Hello panda section, last week I was just browsing the forum classifieds and stumbled across a 900 panda that was in my home town, It was my day off and I had nothing better to do so I went to go view it. Not gonna lie, it charmed me and I ended up collecting it a few days later. A week has now passed and I haven't had it started as I believe the engine to be seized, it's either going to need an engine rebuild or engine swap/conversion. Has anybody on here done the 900 to fire conversion if so how difficult is it? I will upload some pictures of the rebuild, got some funky ideas, Alex

hey welcome to the forum

the engine may be ok.. it could just be the starter that is jammed.
them 903cc engines are pretty indestructible.


if you want to do an engine swap you could use one from out of a cinquecento.. the 899cc OHV engine is the same engine as the pandas original 903cc engine, so all the engine mounts and gearbox will line up perfect. its also injected with an ECU. if you get the early 6F ECU it only requires 3 wires to connect it to the car. grab a 2 bar in-line fuel pump and the engine swap is complete.

the fire engine swap requires the fire engine, engine mounts, the gearbox, gear box linkage, the drive shafts, coolant system and throttle cable.
you will have to drill holes in the chassis and weld nuts in to hold the engine mounts in place.

personally i would go for the 899/cinq engine conversion. fuel injection on a panda and the ability to start the car first turn of the key in all weather out ways the carbd fire engine.

in terms of power, the 899 engine is 43hp and the 999cc fire engine is 45hp. however if you got the fire engine from a panda 4x4 you could get 50hp. (its the cam shaft that gives the 999cc fire the 5hp boost in the 4x4 engine)

hope this helps you out

welcome to the forum! lets see some pics!

I wasn't aware the 899 was the same engine, it's the red panda dance, think it's still in classifieds, it's been stood since 2005 ish so I'm fairly convinced it's seized. 900 cento's are only worth about 10 pence so should be easy enough to get one to dismantle, could use some spares for my 02 sporting too which is my daily driver, I agree that injection would be much easier for winter, as for the fire conversion your probably right, no point going through all the haste for a couple more horses.

abarth stabler said:

it's been stood since 2005 ish so I'm fairly convinced it's seized.

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Why

I'd just turn the key, you might be pleasantly surprised

yeah i agree with MEP there, you turn the key and that thing should turn over fine.. like i said those engines are bomb proof. a guy in the cento section had an 899 cinq that was getting on for 250k miles. the oil pressure was just starting to go weak.

brilliant engines..

I've had a new battery and boost starter on it and it won't turn over, alternator and water pump don't seem to be seized, took the plugs out and they were more rusty than you would expect them to be, it won't bump over either, only thing I can think of is starter jammed or a bent valve, wish it did start, would make my life a hell of a lot easier!

My 965cc engine had been left after a headgaskit had gone, a very long time!
This caused corrosion in the cylinder



This was after I cleaned it! It wouldn't rock or move at all.

Take the head off or use a borascope to assess the damage before forcing it to rotate

I think it's going to be a head off job to assess the damage, if it's too bad to repair I will just replace the full engine

a few pictures, not really had much time to get work done due to work commitments, have a couple of days off next week so more pics to follow

nice.. it is a shame that it has locked up.
for the filler pipe, a fiat cinquecento filler cap will fit

oh i didnt know it was the same as a cinq, makes for an easier find, might be getting a donor car for engine and gearbox dependant on my findings when i take the head off, im hoping the bores arent too rough.

my dad is a bit of a genius when it comes to bodywork so i think hes going to give it a fresh coat of rosso, it polishes up okay but has quite a few rusty blemishes.

getting some deep red chesterfield sofa inspired seat covers made up too which should be a bit different

a few more pictures, had the head off today and as you can tell the pots are full of water, leads me to believe head gasket failure, dried out the moisture and a full can of wd40 later and the engine spins freely. Going to clean up the head and block, new h/g kit and hopefully will have a functioning engine again

While I'm waiting for the head gasket kit to arrive I have decided to make a start on the brakes, de-rusting and cleaning, I have new pads, pipes are fine, discs need replacing, and the backplates are so rotten that they just look like tin worm holding hands. Don't suppose anybody knows where I can get a pair?

back plates? in the rear? i am not sure..

if you mean the front splash guards then just cut them off best you can. they are not required by an MOT. very hard to find

brake discs from off ebay, i got each disc for £7.30! pads again ebay, just get a good brand

Mine (carbed 1000cc fire engine) has sat since 2010 and I turned the engine over by hand last week, not as long as 2005 I will grant you but still impressive

Yeah it's the splash guards behind the front discs, got some nice pads for about 16 quid, not sure how much discs are but they will be here by the morning, I will just remove the guards then, saves time and money. had a bit of a problem sourcing a head gasket set at my local parts shop, they were trying all the suppliers they use but couldn't get one... turns out they had one hidden in the back which only cost me a tenner as they said it was clutter. So that's tomorrow's job sorted, just need to do brakes and suspension and bits of painting here and there and she should be ready for the roads, it's the first fiat I've ever owned with no electrical faults which is worrying!

first fiat you have ever owned, eh?

ahh to be hooked on fiats all over again...

ohh with no electrical faults... heh give it time..

Not the first and definitely not the last, I owned a vauxhall once... Bad times, had 2 seicento sportings in red this panda and used to have a 1.0 uno, this panda is gonna be my daily driver once up and running. this is what I'm driving at the moment

Still busy with the panda, engine re-assembled but compression seems a bit low when turning over, cylinders seem fine so I'm not too sure what this could be? Not yet had it started either, been fiddling with the dizzy trying to get it to fire up but still no luck Been busy with the hammerite underneath and now it's looking good with a fresh coat of paint, just rebuilding the front brakes too but calipers seem to be stuck too, really want to get it done for the Yorkshire breakfast meet but it's not looking to good in its current state, somebody come help me lol