1973 fiat 126

[stevenspeedy126]

Hello fellow small FIAT fans,
Advice/help needed with my perky air cooled 126.Do they overheat (not BIS) and if so what are the signs(no guage).Mine has run fantastic for 1800 miles this summer/autumn.Only did 11 miles the previous year with the last owner.Car drives great for long periods then suddenly decides to go all jerky on me and feels like it is going to cut out though it never does.last time it did this i pulled over and found that one of the plug caps had come loose.fixed it on tightly,set off and did about 2 miles only for it to start playing up again.this time the plug caps were still on tightly yet the car was spluttering when i tried to accelerate.I stopped for a couple of minutes and turned off the engine.When i started the car up again there was no problems and i drove home the last 1.5 miles with no problems.plugs look fine.I have fitted new HT leads,new distributor cap.All earth connections seem fine.
    Any pointers anybody.I am sure this is not a unique problem.
    Regards
    Steven (Morley,Leeds)

[MaLi]

Hi there and welcome on forum!

Maybe check the gap between valves and levers. When they are too small, valves do not close properly on the hot engine. I would take the carburator out as well and give it a good clean and set up everything according to service book.

If I am not clear in describing things please ask me again as english is still a foreign language for me.

Cheers

Mali

[ChrisRLewis]

Hi and welcome to the forum

It could be many things...possibly the condenser they are only a few quid so its worth changing.
If you are suspecting that the engine is overheating, have you checked the thermostat flap to see if it is working ok?

Chris Lewis