The Car that got Poland Moving - the Fiat 126 Story
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- Опубликовано: 23 ноя 2024
- You may have noticed that car parking spaces are shrinking. Or rather, our cars are getting wider. Fiat had the answer to the parking spot blues in 1972 when the new Fiat 126 burst on the scene. At just 1.4m wide it’s 28cm or almost a foot narrower than the Smart ForTwo, and only 36cm (14“) longer while accommodating two more people. That’s not a lot of space to cram four people though, especially in the 1970s with flares and platform shoes! Why did Fiat produce such a tiny car using such old-fashioned parts, and why did this tiny Italian car become one of the most popular family cars in Poland?
Optional Extra video: • Fiat 126 - Optional Extra
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How I remembered the Fiat 126...
Every summer, hundreds of these 126 arrived on the shores of the south of Sweden from Poland as they came to work on the local farms and living in as cheap accommodation as possible. When the summer ended they all went back to Poland with the roof rack full of either a fridge freezer twice the length of the car or the roof rack full of other western items you could not get in Poland. The next year it all started again. 👍
It was the same here in Germany as well. After the end of Communism, the 126 was a very common sight on german roads when Polish families came here for work or to visit relatives. They seated five people in the car and had tons of luggage on the roof. They were so slow it is rumored they sometimes got overtaken by trucks on the motorway. Must have been quite adventurous.
We finns travelled to Estonia and Leningrad. All bags full of toilet paper, old worn jeans, women nylon stockings. We traded all to cigarettes, nice porcelain coffee cup sets etc.
When Soviet Union collapsed, estonians and russians came and looted all worn out car tires from scrap piles. Best was guy with bicycle, he had 14 car tires on bike.
Sweden is just next door. I am Greek (and over 40) and I remember 1000s of Polish tourists coming to Greece every summer back in the 1980s.... papa, mama, daughter, son, mother-in-law, the luggage on top of the poor little car and a caravan being dragged behind full of usually unusual Eastern European products to be sold in Greece where usual Western European products would then be purchased. All in the Fiat Polski as we knew it in Greece. It was demented!
@@dinos9607 Really! Fun story. Thanks for sharing it with us. 👍😊
@@juhomaki-petaja My scientific hypothesis is that Polish became excellent mechanics by owning these little cars. It was not that the car was of bad quality but its usage was colossal! Driving through Europe, loaded with family, dragging caravans and wife's mother too.... that was not what this little puppy was designed for!
My story is typical of a whole Polish generation: passed my driver’s licence at 17 in a 126p and my first car a few years later was also a 126p with a custom paint job: light blue with white stripes. Fiat is underestimating the nostalgia draw of this model. This style could easily be pumped up Ioniq 5 style and positioned one size up from the 500. Fun fact: in Poland the 60’s based 500 has zero nostalgia factor- the original was never popular here:)
Not as popular. My uncle had zastava in 1980-ties so for me nostalgia is real when I see the 500.
I think there were Zastava licence 500 in poland or 600
_"My story is typical of a whole Polish generation: passed my driver’s licence at 17 in a 126p and my first car a few years later was also a 126p"_ - well, as far as I can recall, back then ('70s) this little car-like thingy "that (barely) could" was a luxury item, desired by all but obtainable by a very few - and the TYPICAL mode of transportation "for the whole Polish generation" was public transport.
Just think for a moment: my uncle was back then a technical general manager (or something like that - "middle management" let's call it ) at Widzew Thermal Power Station in Łódź - a huuuge state owned enterprise. Thanks to his position "in the management" he was entitled to a company provided car for personal use. Guess what it was, and what was the colour of that Fiat 126p?
@@MrKotBonifacy At least there was no traffic jams.
@@V8_screw_electric_cars ...which was of a real consolation when you're waiting already an hour for a bus that sholud be here every quarter or so... and still no one had any effing idea when it will finally arrive, and if ever ;-)
I would never suspect myself excited to see a video on fiat 126p. And here I am mesmerized. My parents owned one when I was a kid. Thanks for this awesome material!
'Mesmerized' ?.... Here's 'invigorating' 2 minutes of Fiat 126:
YdBuwzRAEAw - not a link: copy and paste (Ctrl + C and then Ctrl + V).
Szalony kierowca "Malucha" - Przyjemnego oglądania! 👍
Your parents owned one but you never expect to be excited?
Both my parents had one. I think my mom had two. She had to use a coathanger in the engine bay to get it started. Later on they had a Dacia, and my dad imported a Peugeot 104. I remember the Dacia vaguely, I know it was green and had a tan interior.
Bought a new "Bis" in 1991. At 6'4'' I like to think I fit perfectly (or at least there was no wasted space around me).
If it had not had the tailgate and folding seat I never would have bought it.
Apart from the cylinder head blowing regularly it was a good car. Far more sensible city car than today's fad for ridiculous suvs and crossovers.
Have to agree 👍 I drove a mini 1000 and a Fiat 126 the mini was better in every way small light aerodynamic cars are a future 😀
@@buzzofftoxicblog791 mini is for pussies. Fiat 126 is car for men. RWD, can drift and crumple zone ends on the engine.
Vou are sooo right.
And the Jurassic SUVS most of the time carrying a single person...
Head gasket failure is a pretty significant failure.
I had a colleague at work that was like 6'10" or more and the in the "normal sized" car he drove his knees were level with the steering wheel. We had fun imagining what he'd look like in a Maluch. I remember riding in one as a teen and thinking how cramped this pos is but it's not like we had anything better lol.
I went to Poland in 1999 and there were loads of 126's about. They used to travel on major roads in small herds and if one exploded the other herd members would also stop and help to mend the wounded one. I went back about 5 years later and they had nearly all gone. Bless!
Now people turn their heads when a fiat 126p passes, almost as if it was a Ferrari or something
@@Filip-uw9jp Not surprised really. but they did their job when they were needed, can anyone ask more?
