Club126UK
For Sale & Wanted => Wanted: => Topic started by: classicfan on August 23, 2013, 08:22:01 PM
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hi folks,
i currently seek my first fiat 126 if anybody knows where i can find a nice one.
i would prefer a british rhd as opposed to a lhd import, but would not rule an import out.
air cooled preferably
i dont mind a 126 that needs a bit of work doing to tidy up as thats part of the fun of owning any classic
but i do need a 126 with tax/mot so i can still get to work and back whilst i restore the car ( at the moment i have no car at all to get to work in)
as i write this i have £1000 to spend, but the longer i search for the right 126 the more this sum of money will rise.
anybody wishing to sell, please let me know and i will prepare the bandage's for when i bite your hand off for it. :D
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Any particular 126 you're after? Year, water or aircooled, chrome or plastic bumper, etc...?
Good luck with the search, there are good cars out there. £1000 is tight for a roadgoing non import model.
Marc
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hi marc
looking at late 70's or 80's car
prefer an air cooled but would'nt rule out a water cooled.
not too fussed about the rest as i will try to achieve a concourse restoration job and replace anything that needs replacing.
im a bit of a purist when it comes to cars and would keep the car 100% standard/original with no mod's
the main thing 1st is that i can use the car daily before i start the restoration work.
ive spotted a polish import fresh into the uk on polish plates ( lhd is a draw back)
is it simple to make the car a uk citizen? ive never owned an import before so dont know if the mot would be valid here or how easy/hard it is to register the import with the dvla?
thanks in advance for any advice on these issues.
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Flat side 126's (FL's) are not made as well, worse steel, not as sought after. They were not made for export so do not have a compliance certificate. Some have been registered over here. If it isn't registered I would be suspicious. Foreign MOT equivalents are not worth the paper they are printed on, there is a chap on here who lived in Poland who knows that mot's are available over the phone there. It's the same as cars advertised as "no mot, easy to get through" if they are so easy to register why hasn't it been done. I wouldn't get a post 1992 car due to the export thing.
Both aircooled (hairdryers) and watercooled (goblin teasmades) need regular servicing. As long as you keep on top of it neither should be less reliable than the other. The BIS (teasmade) is a bit more refined, bit more powerful, has slightly better MPG and a boot, the hairdryers sound nicer and are a bit more sought after as export models finished in 1987.
Be prepared for teething problems, 30'000 miles seems to be the magic number, but does mean that they have been sat around a lot, they really don't like that.
Others can guide you through the import thing, I have never done it either.
Aircooled has slightly better parts availability.
All are very easy to work on.
Marc
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thanks for the info marc, i will put it to good use.
one of the main reasons i like classics is because they are easy to work on, my wife has a ford fiesta 16v 1998, its one of the most modern cars we have owned, i tried to change the n/s headlight bulb the other week and failed!!! had to get the garage to do it in the end ( mainly because i couldnt be bothered with it)
to replace the bulb the front grill has to come off, remove the whole headlight just to remove the holder at the back of the light!!!
my series11 landrover was like a big meccano kit, as long as you label everything so you know what goes where ( impossible to remember a year after you took it to pieces) you cant go wrong.
a freind of mine stripped his series11 down to a rolling chassis in 1 weekend, take me that long to change an oil filter on the wifes fiesta lol.
think i may forget about an import unless its been sorted and used in the uk already .
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Good luck with your search , a few of us drove back past Oxford last Sunday on the way back from Retro Rides , shame you missed us :D
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gutted rusty, would have loved to check out your cars.
ive tracked down a 126 , 1984, rhd.
i dont know anymore about it than that at present
appart from its parked up in a workshop a few miles from my home, its had some restoration work but dont know to what extent or standard and its not being driven at all.
and it was bought for an older lady who dosent like driving it.
i dont even know if its for sale or not yet but will find out more within the next 2 weeks.
fingers crossed.
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Welcome To the club ;D
not many old cars out there might be a struggle to find a good one for the age, and price
but you never know keep an eye out on ebay and you might find a bargain
Will
;D ;D ;D
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Loving that new Avatar, Will, very posh! 8)
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Loving that new Avatar, Will, very posh! 8)
Cheers Gary ;D
Took a bit of doing
;D ;D ;D :D
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This looks to be a good one, he has it advertised elsewhere for £1000. That is a good price if it is as good as it looks.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FIAT-126-BIS-1991-RED-A-piece-of-motoring-history-/181204083510?pt=Automobiles_UK&hash=item2a309ae336
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well spotted marc, i was looking at that one last night on ebay, (added it to my watch list) i think its on auto trader website too.
ive got myself all confused last few days, i set my heart on an air cooled but not so sure now, if i buy a teasmaid i may regret not going down the air cooled route.
your right it does look sweet in the photo's and its not far from oxford either.
if i let it pass will i regret not snapping it up???
being a 1991 model will i be able to show it at retro rides as i soooooo want to turn up there next time round.
also found a 1999 model in london (ealing) not interested tho, too new. £1050 if anybodys interested.
think i need to get my head together and decide exactly what im looking for, just to throw another spanner in the works im now wondering if a lhd import is such a bad option.
i mean i have no issue sitting in the passenger seat and changing gear with right hand, only thing on my mind is lhd is less desirable if i decided to sell on, also less value than a rhd.
