Club126UK
Welcome to the CLUB126UK Forum => Introduce Yourself => Topic started by: polonus on May 14, 2013, 07:59:04 AM
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Well... not quite yet, but it should be here in four weeks. It is in Bremerhaven now waiting for vessel to Charleston, SC.
I grew up in Poland. My first car was a 1936 Mercedes 170V - bought it in 1975. Not as a "oldie", or classic, but as a everyday transportation. Unfortunately this car wasn't reliable, so when my dad bought his first 126P year later, white 600cc, I sold Mercedes and "borrowed" dad's car.
Later we had another one, 650 and in 1981 I left Poland. Living here I had all kind of cars, including three Mustangs V8, Jeep Wrangler, etc. Now I have 600 hp supercharged M3 and... a Polski Fiat 126P.
I didn't see the car yet, my bro-in-law checked it and bought it for me. It is 1988 FL, no rust, only 45000 km. It will be only one of maybe five 126 in the USA. At list I know only about four others - possibly there are few more. but certainly not many. And I am planning to use it as a daily driver, alongside my Bimmer.
Few pictures of my car, I'll have more plus video when car actually will be here.
(http://www3.picturepush.com/photo/a/12515571/220/Cars/126-5.jpg) (http://picturepush.com/public/12515571) (http://www2.picturepush.com/photo/a/12515570/220/Cars/126-4.jpg) (http://picturepush.com/public/12515570) (http://www1.picturepush.com/photo/a/12515569/220/Cars/126-3.jpg) (http://picturepush.com/public/12515569) (http://www5.picturepush.com/photo/a/12515568/220/Cars/126-2.jpg) (http://picturepush.com/public/12515568) (http://www4.picturepush.com/photo/a/12515567/220/Cars/126-1.jpg) (http://picturepush.com/public/12515567) (http://www2.picturepush.com/photo/a/12622055/220/Cars/126-6.jpg) (http://picturepush.com/public/12622055)
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It must be quite a sight to see specially in the US where most American cars, particularly the older ones, are large. Just imagine, the little Fiat 126 next to those large American pickups. The wow factor over there will not just be cuteness etc, but also its rarity. Have you thought of importing more? Have fun!!!!
Perhaps I can send one to my brother.
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Welcome! I wish the best of luck for the import, it looks in nice condition
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Have you thought of importing more? Have fun!!!!
I have to see how it will go the first time. I am not sure how all the legal difficulties will be solved.
Car is over 25 years old, so is exempt from all US safety regulations, but to register car here title is required, and in Poland there is not such thing as a "title". However car is registered under my daughter's name and she will register it here too - so I hope the whole process will be relatively easy.
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First off, welcome! Im in Italy now but in about a year or so ill be heading to the US. Ill be shipping my 78 126 with me as well. Ill prolly be in Virginia for a while. Thats only about 2-2.5 hrs away from SC. We shold try to stay in contact and hit eachother up when i get there!
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We shold try to stay in contact and hit eachother up when i get there!
I hope to show my car at events like "Cars and Coffee" or similar ones, where car enthusiasts meet.
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Ive never heard of that, but, im down
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I've never been at Cars and Coffee, but I know in Charlotte there is a car enthusiasts meeting on regular basis. Unfortunately I have to work weekends now, but it may change in few months.
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Welcome here.
I invite you to join the Fiat 126 map and you will see there is an other fiat 126 in USA.
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Welcome here.
I invite you to join the Fiat 126 map and you will see there is an other fiat 126 in USA.
I sent you an email, you can add my car either as a "polonus" or "hiob".
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Thank you for your participation. You are now on the map.
