Just picked up some cool items for the Fiat

". ." (xllx) 08/06/2015 at 14:40 • Filed to: shoebox, blue torpedo

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A friend of my parents found those in his garage and decided to give them to me:

A very lightly used Mera Lumel MS-2 tachometer that he used to have in his own Fiat back in the day:

It’s a bit dusty but in very good shape and comes with the original instruction booklet. No scratches on it whatsoever. The only thing that doesn’t look brand new about it is the ring of silver paint on the front. Unfoatunately, I don’t think it’ll fit my car due to the electronic ignition module that my Fiat uses. We’ll see, maybe there is a way to get it working in there without ruining it.

There’s also this cool thing:

Brand new in the original box.

A 2-in-1 vacuum gauge (econometer) and charging voltage indicator! In theory it’s a dedicated Polonez one, but the Fiat 126p one is identical save for the text (and the 126p one doesn’t have a charging indicator). I absolutely love how 80’s those things are.

I’ve also been on a few longer drives in the Fiat, and it’s surprisingly nice. Holding 90-95 kph for extended periods of time is not a problem at all. Granted, noise levels are more pleasant at speeds around 80, but its nothing you can’t get used to in 20 seconds, really. I wouldn’t want to take it out on a motorway, but it’s absolutely fine on regular roads outside of cities.

Mr. Ontop, No Strokes, No Smokes...Goes Fast. > . . 08/06/2015 at 14:50

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I give you this for your 80’s-gasam.

. . > Mr. Ontop, No Strokes, No Smokes...Goes Fast. 08/06/2015 at 14:52

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Close but no cigar. :P

Those were made beween 1991 and 1995.

Mercedes Streeter > Mr. Ontop, No Strokes, No Smokes...Goes Fast. 08/06/2015 at 15:19

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What the hell is that brilliant machine?

Mr. Ontop, No Strokes, No Smokes...Goes Fast. > Mercedes Streeter 08/06/2015 at 15:26

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Fiat 126, I think.

. . > Mercedes Streeter 08/06/2015 at 18:37

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Fiat 126p Bosmal. Pretty damn rare these days. Not many were made.

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > . . 08/06/2015 at 21:29

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Wow, awesome! Quite the find on both considering you were telling me how rare that Mera Lumel tacho is - and in the original box with original manual too! Love how ‘80’s-tastic that Econogauge is as well! :P

If you can find a way to install the tach with no damaging modifications, are you thinking of putting both in the Shoebox? :)

Glad to hear the little 126 is perfectly livable for longer drives as well! Our local highway is 100kph max, although most people go 110kph without getting ticketed. I’d be fine doing 90-95kph on the hour-long trip to the city from here! The question is, at 90-95kph, what happens when you start to hit hills? ;)

. . > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars 08/07/2015 at 21:43

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The tachometer unfortunately didn’t come with a box, only the manual; it’s the vacuum meter that is new in box. I guess neither of those things is massively rare, but they’re increasingly sought after these days by commie car enthusiasts. Many people got rid of stuff like that in the last 20 years since anything communist made was considered useless crap. The easiest way to find them for sale these days is internet auctions, but from my experience, most that appear for sale are either knock-offs (or modern reproductions), incomplete or badly modded. I’ve seen nice ones priced at 50 dollars. Also, since those rev counters were commonly added to 125ps as well (they work with both 2 and 4 cylinder engines), me and my dad started joking around that we should get one of those to match the tach if we don’t put it in the 126p. :] Can’t say I hate the idea. :D Oh, and since the vacuum meter is a dedicated Polonez one I guess we should grab one of those too. :P

And yeah, after reading up on how to install the tach in my car I think i’ll end up doing it. Initially, after reading the manual, I thought that my car’s not having a traditional ignition coil will turn out to be an issue, but luckily that doesn’t seem to be the case. Only problem now is - i don’t really want to make holes in the dashboard. I’m considering installing it “sideways”, with the base coming out from the side of the gauge cluster, right behind the buttons. I already have replacements for those plastics, so it’s not a big deal if it doesn’t end up working out very well that way. I’d consider putting the tach on top of the gauge cluster, but it’s a big ol’ thing and it’d probably get in the way quite badly.

