Was flicking through the forums and found this gem. The last Panda forum I found was in Dutch or something. Anyway, I drive a 1994 M reg Panda 1000 FIRE in Colour spec, complete with twin sunroof. I bought it in September 2004, and it had just over 41000 miles on the clock. The engine is sweet as a sugar coated lesbian, it really is a joy to drive and sounds fantastic.

Sadly it got a bit of a ding on it a couple of weeks ago because someone parked into it in the snow. Grrrgh. Washed, dried and polished all over once a week.

Instead of posting the photos (I have hundreds!) just have a look in my MSN Space. Click on photos, then select Panda.

There seems to be some members who know their Pandas, so I'll visit regularly just in case mine throws a wobbly!

Thanks,

Sam.

Looks great

Hi Sam.
Welcome. I'm impressed with you Panda, very tidy, but I'm sure I saw one photo with some mud on!
Happy Pandering.
Russ.

Hi there Sam, welcome to FF.

Your Panda looks spotless!

rrockettman said:

Hi Sam.
Welcome. I'm impressed with you Panda, very tidy, but I'm sure I saw one photo with some mud on!
Happy Pandering.
Russ.

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Haha!

Yeah, that was from when I went for a treck in some mud at my old workplace (Oulton Park). Not even a 4x4 and it loves the rough stuff! Good old narrow tyres.

Oh and it's great in the snow too. I went out on Boxing day in the early morning to get the snow before anyone else did, some nice slides with a bit of handbrake work, although I wasn't adventurous to try left foot braking. Plus, the brakes are ****e at the moment and I'm ordering some new pads come payday. Any recommendations are very, very welcome.

Steve C said:

Hi there Sam, welcome to FF.

Your Panda looks spotless!

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Cheers!

It was a bloody mess when I bought it, although going on some threads I've been reading it was comparatively clean. I pulled the back seat up and found a nice mix of old sweets, castors (old solidified maggots), and a grand total of £2.68! Lots of faded paint too, nothing some polish couldn't fix.

I've also calculated the mpg for a tank of fuel, and got 49. And trust me, that was not conservative driving. As with the brakes, come payday I'm gonna tank Rufus (geddit?) up and drive like a nun everywhere, see how well I do.

I'm proud of it, there's not a spot of rust anywhere, although the prang it got a couple of weeks ago is ugly.

Don't suppose anyone has video hosting do they?

Edit: oh, and the number plate rocks.

Brakes?
I guess yours has a servo. The only other improvement that won't cost a fortune, I had some on mine, are Tarrox drilled and grooved discs with green stuff pads.
With some effort and a light right foot you might even manage 60+ mpg on a run.
ps. If Pandas are vegetarian, how come yours has M EAT on its plate!

Hehe. Perhaps I should measure fuel consumption in MPBS - Miles Per Bamboo Shoot. Hoho!

Back to the brakes, basically the pads on it are worn out and need replacing, there's way too much pedal travel before anything happens, and when something does happen, it's pretty disappointing. Also squeaking now as well, which is something I absolutely detest. Squeaky brakes should be reserved for lorries only, not a 630/680kg little Italian lane bomber.

I'm not after anything super fancy for the brakes, I was really looking for someone who has replaced their pads and thought "hey, these are pretty good." How much are green stuff pads? They sound a bit fancy.

Very, very nice,
However, your dash seems to be lacking a clock. Now I just happen to hav................................................

Please continue!

I'm not after anything super fancy for the brakes, I was really looking for someone who has replaced their pads and thought "hey, these are pretty good." How much are green stuff pads? They sound a bit fancy.[/QUOTE]


£17.56 from www.ebcbrakesdirect.com

Fantastic, cheers for that. Now all I need is money! :wave:

Edit: Just want to say thanks to everyone for giving me a nice warm welcome.

FuzzyPanda said:

Plus, the brakes are ****e at the moment and I'm ordering some new pads come payday. Any recommendations are very, very welcome.

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As mentioned by rrockettman your "M" plate Panda was built with a brake servo - for the brakes to be carp, either the servo isn't working, or there's something else seriously amiss.

The foot brake on a servoed Panda is quite good.

Check the servo:
engine off, pump brakes until there are no more hissing noises.
Then, while pressing the brake pedal, start the engine - you should feel the pedal move down a bit under your foot as the servo does its stuff.

If not, first check the vacuum pipe from the manifold to the servo for splits or other holes.

Just tried it , gave the pedal a good few pumps, held it half way, started the car, and down the pedal went.

Oh, I was checking the oil this morning and was reminded of something. I need a new plastic cover for what I'm guessing is the cambelt. It's currently professioanally bodged on, but if anyone has a spare one knocking around I'll happily take it off them - name the price.

Picture of the cover

Hello again, FuzzyPanda.
I would happily send you a clock for £6.00, inclusive of p&p.
Whereabouts in Cheshire are you ? It was my old stomping ground in the 60's and 70's.

That's a bargain. I've seen them go on eBay for twice that.

pandafan said:

Hello again, FuzzyPanda.
I would happily send you a clock for £6.00, inclusive of p&p.
Whereabouts in Cheshire are you ? It was my old stomping ground in the 60's and 70's.

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Oh my, fantastic! If you could post or send some kind of fitting instructions I would be mighty pleased as well. PM me your address so I know where to send your money.

Oh, and I'm in Sandiway, where were you?

Thanks again!

pandafan said:

Whereabouts in Cheshire are you ? It was my old stomping ground in the 60's and 70's.

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That's spooky...

Not Macclesfield, by any chance??

I lived in Gatley and then Stockport.

pandafan said:

I lived in Gatley and then Stockport.

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7 miles out, perhaps.