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A RHD teasmade is worth more than most lhd's, certainly one from this side of 1987. If you are close enough go and have a look. The BIS is more practicle and a bit faster as standard. I think the £1000 BIS is underpriced by at least £500.
Marc
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thanks for the insight marc, im going to call the seller tomorrow and see if he/she can talk me into going for a test drive.
i will be sure to let you know how it goes.
what should i check for marc?
rust always worry's me the most with any classic/retro car as i dont weld myself (i do all/most of the mechanical stuff) so will pay particular attention to hunt any patch's or hole's and old repair jobs
ive heard i should check the floor pans under the carpet if poss, but i should be able to see floor pan hole's from underneath the car with the help of a ball point pen.
best take the magnet with me for the well hidden repairs too.
take care, kev
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The spare wheel well is always a good indicator as well as the sills and swing arms. Body wise, the bottom corners of the windscreen, leading top edge of the front wings, door bottoms and to a lesser extent at the bottom of the door windows, and the rear hatch at the bottom of the window. There are other things to check, but for that money I wouldn't get over picky, head light reflectors, seats, light bolts, etc.
1st and reverse will be noisy (straight cut gear(, the other gears should be a struggle to hear, remember there is no synchro on 1st so do not try to engage it whilst in motion, an oil change will often sort this. Gear shift should be quite intuitive, searching could be an issue but could also be a loose bolt or the linkage put on the wrong side.
Sticky accelerator pedal is no real problem, sticky return on the second choke is a bit more annoying but very sortable.
Clunking on acceleration is sortable (gerabox mounts or flexi couplings/missing spring in drive flange).
Do all of the usual checks, these aren't the most reliable cars out there, but it sounds like you know what end of a hammer does what. If it isn't rotten and got no obvious mechanicle maladies it should be a good one.
Marc
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Very cheeky question but how old are you?
I'm 23 and insuring my import is a ball ache every year. I get quotes for £1300+ from all the regulars, Adrian flux etc. I know I don't live in the greatest area but come on, more pounds than cc's? No thanks.
I managed to convince a nice gentleman at Lancaster insurance to do it for £300 but it took some finding and i have no doubt that as usual the renewal will come through at £1 000 000.
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That insurance is crazy! Im 27 and I pay about $360 every 3 months here in Italy. When I get back to the U.S. with the 126, im looking at about maybe $100 per year! I wonder why it costs so much for you guys and gals in the UK???
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I'm 34, my wife is 31 but only been driving two years. Car is actually hers so insured in her name, parked on the street and she is a bar manager, I am a named driver. £240 fully comp.
Marc
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Marc, is that classic insurance? I can't get a classic policy until I'm 25.
First thing I'm going to do when I'm 25 is buy a massive v8 :D
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Not classic, think it is with Swinton via a comparison site.
Marc
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I was 22 when I insured my BIS and it cost me £349 fully comp with Churchill.
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try Lancaster My 126 I used to pay about £90 a year
or try http://www.hagertyinsurance.co.uk/ there is a very nice little value my classic part too.
My austin is now a whopping £101 a year fully com with Hagerty
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thanks for the info marc, ive printed your post off so i can make a tick list of things to check when i go to look at a car.
i will have £1,200-£1,300 saved by the end of this week so the fund is going up, unfortunatly so is demand for it, thanks to the local "king john" council, chasing me through the shire after taxes.
ive also put my shotguns up for sale to help finance a 126, this should give me £500-£600 extra to spend.
would help a great deal if i could flog my lorry horse box too, its never used anymore.
wonder if i would get away with selling the wife on ebay?? that would add another £50 to the fund, shame my grandmothers dead, a pair are worth more lol.
im 40 yrs old so will expect insurance under £100 pa, car will be garaged in a "low risk" area for theft and vehicle crime.
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You could use the horse box as a garage for the 126.
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it would fit too, only problem is the horse box is parked at the stable yard where she keeps her horse,
5 miles away.
just been told the lorry needs new battery's now too!!! ( #1 tip, never buy a lorry)
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Lived in a 1965 Bedford VAS1 Duple Bella Vista, mechanically brilliant, wood worm was problematic though.
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brilliant, love it.
i lived in a ford A510 ambulance , wich i converted into a camper, for 8 months, i didnt realy need to live in it but i was young at the time and it was cool living on my freinds farm yard with the cows and chickens as neighbours.
i planned to travel around a little bit with it, but it was sooooo heavy on fuel i could only afford to drive it for like 20 miles at a time. ( 2.8l petrol transit engine i think)
i wanted to build the horsebox into a camper ( more like 5 star mobile hotel lol) but the mrs wouldnt hear of it, wish i did now , it would be worth a lot more than its current form.
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I will have a 1980 low mileage deville up for sale soon. Really good runner, lovely engine and good all round car. Will appear in the for sale section soon.
Regards,
Tom
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With regards to insurance, as I'm 19 it cost me £2300...
Id love 1300 ha
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£2300 :o :o That's what I got quoted for my very tuned ex police 24v dual ram 3litre Senator when I was 22!!