New Fiat 126 BIS owner, Tring HERTS

[R1ANW]

Hi, just acquired a little Fiat 126 BIS, 1990 "H" Reg. Blue in colour.

Currently a white'ish blue as the paint has faded but i'm sure some T-Cut and elbow grease will get it gleaming.

The plan is to give it a mild "rat look" with white wall tyres, chrome hub cabs, lowered suspension,
roof rack.

Job #1 is to get it running, it's been sat for a few years and won't start. I'll start with the basics, spark plugs, HT leads etc.

Any suggestions where I can source tyres, hub caps, roof rack etc are most welcome.

Thanks in advance.

[Hazey-n-Marc]

Welcome, I like the sound of your project. 12 inch wheels are your best bet for chrome caps, search the forum for the rest, there are many opinions on how to go about lowering.

Marc

[Rusty's Uncle]

Wow another 126 owner near to me that is rare. I am just down the road in Chesham. Welcome to the forum 
I use the Old Dairy garage at Tring in fact one of my cars passed the MOT there this week.
Happy to pop over and cast an eye over your car. I also picked up an old gutter mounting roof rack last week which I was going to advertise on the forum. You could get first shout on it .

[kev126]

Welcome I'm into the rat look and stance scene as well

[R1ANW]

Thanks for the info.

"Rusty's Uncle", I've sent you a pm

Thanks

[Rusty's Uncle]

Met up with R1 & O2  today. Nice folks , dogs that did not bight me & a very low mileage Bis that will probably be one of the best with a polish and a new head gasket 

[R1ANW]

Thanks for coming around and taking us for a spin - really appreciated it 

We've been busy today

• Engine removed
• Body work fully detailed
• Brake fluid changed
• Copper Head Gasket ordered
• Engine Gasket set ordered
• Choke cable ordereded

Going to have a trawl of previous Forum posts to see if there are any preventative maintenance jobs we should be doing whilst engine is out - removal of thermostat seems popular.

Thanks

[wsmitwil]

Hello again, welcome to the club

One of the main things to do on a 126 is to clean out the oil filter

And Many bis owners have gone for an electric fuel pump, including me, after finding fuel that had leaked through the pump into the engine

[kev126]

Indeed! Remove the thermostat from the housing and put back on. Facet solid state fuel pump works wonders!

[chrisrhodesinlbz]

Hello there, another Fiat 126 owner in the area! I'm just up the road in Leighton Buzzard.

Chris

[R1ANW]

Cylinder Head removed and off to be skimmed at http://www.corrycylinderheads.co.uk/

Should have this back by Wednesday, copper head gasket and full engine gasket set has arrived.

I've ordered the Workshop Manual CD to get the torque settings right when I re-assemble.

Thermostat removed

Oil Filter removed and cleaned, going to try and get the engine looking mint before re-fitting

Thanks

[Pete126]

Great News as a subscriber you could have downloaded the manual from the subscriber section

[R1ANW]

Ahh 

Oh well only a few ££

[R1ANW]

Had my first drive of the 126 today (around the back garden)

Glad to report no leaks, no water in oil - ran like a dream 

Got it up to temperature - fan kicked in, happy days

Need to sort the timing and idling speed and then its MOT time

I tried fitting a new choke cable that I ordered (solid metal rather than bicycle gear type), it's about 12" to short. It says Fiat 126 of the plastic casing but i'm wondering either
 

• Have they shipped the wrong part - I have a water cooled BIS
• Am I routing it wrongly

Thanks in advance.

[Rusty's Uncle]

Hi Rian , I bet that the little engine is as sweet as a nut. I did think that it might be worth doing a coolant flush as there may be some sealant in the water system. If you have not sorted the choke cable I have one here that will do the job