Author Topic: Project Shoestring- the mystery early 126 from France  (Read 2683 times)

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stephenc

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Project Shoestring- the mystery early 126 from France
« on: June 14, 2017, 12:50:29 AM »
Hi fellow 126ers.

So here is my thread about my 126 that arrived last Saturday.

Here's a walk-round of it:









The engine cover handle isn't missing- I took it off because it is broken (it might be repairable).

And yes, the RH rear light is a LH one fitted upside down!


On to the interior now- it is rather dusty/mouldy from years off the road, but is in really good condition.














That's 41759 miles- no wonder the interior shows so little wear under the grime.




I was pleased to find the arch on this side is essentially rust-free.




Looks like that was the last year this little Fiat saw french roads.




As there was no paperwork with the car, this is one of the few clues as to its age- it's a later first series as there are no vents in the door shuts.





Time for a look at some bad points...

Looks like there isn't much left of the bottom of that A-post...




That's an awful lot of filler there...




...and there!




Hmm, that's actually a rust hole there...and quite a gouge in the steel by the intake vent...whatever it was that fell against the car has also bent the drip rail as well. That wheelarch looks a bit suspicious too!




Now that's an interesting repair...




...it's french Meccano, n'est pas?!




Looks like it's game over for that seatbelt holder then...surprisingly, it's a Klippan 'Made in GB'.




Further bit of accident damage- battery has slightly crumpled that panel.




That centre electrode is well past its sell-by date...





I've started cleaning the interior so have taken the seats out to give them a good clean and will take the carpet out for a vac and shampoo.

I found the horn button in the oddments tray by the gearstick- just missing one of the springs, but that's easy to sort out.

I noticed that the roof has a small hole in it, so I will see if a bicycle puncture repair patch will fix that

As funds are limited, this coming month will see me getting the essentials to service the engine and make a start on the brakes with new shoes, cylinders and pipes.

I will also be squirting Plusgas on all the nuts and bolts I might need to remove too.

michaelodonnell500

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Re: Project Shoestring- the mystery early 126 from France
« Reply #1 on: June 14, 2017, 10:31:27 AM »
That's Nice. (pun intended!)
You might be lucky with the engine, I've started a few that have looked worse than that! If the contact adhesive for the roof repair doesn't work I might be able to post you a free tube of out of date windscreen adhesive and a small patch of black vinyl. It should keep the water out for a while.
Rust does not discriminate

stephenc

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Re: Project Shoestring- the mystery early 126 from France
« Reply #2 on: June 14, 2017, 10:43:57 AM »
That's Nice. (pun intended!)
You might be lucky with the engine, I've started a few that have looked worse than that! If the contact adhesive for the roof repair doesn't work I might be able to post you a free tube of out of date windscreen adhesive and a small patch of black vinyl. It should keep the water out for a while.

Hi

The engine turns, so that is hopefully a good sign.

I'll let you know if the roof repair works, or not- thanks for the offer.  :)

stephenc

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Re: Project Shoestring- the mystery early 126 from France
« Reply #3 on: June 14, 2017, 12:44:05 PM »
As I found the horn button was not missing, I cleaned it and then cracked open a tiny tin of metallic silver model aircraft paint and re-did the FIAT logo on the horn button.



So that's 1 job ticked off...!