General 126

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General 126

James M... hang on. You have a brand new Stilo... and you want to buy a 126. And you can't because of not having the cash. I am, honestly, falling about laughing. Mad, I tell you, mad! :-D

I bought mine for the equivalent of 120 pounds. Lowered with Koni shocks. It had a lot of rust, so I tidied it up, painted it metallic blue, replaced the broken gearbox - and sold it very, very quickly. I hope I never see another one again...

Once I was approaching a busy road for the annual agricultural event here in NZ. There were people standing out in the rain directing the traffic. One of them, in a thick Scottish accent, said to me "Yeh dooon't se too mene af theeze around these dehs... thank goodness"

-Alex
 
nuovapanda said:
anyone here got a 126, aircooled! Mines an 87 Dreg, in blue. Has minilight style alloys and clear rear lights and indicators.
Hi,
I' ve got 1979 Fiat 126. I'll try to put some photos in the nearest future :)
 
Yup, I have a (now almost!) brand new Stilo, but its an everyday car, I couldn't afford to run a second car of any type, though hopefully, in the next year or two this may change, only now I'm thinking towards a motorbike :D
 
Yeah, besides every car is different and my X1/9 is a pretty mint one whereas my 126 was a shed :) so that would bias my opinion a bit.

Anyway, you have quite a late air-cooled 126? How fast does it actually go - can it keep up with the traffic? Is the heater adequate?! Rust?

I remember the steering and driving position of the 126 was a bit of a hoot, particularly compared with modern cars that usually feel like a submarine (well, not that I've piloted a submarine... but, you're just so 'buried' in the interior). I see you chose carefully with the new Panda - I bet that feels pretty sharp around town. If I had a proper job maybe I could afford a new car some day - they're so expensive for 'ordinary' New Zealanders! Everyone buys Japanese imports instead. It takes me about as much effort to earn a dollar as it takes for an English person to earn a pound - yet the pound is almost three times the value and your new cars are actually cheaper. Fortunately our basic living costs are in tune with our (low) incomes, so it just makes cars more expensive relatively. Well that's my take on it. There are other NZers on the forum, would be interesting to see if they disagree :)

While I was in the UK last year I drove a new Punto for two months... pretty nippy yet smooth and solid. Ride much better than the old Punto. I imagine the newer Panda is similar to the new Punto, I mean they all have the same engines/electric steering etc. don't they? (It's fun to rent new cars while away... particularly when you turn up with your license and the rental company goes "oh, we didn't realise you were only 23.")

Sorry to be firing up the thread a little (and way off topic) but I'm curious about your cars :)

Thanks,
-Alex
 
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