Random facts about RallyDarkstrike's Favorite Cars

"RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars" (rallydarkstrike)
04/25/2020 at 08:00 • Filed to: FSO Polonez Caro, Trabant, FIAT 126, Random Facts

Hello all!

Found myself a bit bored here last evening after finishing Gemini Man on Google Movies (not amazing, but not bad!), as I imagine oft happens to us in this time of lockdown...

I decided to write this post about some random facts of my favorite cars, in no particular order!

Fact #1 - Aside from the first-generation FIAT 126p (ST) and the later, water-cooled 126p BIS, the second (FL) and third (EL/ELX) generation air-cooled 126s all listed their tire pressures in a more unique place on the car. Nowadays, it’s common on most vehicles for them to be on a small placard in the door jamb or engine bay, but things were different in the 126. The 126p had a minimal gauge cluster - all cars had a speedo, fuel gauge and odometer. Tripmeters were an option and the water-cooled FIAT 126p BIS had a water temperature gauge. What, then did the 126p engineers decide to do with the extra space in the gauge cluster? Why not put the tire pressures front and center RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOUR FACE!

The 126p ST gauge cluster from the car’s first-generation....no space for tire pressures here! I like to think that 140kph was a TAD optimistic of 24hp...

FIAT 126p FL cluster with the tire pressures listed at the bottom-right in BAR.

The slightly different cluster on the FIAT 126p BIS...no tire pressures, just the water temp gauge in their place! Handy as the BIS liked to cook head gaskets...

The cluster from the last-generation FIAT 126p EL/ELX, as found in Borsuq’s car. The tire pressures are still there on the right! This same cluster was shared with the FIAT Cinquecento, though modified for the 126.

Amusingly, FIAT engineers left the backlighting in place because...dang it, how else were you going to read your tire pressures at night! :P

Fact #2 - A variety of rear engine lid vent covers were available for the 126 in the Eastern Bloc and Italy. Styles and designs varied and the jury is out on whether they really did anything. Some people argue they helped by keeping the weather out of the engine bay. Others argue that they messed up the airflow in the engine bay that the little air-cooled 2-pot used to keep itself chilly by altering the air pressure somehow that was entering/exiting the engine bay...I’ve never read anything conclusively on whether they did any harm or good, but they added some interesting flair to the back of the car, at any rate...

A 126p EL without lid vent covers for reference...

I’ve only seen these odd....pleather-like(?) covers on a few cars - this car is from Italy. Note how they have adjustable flaps to let more or less air in/out!

These plastic vent covers are interesting in that they have window-blind-like adjustments to let more or less air in/out!

More of those odd ‘pleather’ covers, this time on a car in the UK!

My favorite option for vent covers though, by far, is this AMAZING vent cover/REAR WING! :D

Fact #3 - Even the budget-strapped, technology-deprived Trabant engineers were joining the ‘80s trend of using those fancy newfangled LEDs in their gauge clusters! Two-stroke ‘2nd-gen’ (I use quotes because they BARELY changed throughout most of their entire 30+ year production run...) Trabant P601 cars used them in a before-it-was-cool, optional economy gauge located to the right of the speedometer. VEB Sachsenring proudly called it an ‘Instantaneous Fuel Consumption Meter’ in the Owner’s manual:

You can watch it in action a bit in this video: !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

Later Trabant 1.1 models...the ones that were updated with a more modern dash and the VW Polo 1.1L 4-cylinder engine...used the same style of LED gauge for their fuel and water temperature gauges:

Fact #4 - The FSO Polonez Caro had an interesting option that could be added to the car: a gear lock. Not the kind you might be thinking of such as a ‘gear’ lock in the sense of a diff locker, or a limited-slip diff, or some sort of lock on an automatic transmission (they never came with one!) to prevent it from shifting into a higher gear...no, this was literally a lock for the gearshift!

Think ‘steering wheel club’, but for the gear lever. This option added a sturdy metal hoop with plastic trim behind and slightly to the right of the dash-mounted shifter. When the car was to be parked the driver would put the car into reverse and this locking collar would mount over the shifter, locking it in place so a would-be thief couldn’t get the car out of gear! Kindof clever, actually, and a neat option!

DISCUSSION (8)

SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars
04/25/2020 at 08:10

Ahhh...the 126. The only car I’ve ever driven that couldn’t count to three and simply explode as a courtesy...

When it made a Lada Niva feel like an 80' s BMW...you know it was amusingly ungood.

Khalbali > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars
04/25/2020 at 08:11

I saw my first 126 the other day, didn't get a pic cuz I felt like a creep though. Was pretty heavily modified and not really to my taste with a tacky flame paint job and but still neat to see one in person.

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > Khalbali
04/25/2020 at 09:09

Yeah, there is an imported one here in Canada for sale in the Prairies right now, but it’s got a questionable bunch of mods done to it....

https://www.kijiji.ca/v-classic-cars/winnipeg/1998-polish-fiat-126p-maluch/1492684115

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media
04/25/2020 at 09:46

I still desperately want one :P

Part of the fun IS how ungood it is! :D

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars
04/25/2020 at 12:57

I just realised that the 126 had a 6 digit odometer. That seems both forward thinking AND overly optimistic, but I like it. I assume most of those vent kids were aftermarket? The factory probably had many different styles but that many? At any rate I am here for this.

Urambo Tauro > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars
04/25/2020 at 13:45

Tire pressures, like a TPMS? No, not even that! It’s just telling you what they should be. A bout as useful as a fuel gauge that always reads full ...

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > Urambo Tauro
04/25/2020 at 14:20

Oh yes, definitely not TPMS....like I said, similar to the placards you find on door jambs or under the hood on modern cars that tell you what the recommended pressures!

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available
04/25/2020 at 15:21

Sadly, they rust long before the mechanicals wear out if not taken care of...the engines are pretty durable, It’s not uncommon for people to make small tractors using 126p engines and transmi ssions in the more rural parts of Poland.

I’m not sure if any of those vent covers were factory or not! Wouldn’t surprise me if some d esigns were?