Doing over 90 for an hour is very much possible, but won’t be easy on your ears. From my experience getting to speeds like that feels a bit uncomfortable at first because it seems like the engine has to rev quite high. However, after 20 seconds your ears will get used to the racket like they do on planes and you’ll be fine. A few days ago I did a 30 km run to a nearby town doing around 90 the whole way with 2 big lads on board and it was completely fine. Still, I imagine that after a while the noise may become slightly tiresome. Whenever I drive somewhere out of the city I use back roads so there are stretches where I can slow down and let the engine take a short breather at lower revs. On my small backroad drives I like to stick to 70-75 kph, simply because I’m in no hurry, there’s usually nobody around and it’s nice and relaxing. I’ve not taken the car out on a motorway so I can’t really say how it does there, but it doesn’t seem like it’d like it there.

As for hills, I generally try not to push the car too hard on the ascend, I prefer to keep the gas pedal steady and let the car slow down as much as it needs to. My area is pretty flat so I can’t really test the car on anything steep, but normal hills it seems to swallow up quite easily once you get it up to speed. It’s accelerating uphill that’s a slightly more problematic. If you’re going uphill and shift to 4th gear under around 62 kph the engine will start making a noise that resonates horribly around the cabin, and you may not be able to gain more speed (to get rid of the resonance) easily without having to floor it. It’s not a huge deal, just another little thing to keep in mind while driving.

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > . . 08/07/2015 at 23:22

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Awesome to know that tach WOULD easily work in your car! I would hate having anything on top of the cluster blocking my view, so your side-of-the-cluster idea is probably the best bet. Can the tach be rotated in that mount, or would a side-mount to the cluster mean the tach would be sideways too...? What diameter is the tach...is it a smaller one? Could you mount it INSIDE the cluster covering over the unused tire pressure side of the cluster...? Wouldn’t be blocking anything that way, and it’d be right in your line of sight with the fuel and speedo gauges...? That being said, not sure how large it is or if it would even be possible to fit it there...

I’m not too worried about the noise at higher speeds. I’m doubting it’s DEAFENING (....is it?) and, if not, I would just get used to it...one of the quirks of the car. Mine would be mostly 50kph (most towns/cities in Canada are 50kph within town limits for the most part) and 60-80kph (most rural roads) driving with an occasional highway jaunt to the city (the highway being 100kph, but I could go 90kph and prob be fine! If not, there’s the “old road” along the coast at mostly 60-80kph that would take longer, but be easier on the car).

I think almost every car (well, except maybe very well padded luxury rides...) has an RPM level where things just seem “off” in terms of vibration/resonance....my old 2002 Subaru Impreza and my current Hyundai Accent have certain lower RPMS where it’s almost a “nails on a chalkboard” feeling until the revs change if that makes any sense, haha! :)

As for hills....there are a few steep ones here as Nova Scotia is generally fairly hilly, but most are small hills and drumlins rather than steep monsters. There are occasional steep ones on the rural roads though, and one of the local towns near me (Lunenburg, Nova Scotia) is a giant pain to drive in as the hills are very steep....it’s a very old town (well, by Canadian standards...1754) built on a hill, so a lot of them are one-way streets and those in the old town coming up from the water are quite steep in places.....lots of handbrake-holding with manual-trans. cars! I can think of only one or two hills on the main highway where I have to put my foot down a bit in my DD car though, they are mostly FAIRLY flat.

. . > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars 08/08/2015 at 06:27

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If I end up installing my tach on the side, unfortunately the entire thing would be sideways. I don’t think there’d be a way to rotate it inside the body, but I’ll be sure to check. The tach isn’t huge in diameter (according to what I found on the internet it’s 8cm, can’t measure it myself since I don’t have it at home), but it’s pretty deep (again, around 7 - 8cm) so that makes it far too large to put inside the existing gauge cluster.