@@petercrosland5502 true, what I’m saying though is that against all odds, this car managed to become a classic
I remember this very basic but extremely useful trick. If your igniton went out, your starter motor was dead, or the battery died, you could start it by tying a rope around the crankshaft pulley and puling the rope out quickly. It would start the engine! it was amazing.
Now it is not many but if you see on the street you have big smile and you show big thump up to driver
We went on holiday with one of those in early 90s, four people, 600km, and it survived without problems!
Great looking car, early ones, before it got those ugly plastic parts.
Great story, thank you Andy!!
Read my comment above, same story lol 😎👍
@schmutzfabrik ag that's 373 miles similar to the distance from Boston MA to Atlantic City NJ there were popular compact models made in the US after the mid 70s such as the Mercury Topaz/Ford Tempo and your compact imports like the Volkswagen Beetle/Rabbit Toyota Corolla/Celica/Tercel etc.
Errata: When I said "fuel injection" I meant "electronic injection".
The Fiat 128 photo is actually a Fiat 131.
The rear engined VW Beetle ended production in 1978 in Germany I believe, but the Porsche 911 was another rear engined car being produced.
The Beskid prototype in the 1980s was much more than a converted Polski Fiat 126p, it was front engined with what seems to be a new or highly modified chassis. Again, great work with little resources from FSM.
What's your favourite supermini of all time, if you had to choose one to trace a cross-country journey?
You should make a video on the famous Reliant Robin. The 3 wheelers survived 65 years!
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Reply to Big car
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Reply to Big car
Toyota Innova Which Countries is there
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Reply to Big car
As a Polish kid, a video about this car means a lot to me! This was our family's first car. We decided to relocate to Germany in the summer of '88. I wasn't even five years old;, my parents packed everything they could into this tiny car (+ roof box) and sold everything else. It took us two days to arrive in Germany, but the plucky Fiat finally made it! We were supposed to be picked up by relatives in the middle of the night on a highway resting place, but they couldn't find us for half an hour as we were parking between two big rigs - now you have an impression of his vehicle's size ;) And now: LEGO giev 126 Creator Expert plx!
Mean cnts .
The simplicity of this car is its biggest feature. The fact that this car was using outdated tech from 50-60 was working in its favour. Every one could fix it themself with a basic tools. Also, there were whole service manuals and technical books available for common people. This was a huge factor back then. In a soviet and later post-soviet Poland, where there was not enough of everything (even toilet paper was hard to get lol) people wanted a car that will last. 126 was a car like that (if treated properly with anti-corrosion protection). Parts were cheap and it did not required any special tools or knowledge to fix. As far as I am aware, 126 was also offered in boxes as a kit-car (DIY, parts only). That how simple this car is.
It wasn't like nowadays when fixing a modern car yourself (even basic one ) is kinda impossible. No one knows how to do it, because is a well-kept secret, so that car companies could earn extra cash for servicing.
126 has a very simple drive train and access to the engine is excellent. And if it is needed, you can remove rear engine cover, hang the engine in the engine bay using a hook, unscrew 4 screws and you can remove rear beam. It is stupidly simple. That is why 126 is so easy to do an engine swap.
Also, 126 was never intended to haul a trailer. But that was just a sad reality in Poland. The cheapest city car was the only car available for many and it was used like a "main" car, so people were using it for everything - even for vacation trips. The tail hook for mounting a trailer was an after-market modification offered as a "upgrade" part you could buy & mount it yourself. It was attached to the rear wishbones / suspension, because otherwise it would rip a car apart if it was screwed to the rear beam.
Also, my grandpa told me a story that after 5 people went for a vacation trip in a 126, with a trailer and roof rack storage (around 800 km, 400 km one way and 400 km in the way back) with a top speed of 50 - 60 km/h... When they got back home, the engine needed to a general overhaul - because it was not designed for something like this. But this is just how things were back then.
I found a british service manual for the BIS version once, and it's the most detailed car manual I have seen, and well explained too, combined with the simplicity of the car it can serve as a guide how to completely disassemble the car and reassemble it again with the same quality as it came from factory (which was sometimes not the highest lol)
@@agenty_gd That's probably because it was a translated Polish manual, and Polish manuals were very detailed because the manufacturer knew that in lots of cases either the owner will service the car on his own, or the car will not receive any service.
Speaking of quality, it's like you say. Even the director of FSO, Edward Pietrzak said in an interview; that;
(with full-employment policy) people didn't respect work, so 25% of the crew were always rookies and random people; office workers, soldiers, even prisoners, which had terrible effect on quality of the cars.
I also spoke to many people who owned the cars as well as worked in the factories. They all said that quality of these cars varied from good to terrible, and sometimes people would not receive any training before assembling even engines, because the guy who was supposed to train them, would rather go to his office and drink.
A running joke about quality says; 'Cars from Wednesday are the best, because on Monday and Tuesday they would have hangover, and on Thursday they would start drinking already.'
A guy who from 1985 did heavy PDI on export cars, said he would send the same car back to factory up to five times before it was finally ok. Another problem was with engine output. He said; 'The Polonez was supposed to go at least 150 with 500 kilograms onboard. In reality, some cars would easily go 170, but some struggled to reach 140. We would send them back, but they always ended up being sluggish.'
@Piotr Malewski I know this, the full employment policy that you metioned is to blame for this. Polish workers who are actually qualified are good and can work really hard, this showed during WW2 and after communism too as metioned in the video. But when you get unqualified people for the job and they are also drunk or hungover most of the time, it can never go well. The only reason why the versions of the 126p made after communism could still turn out bad, was because the factories were forced to use new steel and new varnish due to some ecological norms, and those combined made it rust super fast. Some people joked (there could have been some truth to it) that they were already rusted by the time you would buy them, I've heard that they would leave some bodies outside the factory before finishing due to lack of space so if it rained during that day it's maybe not too unreasonable to think that a bit of rust could already appear by the time it was sold lol. I've also read that the earliest versions of the 126p also had output problems like you said with the Polonez. Apparently there was some quality control check once where they measures the horsepower of finished cars, and found 2 fully stock ones with a 15 horsepower difference between each other, for a car that only has 23hp this difference is ENORMOUS. Definitely some stuff was not properly tuned even if assembled correctly, some car ended up with way too low power while another with too high at the cost of reliability (wrong carburetor tuning can do this I think, but idk how you can get that big of a difference). Idk if I believe this story or not, could be exaggerated, but there definitely were output differences.
