Club126UK
Fiat 126 Chat => Your Restorations => Topic started by: Blonde126 on May 29, 2011, 12:04:11 AM
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My little 126 is called Bert, and it's not a huge project, but there's still going to be some changes :)
So here he is when I first got him, near the end of April:
I've polished him up (took me around 6/7 hours of hard polishing by hand!) including under the bonnet. And you may of noticed his wheels - a set of 127 wheels - don't know if this has been done before? But I love them :D
UPDATE:
I've (with help from me dad) removed the front bumper and replaced it with a chrome one. Also removed some of the black trim, and also the door cards (in order to access the screws) and the badges. Also added an air freshener to perk him up a bit :P
UPDATE:
Well I've been unsure about what to do with the colour, but I think I'm keeping it as with the chrome bumpers it looks very nice :) Here's a rubbish photoshop of how it will hopefully turnout, again I'm unsure about stickers, but mods are limited due to insurance :'( P.S. Wheels may be painted a lighter silver, but again I'm unsure yet...I've just passed my test this morning and obviously want it on the road asap!
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Looks great, nice wheels.
(I admit to trying to see all the interesting cars in the background) :$ where is it you work?
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It's my dad's workshop where I sometimes help out :)
Here's the link to the website: http://www.rodandcustombodyshop.co.uk/
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:cry: Looks great, you lucky sod!!!!!
I suffer in a tiny garage full of 'home junk'.
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Great little car, I agree loving the background cars 126 looks a little out of place!!
marc
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Haha I know! It gets moved about the poor thing to make way for other cars that come in and out but I feel really lucky that I have somewhere to store a car until I can use it, otherwise I wouldn't have Bert (something not worth thinking about!). He doesn't take up much room anyway :lol:
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Awesome car loving the wheels keep the updates rolling in!
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Hello. We're also in the North-East. Once our 126 has an MOT I may bring it along to your workshop for a quote for a bit of bodywork.
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Your car looks in very good nick. It has the same colour as mine. The 127 wheels looks perfect on the car!!!
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Small update added! Plus I've passed my test this morning WOOP!
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Well done with your test :thumbup
After checking your dad`s website,I`m sure the car will look great.
I like the idea of the black pillar, would look nice with some tinted windows.
Keep up the good work and the photo updates...
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Many Congrats , you must be over the moon about the test ;D
When I passed my test it was sometime after the guy had to walk in front of your vehicle with a red warning flag but before they stopped the requirement for hand signals.
My daughter kept on failing her test and cost me a fortune until she started paying for herself , passed first time then :$
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Good news...he passed his MOT!!!
Over the past few months we've replaced the engine and sorted the kingpins out etc, and he failed his MOT earlier on in the week on emissions and corroded brake pipes (although it turned out after a wipe clean they were fine). The emissions were probably down to the fact the second hand engine hadn't ran for a while, and the fuel tank was running low which didn't help either, so with a top-up of fuel and a good run later he passed :D :D :D
I've just paid for the insurance and I'm camping outside the post office tomorrow morning to pay for the road tax. It's fantastic how it's worked out because we've been given the day off 6th form for study leave while the rest of the school farts on doing something else, and let's just say this 'study leave' will be spent wisely, though not on A levels... :oops:
I can't wait to drive the little bugger :P I haven't drove since I passed my test (5 months ago), plus tomorrow is Friday the 13th so I hope it goes well :-
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Well done! Belated congratulations on passing you driving test. Did you do anymore external modifications to your car?
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Thank you very much!
And I decided not to make any more modifications other than the wheels, but maybe some time in the future when insurance goes down I might :)
Also I have a question, I've driven it around a little bit but find the clutch is stiff and needs a bit of force to engage - is this normal? It might just be when I was last driving I was used to a modern car.
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Now look here Blondie , is that all you have got to say about your inaugral run ;)
As for the clutch. The car will feel different from any driving school car that might have got you through your test but if you think that the clutch is too stiff it might be worth checking that the short section of outer cable between the rear bulkhead and the location bracket on the gearbox is properly located and has a free run , ie not crimped .
