Panda (Classic) Classic Panda 100HP Sleeper

[nickd1982]

Thats the one! Its coming back out and saved from being broken!....

 

[purple haze]

Thanks for the reply.....thought it maybe matts. It's your car to do with as you wish..just thought you should know how rare it is.

 

[doody]

i love this car too. i would love to do this conversion myself.
in fact i've been looking for a panda 1000s with the double fabric sunroofs for months.
my mum had one when the were new G170 PEW i think was the reg number, she had it till it was 4 or 5 years old i think. me and my brother used to help wash and wax it every weekend.
the car was immaculate and we loved it, in fact it was that very car that started my passion for Italian cars.

sadly she traded it in for a Ford sierra of all cars. :yuck:
i would imagen the little panda's dead now though

 

[Palio]

i love this car too. i would love to do this conversion myself.
in fact i've been looking for a panda 1000s with the double fabric sunroofs for months.
my mum had one when the were new G170 PEW i think was the reg number, she had it till it was 4 or 5 years old i think. me and my brother used to help wash and wax it every weekend.
the car was immaculate and we loved it, in fact it was that very car that started my passion for Italian cars.

sadly she traded it in for a Ford sierra of all cars. :yuck:
i would imagen the little panda's dead now though

Sadly it's been unlicenced since 2002 so almost certainly dead unfortunately

 

[doody]

that sad news but i was expecting it. thanks for finding out though.

 

[firstcar-Y10]

Loving this car! I've just bought a Panda Bianca and was wandering if I could fit later engines, I may have to pick your brains some time!

Nick

From what the previous owner has said on here a fair few of the distinguishing 'Bianca' parts are missing anyway (notably the self coloured white bumpers) so probably a good base for modifying if you want to without feeling too guilty about its rarity.
Hmmm...

 

[Alixcompo]

[
sadly she traded it in for a Ford sierra of all cars. :yuck:
i would imagen the little panda's dead now though [/QUOTE]

It probably is a Ford now.! Either that or a drinks can.

 

[lewey]

Since there is a flurry of interest in the car, I thought it was a good time to do an update. I still use the car as my daily driver. It is still the best car I've owned and a great source of driving fun when I want it to be.

I had problems passing the MOT last summer due to a rusty driver's door and emissions. The door skins had separated a little on the front bottom corner, but this is bad news since it is near enough the hinge to be considered a structural issue. This was ultimately sorted in a very tidy way. VmanC posted to me a replacement door of the same colour from a car I sold to him a couple of years previous! Door bolted on, rust no longer an issue.

The emissions was puzzling, since I was using a nearly new mani-cat for the test with a sub 20k engine that ran perfectly. The lambda reading was high (lean) and the CO was a little high also. HC were also very high. Oil was being burned a little, but not excessive I thought. Obviously I was wrong. The engine was so perfect in use and the rest of the car was ready to go, so it was frustrating. I contemplated what might be wrong and which parts I would take apart or have to buy. In costing out gaskets, timing belt, possible valves, piston rings, machine shop time, etc. It got quite high, very fast. In the end I went on eBay and saw some good prices for low mileage engines and just bought one of them! Replaced the engine in a day and got an MOT shortly after. I sold the old engine to someone who just wanted the crank for a motorsport project who later reported that it was perfect and I must have driven the car gently.

Engine was £350 delivered. Done 1500 miles in a 500 sport.

Ready to go in with my gearbox.

Found a girl who can help with mechanics.

Can you spot Vern's door?


So after all that, in January, I decided to get a better exhaust as mine was blowing and even bad Selecta exhausts are not cheap now. I got a custom stainless one made at Roar Power in B'ham (Longlife). I explained how I wanted the quietest exhaust he had ever made as it seems even asking for this at a "performance exhaust shop" you get a moderately noisy one. We negotiated where the silencers would go and how big they might be. There was much discussion over a Lancia Y10 Turbo style silencer across the car from left to right at the back. In the end it seemed unsafe with the Panda fuel tank and tricky to make, so we decided to put a long thin thing right at the front, where it would be most effective. He did a good job I reckon. These pics were taken today.