And no, the noise at higher speeds isn’t deafening by any means, although late models like mine are considerably quieter than earlier 126ps thanks to electronic ignition and more complex exhausts, so I couldn’t speak for all little Fiats. Whenever I have to drive at high speeds (80+) I generally roll the windows up, put the fan on (it seems loud at low speeds but it’s barely audible when you get up to speed), direct the airflow towards the windshield and keep telling myself that the engine doesn’t mind spinning that fast for extended periods of time. ;) Funnily enough, If you keep the windows closed, one of the loudest things in the car when you’re driving quickly is the speedometer. Not sure if it’s just in my car (probably not), but that thing starts ticking pretty loudly above 80 kph. Then again, if you listened to and worried about every small noise in a car like that you’d go absolutely mad.

Reharding hills... I’m gonna be honest with you, with the Fiat I generally avoid going places where I’d have to stop on an incline. That car does not make pulling away uphill easy at all. It absolutely looooves rolling backwards (I’ve never seen a car that rolls so easily on the smallest of inclines) in the brief moment between coming off the brakes and getting on the gas. The handbrake isn’t that strong either, even at the best of times and will usually have to be all the way up before it holds you on steeper inclines (although I’ll try tightening the cable to see if that helps). Also, unassisted brakes mean that if you’re stood on a hill waiting for the lights to change or something, you won’t be able to just mindlessly put your foot on the brake to stop the car from rolling down. You’ll either have to exert considerable force on the foot brake or give up and use the hand brake. Zoning out at the lights can make you roll into something if you don’t remember to keep the brake pressed down hard. Narrow streets however are something this car exists for, it’s quite fantastic how you can squeeze through really tight openings.

As for climbing ability, these are the official numbers on how steep a hill you can climb in each gear: 1st - 25%, 2nd - 15%, 3rd - 8.5%, 4th - 4.5%, Reverse - 30%. I guess it’s adequate, but remember that getting down to 1st while the car is in motion can get rather crunchy. :P

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > . . 08/17/2015 at 21:51

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Hmmm....the hill thing doesn’t sound too promising...I’ve never driven anything classic or “old” so it will definitely feel odd and different to me. The clutch and brakes in my Subie weren’t too bad. As it was my first standard trans. car, I can only describe them as feeling “normal” to me. My current DD ‘09 Accent has a very light clutch (although the brakes feel about the same as I remember on the Impreza) and everything on the Accent is hydraulic so the 126’s unassisted brakes will be a bit of a learning curve.

Another thing that will feel very odd is the 126’s bottom-hinged gas pedal but top-hinged clutch and brake. I’ve also only ever driven cars with top-hinged pedals....was it odd to get used to at first? (Or do any of your other rides have this arrangement?)

Yeah, my DD Accent doesn’t have A/C, so at high speeds I turn on the fan and close the windows. How good is the 126 at pulling in colder air from outside for the driver/passengers...?

. . > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars 08/18/2015 at 05:48

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Both my CLK and my mum’s Civic feature a bottom hinged gas pedal, and to be honest that is the arrangement I prefer. Honestly though, it doesn’t make much of a difference at all. As for pulling the air in... ehhh... it’s not so great. :P Opening rear windows definitely help, but the fan is a bit weak (and loud). If you set the air flow to in dash vents it blows just enough to annoy you with the breeze on your right hand, that’s why I prefer to aim it the airflow towards the windshield. Ventilation is completely fine if you’re able to open windows though.

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > . . 08/18/2015 at 08:50

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Huh....what year is your mom’s Civic? It’s probably a Euro-model...we had a 2000 Civic sedan until 2 years ago and it had a top-hinged gas pedal :)

Windows it is, I guess! :P

. . > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars 08/18/2015 at 08:59

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It’s a 2009 hatchback.