Happy motoring :)
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Haha Bert is fantastic to drive, but at the moment I'm just nervous, it feels like I'm learning to drive all over again it's been that long ???
I will have a look sometime probably tomorrow I'll see if I can get my dad to look at it, especially since today when I was parking it I felt like I had loads of force on the clutch but the gear still made a grinding noise :(
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Does it make grinding noise on all the gears, or just first?
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Today when I was parking it was first and reverse, and the car wasn't moving when I engaged first as I know first isn't syncro-meshed ???
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Correct me if I am wrong, the Bis first and reverse gears are synchromeshed. So there should not be any grinding/crunching/grating noises when shifting into these gears. As for the clutch, it should feel no different to a normal car, certainly that is the case with my Bis. Check out the clutch cable as Rusty suggested. The clutch cable may also need some adjusting.
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Correct me if I am wrong, the Bis first and reverse gears are synchromeshed. So there should not be any grinding/crunching/grating noises when shifting into these gears.
Not on mine 1991 Bis.. :)
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Well the clutch has most definitely eased up! I think it's because the poor car has been out of regular action for well over a year, as when we bought him last April his MOT had ran out, and the tax was just about gone too, and the bloke we bought it off said it hadn't been started up properly for a while if I recall correctly that is, my memory is known to be poor... ???
I took him out for a spin tonight, and apart from one of my P plates flying off (I'm putting them on even though I've been passed 6 months because it's the first time I've drove since, and with it being a world away from the car I passed my test in I'm bound to make mistakes), and I think managing to spray a bit of petrol everywhere when filling up, Bert is a joy to drive :D
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Looks great. I don't think the BIS has synchro on first - mine doesnt either. But the clutch action is nice and light. In my opinion from owning a 126 and a Cinquecento I would say fiat really know how to set the basic controls of the car really nicely - steering, pedals, gearchange. After that.......
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Hey everyone,
thought I'd let everyone know, that I've taken the difficult decision to remove poor Bert from the road. Unfortunately, he developed a hole in the floor, which upon closer inspection after returning home for the summer for uni it turned out the floor was nearly falling out :S
HOWEVER
I am keeping him of course! The plan is, is to restore him. I've already got several body panels, and basically me and my dad will work on him whenever we can. I know you may be thinking there's another Fiat 126 which will never get restored and will be sold as a project or whatever, but seriously, that's not going to happen. I'm extremely lucky to have a building in which to keep my car without any cost, and I start a part time job soon, of which although is a Christmas temp, I'm hoping to be kept on so that I can earn money to put towards Bert :)
Also I have now got a Fiat Grande Punto which I bought last month, but won't have it on the road til January, as this is when the insurance on Bert runs out (might as well wait a couple of more months to earn a guaranteed 2 years no claims bonus!). So yeah, there's the latest update!
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Stick with it, I got my 126 in 2009 & only just got it back on the road!! If it is just time & space & you have both then it is well worth all the hastle & swearing!! ;)
Marc
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I agree, check out ChrisDeVille's thread as he has similar floor issues to yourself on his red car so will be able to help you understand what might be involved...
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http://club126uk.co.uk/smf/index.php?topic=8457.0
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Don't worry, my resto is taking forever too. It all comes down to cash, space and time at the end of the day!
Tom
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Not a Fiat but I bought a car in 1976 that had been off the road for over 10 years and was in bits. I stripped it to a bare chassis then on & off over a period of over 20 years I got it back up to a running chassis but the ash framed coachbuilt body was a bit beyond me and I finaly sold it on to a guy who wanted a retirement / millenium project. Work did not go as he planned but it finaly came together after about 40 years of being off the road. The car was a subject of a 4 page article in The Automobile magazine a year or two back so I am sure that Bert will get back to good health. Just hang on in there and keep the faith :)
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Yeah pm me if you need to know anything
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Thanks everyone :)
I just wished I had easy access to him; I'm at uni at the minute in Carlisle, which although is only 65-70 mile away, I can't keep popping back and forth, so really any work that I can do with my dad will be over the summer (providing a job doesn't intervene with this spare time!).
But I love Bert, so I don't care if it takes 50 years haha (well, obviously the sooner the better but you know...)