Hello. I am preparing the "mightyPanda" with another forum member "omgwoody" for Panda Raid 2018. We are novice mechanics but so far we are really excited of what we have achieved so far. I appeal to seasoned mechanics for their views on a modification we are considering.

We would like to raise the air intake but we are reluctant to make & fit a conventional looking snorkel which will require a 2" hole through the wing - just feels a little savage. Thus we are considering 2 options:

1) Remove rubber hose from airbox. This will effectively raise the air intake to just under bonnet level, or,

2) Install new rubber hose from air box to heater box just under bonnet scoop, see image with 40mm holesaw indicating position. We could even add a thin layer of sponge on top of the grill (under the scoop) which will be useful for catching sand.

Your thoughts on this subject would be most welcome.

PS. We have never done this sort of thing before, so we would love to get together with some "like-minded" Panda owners for a off-road day. I will check to see if there are other threads on this subject.

Hiya, forget the worries about getting water in the intake - as you said just re-route the rubber air intake to higher up in the engine bay. You will need to concentrate your efforts on waterproofing the spark plugs, coil and distributor.

In the Panda, when you hit deeper water it splashes up the back of the bulk head onto the plugs and coil which cuts out your engine. The plugs are set into recessed sections in the head so these will need to be filled up with cheap silicone which will prevent the water from sitting in there (you have to suck it out with a straw if it does!). For the coil you can make a splash guard out of a piece of folded tin or plastic, mounted to the bulk head on the same mounting points as the coil. The distributor is a bit more technical but same idea, I've used a plastic milk carton in the past.

You will never be able to go swimming in the car with it being a petrol engine, the main idea is to stop the water splashing up into the engine bay.

Also make sure your fuel tank and filler pipe is well sealed up before adventuring!

Thank you Andy, very helpful.

Your best option without any body damage would be to remove a windscreen vent located behind the plastic inlet run a flexible 50/ 60 mm dia tube to the highest point then fit witches hat air cleaner. To your roof rack ! The pipe brackets could screwed behind door seal along the a post then install a dash fan to move air within the cabin
As Andy said about the distributor
Rubber glove cut out fingers remove all leads cable tie wrist to the body run each lead through each finger etc
Also cable tie up for better seal add some silicon sealant.
Coil remove ,same deal but less fingers then screw back on through the glove with penny washers
Also take out the gear box selector cover add a brass or plastic pipe fitting then run a length of garden hose inside the a post

This should prevent a vacuum being formed sucking in water through the drive shaft seals ,as these are one directional
Regard
Steve

The plugs are set into recessed sections in the head so these will need to be filled up with cheap silicone which will prevent the water from sitting in there (you have to suck it out with a straw if it does!).

Surely if you silicone up the plugs how do you get them out again in the future and wont the silicone melt?

omgwoody said:

The plugs are set into recessed sections in the head so these will need to be filled up with cheap silicone which will prevent the water from sitting in there (you have to suck it out with a straw if it does!).

Surely if you silicone up the plugs how do you get them out again in the future and wont the silicone melt?

Click to expand...

Because the cylinder head will be covered in grease, the silicone will not seal with it being cheap. It is to prevent splashing down the spark plug holes not to seal the gaps completely.

ive managed to go deep enough in Fallout that i managed to kill the head unit. about the height of the flappy dash panel holding tube.

Fallout is very good with water, its a 1.2 injected panda (engine from a punto).
the engine was spluttering on one of the plugs as the HT lead was loose but it soon dried out.
the air intake was connected to a modified punto 75 air filter box (made to sit lower) and all sealed up with tiger seal and silicone grease. a large 40 or 50mm bit of pond pipe was used as the snorkel which follows the and is simply hose clamped to the roof rack rails going up the A pillar. even though i am still using the standard air filter, i have still stuck a cheap "cone" air filter on the end of the pipe to stop leaves and people poking rubbish down it. (i have found many crisp packets in the air box :/ )

inside i recommend bagging up any sensitive electronics and sticking a few packs of silica gel in with them just to help prevent moisture. as i zipped up the zip tie around the wires i made sure i forced in some silicone grease to also help with waterproofing. i also made sure that all the bags openings were pointing downward. about the only thing i needed to bag up was the alarm and the immobiliser CODE box (which was pumped full of grease anyway)

the rest of the connections will survive being wet if you just give them a good spray with some heavy oil.

in the summer when it can dry out quick, i actually jetwash the seats and the rest of the inside. i have the panda 750 rubber floor down with no sound proofing and some well placed drain holes to let the water in.. i mean out.. (the little triangle bits of metal you can push through the floor)

check out the pictures in the photo gallery!

John

I take by your comment 'well placed drain holes to let the water in.. i mean out.. (the little triangle bits of metal you can push through the floor)'
that you actually mean rust holes that just happen to be triangular!

Maybe you should suggest putting in a bilge pump in for good measure!

Dave

no no theres no rust on fallout.. none!
if you take the carpet out and look at the floor pan theres these bits of metal you can push downward that have factory sealant all over them. as you push them down the sealant breaks and makes the best drain hole ever as the bit of metal you push down helps funnel water away from coming up into the car.

the biggest issue i had was water coming up through the gear stick hole!

mightypanda said:

Hello. I am preparing the "mightyPanda" with another forum member "omgwoody" for Panda Raid 2018. We are novice mechanics but so far we are really excited of what we have achieved so far. I appeal to seasoned mechanics for their views on a modification we are considering.



We would like to raise the air intake but we are reluctant to make & fit a conventional looking snorkel which will require a 2" hole through the wing - just feels a little savage. Thus we are considering 2 options:



1) Remove rubber hose from airbox. This will effectively raise the air intake to just under bonnet level, or,



2) Install new rubber hose from air box to heater box just under bonnet scoop, see image with 40mm holesaw indicating position. We could even add a thin layer of sponge on top of the grill (under the scoop) which will be useful for catching sand.



Your thoughts on this subject would be most welcome.



PS. We have never done this sort of thing before, so we would love to get together with some "like-minded" Panda owners for a off-road day. I will check to see if there are other threads on this subject.

Click to expand...

Off road day check out the Yorkshire dales weekend July 2nd AndyPanda4x4

For the snorkel, I have decided to just remove the rubber hose for the air intake - took 10 seconds, job done.

Many thanks for your suggestions for waterproofing the electrics, I hadn't thought of that. I will be sure to make this mod before the Yorkshire Dales trip.

mightypanda said:

For the snorkel, I have decided to just remove the rubber hose for the air intake - took 10 seconds, job done.

Many thanks for your suggestions for waterproofing the electrics, I hadn't thought of that. I will be sure to make this mod before the Yorkshire Dales trip.

Click to expand...

Not to smart for long term. Sucked air will be of much higher temperature. 52mm hole cut out in side wall of heater matrix housing/ fresh air intake. Piece of flexi pipe and your done.

kolza said:

Not to smart for long term. Sucked air will be of much higher temperature. 52mm hole cut out in side wall of heater matrix housing/ fresh air intake. Piece of flexi pipe and your done.

Click to expand...

Does it matter if the air entering the carb is hot? (I guess the rubber hose is there for a reason).

mightypanda said:

Does it matter if the air entering the carb is hot? (I guess the rubber hose is there for a reason).

Click to expand...

You'll be slightly down on power - lose a few tenths on those hot lap times