an estate ).

As for Poldorover gearboxes, they were known for not lasting that well from the get go. I guess the immense power produced by 1.4 Kettles was just overwhelming.  Also, they were often driven rather hard by various youths, which definitely didn't help.  Since my car has the regular 1.6 OHV "bearing spreader" (a nickname derived from muck spreaders) I hope to at least be able to avoid gearbox issues (knock on wood).

Also, I'm not in the UK.

Thank you!

Well this is where my own research when a bit sketchy. I was under the assumption that the K-Series box was just the normal FSO box with a modified bell housing. With the box itself a slight deviation from the Fiat 124 box, which has it similarities with the Lada box.

I had the plan of going to Budapest next year for a stag do,  bring a trailer with me and hunt down a Mark 1 Polonez. But they seem to be getting expensive, or knackered, so might have to settle for a Caro.

Keep it up though mate, I love seeing these cars.

[Borsuq]

2 hours ago, sgtberbatov said:

Thank you!

Well this is where my own research when a bit sketchy. I was under the assumption that the K-Series box was just the normal FSO box with a modified bell housing. With the box itself a slight deviation from the Fiat 124 box, which has it similarities with the Lada box.

I had the plan of going to Budapest next year for a stag do,  bring a trailer with me and hunt down a Mark 1 Polonez. But they seem to be getting expensive, or knackered, so might have to settle for a Caro.

Keep it up though mate, I love seeing these cars.

As far as I know 1.4 gearboxes were indeed quite closely related to other Polonez boxes, but not interchangeable. Modifications included bell/clutch housings, clutch shafts, speedo drive and obviously gear ratios.

As for buying an early Polonez on the cheap, that ship has unfortunately sailed by now.  Even pre-Daewoo Caros like mine are now starting to appreciate in value. Only ones that are still pretty universally inexpensive are Daewoo-FSO Caro/Atu Plus cars.

[Borsuq]

Unpredictable weather and a dodgy brake light switch almost resulted in me being unable to go on a weekend drive today. Luckily the weather held and I managed to get the switch working . For some reason it was absolutely covered in what looked like oil. I think this might be a delayed result of a slightly leaky spare bottle of oil I had in the boot a few years ago. In the end a quick clean managed to get the switch working again, but I still ordered a new one just in case. They're just £2.5 so no reason not to have a spare one.

[ProgRocker]

Love the Maluch and the Polonez! I always wanted to have a drive in a Polonez.

[Borsuq]

1 minute ago, ProgRocker said:

Love the Maluch and the Polonez! I always wanted to have a drive in a Polonez.

A Polonez is high level shitery. It's genuinely a pretty terrible car, so to enjoy one you really have to be the right kind of person.

You're welcome to have a drive in mine if we ever meet up.

[Borsuq]

2 minutes ago, Nyphur said:

Nice cars, thanks for sharing. That Polonez has cleaned up really well.

Cheers! It honestly wasn't too bad to begin with, which is why I bought it.

[GeordieInExile]

Ah that Maluch is lovely. What did they sell for new in 1999...?

[TataBobu]

You make me go back to olx.pl in search of a Maluch, regardless of the C-word ripping trough the world, again with thoughts of getting a trailer hooked on one of my cars and just go to Poland and buy the first one I like. Especially since you mention that parts are dirt-cheap, it's itching again.

[Borsuq]

1 hour ago, GeordieInExile said:

Ah that Maluch is lovely. What did they sell for new in 1999...?

Cheers! 

Based on some googling and looking up old currency exchange tables, in 2000 a base 126p would have cost 12 250 zł, which was about £2030. In modern Pounds that's about 3 and a half grand.

Here are some prices of other cheap cars available at the time:

• Daewoo Matiz – from 23 900 zł,
• Fiat Uno – from 24 950 zł,
• Fiat Siena – from 29 800 zł,
• Hyundai Atos – from 28 800 zł,
• Kia Pride – from 23 900 zł,
• Łada Samara - from 24 990 zł,
• Suzuki Swift – from 29 980 zł.
• Peugeot 106 - from 30 490 zł.
• Fiat Brava - from 39 800 zł.
• Daewoo Lanos - from 29 600 zł.
• Daewoo Nexia - from 25 100 zł.

[Borsuq]

40 minutes ago, TataBobu said:

You make me go back to olx.pl in search of a Maluch, regardless of the C-word ripping trough the world, again with thoughts of getting a trailer hooked on one of my cars and just go to Poland and buy the first one I like. Especially since you mention that parts are dirt-cheap, it's itching again.

Get one before prices go even more crazy.

[Borsuq]

I still can't believe FSO couldn't be bothered to plug this hole with something:

On carburetted models there would be a choke pull there, but since my Polonez is fuel injected it has no such thing. Initially I thought I was just missing some sort of bit of trim there, but based on what I could find online, that's how it should be.

I know a Polonez is not a premium automobile, far from it, but it's generally not completely awful in terms of how it's finished. That's why this annoys me so much.