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My car arrived today:
(http://www5.picturepush.com/photo/a/13351803/220/Cars/IMG-4245.jpg) (http://picturepush.com/public/13351803) (http://www4.picturepush.com/photo/a/13351802/220/Cars/IMG-4252.jpg) (http://picturepush.com/public/13351802) (http://www2.picturepush.com/photo/a/13351800/220/Cars/IMG-4253.jpg) (http://picturepush.com/public/13351800) (http://www1.picturepush.com/photo/a/13351799/220/Cars/IMG-4268.jpg) (http://picturepush.com/public/13351799) (http://www5.picturepush.com/photo/a/13351798/220/Cars/IMG-4271.jpg) (http://picturepush.com/public/13351798) (http://www4.picturepush.com/photo/a/13351797/220/Cars/IMG-4273.jpg) (http://picturepush.com/public/13351797) (http://www2.picturepush.com/photo/a/13351795/220/Cars/IMG-4275.jpg) (http://picturepush.com/public/13351795) (http://www1.picturepush.com/photo/a/13351794/220/Cars/IMG-4278.jpg) (http://picturepush.com/public/13351794) (http://www5.picturepush.com/photo/a/13351793/220/Cars/IMG-4279.jpg) (http://picturepush.com/public/13351793) (http://www4.picturepush.com/photo/a/13351792/220/Cars/IMG-4281.jpg) (http://picturepush.com/public/13351792) (http://www3.picturepush.com/photo/a/13351791/220/Cars/IMG-4283.jpg) (http://picturepush.com/public/13351791) (http://www2.picturepush.com/photo/a/13351790/220/Cars/IMG-4284.jpg) (http://picturepush.com/public/13351790)
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Congrats! Looks like she arrived in one piece!!
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Congrats! Looks like she arrived in one piece!!
Yes, and she is in great shape, for her 25. I did several movies with her for YouTube, (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b17D2kug1lg&list=PLDsfSn0DCIGKVlcsPOpcIy2sfS5g46h8I) in Polish, and after five days two of them had over 70 thousand viewers each. :o :D I think I need to make one more in English to introduce that car to Americans. :)
BTW mine was made in Tychy plant, where the new 500 is made now, but in the USA 500 comes from Mexico. However the new new 500, in 2015, will be made only in Poland, so we will have more Polski's here. ;)
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Nice. Care to elaborate on the details of getting it to America? Like how much it cost to get it from Poland to the states, what shipper you used, how hard it was to actually get it registered. I've just started the the research process to import a 126p from Poland to New York City and while it doesn't seem too daunting, it would be nice to hear from somebody who actually experienced the process.
My wife is Polish (grew up in Białystok), we spend a month in Poland every year and I fell in love with the little cars. Now I want one. Plus, I can't wait to see the looks on the faces of my in-laws when we pull up in maluch.
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For transporting my Fiat from Krakow to Bremerhaven I hired local Polish broker, Adam Florczak, [email protected] , http://www.lordbereus.pl/ He charged me 600 zlotys, or about 175 US$ for that.
From Bremerhaven to Charleston, SC it was Trans Global Auto Logistics, http://www.tgal.us It was about 1550 US$ plus $450 for the Charleston - Charlotte leg. I highly recommend both companies, they did good job.
When I went to DMV office first time, I had very unpleasant experience. Lady "at the window" was rude and everything was "NO!". She was maybe 75 years old and just didn't know what to do with gray market car. However she gave me list of things I need to have.
Some of the forms they need do not apply to vehicles over 25 years old, but they needed some forms from customs, proof of ownership (Polish registration was sufficient, since there is not such think as a "title" over there), proof of liability insurance (we called number of agencies, some of them do not insure gray market cars, others are very expensive, but State Farm insured this car for a 228 dollars for 6 months). Car had to be also inspected by state officer, who checked VIN number (it is located in front, on the trunk floor) and basic safety devices, like lights and wipers etc.
Our car was bought in Poland by my daughter and register there, so here we transfer the ownership of that car right at the DMV office, at the window. It was at our second visit there. This time we where lucky, we had nice young girl at the window, who also had no idea what to do with us, but she was very helpful. She called someone, she faxed our papers, and just two hours later I left this office with new NC licence plate in my hand. I also ordered personal plate "Fiat126P", which came by mail few weeks later.
(http://www5.picturepush.com/photo/a/13503068/640/Rejestracje/IMG-4746.jpg) (http://picturepush.com/public/13503068)
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when i bring my 126 back, im going to put classic insurance on it. have you looked into that? it should be very cheap per year!
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I don't think it would be much cheaper than one dollar and quarter per day I pay now and that kind of insurance usually has some limitations. I am driving my 126P every day (if is not broken ;D ) and probably I would put too many miles on that car to qualify for that kind of insurance.
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Thats a very nice plate haha!!
Looks good although $2000 is alot to get it there? :o
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Thats a very nice plate haha!!
