Take the Fiat 126, happily made by FSM in Poland for many years, pull out the super reliable air-cooled sewing machine and stick in a water-cooled device with more tendancy to boil up than a kettle on a 1970's British Leyland nightshift - hmmmm, sounds like trouble.
We got into 126's after it became clear that the 500 was not going to miraculously repair
itself and fulfill my wife's desire to own a working baby Fiat.
A 1984 126P was obtained and this gave several years faithful service, consuming a couple of sills, a
pair of kingpins and a container load of spark plugs.
Eventually rather than patching it up for another year as MOT time approached, a boiled-over
Bis took my fancy, the registration "OAP" finally swaying the deal. A new head gasket and careful elimination
of any air-locks whilst filling the cooling system cured the water-works and we had a year
or so's clattering about until first gear decided to disappear. Along came Bis number 2, and
OAP was stripped for spares. This was possibly the wrong decision as the majority of those
parts have now found their way onto the new car as system after system failed in quick succession.