Absolutely. And the overhaul one couls do at home too, since cylinder liners could be removed easily and replaced as well as pistons, crankshaft and all. Even an average mechanic with basic tools could handle the job.
My Polish brother in law tells a story of him pulling a large trailer full of coal with his Maluch and going too fast through a corner. The trailer just continued straight into the ditch and pulled the car with it. A few guys pulled the car and the empty trailer out of the ditch and they threw the coal back up piece by piece
My mum had a Fiat 126 when I passed my driving test in 1987. We lived in Southend on sea, east of London, and my Grandparents lived in Staines, west of London the M25 was not complete. The normal route was straight through London. I made my fastest ever trip from Southend to Staines in the 126, it was the ideal car for this trip!
It was produced in Egypt also by Nasr company .. actually it was my first car ❤️❤️
My grandpa bought one in 2010 for the equivalent of 200 quid, got the hole in the rocker arm patched, we had some fun with it and sold it for around the same price. Since then, prices seem to have gone up 5 times as more and more of them are rusting away
I own a Fiat Linea and I'm so proud of Fiat's heritage. Many parts on my car (In India) are made in Poland.
I bought an '89 126 BIS with the 704cc watercooled engine for my (then) girlfriend in the mid 90s as she was learning to drive. I then changed jobs but they didn't give me a company car for 6 months, so I borrowed it to commute to Woolwich from Chatham 5 days a week. I remember it being very frugal & able to do an indicated 80 mph flat out, although braking from those speeds was a bit scary, there was no brake servo so you literally had to stand on the brake pedal lol.
I know what you mean about the brakes....I've got two bis' they're a blast to drive as long as you can navigate the traffic calming humps....I try aim for between them as long as nothing's coming the other way....😂😂
In my opinion, the best video you've made ! My car is the successor to this , the Cinquecento, and I have such an affection for this car, and how it completely revolutionised a nation. Greatly produced and spoken, as always. Well done big car!
Glad you liked it James
My uncle bought it in 1995, now my cousins drive it. To this day they didn't had major problems.
@@BigCar2 Too bad about the stupid anti-communist propaganda...
My family had the 126p first, then the Cinquecento :) We called it Cinkuś.
I had one too. A '92 900. It was black and I tuned it to look like Sporting :-)
Great job! You mentioned Polski Fiat 125p. Fun fact: body was similiar to Italian 125 (but not the same! For example fuel filler in Italian 125 was on right side, in Polski was on left side of the body), but mechanical part was mixed from 125 and predecessor 1300/1500. Platform was from Milletrecento/Millecinquecento, chassis, engines (1.3 & 1.5) too, but they modified brake system from 125 (four brakes was something new in the class that time).
In Poland that time FSO (WARSAW), FSM (BIELSKO-BIAŁA, TYCHY), FSD (LUBLIN), FSR (POZNAŃ), ZSD (NYSA) are factories but almost all important decisions was taken by central organisation called "United Car Industry POLMO". In another words every dolar from export sales of Polski Fiat, Polonez, Warszawa (and more) was taken for government and factories was on politics mercy. That was one of many reasons that polish factories was not up to date because of cash lack.
I didn't know that, as I was born in Canada. Imagine what they could have done if the industry got to keep the money! Dzięki za informacje!
@@TheNuje They did want to do a lot... They built a prototype of mid-engined 4 seater, FSO 1.3 Coupe, and they wanted to produce 125p in '2000 GTJ' version. Only made two racing prototypes, one with 1.8 16 valve engine, and one with 3 liter 6 cylinder. Another thing they did try to do was a 2 litre Polonez and 2 litre turbo. Again prototypes only. At this point they had to smuggle Garett turbocharges through Finalnd, because there was a ban on sales of turbochargers to Poland... So another thing they tried was to turbo-charge a 1.5 litre push-rod using turbocharger from a truck, because it was the smallest turbo manufactured locally they could find.
Fiat was a big player back in the 60's and 70's. Lada, Polski Fiat, Seat, Steyr, Zastava, Argentina. Everybody was either buying their cars or paying for licence. Today it's nothing more than a shadow of the old glory days.
@@obywatelcane6775 The 132 and 130 V6 liter executive cars. Or even the 131, if you compare specs with BMW, Fiat could really go toe to toe with hitlers back then.
About your comment at 17:16: I guess the Fiat 126 was NOT the only rear engine AND rear drive car in production in Europe. There was and still is a car build in Stuttgart, called the Porsche 911. Otherwise, a really great and well researched video!
An embarrassing oversight given how iconic the 911 is.
The Beetle was built in Germany until 1980. There was also the Alpine A310
Officially its mid-engined, surely? I debated talking about the 911 in the video as being rear engined, but I knew I'd get comments from people telling me it was mid-engined.
@@BigCar2 First of all, thanks for the reply. Porsche themselves say nothing specific about the engine placement. But all major car magazines and shows I read or watch tell me that the 911 has a rear engine, while his brother 718 is mid-engined. The difference being that the engine in the 911 (similar to his ancestor Porsche 356 and by extension the VW Beetle) is located behind the rear axle. In mid engined cars like the 718 or Lamborghini Aventador it sits slightly in front of the rear axle. So I would consider the 911 rear engined. But again, the video was really nice, like all of your videos and I truly enjoy watching them.
Only rear engined family car I suppose?
Let's all stop to appreciate excellent pronunciation of the Polish nicknames for this car! Magnificent work :)
Almost... The 'Maluch' should be spoken like lone H at the end, like a whisper. Not like K.
