I was looking for a project for this winter and i came accross a letter in a magazine which mentioned putting an Uno turbo engine into a 126.

It reconed you could use the 126 gearbox pretty easily but i was wondering what else is involved, i.e. injection systems, engine mounts, clutch etc.

Has anyone here tried this, or know anyone who has?

Also does anyone know what brakes would fit the 126 without too much effort, maybe the Uno ones?

The end result would be a mad little car, but i am having trouble finding enough information to find whether it is viable or not.

Thanks

check the previous smoking fiat 126 post theres a link to the preloved forum theres some reference to this conversion on there

thanks, i've read that but the conversation it links to is quite confusing and doesn't tell you much.

i was hoping to find someone who has actually completed this conversion who can go into more detail.

This is the first engine conversion which i have taken on so i wnat to be sure it is viable before i start buying stuff!

hi i am curently fitting a reno williams 2l engine and box in to a 126 i am also intrested in possibly up rating the breaks on the front as the rear might not be having any at all ?

Hey,
I've been on this site from poland which has all sorts of mad 126s. Of course it's all in polish but the forum has an english section which i've used a bit (mine is the only post on there!)

http://www.fiat-furious.prv.pl/

If you can find a good online translator there are articles on uprating brakes etc. Or just look at the pics.

I think the easiest way is just to get the bits and see what fits. I'm sure brackets can be made up quite easily to fit whatever disks to the front but i would want some rear brakes, i considered using the whole front subframe/suspension from the donor car, to improve the susp as well. remember the car was only designed for 26Bhp as standard! you'll be looking at an 800% power increase!

Oh dear... "the end result would be a mad little car"... <LOL>

I used to have a 126. It was the worst car that I have ever owned, without a doubt. Far worse than the Austin Princess...

The thing that stands out in my mind (with respect to engine conversions) is the extremely crude driveshafts. They have pivotted blocks that sit in the differential. The outer end of the shaft is stuffed in an aluminium pot full of rubber. I had never seen anything as rough as this fitted to a car, ever before. That this car was made in 1982 (and in Poland up to 2000) is nothing short of incredible.

No, having suffered a spin at a busy intersection, I see absolutely no reason to increase the power of the 126. It is a diabolical car. That's ignoring all the other distinctive qualities such as no heater, no safety features, wheel bearings held on by finger-tight nuts, the gyrating gearlever and the ultra-low straight-cut sliding first gear not seen since the '30s.

And you are marrying this to the engine of an Uno Turbo... a tremendous feat in production engineering of a rugged, reliable masterpiece of turbocharging design.

Can't you do up a Trabant instead... they're so much better engineered...

-Alex

awattam said:

Hey,
I've been on this site from poland which has all sorts of mad 126s. Of course it's all in polish but the forum has an english section which i've used a bit (mine is the only post on there!)

http://www.fiat-furious.prv.pl/

[...]

Click to expand...

I thik that more information You'll find on tis site: http://126fan.cx.wix.pl/index.htm but it's also in polish

here You have the article about disc brakes: http://126fan.cx.wix.pl/www/ham_tarczowe.htm

But if You wont just change 1 to 1 front brakes to disc ones try to find compleate brakes from 850sport.

Do you think the 126 gearbox could cope with a turbo engine after having the PLEASURE of putting a few back together i would have my doubts

mtimm said:

Do you think the 126 gearbox could cope with a turbo engine after having the PLEASURE of putting a few back together i would have my doubts

Click to expand...

Yeah, although my post was overly scathing, that was my main concern (because I've taken apart 126 gearboxes too...)

-Alex

The gearbox and the drive couplings were weak in the 126 so even if you used a different gearbox you could still have trouble but then again thats what makes projects interesting