Would it be possible?
Discussion
I have a serious love for Fiat 126's. For work i travel 120 miles daily. Therefore logic (and previous experiences of 126's) says that i cannot own one again! But, would it be possible to put a different engine, or convert the car to duel fuel, ie fuel and electricity?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Would be difficult to convert it to duel fuel, but loads have had bigger engines put in.
I should imagine loads of work will be involved and I doubt it would be cheap. A bike engine in there might be fun though. For reference, to have a large fast suzuki engine put in a smart would set you back £10k fitted.
http://www.smartuki.com/
Max respect to you if you do it though
I should imagine loads of work will be involved and I doubt it would be cheap. A bike engine in there might be fun though. For reference, to have a large fast suzuki engine put in a smart would set you back £10k fitted.
http://www.smartuki.com/
Max respect to you if you do it though
there are loads of 126's with engine swaps for different things, drag strip runs, track cars or just to make them more adaptable and user friendly day to day
personal opinion would be putting something else from the fiat tree in there, say either a cinquechento 1.1 sporting engine or maybe a 1.2 16v punto / mk1 bravo engine if the space available in the engine bay is there.
you wont be looking at lightening performance, but i had the 1.2 bravo for 4 years and it performed supprisingly well for what it is, so in a smaller and lighter package i would have thought it would be even better
personal opinion would be putting something else from the fiat tree in there, say either a cinquechento 1.1 sporting engine or maybe a 1.2 16v punto / mk1 bravo engine if the space available in the engine bay is there.
you wont be looking at lightening performance, but i had the 1.2 bravo for 4 years and it performed supprisingly well for what it is, so in a smaller and lighter package i would have thought it would be even better
I think converting to hybrid might be a bit on the pricey side - it's a relatively new technology. Even finding a donor may be difficult as I'd imagine the complexity of the drive train would make it easily damaged in a collision. I'd have thought a small petrol or diesel engine from a more modern Fiat would be a better bet...
A bigger turbo charged engine and 6 speed sequential box is possible- courtesy of a smart for-2 or a smart roadster. Monster Turbo and map it etc and you'll get around 130bhp (as per the BIG Performance Roadsters). I'd just mod the smart subframe and drop it in... funnily enough I was going to do that myself if i can raise the cash. Feel free to pm me if you need help
Interesting... I have also been thinking about this and even had a look on eBay for a 126 donor!!
I think they are pretty good looking, small cars and the fact that the engine is already in the back means a conversion ought to be easier than some of these Saxo's etc getting converted to mid engined.
Does anyone have a link to a forum or site for 126 owners with engine swaps, I have looked but have come up with very little!
When I worked at Lotus, one of my buddies bought a 126 as it was rear engined and he thought it would be a laugh... God it was slow and the pedals were not well spaced for my big feet... But i think an alternative engine (Alfa Flat 4 was a swap at the time) would have been fun!
I think they are pretty good looking, small cars and the fact that the engine is already in the back means a conversion ought to be easier than some of these Saxo's etc getting converted to mid engined.
Does anyone have a link to a forum or site for 126 owners with engine swaps, I have looked but have come up with very little!
When I worked at Lotus, one of my buddies bought a 126 as it was rear engined and he thought it would be a laugh... God it was slow and the pedals were not well spaced for my big feet... But i think an alternative engine (Alfa Flat 4 was a swap at the time) would have been fun!
There's loving a car and then there's martyrdom!
You will put yourself through hell and even with a modern engine it will still be cramped, noisey, uncomfortable and you will end up hating it.
Why not have a 126 for the weekends which you can love and cherish and maybe do the odd commute when its nice and then have a daily hack commuter?
You will put yourself through hell and even with a modern engine it will still be cramped, noisey, uncomfortable and you will end up hating it.
Why not have a 126 for the weekends which you can love and cherish and maybe do the odd commute when its nice and then have a daily hack commuter?
No, they are not the most comfortable of cars but mine would just be a 'toy' for the odd b-road blast at the weekend!
Here is an interesting link or 2:
http://forums.preloved.co.uk/fuseaction-forums.sho...
http://www.3cs.150m.com/Gallery_Home/Gallery_Home....
Here is an interesting link or 2:
http://forums.preloved.co.uk/fuseaction-forums.sho...
http://www.3cs.150m.com/Gallery_Home/Gallery_Home....
Edited by dom9 on Thursday 27th March 14:23
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