[Mr Laurence]

A couple of rubber grommets perhaps? Would it be worth having something 3D printed to fill the hole?

[Borsuq]

3 minutes ago, Mr Laurence said:

A couple of rubber grommets perhaps? Would it be worth having something 3D printed to fill the hole?

Probably not. It mostly bothers me because it's such a glaring omission on FSO's part, it's almost unbelievable.

[motorpunk]

Great (terrible) cars. I’ve got a classic 500, with a few 126 bits in it.

Where are you aiming for in the UK? If you get stuck (hey, a Caro is dead reliable, right?) then there’s a few fellow shiters who can probably help. 
 

Great thread, thanks for sharing the pics.

[Borsuq]

7 minutes ago, motorpunk said:

Great (terrible) cars.

Thanks!

7 minutes ago, motorpunk said:

I’ve got a classic 500, with a few 126 bits in it.

What kind of bits if you don't mind me asking?

8 minutes ago, motorpunk said:

Where are you aiming for in the UK?

First destination will likely be Colchester as I have a good friend who lives there and is considering coming along for the trip too. Other than that I was hoping to hit the Festival of the Unexceptional. Also, since I've only ever seen the south east of England before, we were considering heading off to Wales and possibly Scotland, so a pretty comprehensive tour of the UK is also definitely on the cards. Exact plans are largely dependent on the car behaving itself.

12 minutes ago, motorpunk said:

Great thread, thanks for sharing the pics.

Cheers!

[RoadworkUK]

1 hour ago, Borsuq said:

First destination will likely be Colchester .......

*Ears suddenly prick up

I'll be monitoring this thread with some interest; Colchester is the nearest civilised town to me (Ipswich is closer... but it's Ipswich)

[Borsuq]

Ordered a new intake air thermostat for the Polonez. They're a terrible quality part and break incredibly often, but hopefully I'll get sent a working one.

It's the little box just in front of the air filter housing:

In cold temperatures it's supposed to switch the intake air supply to the short pipe coming from inside the exhaust manifold shielding:

In moderate and hot temperatures it's supposed to switch to the cold air intake pipe:

Problem is, when it stops working it switches permanently to the hot air pipe, which obviously isn't brilliant.

There are a few solutions:

- remove the hot air pipe and just accept that the engine will be getting its air from above the exhaust manifold (that's how the car was when I first got it, but it's not a great solution, hot air blowing upwards from inside the manifold shield also destroys the sound deadening mat on the bonnet, as seen on my car)

- prop the flap inside the thermostat housing up in the open position by opening it with your hand and driving a screw through the top of the housing to prevent it from shutting again

- replace the entire thermostat/flap unit which is what I'm going to attempt. Really hoping I get a working one because duds are really common. Also, the fact it's riveted onto the air filter housing makes replacement just that little bit more annoying than it should be.

[egg]

reminds me of my old crossflow escort where you had a summer and winter setting for the air intake - but you just twisted it! This perhaps seems a little complicated, unless I'm missing something because it is injected and obvs has a sensor.

[Borsuq]

3 minutes ago, egg said:

reminds me of my old crossflow escort where you had a summer and winter setting for the air intake - but you just twisted it!

Yeah, my 126 also has tinware (and thus intake) settings for summer and winter, but since it's operated manually the chances of it breaking are small, especially as I just keep it in the summer setting anyway.

You move the little lever to open a hole on top of the cooling tinware:

[Borsuq]

While I had to evict the Polonez from its temporary, individual garage, it now gets to stay with another car made at the same factory.

[Borsuq]

The Polonez is due for a windshield gluing tomorrow. It's had a small chip in it since I bought it, and I thought it'd be smart to have it taken care of before winter. I've been warned that the fix may not work and the windshield might crack further, so I am a bit worried. I'd really quite like to be able to keep the original windshield. Hopefully it'll be fine.

[Borsuq]

Windshield repair was unsuccessful.

They managed to fix the chip, but the crack remains as it wouldn't accept resin. After a couple of tries they said they'd need to drill into the glass to fix it properly, which of course poses a big risk of the windshield being ruined, so I opted against it. I'm really hoping the crack won't spread further, but I will be on the lookout for a second hand windshield with a correct date stamp just in case. From memory the original one is from 10.1995, so I think an 09.1995 or 10.1995 will do.

Hopefully the chip being removed will make the damage less visible from the outside, so that I don't get in trouble with the rozzers during my planed Euro trip (if I don't find a suitable replacement), because driving Eastern Euro chod across Western Europe is likely to get me stopped at least a couple of times.

[Borsuq]

Today I drove my Caro onto a field, therefore here is my Caro in a field:

Also, here's my Caro not in a field:

[Borsuq]

Just the other day I saw the detailer who cleaned me Polonez, and he mentioned that he'd found a first aid kit while cleaning my car and forgot to put it back. Didn't actually notice that first aid kit, but it's still nice he gave it back.

It's a pretty cool old thing in general, fairly sure it predates the car.

I especially like the box of 1985 Bulgarian Band-aids.