Looks good although $2000 is alot to get it there? :o
:o Plate like that costs about 30 dollars, $2000 I paid for bringing rest of the car from Poland to the USA. ;)
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Thank you so much. I appreciate the details. I assumed it was going to be way more expensive to float the little fiat over. Everyone i talked to came up with ridiculous stories about shipping cars (a friend sent hers from Cali to Hawaii and paid 3 grand).
I do believe I'll be buying a car when we spend our month in Poland in january. ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
Then the fun of making it fast begins......
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Polonus, I am new here but I replied to one of your videos on Youtube before. For insurance in the US check out Hagerty Insurance (www.hagerty.com), they especialize in classic, rare, collectible, vintage and odd cars. As long as you have another car that is considered a daily driver and insured with another company (like your M3) they will most definitely insure your 126. Their rates are incredibly low for eligible cars.
I am currently looking to buy a 126 too, and I think I will get a cheaper, newer 126 at first, to see what it will be like living with a 23 hp car. I have owned 40-50 hp cars before and I am fine with that, but I want to make sure I can deal with 23 hp before committing to a more expensive, older 126. On Thursday I am going to look at two 126s, both of them in Germany but with Polish papers and tags, one is a 1999 126P, the other a 2000 126 Town. They are advertised for 560 and 600 Euro, respectively. One has 56,000 km, the other has 100,000 km. Both are in excellent shape as their owners tell me. We'll see...
If I do indeed like owning a 23 hp and figure that is something I can live with, I reckon next year I will look for an older air cooled car in better shape, and spend more money on a 25+ year old car, and import it into the USA when I return home in 2015. I am in Germany with the US Army and have a bit over a year left here. Perhaps a tiny Fiat will follow me home!
I learned to drive on a Fiat 147 (Brazilian market 127), and our car had 46 hp. The 147 is bigger and heavier than the 126, so I imagine I will be OK with the performance of the 126.
Now, if anyone here can point me to a 126 buyer's guide...
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Polonus, I am new here but I replied to one of your videos on Youtube before. For insurance in the US check out Hagerty Insurance (www.hagerty.com), they especialize in classic, rare, collectible, vintage and odd cars. As long as you have another car that is considered a daily driver and insured with another company (like your M3) they will most definitely insure your 126. Their rates are incredibly low for eligible cars.
You right, looks like I'll pay less per year for full coverage (5 000 dollars car value) then I'm paying now for 6 months just for liability insurance.
I will get a cheaper, newer 126 at first, to see what it will be like living with a 23 hp car. I have owned 40-50 hp cars before and I am fine with that, but I want to make sure I can deal with 23 hp before committing to a more expensive, older 126.
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I learned to drive on a Fiat 147 (Brazilian market 127), and our car had 46 hp. The 147 is bigger and heavier than the 126, so I imagine I will be OK with the performance of the 126.
It is a quite different experience to drive a 127 and 126. I drove 60 HP Fiat 125p, which was much heavier then 127, and Fiat 850 with 40 HP engine - they both felt much stronger then 126, specially 125p. However I use 126 now every day and have no problems in traffic in Charlotte as long as I'm not entering any freeway. Fiat 126 is quite comfortable (as far as the engine performance goes) if you travel up to 45-50 mph. But remember: there is no power steering and no power brakes. Brakes are week, steering is heavy and has to be lubricated every 5000 km or so
Now, if anyone here can point me to a 126 buyer's guide...
Look for rust - everywhere. Everything else is easy to fix and most parts are still available. In Poland they dirt cheap, in the USA more expensive, but still available, at http://mrfiat.com/index.php?car=Fiat&type=Fiat%20500 Those are for 500 Nuova, but most mechanical parts will fit 126.
And when you will be tired of driving 23-hp car, you can relatively easy swap engine. One of the easiest ways is to put VW Beetle engine in it, with transmission. Many modified engines are available in the USA and they will fit if you know knowledgeable mechanic. Look at this project:
http://www.racingforum.pl/index.php?showtopic=98489
It is in Polish, but you can see pictures. Car has 2,4 liter VW Beetle air-cooled engine with 200 HP.
When I registered my car they didn't put any engine info - neither in registration nor title. Registration and title says only: MAKE/SERIES: FIAT; STYLE: 2S; FUEL: G. So if I swap engine, as long as it will be "gasoline" engine, I guess I don't have to even inform about it anybody. In Poland everybody knows how Fiat's engine looks like, here they have no clue and you can always tell that engine you have now is the original car's power mill. :D