@shapesart2701
In Poland 126p used to be converted into a rally car with all required efforts. Same 650 cc engine uplifted to 50-55 bhp, cage, better suspension. I had one but didn't complete this conversion in full. But enough to enjoy 70 mph through a forest with roaring sound behind my back. This was usually a first rally car for many decent rally drivers like Janusz Kulig (RiP).
@ve2vfd
You mention how light the 126 was, it reminded me a few winters ago in Florida I saw someone carrying a 126 in the back of his pickup truck. :)
@AndrzejJakubczyk
We regularly used to take one of our teachers' "Maluch" and put it between the trees at the primary school in the last year, so as she couldn't drive it without lifting it back to the street :) It takes 8 kids to lift it up and move a few meters down the street :)
@--Lam
Here in Poland we used to say the 126p is just as safe as any other car - the crumple zone ends at the engine! (It was literally the most unsafe car since the Ford Pinto... in a front collision driver's and passenger's legs were crushed) PS. It's Bielsko Biała, "bia-wah". Also "ch" in "Maluch" is just a soft "h".
@AndiKravljaca
Imagine the scene. It's in the Eastern block, in the middle of the 1980s. My parents, myself, my aunt, and my two cousins, along with our luggage, went on a 250 mile trip to the seaside. In a 126. Six people. And luggage. Times were different back then!
@bigcahoonaburger8550
This car was my aunts first car. She was a nurse and used to come down from Scotland in it. I remember it was like sitting in a biscuit tin, smelt very strong of petrol and made my 5yr old head rattle above 40mph. God only knows how she drove it all over the country!
@simonhodgetts6530
My uncle had a 126 - it was great fun, although my grandad once had to get out when we attempted a steep hill. We had to wait at the top whilst he walked up the hill…..I loved it ! We called it the FIAT fartbox!
@paulkosoff8851
This plastic caravan N126, manufactured in Niewiadów, Poland, was exported to the UK under different names - and it was the caravan used to create an airship in Top Gear! BTW: Polish city is Bielsko-Biała (pronounced ...Bya-wa)
@theblackhand6485
Some extra things to mention are: - When production of the FIAT Cinquecento started the non painted 126 bodies had to wait outside the factory. These 126 bodies once build and sold rusted the moment you laid your eyes on it. They were mainly sold in Poland. Some ended up in other east European countries. - The body of the 126p was raised a bit if compared with the one build in Italy. The mounting brackets which hold the front suspension leaf were thicker. The coil springs on the rear might have bin longer as well. Not sure about this one. - Some owners mounted a by there feet operated electrical pump to spray screen wash on the windscreen. So there hands could stay on the steering wheel. A lot saver way to drive. - A particular edition, probably the Personal 4, came with square rear lights. Similar as a MINI of that era. - The 126 original came with a 600 and 650 cc air cooled engine. Later Steyr designed and build a boxer like air cooled flat two cilinder. This engine was a bit smaller Dan the 650 cc unit, but it produced more hp. Very nice to climb the Austrian mountain passes. - The 126 BIS (Bis) had a 704 cc water cooled flat engine. In some countries a bit lesser in cc due to regulations. - In 1973 to '75 Abarth experimented with the 126 engine and wanted to realize a FIAT ABARTH 126. Only two prototipo's were build. Both from bodies build in Poland. One suppose to be in Italy and one in Poland. So far one knows these cars are lost. Vanished. The developments around the FIAT ABARTH 126 stopped because of the engine with 770/775cc could not handle all the extra power Abarth got out of it. Remember this was engine was of an old design and needed to be modified badly. From Lavazza (Piero) came a new redesigned cilinder head which by now had a two port inlet. This increased power straight away. The engine at first had a 30 DIC FIAT 850 Spider carb. But later on ABARTH added a horizontal mounted carb. Probably a Weber 40 DCOE. But a smaller one from the LANCIA Fulvia build by Solex could also be used by ABARTH. This engine, in first, had a from FIAT ABARTH 595 derived camshaft. ABARTH added Brembo disc brakes to the front. First from a motorcycle but that didn't turn out well. Later they took parts from the FIAT 127 and FIAT Ritmo (Strada). The suspension was modified and the front leaf got wish bones to strengthen the front suspension. Due to the disc brakes the spring leaf would otherwise bend. - The 126 A came with chrome bumpers. On later models the bumpers were made of a 'plastic'. Chrome wiper arms got replaced by black ones. The same with the handle on the rear bonnet. - The 126 did inspire other Italian coach builders like GIANNINI and some others.
