Hi gentlemen,

Tomorrow I'm taking my Sisley into a garage for a thorough check-up, hope I won't have any heart-attacks. Two questions please, if anyone could answer I would be grateful:

1. Can the 999cc engine in a 4x4 be replaced by an equivalent Fire engine from another non-4WD model (just in case)?
2. Can the exhaust system and the fuel tank be fitted from another non 4wd Panda?

If the news are reasonably good (i.e. sound engine and solid structure, with only a replacement of some parts + change of fluids and cleaning of filters needed), then I shall take pictures and post them. By the way, does anyone know of any reliable breakeryards in Scotland close to Edinburgh or Fife that do Pandas? Any help most welcome, for I am a bit out of my league with cars and garage people are not always trustworthy. Thanks.

Hi Gentzen Best bet is to get a yellow pages and phone all scrappies. I live in the scottish borders and it took some detective work to get the bits i wanted. No yard i know of specialises them. If u know any farmers ask amongst them i have known old 4x4 pandas to kick about on farms for ages as hacks. I reckon there is still quire a few here & there The engine should be a stright swap for another 999 fire although the 4x4 version had a different cam so it gave 50bhp instead of the standard 45. To be honest not much goes wrong with the engine, bar the head gasket going occasionally they do not break period. Im not sure about the xhaust but i know the fuel tank is different on a 4x4. Its metal instead of the plastic one on a 4x2 and located differently cos of the 4x4 stuff at the back. Hope thats some help

Thanks Giacosa, it certainly helps. As to the engine, could a 999cc from a 2x4 be fitted on a 4x4 version but with retaining the cam of the old 4x4 engine, so that it still has an output of 50bhp? If so, it would be worth buying a cheap 2x4 Panda (say, a 1000CLX) and interchange the engines as well as benefiting from other spareparts, e.g. doors, exhaust, etc. What about it? (It would be better of course to look for some old 4x4 in a scrapyard, but that would presuppose I knew how to get parts out of a car, which unfortunately I don't, let alone that 4x4 Pandas do not come by so often in scrapyards up here I think.)

applying cinq thinking here..but..

If the engine from the other pandas fits the 4x4 transmission, and these are FIRE units, correct? The 1108cc (and 1242cc ) units used in centos are also FIRE.

I don't know the panda or older FIRE based models too well, are they carb'ed and have crank driven fuel pumps etc, do panda 4x4's have ECUs?

If the 999cc FIRE, 1108cc FIRE and 1242cc FIRE are all physically similar, they should all have the same mounting locations and connection to the gearbox. So expanding on this.. how easy would it be to drop a 1242cc FIRE unit into a panda 4x4 (assuming all the mechanical connections are the same) its just a case of nicking a cinq ECU and doing a bit of electrickery, yeah?

Hi again,
I've just re-read your posting.
Exhaust systems: The 4x4 system is the same as the original Panda with rear leaf-springs, or the Seat Marbella, EXCEPT for the manifold and first couple of foot of pipe !
Ideally you need an original 4x4 set-up, but if that isn't an option, you need the manifold and a couple of feet of pipe from the 999 Fire, 18" or so of flexi-pipe and the pipe and back-box off a Marbella.
Regards again,

Got it Pandafan, that basically means I need to find a mechanically sound 4x4 in a scrapyard, since "messing" with the car is out of my league presently (unless I'm flirtin with disaster). Thanks for the advice anyway, very kind of you.