'FIAT 126 1983 RARE BAMBINO EDITION'

[Jamiegt]

thanks for posting the flickr picture, you can clearly see the suspension is not standard and seller reply said the car comes with 2 sets of wheels one in steel and also alloys, anyway it seems to defo be the same car. going to have a look in an hour so i will report back.

ps this is not the car that was featured in practical classics it was a white/cream bambino and was around june 2009, i did stand and read the article in the showroom and it was recognised by PC, they seemed to know a lot about it.

[Hazey-n-Marc]

It does look nice.
Make sure you lookup how to tell country of manufacture from the vin (it is in the boot (front) under the wiper mechanism .
All 126's built after 1979 were made in Poland, regardless of specification or intended market.
The interior suggests it was originally a brown, plastic bumper car.
I just posted a photo of this very car before it was a special  edition .
I am sorry about ranting, but I really don't want to be the one who has to explain all this to the next owner.

Marc

[Hazey-n-Marc]

Are you sure it was practcal cassics? I went through every edition through 2008-2010. There were no 126's in 2009 that I could see.
I sent the seller the same picture!

[dajwid]

It will be great to hear what the car is like. I am sure the owner bought the car as a Bambino. There was a guy in London making Bambinos  
The only company in England making them. I remember my conversation with him very well.
I think the car may be one of his, official Bambinos  

As Marc says have a look at the Vin, although blank Vin plates sadly are very cheap to buy. I once nearly bought an Abarth 126 one for my last 126.

It will be interesting to know what engine mods have been carried out.

I am suprised the car has been dry stored for the last 11 years but the photo of the car on the road was in 2009 without any of the official Ferrari bits.

 

[Hazey-n-Marc]

The seller might do best by joining this club and working with us to get him the best price honestly.

[dajwid]

I found another Ferrari 126
http://www.classiccarsforsale.co.uk/classic-car-page/105650/1981-fiat-126/

It was owned by a former F1 driver too 

But not the same registration number.

[Jamiegt]

Just got back, firstly the owner is totally innocent, he is just selling it from the descrition of when he bought it, he is a really nice guy. secondly the car is italian and has all chassis plates and stickers in italian, and handbooks in italian, the paint is all original (i worked as a painter for 7 years) apart from the front panel which was painted due to stone chips, the chrome bumpers look original, most importantly it goes like a mad thing, i have owned 3 126s and this is much quicker especially in the mid range. The only problem i can find is the ride is very hard although it goes rounds bends really good.

he is taking a big loss on the car as he paid a lot more for it and its got to be one of the cleanest cars i have seen for a long time, dispite orgins of ferrari etc, i can only think it was built in 79 or 80 and left unregistered or reg in another country, also im pretty sure i have never seen a RHD polish built car has anyone got any idea if that is right or not.

[Jamiegt]

Ask the owner exactly what engine mody have been done. Post some Pictures, we will notice any external mods very quickly. Look underneath along sills for welding.

The car has been resprayed, so lots of repairs will have been covered up.

Look at the vin plate. Under front bonnet, rear left hand side.
If it is in polish tell the owner.

The car looks very nice, no one has denied that at all. Sadly the seller is not to be trusted by his replies to questions.

My price would be £2-2.5k that is top money for a Polish 126.

You can have mine and spares for £1000 but is needs love

DEFO NOT BEEN PAINTED....

[Hazey-n-Marc]

Mine is Polish built and right hand drive. The colour code stickers on mine are also in Italian, there are no other stickers on mine. Think the only differences on the vin are numerical.

If the VIN begins with:

SU-SZ Poland
ZA-ZR Italy

F for FIAT

Unless it is right hand drive, then for some reason the vin indicated Italian. My VIN is ZFA126A0003036461, which suggests Italian, but as it is a BIS, which only went into production in 1987 so the tooling for the rear end never existed in Italy, it must be Polish. This is probably for legal or tax reasons, the RHD's would have been shipped Via Italy I should Imagine.
I was hoping you would find the model year on the VIN, that would have solved the Italian Polish conundrum. Saying that, mine has a 0 for the year marker, which is apparently not used.

[dajwid]

Mine is a RHD Polish made car.

Is the guy going to have a look at the forum?

[Hazey-n-Marc]

Jamiegt, if you are so interested in this car shouldn't you be trying to put us off? Also where did you take it for a drive, the tax ran out in October!!!

Just found some more info. The chrome bumpers were only used on the base models in 82/83, the special models http://www.bvac.org.uk/Gimg019.htm had plastic bumpers. Never knew that before, thought all chrome bumpers for those years were retrofit.

Is this the one you saw before Dajwid? If it is we only have to find the beige one and we have all three!!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/keithallso/6622506643/
You can see where the plastic bumper mounts were!!! 1999 plates and manufacture, first registered 2010!!.
dvla sez:
The vehicle details for S872 NNV are:
Date of Liability   01 10 2013
Date of First Registration   02 07 2010
Year of Manufacture   1999
Cylinder Capacity (cc)   650cc
CO2 Emissions   Not Available
Fuel Type   PETROL
Export Marker   N
Vehicle Status   Licence Not Due
Vehicle Colour   RED
Vehicle Type Approval   Not Available

Every 2009 edition of practical classics, not a single featured 126.

[Jamiegt]

interesting stuff, im still unsure of wether im interested in the car to be honest, it sounds silly but i really want an italian car, everything seems to point to this being italian but you guys sound like you know best, i forgot to say i checked the sills and it has never been welded but it has been kept indoors for a long time.

[Jamiegt]

i remember the copy magazine feature was in the "ebay interesting cars" section, it was a long thin column, i thought it was a 2009 but may have been 08 it has been a long time since i read it.

[Jamiegt]

got to say the shift system works really well, i drove a 355 a few years ago that belonged to my boss and it felt really similar, not like any 126 i have ever driven.

it was really inspiring but im just not sure i want to spend that much on a car. i think if you guys saw it you would forgive all it is truly lovely.

[Hazey-n-Marc]

Have a look at wikipedia fiat 126.