Well I've tried most things Panda so here are a few things to consider.
Chassis/Body
- Get a Lancia Y10 anti-roll bar set-up. Google 'Lancia Y10 parts' then send some emails out to people/places you find. They are a direct fit, you just need the ARB, radius arms and new bushes and clamps. They are hard to find, but there are still some around. You can get the new bushes of ebay for around £6-£10 each.
- I got some KYB oil & gas dampers from a site I cannot remember. They are quite good and stiffen the ride a lot and help for speedy cornering and general handling. Not very expensive either.
- If you look hard enough, there are a few strut braces left in the world for Pandas. One of them is ontop of my cupboard, but you will find that if you upgrade the engine the brace will not fit anymore.
- Body brace across the rear arches would be nice (will have to be DIY)
- For weight saving you can get plastic glass, but again thats a DIY job. Also you can cut the crossmember and excess material out of the boot, also the wiper motor, door cards, seats etc and save a few KG's.
Engine
Standard 999cc FIRE engine upgrades
- Panda 4x4 camshaft
- Induction kit
- Exhaust manifold from another 999cc FIRE engine (think its a cinq sporting but cant remember)
Non standard engines
- 1.2 16v Mk1 Punto engine (relatively easy, the engine mounts and the gearbox matings are exactly the same)
- 1108cc engine (also easy)
- Coupe 16v turbo engine WILL NOT FIT no matter what
- Punto GT engine WILL FIT though....
Brakes
- I have the drilled and grooved disks but they are still pretty naff. I would love to discover a new brake upgrade to the Panda thats comes directly from another Fiat. Maybe a Punto GT setup will fit? I will have to find out later in the year.
As lewey has quite rightly said; it's all pretty much pointless unless you do an engine change. Trust me I've put air filters on, swapped manifold, done this done that and if I could go back in time I'd just stick the 1.2 16v lump in straight away and be off to 60 in 8 seconds
Why don't you pioneer a new engine swap? Try fitting an Audi/VW 1.8 20vt engine mildly tuned to 350bhp.
I'm still undecided in my latest turbo project. I bought a Coupe 16vt, but had to sell it 3 days later when I realised there was NO F'King way it was going to fit.......ever. Now I'm looking at Punto GT engines but thinking......'is 180bhp really enough?'.............'should I use a VW/Audi 1.8 20vt engine?'.............'maybe even a Honda VTEC engine?......'
These questions eat away at my soul!!!
The brilliant thing about Panda's at the end of that day though is that they are very light (mine weighs 720kg with a full interior and everything how it should be) so the power to weight ratios are quite impressive.
Plus they are pretty sleeper looking and nobody would ever think they could open a can of woop ass on a fast modern car, even with the 1.2 16v engine.
I'll stop talking now