WANTED: working Fiat 126 Aircooled engine

[Abiella]

Hi everyone,
Sorry I haven't been on here for a while, I have been moving house and sadly Satsuma is in the garage and has had his heart removed... his engine is not in good nick, several problems & cracks! and they are saying it's not worth fixing & I might aswell buy a new engine. 
If any of you know of any working engines wanting a new home then please let me know, I have seen several on eBay but thought I would ask around before I buy one...
There are some nice shiny ones on eBay  haha.
Hope you all had a good Christmas & New Year!

Abiella
 

[Bar Vitelli]

Hi Abiella, it might be worth a second opinion, depending on what is broke a rebuild could work out simpler and cheaper for an 'old school mechanic' and at least you know what you're getting.  I had mine rebuilt late last year and it's worked a treat.  Failing that you've done the right thing asking someone on here where to source one as the cheap ones on eBay probably have hidden problems.

[popik81]

http://allegro.pl/listing.php/search?category=50849&sg=0&string=fiat+126

they are from poland... price round 50 pounds.....

[Abiella]

Ok, so I have been thinking about buying a shiny, reconditioned engine.
This one is £995 on eBay, but as its on eBay and not from a reputable company, I can't be sure it's a good investment. I thought I would offer £900.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/121050057662?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649

Others have left him good feedback.

Ricambio do ones for around £1,200 not including delivery.
http://www.ricambio.co.uk/69-fiat/72-classic-fiat-126-parts/204-reconditioned-parts/1074-reconditioned-unleaded-engine--classic-fiat-500-126

If it's worth getting a reconditioned one, I'm willing to get one, I just don't want it to be a waste of money. I really wan't Satsuma live a nice long life!
I believe the engine has a crack Bar Vitelli, but Maybe I'll get someone to have a look. Ricambio take the old engines to be reconditioned so I may offer it to them.

there is a reconditioned one on the Polish site for £700, but don't know how much it would be to ship.

Any suggestions?
Thanks, Abiella

[Rusty's Uncle]

Got to agree with BarV in that you need to get a proper assessment of your engine and what the problem might be otherwise you might end up a bit like a lamb to the slaughter in the cash department . I am guessing that you are not able to identify the problem yourself as you need "someone to have a look".
These engine can do more than 100,000 miles if they are looked after and as you can see "shiny" does not come cheap 
I do have two spare 652ccs engines here. One came from a car that I drove 50 miles home about 15 years ago, put the car in my garage & removed the engine & gearbox. It had done about 40,000 miles. The other one is part of my engine rebuilding project I started last year when I started rebuilding 4 engines at the same time from bare crankcases. A standard 500 which is now sold, a special "500" which is now in my 500L , a standard 126 which I still have and a special 126 that is due to go in my 126 later this year 

[Abiella]

Hi Rusty,
well before Christmas, you might remember, I took the sump off after the engine wasn't working properly and found bits of metal but the rockers were fine and I couldn't see any damage, my plan was to take the engine out and do the work on it myself, but my parents sold their house, along with the heated shed so I lost my work space and decided to take it to a mechanic that was recommended by friends.
He has taken the engine out and taken it to a specialist who is the one who said it won't be worth fixing, he also mentioned the crack, but I'm not sure if its the crack in the cylinder head that has been there since I got the car.

(what happened after this thread http://club126uk.co.uk/smf/index.php?topic=7473.msg53241#msg53241 )

Oooh, what makes the special 126 one special?
Well, if you are looking to sell the one you are not using I might be interested. i'm just not sure what to do at the moment. 

I contacted someone who had bought a reconditioned engine off a seller last year on eBay, who is currently selling another one, to ask if the engine they got was sound and they replied with this;

'Hi Abiella
I haven't actually fitted the engine yet as I'm still working on the bodywork. Andy was very helpful and I'm confident that the engine will be fine. I've got a 650cc engine and gearbox which has been fully refurbished and converted to unleaded petrol etc for sale as I was doing 2 restorations but have decided not to complete one and concentrate on the better car. I would be happy to sell these for £750. Please let me know if you are interested and I will send you some photographs.
Thanks'

If they have two they should surely be on here! But maybe not.

That is pretty cheap for both if they are good condition.

[1973/126]

 Normally a good running engine goes for about £200-250 and a good gearbox for about £125-150. I`m not talking reconditioned, just in good working order.

 If he has a reconditioned engine and gearbox for £750(that`s how I understand it) it`s not a bad price.
 Just ask the seller some more questions about what exactly the full refurbishment consisted of.

[Rusty's Uncle]

If the engine & gearbox are what the guy says they are I would go for it but like the Lad says I would try and get some confirmation. I took a guy on trust a short time back and bought a "recon" engine for over £300 and it turned out to be a nightmare. I don't think he could repair a puncture in a bicycle let alone rebuild engines.
What makes a 126 engine special ? Well so far off the top of my head , alloy sump, Bis crankshaft, lighter flywheel, rebored to 662ccs, genuine Abarth camshaft and a tuned cylinder head worked by Middle Barton Garage. More bits to come when I get back on it and I must try not to blow it up within a week or two like last time 

[Bar Vitelli]

Hmmm...

It's tricky, and all I can go on is my experience of my own engine rebuild.

In my case one of the problems was the cylinder head and I was able to source a used part relatively cheaply which polished up well and at the same time buy a new set of engine gaskets for about £25.  I watched the chap who took the negine apart and obviously he knew what he was doing but there were relatively few parts and it looked like the whole thing (mine was a little bit more complicated) could be done in a day if it is only the cylinder head that needs sorting.

The key is finding an old school mechanic, who knows and enjoys what they are doing in which case their labour and the cost of parts should bring it all in under £400 perhaps?  Mine cost more because there was more to do.

[wsmitwil]

All I can say is my engine was off eBay for £30, 650cc from a fiat 500 that someone was putting a beetle engine in

And all I did was put new oil in and away it went

eBay can be good some times

[popik81]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/fiat-126-engine-/221178099163?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item337f3df5db

[Abiella]

Thanks guys,
It's looking a little more hopeful, The mechanic has decided he doesn't want to give up on my current engine just yet and is calculating the cost of reconditioning it, which is something I would have thought he would have already done but I'm pretty new to the world of cars!
If that doesn't work out I'm going to go for the engine and gear box after having a look at it.
Hopefully we will be at the RR gathering this year! 

[Hazey-n-Marc]

You still in Totnes? Thought I saw you were moving. might be a better suited mechanic, or a helpful club member near where you're moving to. You don't sound over confident with the mechanic you've got, and from what you're saying, he doesn't sound over confident with Satsuma.

Marc

[Abiella]

Hi Marc,
I was confident at first but he has had him for ages and i only just found out he hadn't done anything!
Lots of people I know use him and say he is great but I know of a mechanic not too far away who has several 126's and 500's so I might give him a go.

Yep moving to Bristol... closer to gatherings  but I'm scared of angry youths doing to Satsuma what happened to Beryl now. nothing like that happens in quiet Totnes but Bristol is another story!

[jackfinn2009]

hi i have a 126 garaged for ten years engine and gear box good runners may need slight attention