Panda (Classic) My Blue clx.

[homeward]

At the moment Chiaro is favourite, you didn't want the Buick again did you?

 

[blu73]

well having seen this thing in the flesh now, my god its beautiful!! And the wheels look much better in the flesh i think - they don't look too big at all when you stand next to the car.

(coffee cake was good too! :yum

 

[panda panda]

well having seen this thing in the flesh now, my god its beautiful!! And the wheels look much better in the flesh i think - they don't look too big at all when you stand next to the car.

(coffee cake was good too! :yum

Got to agree with you about the car - missed the cake though!

I had a cheeky little sit in it and the seats are great though quite low, I think for me they'd need to be 3 or 4 inches higher to suit.

Not a huge fan of the grey interior but it works really well with the seats and those late steering wheels are very comfy to hold. It's the door cards and dash material which I couldn't live with, somehow they just don't suit it, perhaps the grey fizz material would be nicer?

One thing you can't quibble about is the fantastic paint work, lovely sparkling blue, those alloys are something else, looked great glinting in the sun today.

All in all a terrific little panda. I am very envious

 

[firstcar-Y10]

I had a cheeky little sit in it and the seats are great though quite low, I think for me they'd need to be 3 or 4 inches higher to suit.

In case you thought your legs had shrunk in the sunshine when you got back in and couldn't reach the pedals

 

[VmanC]

well having seen this thing in the flesh now, my god its beautiful!! And the wheels look much better in the flesh i think - they don't look too big at all when you stand next to the car.

(coffee cake was good too! :yum

Ah! You must have been one of the group sat on the floor when I was selling Pinky stickers.
I was wanting to meet you in the flesh at this show, obviously I did, but I still don't know which one you were . So much for the name badges.

Glad you liked the wheels, I think a couple more have changed thier minds now they've seen them. Still a few that haven't though.

 

[VmanC]

Got to agree with you about the car - missed the cake though!

I had a cheeky little sit in it and the seats are great though quite low, I think for me they'd need to be 3 or 4 inches higher to suit.

Not a huge fan of the grey interior but it works really well with the seats and those late steering wheels are very comfy to hold. It's the door cards and dash material which I couldn't live with, somehow they just don't suit it, perhaps the grey fizz material would be nicer?

One thing you can't quibble about is the fantastic paint work, lovely sparkling blue, those alloys are something else, looked great glinting in the sun today.

All in all a terrific little panda. I am very envious

Yeah the seats are a little too low, I fitted these before I had the idea for the subframes so maybe I'll update them at some point.

 

[panda1408]

The wheels really suit it, looked fantastic in the the sun. I would like them even more with some higher profile tyres, but I guess that is not possible. Still a very Panda though

 

[blu73]

Ah! You must have been one of the group sat on the floor when I was selling Pinky stickers.
I was wanting to meet you in the flesh at this show, obviously I did, but I still don't know which one you were . So much for the name badges.

Yeah i was sat just inside the tent next to Frazer. Long hair and scruffy looking i guess would be a good description of me.

 

[VmanC]

The wheels really suit it, looked fantastic in the the sun. I would like them even more with some higher profile tyres, but I guess that is not possible. Still a very Panda though

I may see what 175/50/15's are like if some cheap part worns come up on eBay.

 

[panda1408]

I may see what 175/50/15's are like if some cheap part worns come up on eBay.

I presumed there was no more space in the arch for anything bigger, have you done any arch mods as it is?

 

[VmanC]

I presumed there was no more space in the arch for anything bigger, have you done any arch mods as it is?

I had rolled the rear arches for a previous wheel/tyre combo but it probably wouldn't be necessary for the current set as they are, so I'm thinking that there could be room for 175/50's. The fronts, I'm sure, will be fine.

 

[blu73]

but do you really want to increase the rolling radius more, won't feel as nippy... must be pretty close to stock with current tyres?

 

[clowndog]

This is looking awesome VmanC I am looking at doing things that are different to in the near future. But I will be going for the japanese look. (might not even work) but hey who cares it's a great car with character so why not add a little more!

I will have to steal your idea for the seats as my fronts are terrible! I presume it's just a case of welding the old rails onto the new seats (once the alfa ones are removed)

Cheers for the research and inspiration!

 

[VmanC]

This is looking awesome VmanC I am looking at doing things that are different to in the near future. But I will be going for the japanese look. (might not even work) but hey who cares it's a great car with character so why not add a little more!

I will have to steal your idea for the seats as my fronts are terrible! I presume it's just a case of welding the old rails onto the new seats (once the alfa ones are removed)

Cheers for the research and inspiration!

Thanks Clowndog, be sure to keep us all up to date with your mods!

I don't weld on the original runners, I use a home made subframe that mounts in the original runners and uses the three fixing bolts, you can see pics in this thread - My white '88' 4x4.

Blu73, you're right about the rolling radius but this car is crying out for more power now so when I fit a bigger engine an increase will be desireable.

 

[blu73]

all true.. 15s on a cento and it feels really slow - but once you add a turbo or 16v engine or what-not they actually handle alot better on 15s (despite the shock horrors people have at you in the cento section when you try fit bigger than 14s lol)

 

[VmanC]

Wow, nearly a year since the last post.

Well the blue clx (still no name) has been to some lovely places recently, Panda Camp, Santa Pod, but this morning it was back to reality.......



Yep, mot time.

Needn't have worried though as it sailed through yet again. Every year I wonder, "Is this the year when it will finally need a little welding?"

There are tiny bubbles reappearing under the paint on the bottoms of the doors, surprise surprise, which I had done a while ago but that's it. I also curbed one of the wheels :bang: those tyres offer no protection at all.

The Punto 75 engine is still waiting in the wings and I'm even more keen to fit it now after sampling the delights of Panto's 16v motor. Ok it won't be quite as fast but should still give a very usable boost in power.

 

[VmanC]

Short update for the record.....

Well nearly another year gone and very little to report. I have had the windows tinted recently, very subtle as I wanted the door windows to match the back, I'm not a fan of having just the back half of the car done in a dark tint and the front left alone.

There are legal limits for the front side windows so to get all tinted windows to match means keeping the level of tint at the legal limit for all of them.





It's very subtle in bright sunlight, a little more noticeable on a dull day, just what I was after.

Apart from driving it occasionally that's all I have done. No engine swap, in fact I may not even bother. With all the other swaps I have going on I really don't need another one, that and the fact that the engine that's in it is so nice I'm reluctant to disturb it.

Sometimes I think I'll just sell it and let the new owner decide, but then I think of how I will miss it It's a tough decision but one I fear needs to be made soon.

 

[blu73]

Love this panda!! i think some clear seicento side repeaters would look good, match the front clear indicators... I think looking at them the panda ones are the same as cinq ones and you can just swap the plastic lense over from a sei to a cinq so reckon it would be as simple as twist off, change bulb for orange one and twist new lense on..

 

[Didge3]

Love this panda!! i think some clear seicento side repeaters would look good, match the front clear indicators... I think looking at them the panda ones are the same as cinq ones and you can just swap the plastic lense over from a sei to a cinq so reckon it would be as simple as twist off, change bulb for orange one and twist new lense on..

View attachment 154638

Noooo the thing to do with Panda's is give them square Rover side repeaters, round lights on a square car?!?
Char' side repeaters

 

[kolza]

I would sugest clear/smoked side repeter lens from Fiat126p EL or ELX- unfortunately glued on but looks great.
http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRW-Bx0bonR4EpD4dICNWg1AcjIYrx__15X-MvNbLwl-4zY-uss4q9A4g