Northern Auto Tech - ECU and Blue & Me Repairs
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Panda My New 2009 100HP

Overview Gallery Discussion

Introduction

A bit of background:

I was looking to replace my VW Golf 1.8T after 13 years of ownership. It has been recently hit up the backside and consequently written off. I was offered a paltry amount of £800 for it which gave me a bit of a reality check - why was I paying £450 a year insurance for a heavily modified car to only be offered that?

Also I have been in the modified car scene for quite a while now in various cars ranging from an Escort RS Turbo, a Fiesta XR2 (both of which I bitterly regret selling considering market prices nowadays) to my current Mk4 Golf GTI and have realised I'm spending more and more over the years and not really getting anything back. Plus I'm getting old now (40) :p

So the decision was made to buy the Golf back and it is now waiting to be broken for parts which when sold should be more than enough to cover a new car. Which brings me to the Panda...

I know what the Panda is like as a car as my wife owns a 1.2 Dynamic ECO which has been absolutely good as gold over the past few years. So the hunt was on.

EBay turned up what I think is a lovely example of a Panda 100HP from Newcastle. It was a bit of a trek bearing in mind I live 350 miles and a stretch of water away from the sellers address so I was really hoping it lived up to expectations when I went to view the car yesterday.

The seller was very honest and pointed out the very few faults it had and what he has fixed over the last year as the owner. He'd spent a fair bit sorting out the main niggles that come with the 100HP; a Bilstien B12 kit had been fitted along with a Coupe bumpstops, new top mounts, ARB bushes, track rod ends, drop links and an Ulter backbox as the old one had rotted out. He also fitted a set of Abarth 500 seats as the standard ones didn't agree with him.

This and the 4 fairly new Goodyear tyres, FSH and only 56k on the clocks swayed it for me and made the 350 mile catamaran, bus, train, plane, car and ferry journey (in that order, all in 12 hours) worth it.

The car is currently parked on my brothers driveway as I am waiting for everything to be sorted out with my Golf and while it's there he is going to give it a good machine polish and a nice wax as he's into all that where I am not :D

I do have a few plans for it but nothing too serious; I have already bought a Fiat 500 Abarth steering wheel and airbag to replace the worn standard wheel, I will get some 3D gel number plates made up when I transfer my private plate over with some surrounds, a new interior mirror as the one in there is a bit scabby, a Euro drivers rear light, paint the calipers red and some silver bulbs all round for the indicators. My Kenwood headunit will also make an appearance at some point.

Anyways enough of my waffling, attached are some pics from the eBay listing.
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A quick clutch slave cylinder bleed and all is well again.

the bleed nipple did absolutely nothing; a quick hiss of air and then fluid came out from around the bleed screw so that will do me. I see from various posts this is fairly common?

In other news I did manage to get the steering wheel controls on the A500 steering wheel to work with my Kenwood headunit. I had to make my own loom and find the correct pinouts but for £8 and some soldering I can't complain.

Next job is to get the front bumper off (again) to replace the leaking condenser and also swap out the feeble sounding standard horn for twin Hella style loud things.

PS, for anyone that cares (TBH I don't any more) our house move is still pending after 4 months...
 
DaveMcT said:
I hit a 3x2 on the M5, taking out two tyres and dinged the wheels. There where already a bit out-of-round but now they were properly **ed.

I fitted some Pepperpot steels and painted them with "stainless steel" colour. It's faded a bit so now looks almost the same as the Grigio grey body colour. I might waft over some lighter silver - maybe. They are low cost and do suit the car.

Tyres 195-50-R15 will fit and you'll have the speedo reading dead on correct. That extra side wall improves the ride and rough road impact abiity.

OEM springs on 100HP are simply cut down ordinary Panda springs making them appreciably harder. The OM bump stops are longer to limit body roll.

Febi bump stops sold for the Fiat Coupe do a better job and improve wheel travel. I also fitted Fiat 500 rear springs with the top rubber cushions on both ends. This considerably improves the ride and on less than perfect road improves the handling.

Front struts and rear dampers - with the budget, you can do what you like but avoid going for stiffer springs. My fronts will be getting OEM struts and 1.4 Fiat 500 springs. I got a pair cheap so if they dont work the OEM 100HP springs can go back on.

So my advice at the back is 500 springs with rubber buffers on top and bottom. Use shorter bump stops and fit 50 series tyres all round.
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This is some really good advice!
 
Wazzzer said:
Brakes have also been massively overhauled; new red rear calipers and hoses to go with the discs and pads I replaced a few weeks ago and reconditioned red Alfa Romeo 147 calipers, new 284mm discs, pads and hoses up front.
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Did the 147 calipers fit on the Panda carriers or did you use 147 carriers?
And....are the 284mm discs the standard size for the 100 or are they 147 sized?
 
nitramtpr said:
Did the 147 calipers fit on the Panda carriers or did you use 147 carriers?
And....are the 284mm discs the standard size for the 100 or are they 147 sized?
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Everything was swapped over to the 147 setup: calipers, carriers, discs and pads. Hoses were the 100HP versions, just renewed.
 
