Hi from new member in Staffordshire UK

[westfieldman]

Any tips on what to use to get the bumpers and side rubbing strips clean?   

[bis13]

well if you want them clean just give them a good scrub howver if you want them back to the original colour then you might have to respray them, i have found "back to black" to be as good as useless for this job and have always resorted to priming and spraying with paint.   

[Pete126]

In the past i have used a 50/50 mix of boiled linseed oil and white spirit with great results (available from your local DIY store) It Beat all the back-to-black treatments and lasts for months, use a sponge to put it on and rub in, The sponge side of a pan scrub is ideal, coat the bumpers and side protectors and smooth off, usually i go over them with an old nylon sock to make sure the coating is uniformed, Leave to dry overnight.
  Things to do if you use this method:
  Ware gloves. Its quite sticky.
  Don't use anything cotton as you will be picking the bits out for days
  Don't drive the car till its dry. Dust will stick to it

[1973/126]

 The only thing with the "Black" edition is, that it actually has grey plastic bumpers and covers, so your best bet is probably repainting.
 By the way I love this car. You`ll have to post up some better quality pics. You lucky, lucky man.
 http://img212.imagevenue.com/img.php?image=69019_schwarz-silber_1_fertig_122_411lo.jpg

[Pete126]

The above method will restore the bumpers and side protectors too there original colour whether they are grey, red, blue or black. If you want to change the colour the only alternative is to paint them.

[1973/126]

  I thought it`s supposed to make them black. It`s because I`m foreign Me no understand.

[Darrell]

That's a very rare car Tailights are diferent too. Has to be worth more than the average 126 because of this.

Hey 1973/126 me foreign too even more foreign than you, you at least from not too far away I put it down to the druid coming out in them. They just can't help standing around a pot and boiling something

[Pete126]

You buy Linseed oil at a DIY shop either Raw or Boiled Don't have to do any cooking and usually with the Wood Preservatives

[westfieldman]

Thanks for the tips guys - good stuff.

Took the sunroof off last night - who's idea was it to hold the rear of the cloth part in place with tiny nuts and bolts that are impossible to get to!!!  Found a very old box spanner that fitted perfectly in the end - but much fiddling was needed to get 6 nuts removed!  I am having two very small tears repaired where the hinge mechanism seems to foul the fabric - and strengthened to (hopefully) make sure it is a better job than the existing - seems to be a bit of a weak point....

I am taking her to a very good friend of mine  - who owns a body shop and is a pure genius with a spray gun - should come up looking like a new pin.  He has some ideas for the side strips and bumpers - which includes a special primer (v sticky apparently) and two pack top coat to take the mouldings back to their intended and original colour.  Wont be for a couple of months yet though...

I am struggling with adding pictures to this site - it appears that you have to make them so small to overcome the bandwidth limitations that the eventual picture is quite grainy.  Any suggestions as to what I am doing wrong??

Hoping to have her engine running this weekend - more pictures to come.   Fallen in love completely - so quirky but great fun to work on!!
   

[westfieldman]

Sorry - one last thing;

Where the hell is the horn?  It doesn't work - so I can't "peep" it to find it!!

[Rusty's Uncle]

The horn is located underneath at the front centre about 12" back. With regards to the painting I wondered if you should keep the original bumpers & side strips as they are so rare and try & source standard ones to be painted then the car can always be returned to original. 

[barkingwilhelmina]

Hi there, I have one of these special edition "black" 126's. I thought maybe I had the last UK one left, alas not. Yours is original and mine is actually a replica. I dragged one off a drive in Nuneaton, but when we go it back to Brighton it was far too far gone. There wasn't a single panel that didn't need replacing! I bought a decent one and painted it and transferred all the interior. I replaced my bumpers with NOS from Italy, they have some on ebay.it. Side strips are impossible to get, I have near side rear but still looking for all the others! I made up the graphics from vinyl off ebay, the nearest colour I could find was light brown. I cut the black lettering out with a scalple. However, FYI, there is a graphics kit available now, again it's on ebay.it for the black edition. 

Gearbox giving me jip at the mo. Black oily hands again this weekend!

My cousin had a black edition in the early 80s, it wasn't very old but already pretty rusty. She saved really hard to buy it and didn't have it long before it exploded on the oakham to melton road. She was none too impressed!

When i fathom out how to reduce file sizes on a mac book, i will post some pictures.

Enjoy, looks a real find!

[green-fly]

Love this car, a great find! Look forward to more pics

[Rusty's Uncle]

I think that I have got some side strips up in my shed , also got a spare front bumper 

[green-fly]

Wow..uncle, your the man!    What other goodies are in the back of that shed!?