Should I change the engine or not

[davidmi]

Hi

I'm currently in the market for a car and have my heart set on a nice fiat 126, the advert says its a 1980 model with the 594cc engine. I have never owned a fiat 126 before and I would like to know if there are any problems to look for or expect from this car.

Also I live in Malta, more specifically in Gozo which has very steep roads and I'm afraid the engine doesn't have enough torque to get it up at a reasonable speed. Are there any fiat engines, preferably injection, that fit on the same mountings?

Could someone give me a hand with this

Thank you

[Rusty's Uncle]

Thje 126 would be a good choice and the 594ccs engine can be easily replaced by a 652ccs engine . Then just have a good look around the many sites for tuning parts and the speed that you can go up hills will be in proportion to the size of your wallet 

[davidmi]

so it would be better to locate one with a bigger engine already fitted, as for the tuning I would not want to over tune the engine just something simple, or it would ruin the feel of the car as far as I'm concerned.

By chance are there any other engines such as a 1.0 liter engine that can fit the car cause I saw one for sale and the bloke selling it said it was standard, from the research I have done there are only 3 engines that were fitted on the 126 a 594cc, 652cc, and 704cc. I suspected it was fitted after but have no idea what it was taken from

[Rusty's Uncle]

Your research re engine size is spot on but the 704ccs is the water cooled version. The air cooled can be expanded to 795ccs at cost but all other larger conversions would take a lot of modification and involve a water cooled engine. But hey what you lack in performance with the smaller engines is more than made up by the character of the car. Also I am not sure about Malta but a good original 594ccs 126 is a real classic now in the UK.

[davidmi]

Yeah basically the main reason I want one is cause it looks great and has character and they are becoming classics as well in malta its very hard to find one for sale
thanks a lot mate you've very helpful

[dajwid]

Buy it 

Drive it for a short while and then decide if you want to buy a 650 engine (not a massive difference in the real world).

remember swapping for the 650cc engine in a really easy job.