@@piotrmalewski8178 I'll allow it. Hell, I've had my own name butchered by my own country folk often enough to not get on foreigners for not getting the pronounciation right enough. 😃
Yes! Kaszlak. I almost forgot this nikname. Well done! Good job Big Car.
he pronounced zastava decently too
I have a real soft spot for the Fiat 126. Just a car that oozes charm. Not good sitting in the back, especially if you go over a pothole. But its just a very charming car.
The 126 (Nikki) sold in Australia between 1989 and 1992 was the old two door, air-cooled version. The importer wasn't confident with the reliability of the water cooled engine, so the bis/hatchback version was never imported.
Well i Poland we have extra "hood" Blocade to kept tilted for extra cold some example
www.google.com/search?sca_esv=4ae831c04c2e63bd&sxsrf=ADLYWIIibTTKXOkvL2eyZIZUNpcsJQaYLA:1714901450109&q=fiat+126+blokada+klapy+silnika&uds=ADvngMg7YyA49Xn2N-8fJeWBvvGpQE98PheCp4yfEa8DAG2jrk-tM-KW-idbcM61Zm2Ms6B9pBnd-Z-strF3K4KZZy6n_474hf0GTWm1kIVFKQJqutSGBTbzczc9Z6ug0KJwEbZ9n6R0k8mgJfDsJOP8WAnD0Q0KNTvFgARIwpFnYDyVQEdfR_HYXScc9IAU4KLAvrl2HJX9Zjij22zP_n_7qwMTNZGr-h-b3UR-1JOv9benbp2tP8r74OU0LA1QlTowoJmNWVD4dLPyKTnswny5XptwB3_e_QEEBSD3dXNYtealqnKE00Rpz9SoVA0UB8q3V4hm6mGSfaytFXFUQcZIAKCg5jWcciHtio3yNOPixbbVqt5JElY&udm=2&prmd=ivnbz&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi5rojemfaFAxUVSPEDHe30BWIQtKgLegQIDxAB&biw=1920&bih=919&dpr=1
Regarding the Fiat 126, I remember that in the years immediately after the fall of the wall, quite a number of Polish foreign workers came to Norway. Many of them drove 126 and it was often 3-4 men who shared the space in the car. They usually did not have enough money for local accommodation (nor campsites) so they often slept in the cars (which must have been awful). The problem of leftovers in nature gradually became so great that the Norwegian authorities had to tighten the legislation regarding where it was allowed to spend the night in the car (camping). Regarding the Fiat 127, my mother had this model in the mid 70's and early 80's. I remember the car as a pretty nice and practical car. In terms of perceived quality, the Golf I (which my father had) was clearly better, but in relation to cost and benefits, I would say that the 127 was the most sensible car. As always, you deliver a great video. Thank you also for the video where you tell about your experience and your contribution regarding MyFord Touch (later Ford Sync). I am an old software engineer myself (public services) and the whole complex seems very familiar.
This little car looks cuter today than 50 years ago. I remember them Poles as a kid in the eighties
travelling all the way to the Adriatic coast on vacation selling stuff on the way. They had those tiny trailers full of mercandise to sell. Some sold even the trailer on the way home. My grandpa bought
me a foot ball and pump to inflate it from those Poles. Nice People, always smiling. 🇸🇮 🇮🇩
Dziękujemy słoweński bracie! But our flag is 🇵🇱🤜🤛
@@77funtomas Sorry for the mistake about flag. 🇵🇱😄🙏🇸🇮✌️
I remember these being everywhere just 20 years ago in Poland. Now 99% have rusted away. As for driving experience - you don't drive this car, you survive it.
Not too long ago, there was a "meet" or something.
I still have one of these cars. But you're right. It rusts away faster than I can restore it.
It was forever going wrong or having a new fault each week 😂🤣😂🤣
@@markdowns9607 absolutely. I put thousands and thousands of euro's into it, hoping one day it'll be perfect. But it just keeps breaking down about every two weeks.
It has become my bottomless money pit.
@@gijsbertmarkus3754??? Thousands of euros? So you buy a new one every time?
One if the lads drove us to school, 3 of us (afaik only one time 4), almost 6" avg, knees to chin in the back :). Once a week afternoon shift - the other time it was the other guys turn with his zastava 750 (fiat 600 shape, bigger engine), there we fit 4 "no problem" :D. 30km one way, I was picked up half way.
I bloody love the 126 ❤ 😍 we need cars like it again. Basic, cheap and reliable.
I remember in late 1980's in Finland seeing lots of those cars with foreign licence plates and the whole family with their luggages in that small Fiat. They were working in nearby farm, most probably those people were from Poland.
Hello!
Yet another great video! I am from Poland (born '84), and I am from the first generation, that didn't own a 126p as their first car. Some of my older friends did, and most of my parents generation started from a "Maluch". I actually learned to drive in one of them in 1997 (the car itself was from 1988), but my first car was a LADA 2107 (RIVA in GB).
Nevertheless most Poles with car knowlage, know a lot about 126p. So from our perspective the history of 126 can be shortened to these points:
1. 1973 - start od production
2. 1977 - first small restyling, and 652ccm added (594 was sold untill 1980)
3. 1987 - second restyling (several technical mods made the car better at this point)
3*. 1987 - BIS - it was actually not that well seen by Poles. Water cooling was more complicated, so people preffered the simpler air cooled spec.
4. 1994 - final restiling (126el instead of 126p with electonic distributor).
5*. 1997 - it got the catalitic converter, but it was still carburated (it never got fuel injection from Cinquecento, so this is the only small error in You film).
All in all - cars from before '77 are most wanted today with crazy prizes up to 13000 euro (similar story with Bosmal cabrio). Cars from '87 untill '94 were of the best quality in terms of the body resistance to rust. Post '94 cars rust away faster then same age Korean cars. Last 4 year were the worst. The car was like 1/2 of the prize of any other car on the market (in 2000 it costed about 2500euros, with Seicento costing 4500).
I can't call myself a fan of this car. In my oppinion the best eastern block cars were LADA, than FSO (FSM), than Skoda, Wartburg (IFA) and at the far end Dacia.