@TheBarth79
This caravan(called N 126 , "N" is for Niewiadów-town where is factory) was made specjal for fiat 126 and you can buy this caravan today. Yes,we still make them.
@classicandclunker
Sales of the 126p in Australia were the result (I'm told by a former dealer of the cars) of a lady here in Australia getting paid for her legal work, for people in Poland, in cars instead of cash. They were called Niki here due to a legal problem with Fiat (even though Fiat wasn't sold here at that time) so they called the cars after her nickname, Niki. The 126p that was assessed by our Australian Design Rules team in the 80s (which has slightly smaller air inlets on the sides) is sitting in a yard, rusting away with about a dozen other ones. I scavenged some parts there for my 126p
@palbrvn3737
My sister had a 126Bis with the hatch and the under'floor flat engine giving it a very low centre of gravity - It was LOTS of fun to drive and very practical for the size. I'd definitely buy one now if could find a decent one!
@mikeenglish6401
I love small cars too….. My first was a Fiat 650 (PWM 726J), aged 17 following my parents’ decision that I was unsafe on a moped! That said, I did buy a new Fiat 500 in 2008 upon their release in Europe. Great fun……
@richardgreenwood3355
My first car as a student in 1986 was a 1973 Fiat 500. I got up one morning to find it had been turned 90 degrees in its space in the car park between two other parked cars. It was a 500L so it even had handles! Mind you, I still managed to extract it with a very multi-point turn! I like small cars too. Later in life I had a Daewoo Matiz followed by a Suzuki Wagon R+..... but now at the opposite extreme I have a Skoda Superb Estate, for caravanning.
@henktulp4400
I drove a 126 for some time....did 1400 km/23hrs nonstop from Italy to French west coast including 3 high passages through the mountains (the police refused old cars entering the Frejus tunnel for safety reasons...I never bothered to tell them about the self fitted LPG installation...).....it was oldfashioned bigfun motoring!!!.... Ps it did easily 23 kilometres on one litre of petrol!!
@TheStobb50
I like my 126 for £50 just a cheap run around of a old friend when I didn’t have a lot of money, I end up really liking it, it was very reliable but there was nothing to go wrong, I eventually got rid and got a Lada 1200 and I ended up liking that as well, One of the great advantages of having these cars is I now have a good collection of jokes
@lucidnonsense942
I can solve the mystery of Aus/NZ and other foreign country sales. The Polish govt was short on hard currency, so would do swaps for things like butter or some mineral resource. A third company would finance the Polish side of the deal and get repaid with a bunch of 126p cars, at a steeply discounted price. It was a way for PRL govt to get resources into the country, that USSR couldn't request as "aid" for military "support," or squirrel out of the country as part of "planned trade." So, it was something FSM was rather keen on.
@moore2522
My dad's commuter car was a 1959 Fiat 1100 back in the 60's. I used to "requisition" it as soon as he got home on Fridays and it was my weekend ride throughout high school. The washer button on the 126 dash brought back memories! That windshield washer feature was a staple throughout the 50's-60's Fiat lineup-just like the crazy spare-tire powered one in my '60 VW. Ingenuity at it's level best! Of course having the fuel pump operate off the crank mechanically through a diaphragm was NOT a good idea! When the diaphragm cracked one day, gas pumped into the crankcase and ruined the engine-but that's a story for another day. Love the videos on the Fiats!
@JamesPark-s4y
I owned 4 of these, 3 126 De Villes in Adriatic Blue and a 126 "Brown" which was errr..brown. They were all nicely kitted out with a sunroof and corduroy cloth trim. No trouble with any of them and they were easy to service. The doors were heavy and contained side impact beams. Ran them for thousands of miles on motorways and around town, very stable and I never slowed for corners. I miss them!
@LittleCar