I've got a late top-change mechanism, so no rods underneath car

He did a good job on the bending

Longlife? Already corroding.

Shiny, init


Lastly, a couple more pics I took today of how it looks under the bonnet these days.

 

[firstcar-Y10]

Looking good Only you would consider the easiest option after failing on emissions to be pop another engine in!

 

[panda panda]

If I ever -ahem- 'break' Fizzles engine I'd love one of those lumps under the bonnet

 

[Didge3]

If I ever -ahem- 'break' Fizzles engine I'd love one of those lumps under the bonnet

Snap, just the other week I was looking at 1242's and 1368's on the bay....
But then I was looking at Turbos. I think I'd rather turbo than do something that's already been done.

 

[firstcar-Y10]

If I ever -ahem- 'break' Fizzles engine I'd love one of those lumps under the bonnet

Yay, think how much more you could break fitting one of those

 

[panda panda]

Yay, think how much more you could break fitting one of those

Ha ha, the possibilities are endless

 

[lewey]

Snap, just the other week I was looking at 1242's and 1368's on the bay....
But then I was looking at Turbos. I think I'd rather turbo than do something that's already been done.

I don't know. I don't think it is necessary, but it would be fast. The T-Jet setup I am putting in my Uno sleeper project would just as easily go in the Panda as I'm using the same gearbox type, but it just seems like too much. Event the slightest tangent from straight would be understeer peril I think. It's bad enough in a Uno.

Seems likely that someone has a T-Jet Panda somewhere. Europe is a big place and it's got lots of Pandas in it!

 

[jatkinson]

I love this panda so much , makes me want to do similar to a panda . LOVE how much a sleeper it is

 

[Didge3]

I don't know. I don't think it is necessary, but it would be fast.

I don't mean turbo'ing a 1.2 or 1.4, I mean turbo'ing my original 750 engine. Its only an idea thus far but I think it could work. I'd get less power than a 1.2 probably and it'd be more work but then I'd have something individual, more to point I think it'd be a fun project. :slayer:

 

[lewey]

Changed the 5th gear in the Panda so it is a little longer. I still want to be able to slip into it over 30MPH to save fuel, but stay under 3000RPM at all times ideally.

5th gear in an Uno delivered the correct ratio according to ePer. Got a couple of those boxes, so got pilfering.

The 5th gear pair. That was easy.

70MPH = 3000RPM. Good.


I managed to fit the Uno gears into the Panda through the wheel arch with just the wheel removed. Always thought it would be a quick upgrade. It's a shame that FIAT hasn't made a suitable 6 speed gearbox with a high final drive like the 5 speeds because then I could just have a super overdrive for 1500RPM motorwaying and forget the compromise.

 

[pandamonius_maximus]

Cool beans!! I wonder if air effects will allow a panda to reach 138mph :devil:

I may do this as well on mine, could do with some quieter motorway trips. Although for competing I think I've got it right as it reaches a top speed of 120 fairly quickly.

Also where did you get your girl? I've tried ebay but no luck there, just tonnes of panda parts

Hope you are well, must catch up sometime!

Si

 

[lewey]

I am doing fine, thanks Si. I don't think mine quite goes 120MPH, so you are doing very well I would say. Have you measured speed using GPS? Probably the best way average Joe can really know. The 5th gear change will have had an effect on my top speed, so I'll see if it is to the positive or negative in that regard some time.

I can't make the sprint this weekend. I tried to make plans, but it hasn't worked out. Castle Combe is the only one you are doing that is even remotely near me.

I found the girl at work. Upkeep so far is moderate. She is keen to help and learn, but didn't come with any car knowledge as standard.

 

[joe ward]

I love the car mate I think you have done a great job!