Cheers from Poland!
a few of my friends had these back in the 90s, early 2000s. i remember one saturday, we went for a night out clubbing. come morning, 9(nine) of us were crammed in one, all of us reeked of sweat, alcohol and cigarettes, the poor thing could barely move, haha! but we all made it home, car included! great times!
Yoooo, it's Tony!
I owned two and half 126s and had more fun with these cars than anything I've owned since. Every journey was an adventure.
You really should get a test drive in a Honda S660, the best K car ever !
If you are Polish and you do not have a Fiat 126p in your family history, it means that you were rich and had contacts
Ahhhh, my first love. :) I just LOVE this little car. It was my first car, first mum drove it, then my brother...then me. I had the plastic bumper one with fuel gauge dash. I would really love some retro-modern take on 126p! Fun fact: here in Croatia (also all of the Ex-Yugoslavia) we called it Peglica which literally means ''the little iron'' (clothes iron). ;)
Not just Australia. New Zealand as well. There are still 29 of the 126's registered on the roads here, and 8 Yugo's.
Meanwhile, in the Balkans: Yugo's everywhere.
@@ravenouself4181 Not really, you could still see a Yugo (Zastava) occasionally if you wait long enough, but they are increasingly rare, being replaced by cheap Western used cars.
Love these videos. In Ireland, they were very popular and I seem to remember the engine had a distinctive noise - bit like a lawnmower. I could be wrong though - my recollections of the 70s are hazy and that everything was brown and beige.
Todays Fiat TWINAIR 2 cylinders (0,875l) in Fiat 500 and Panda make similar noise!
And corduroy and course-knit Aran jumpers (beige or white).
"everything was brown and beige"... you say that as if it was a bad thing 😁
We imported in the FIAT 125p poliski back in 1977/1978 ,1500cc.assembled in Poland. Quite reliable car.right hand drive.Greetings from Malaysia.Fiat 124 is from Turin Italy.
Truly a nugget
as a Polish, im Impressed. as an amateur youtuber i will send me greatings to You as it is a kind of tradition point at the ends of my films.
Still remember my first contact with a 126...which went like this:
First, I had to roll down the window because otherwise I couldn't find a suitable position behind the surprisingly sportscar-like wheel (I'm 1,80m and have quite wide shoulders). Second, I had almost broke the ignition key as no one had told me that the starter was a lever located between the seats.
And third...it was actually a lot of fun driving this car, at least in the city. Almost like a go-kart with a roof.
Respect to all the Poles who had carried their whole families plus luggage in an on the roof this car although I nearly had smashed one with my Commodore B one night on the Autobahn when the driver of a 126 decided to pull out of a parking space riight away on the right lane with about 20 kph while I was doing 160...
My mom was driving a 126 in the 80s ... have nice memories from that car - I remember the family summer trips to the beach with that tiny little car... Miss those days.
The 126 was a brilliant car. My R reg had a petrol gauge that worked and a warning light. In the winter the car had a working heater. The next year model was much better. Fiats of that era was great cars to drive. What was not so great was the quality of parts and construction. That's why you
don't see many survivors.
I remember this car from the music video of "Re-wired" by Kasabian. One of my favorite songs and one that marked my entry to college life. Thanks for making a video about this strange contraption.
Fantastic again, I love the humor in your stories. Never knew there was so much to tell about a 126! My first car ever was a run down Fiat 128 and the photo of it, I still cherish.
In 1987 my first car (a Fiat 126) cost £100 for two - we put all the best bits on one, painted it, and threw the donor away.
I loved that car. I'll always love that car. I got 78mph out of it by the way. What a beast
My wife bought one new in 1990, it broke down on average once a week, in two years the dealer worked out they had replaced every part apart from the bodyshell, fuel tank and spare wheel, wife still loved it. It was towed so often it identified itself as a boat
You are lucky not to have bought that 126Bis with the watercooled engine. It was a prototype they were testing for the upcoming Cinquecento, and it had issues with cooling, which resulted in frequent head gasket burn-outs. That thing was such piece of crap, I vowed not to ever buy an Italian car in my life.
You should have repaired it yourself :P Cars was not designed for Western style maintenance with dealerships, it was a working man's car and it was expected that owner takes care of it ;)
Sounds like you fell into the trap of Warranty Work - where the dealer earns a good living replacing parts under warranty ... repair one thing, break another for next time visit. Had this issue with my first Range Rover ... until it clicked just what was happening after NINE warranty visits.
So glad to see you made a video about the Maluch. I still remember going on family drivers and camping trips in Poland in one that my dad owned in the 90's. Loved that thing
Loved by so many polish I think. I once visited Poland and met a guy who as soon as he could get a passport and freedom to leave Poland he loaded his family in to the 126 to realise his dream to visit London. They drove from the south of Poland to London in March and he confessed he had never been so cold in his like as he was in London in March 1992. I seem to recall he enjoyed the excitement building 10year waiting list and sold one at a large profit and got back on the bus for 10years awaiting its replacement.
Kinda hard to call something "loved" when there was no alternatives but yeah, it's an iconic car over here. Even to me, who came into adulthood at a time the 126p got (finally) phased out by "actual cars" the nostalgia is quite strong for this one.
I travelled much of the UK in 126s in my youth. Eventually I got a state-of-the-art 126 BIS and soon discovered that they all suffered from warping cylinder heads, blowing the head gasket, pressurising the cooling system and then overheating. I sold it on. Great vid as usual.
2:14
"The 518 hp engine...." WOW! It must have been quite quick car.
i bet that would shift quicker than a Bugatti Veyron with that power
I said "the 500's 18hp engine". Actually before someone spotted the error, I'd said "the 500's 800hp engine". Now that would have been something!
@@BigCar2
I listened it 4 times and every time heard "five hundred and eighteen". Now after you corrected me, I hear the right thing. Funny how human brain tries to deceive it's owner.
Mount Honda CBR 1000 or Suzuki Hayabusa engine in it and it soil fly..and sound would be epic.