I have pair of 147 calipers bought with the wrong (five hole) discs because the price was right. Im waiting for the 100HP discs to wear out before fitting them.

I would like a set of Alfa four pot calipers but from £400 used (and in need of overhaul) they ain't low cost. These are nice (probably)https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Alfa-Rom...036383?hash=item44674f73df:g:VaIAAOSwbuFfjbow
But the 310mm disc is definitely too big and it's a lot to spend and find they won't work with the 285mm Alfa 147 disc.
 
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DaveMcT said:
I have pair of 147 calipers bought with the wrong (five hole) discs because the price was right. Im waiting for the 100HP discs to wear out before fitting them.

I would like a set of Alfa four pot calipers but from £400 used (and in need of overhaul) they ain't low cost. These are nice (probably)https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Alfa-Rom...036383?hash=item44674f73df:g:VaIAAOSwbuFfjbow
But the 310mm disc is definitely too big and it's a lot to spend and find they won't work with the 285mm Alfa 147 disc.
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That's not a bad price for all 4 calipers, especially if it includes the carriers. Possibly overkill for a Panda though. :eek:
 
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nitramtpr said:
That's not a bad price for all 4 calipers, especially if it includes the carriers. Possibly overkill for a Panda though. :eek:
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It's really very good, making me wonder what's wrong with them. The fronts are four piston type. There is no carrier as used on the C clamp type. But worth a PM to the seller to ask if they include all the brackets. Contact HEL, if they need a new link pipe. Some of the eBay prices for the "upgrade" are silly.

They will need less pedal pressure to get the job done but probably won't emergency stop much better than standard as its really limited by tyres and ABS quality. They would win on a track where race conditions can over-heat standard brakes.
 
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DaveMcT said:
My driver's seat has a pump action lever at one side. It initially pumps one way when it's full up or full down.

I got the rear springs on eBay and just kept an eye out for a pair complete with rubbers. That with the ones on the car do the job.

I do have a pair of 500 front springs which I have yet to fit. The car could do with new front shocks but Ive not got around to doing the job. Are they suitable? My bet is yes, but at £20 the pair it wasn't a huge gamble.

My wife's 1.2 Dynamic has the 500 axle (integral anti roll bar) and 500 springs. It's a great improvement BUT it's too wide for anything more than 165 wheels. If you want one of those on a 100HP you'll need some jigs and careful cutting and welding. It's "doable" but not a job for the faint-hearted or someone learning to weld. :eek:
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Hello! I've changed the rear springs and used the FEBI coupe stops, as you recommended, but have not done anything to the front suspension...have you got round to fitting the 500 front springs yet? What were they like? I still find the Panda suspension hard and jittery, but then my other car is a Rover 75, very smooth :)
 
often not just the Panda

Someone has a car that has worn out shocks and or springs

complain of the suspension on said car

The go out and buy some expensive shocks and springs and post how much better it is

this is like comparing apples with footballs there not even on the same playing field.

OEM parts are a compromise. Cost, longevity, handling and comfort. And of cause an area can be improved usually at a cost, but it would be hard to improve all.
 
Cheers but unfortunately the actuator itself works perfectly - it's the small plastic shaft it acts on to open/close the hot air flap that has the issue. It's completely snapped off meaning the heating permanently sits on cold. Handy for the colder months ahead.

From previous posts it looks to be an inherent problem with the climate control that either requires the whole interior to be stripped apart and the heater itself replaced at a cost of 1k in parts or a bit of a bodge attempted.

I know what I'll be doing.

I'm going to have a look at possibly fixing this with the trick in this topic. Access is a bit of an issue but we'll see how it goes.

https://www.fiatforum.com/panda/297997-panda-100hp-no-hot-air-heater-5.html
 
Oh man, looks like it's quite a common issue, something to look forward to :confused:

Looks like this is an important tip:

If you have a working climate controlled system you should avoid enabling the heater while the fan is on. The amount of torque required to change the "flap" is high which likely leads to the common failures we are seeing here.
 
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Keep it always in "auto"mode instead of fiddling with it.
Just did three of those gears on my son in laws Bravo together with my son (pics in the Bravosection).
It was a real pain in the lower behind (and that's an understatement).

gr J
 
A3jeroen said:
Keep it always in "auto"mode instead of fiddling with it.
Just did three of those gears on my son in laws Bravo together with my son (pics in the Bravosection).
It was a real pain in the lower behind (and that's an understatement).

gr J
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Auto mode would constly work the flaps to keep the cabin temps correct so If anything would put more stress into the system
 
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But it would do so in a controlled, logical way.
I've had several Fiat's with climate control, always on full auto and never had a problem.

The original cogs by the way are terrible quality. They seem to be two parts glued together. The new ones (off E-Bay) we put in the Bravo were 3D-printed sturdy ones.

gr J
 
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