Mum had a brand new one in 1978. I absolutely loved it - it had a sunroof and was just so full character. Surprisingly good in the snow in the winter of '79. We kept a walking stick in the car because road salt used to corrode and snap the starter cable - you could (carefully) start the car by pushing the starter switch through the engine compartment with a stick. (the same stick we used to use to thump the fuel pump on our old mini when it got stuck!).
We had a beautiful 1980, navy 126 "Bambino", which as far as I'm aware was an export version of the 126p. My dad bought a Sharp radio including a cassette player and the Polish made Inter-Groclin racing style seats, which looked incredible in the 80s. It was cool AF. Every summer from 1985 to 1991 we used to drive for our summer holidays through the whole country, more than 500 km with hardly any issues along the way.
Hajka, z południa jesteś? 🙂500km nad nasz Bałtyk to musiała być przygoda. Mój Dziadek miał 126p 600 z 1974 z numerem seryjnym stokilkadziesiąt. Pojechali nim z moja Mamą na wakacje do Turcji!!!!!!! To musiała być przygoda! A nasze pokolenie boi się pojechać 10-cio letnim autem dalej niż 200km 🤣😂
@@MotoPasjeKamila Górny Śląsk. Wakacje spędzaliśmy w pięknej Puszczy Noteckiej. Sprawdziłem przed momentem dystans: 466,3 km. 😎 4 osoby plus pies, bagaż na dachu i do tego przyczepka Niewiadow N250. Tylko raz padły nam hamulce pod Jarocinem, akurat w tym czasie odbywał się tam festiwal. Niesamowity twardziel był z tego Malucha, tęsknię za nim. 😉👍
@@jeshkam My w połowie lat '90 mieliśmy trudny czas w rodzinie. Jak to z początkiem kapitalizmu Tata próbował własnego businessu i mu nie wyszło i tak w 1994 jeździliśmy kilku letnim Mercedesm W124, a w 1997 10-cio letnim Malczanem... ale mnie i mojego Brata w ogóle to nie bolało. Wsiadaliśmy z rodzicami do Maluszka i jechaliśmy na jakieś wycieczki no i to, że to właśnie nim nauczyłem się jako 13-nast latek jeździć 🙂
Pozdrawiam!
@@MotoPasjeKamila no to ładny rollercoaster motoryzacyjny lol pozdrowienia! 🙂
Aaaa, these little guys are adorable. I somehow wasn’t expecting this, but I’m glad it’s here. Thank you!
Thanks again, your documentaries are so unique and informative, always look forward to them
my father's white fiat 126 has been stolen and I remember it as a huge tragedy because it cost me several years of work, but as you said, great nostalgy :) I did my driver’s licence in 1997 in a 126p
Probably drove it into the back of a transit. That's how my wife's was collected when it was sold.
Fuel injection was never available for fiat 126. I think Mr. Big Car meant electronic ignition, which was introduced in early 90 (version "EL"-electronic).
Yeah, that was a mistake. I'll post a correction.
- Why does Polski Fiat 126p have a rear heated window?
- To keep your hands warm when you have to push it! 🙂
Another great video that puts me into deep nostalgia. We had red 126 when i was 9. Well my dad had more of them but this one was a special one - it had a distinctive feature: under the carpet in front of the driver seat there was a hole in the floor (well the rust protection in 126 was the class of its own). Just a small update and - thanks to low weight - you could easily make it run in a "Fred Flintstone's car style" ;-)
My father put stickers on every place the rust was visible and because we were living at that time next to the bar, our car has been looking like a moving beer advert😀
For tall people (as i am) it was also drivable from the rear seat - kind of not obvious feature today.
I know that 126 was maybe a little creepy, loud and that side mirrors were folding themselves when (if) approaching 60mph but it was kind of like Poland it 90's - everything upside down but somehow going forward.
Today all is different, simpler. 126s rusted away and seeing one (especially moving) today is almost a miracle. In 90's they were everywhere, supported by flood of FSO Fiats 125 and Polonez(es)... Everyone was thrilled to see in the street any kind of modern, western vehicle. Now there are modern, western cars everywhere - driving 126 today would be like being a nice little cat in a cage full of lions. Ahhh... Time changes everything but memories always stay alive.
Thank You so much!!! - fingers crossed for Big Car's bright future!
Great video. Mr. Big Car. I remember when these were still a fairly regular sight here in Slovakia, but most of them are now long gone. Have you considered making a video about Daewoo? Their Tico/Matiz were also relatively popular here (even though they were often the butt of many jokes).
It's on the list to do. I'd also like to do Proton.
Same in poland! Daewoo used FSOs factory after fiat decided yo only use FSM
The first twenty seconds coincidentally capture my first two cars, the first a Fiat 126 and the second a Renault 4. The 126 left me with great affection for small Fiats and I went on to own two of the '90s Cinquecentos, the first a standard model and the second a 'Sporting' which was huge fun to drive. The 126 was like a road-legal Go-Kart with a roof for weather protection, I could usually corner without slowing down at all. Great little car. Thanks for reviving the memories.
I remember being a kid in 1980s Greece and seeing Polish families touring around in these. Papa, mama, son, daughter, sometimes the mother in law as well, all in a little Fiat Polski like this and all the luggage on the roof. Correct me (those Polish of you being over 40 years old) but I distinctly remember Fiat Polski's dragging caaravans. Seriously! It was demented! They were driving in these all the way from Poland through Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Yugoslavia to come down to Greece and find a place in the sun at a time there were no modern highways in Eastern Europe. How on earth did they do it? I have the suspicion it is these cars that trained the Polish to be good mechanics.
The perfect car for today's modern inpatient motorist. Trouble with modern cars is they're so refined feels like you're not moving. At 40 these felt like you were doing 100 and that engine liked to rev and was so loud you got fun at low speeds.
17:10 Maybe the only rear engined small car made in Europe, but definitely not the only rear engined car.
Porsche 911 anyone? 😄
The Renault Twingo is rear-engined. And the Smart Fortwo.
@@Nooziterp1 These were not made in the 1970s. However, the 911 the VW van and a lot of Italian sports cars were.
@@Beethoven80 To be fair you can argue that Italian sports cars have a mid engine layout and that includes the FIAT X 1/9, but you are certainly right concerning the VW van.
You also had a Skoda that was rear engined... based off the Renault Dauphin ?
Don’t forget the 911 as a rear engined European car. Love your videos, keep ‘em coming
Oh man this brings back memories. For a short time in the 90s my family had a yellow 126. I think it was a T reg. My mother loved it and convinced my dad to buy it. What a mistake that was. The thing NEVER worked. It would break down even if you didn't touch it. I honestly think I went in that car twice - both times to take it to be repaired. Dad got fed up and sold it on lol
Fair play to you for researching, all the facts and quirks you mentioned are spot on. We used to have 3 different "kaszlak"s in various model years and equipment and I still remember each of them very fondly. Basically 126 was like polish Porsche - 2 door car with air cooled engine in the back, and rear wheel drive :)
Woah man, as polish viewer I would never expect that you would do history on this car
When you will cover history of FSO Polonez then I will be fulfilled
That's on the list to do!
@@BigCar2 oh man I love you now ! Hahahaha my dream car (as I'm 22 years old) I will be getting mine next week !
@@BigCar2 Don't do it. Even in Polish there is no good literature, and there is a lot of misconceptions, and the list of things they did or tried to do with this car is so long and complicated even most fans get confused and don't get it right.
The footage used at around 2:43 is just insane 🙂 I could watch that all day long. Great upload and sweet editing. Best regards from a car detailer in Norway.
My Uncle had a P reg 126 - cracking little car - he got booked for speeding in a 50mph zone - that made him very proud of his rusty little steed
OMG - great story 😀
A ticket in a Maluch - that is something You don't hear every day 🙂
Using speed in a 126 was a thing to learn! If You got it up to say 90-100km/h You had to plan ahead You truck and bus overtaking. Seeing them in a distance You had to plan an empty space between the oncoming traffic to be in the right place in the right time and to just jump in between them not having to slow down to 70km/h, as geting Your speed back was a long way to go. 🙂
As a Pole I have a lot of memories with the Polski Fiat 126p.
Cheers!
@@MotoPasjeKamila It was on a downhill stretch of road though lol
A great selling point for the car.
There was a bit of an urban legend in our town where a Fiat 126 was driven in the emergency exit of The Grill nightclub ! Apparently some of the lads opened up the double door exit when another lad outside knocked - The intention was to drive the 126 around the dance floor and back out the door - The bouncer foiled the plan but not before the nose of the car was actually inside on the carpet !! Great video !
I remember when the Niki arrived in Australia. I was still a kid, but even I knew it was a pretty rubbish car given what else was on the market at the time. However I also knew it was cheap.
I really like it’s quirky little charm. In my opinion it’s actually got a really nice look about it. But I honestly can’t remember the last time I saw one. They didn’t sell many and even in Australia’s fairly dry climate I’m guessing they still would have rusted pretty quick.
I remember checking it out at the Melbourne Motor Show. I couldn't believe they had the chutzpah to sell it here. The luggage space in the front, for a start. I may have been biased, given my Mum had a HA Viva, with a massive boot and decent rear seat. Not a car for Australia.
@@steved3702 my mom had a vauxhall viva in SA for a few years in the early 70's - rubbish car, always breaking down. Unfortunately didn't get the 126 in SA, but there was the wonderful 128, 124 and 125. Mom then got a 128, which was passed on to me, and that was a great car, but also rusted (we lived on the coast)
Yet another brilliant video.
Dint have much experience personally of the 126.
However, remember having a conversation about 10 years ago with a lovely lady from Poland.
She escaped from Poland in the 80's (sadly having to leave her young son and husband behind) in search of a better.
She made it to London, by driving across Europe in an old 126 by herself.
I'm sure many of our Polish friends have other heart warming memories of the 126.
Thanks again for another great video.
Great video, and certainly brings back some memories of my early driving years.
I noticed on your stock photos showing the Fiat range of the time, that the Fiat 128 has morphed into a Fiat 131?
Having owned a couple of 131's back in the day, I feel there may have been an error in the 128 picture?
But of course, memory can play tricks on the mind.
That is definitely a 131 Mirafiori
Great vlog as always! In Norway the Fiat 126 was not an option. The sign that spring time was here was that the polish seasonal workers was here driving their Fiat 126P. Now you know!
FIX IT AGAIN TONY!
What a great documentary on an often forgotten car- thanks Andy!
NIKI NUGGET TIME
Italy, Poland, UK and Australia are a bit closer since Wade Nixon debuted on youtube...
A Wheels magazine motoring journalist here in Australia rolled an FSM Niki whilst taking a corner too quickly during a road test. I seem to recall he wasn’t even going that fast and declared it to be a dangerous vehicle that should not be on Australian roads.
obligatory "POLSKA GUROM" comment
@Gareth Fairclough 🤣😂
Excellent video! The 126 wasn’t the only car manufactured in Western Europe with the engine in the back in the late seventies though. The Porsche 911 is the obvious one, but also the VW T2 and T3. One might argue if they can be considered cars though. I reckon some will consider them to be trucks, vans and buses. Also, Karmann of Osnabrück, Germany, manufactured the VW 1303 Convertible to the end of the seventies and until January 10th.
I thought of the 911, but that's "officially" mid-engined, although it's pretty far back.
Shouldn't this be a "Little Car" episode?
Little Car is just a name for the second channel. To be honest, "Big Car" was just a random name I picked. I wasn't even intending it to be car-exclusive. I picked it because it was short and hard to misspell.
@@BigCar2 So if you ever make a third channel i hope you name it "Medium Car".
This video sure brings fond memories of my youth. My father owned the 124, 125, 125 Special and the 132 between the late '60s and early '70s.
Tony
Thanks for a great video. I recall a 126 in Krakow in 2014 with a model elephant on its roof - advertising a local Indian restaurant. The small but enthralling engineering museum in Krakow shows earlier all Polish cars which were made in substantial numbers. The Warsawa was like a 1950s Morris Oxford and the Syrena looked like the contemporary Renault Dauphine. Then there was their super-crazy city car which had two rows of seats.....but only one door across the front like the contemporary BMW bubble car. Only twenty were made.
Подяка Вам, за підтримку України! Постійно дивлюся Ваш канал. Хороша робота!
Thank You for this video - I live in Bielsko-Biala, where it was produced, i get one from my parents when got driving licence in 1999, car was produced in 1988, it was gerat time for me to have my own car, I tunned it of course and learn a lot of basic mechanics on it. It was great car for me and for a lot of polish peoples here.
The problem with 126p was that it was produced for far too long in Poland with no major updates. Moreover, cars from the 90's were even more crappy and with parts sharing with Cinquecento the Maluch lost its appeal completely. Notwithstanding economic problems of the era of budding Polish capitalism, the Maluch quickly became the object of ridicule, the cheapest new car one could buy. Unfortunately, the last version of the car was of incredibly low quality (which had never been good throughout production), so Polish people rightly sought for better alternatives, now finally available on the market. So, the Maluch is obviously laden with nostalgia coming largely from the fact that it was the first car a family could buy, but it also tells a story of a badly run Communist economy with shortages in every way possible, almost endless waiting lists and low quality cars people had to settle for
You don’t know what you’re talking about
My late dad had a rear engine Fiat 126 many years ago he then changed it to a bigger fiat 127 after about 2 years, I remember the canvas sunroof on the 126 and the noise were pretty hefty inside from the engine.
Great visual history! I'm onto my third 126p (Niki) down under in Australia, and the latest is a keeper with only 70,000kms
A relative had the 126. I have a distinct memory as a child being in Porthcawl probably early 19080s and with 5 of us in the car (me only being small, so 4 1/4 really!) struggling to pull out from an uphill junction. I really like small base model cars (my daily is 35 years old) - there are no distractions, unlike in modern cars and they are all too big! So I'd love to get my hands on a 126.
Such a great little car full of character.
"But by the late 1970s, the Fiat 126 was the only car produced in Western Europe with the engine in the back". Not counting the 911, of course. I believe VW were still producing Beetles at that time and definitely the Transporter, but that's not a car and Tatra is Eastern and not Western Europe, but they were rear-engined. Great video. Thanks.
An amazing little car that sold so well! One of my best friends was from a Polish family, and had visited Poland. He used to joke about the Maluch as well as about how it was more cost effective to use zloty for toilet paper in the public toilet than to buy toilet paper from the seller outside! Not that he could complain about how slow the Maluch was. I remember he once owned a 2 speed auto Datsun 120Y sedan. I could walk faster than that up the hill on the street where I lived!
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 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 extra power of the engine and better braking due to 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.
OBRFSM would build rally 126p and rallied them in the 80ies as works team. They had 44HP.
Thank you. I didn't knew that. This week I ran into FIA papers online. There you could see that FSM delivered a roll cage and disk brakes as an extra to the car. That one I didn't know as well.
So now I'm wondering if there is any documentation online which shows specs about the used cam shaf, carbs, (double-) heads, valve sizes, ignition, oil system, etc etc.
@@theblackhand6485 It seems that my comment was deleted for unclear reason so I'll just repost imporant points;
The general rule with Polish prototype and rally cars is that usually documentation is destroyed and never available through any official routes. However 126p was a bit luckier, apparently factory documentation and custom-made carbs were preserved by members of FSM's Works team, who a few years ago were running a company called '126p Group 2 Ex-Works Team' and were building cars according to factory spec Group 2 rally car, and used original carbs that were produced specifically for the rally car. They even exported some of these cars to Japan and one was tested by UK's version of top gear magazine, the article was called 'Small Wonder'. However, you'd need to find these people through the internet. There is a community who knows about modding these cars, it's called 'ekipa np126p', and the Ex-Works team's website is available as archive, you can find the names of engineers and drivers there. These guys to my knowledge are alive and well.
Mid 90's 2 year's on trot, was in Poland. The young in their Fiat Polska's 126, with back shelf have'n massive Pioneer speaker's on it. All cool dude's ;-)
Brilliant…… as always! I drove my parents’ 126 De Ville in brown in the early 80s
It’s that social dimension that makes your videos so much more valuable 🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻
Great video as always... 126 never made to Brazil. We got just the 147, and the Spazio face lift
Brilliant video, I bought a brand new fiat 126b.i.s in 1992 , £3500 on the road . It was a great little car for the congested city in which we live .
Great review Mr Big Car, Like the Classic Mini I’ve always admired the 126, a small car with a cheeky charm.
Yes they certainly did do the job they were intended for and it’s thanks to the people of Poland that it lasted so long.
I’ve always fancied owning one, I passed my test in 2002 but by then a lot had been scrapped and the survivors prices were and still are going skyward.
Hello! I wanted to say thank you. I've always wanted an MG B but was well aware of the effects Lucas and LMC had on quality. Because of your channel I've come to love the older FIATs and am hopefully getting my first 124 Spyder!
The 126 was a very good car around town. You could park it anywhere, and if you knew how to drive it properly, it was quick enough for the city traffic. If you learned to drive that thing, you could drive anything. And it sure taught you to drive defensively unless you had a death wish.
The zastava and yugo deserve a video too! Got yugoslavian families moving
Very good video. U could mention that in Poland we still love this little car. There are events and the car itself is now quite expensive for what it offer and finding good quality car without rust is very challenging. Maybe it wasn’t perfect car but it was our car - we all love it
Thanks Mr. Big, really enjoyed this trip down nostalgia avenue. Many a day (or rather, late evening) 'ragging' a mate's 126 around the local college's tennis courts! I got my licence at 17 a year or so after this, so I guess this was my unofficial 'first time drive' of a car...