Technical newbie needing advice

[ritterfender]

hi,
i`m asking these questions as a total Fiat,nevermind Panda first timer. My grandson has bought a 1994 panda clx to fix up for a first road car. We are in County Durham.
I have been trying to find a pair of sills and a windscreen for it ,so, can anyone point me in the direction of a supplier or person who can help?
Now ,getting more technical, what more powerfull engine or engine+ box in the Fiat range will pretty much bolt straight in ?.Minor mods are possible but serious bulkhead/chassis chopping are out. Also, to cope with more power,what brakes suspension can be swapped from other models ?.
The car came with a spare1200cc engine from an early punto and we have an option on a "100hp" engine and box from a newish write-off. will either of these fit ? We know you can make anything fit any car but are restricted to basic tools for the moment.
Being a young lad,his first change was to fit 15" alloys and 50 profile tyres (4x100 with wobble bolts) even though the car is not roadworthy yet ! Ah,the enthusiasm of youth !
Looking forward to your ideas ,and my appologies again for asking questions you`ve probably had before.
geoff

 

[firstcar-Y10]

The 1242 engine you have is your best starting point, basically a larger capacity version of the engine that's in there so marries straight up to gearbox & engine mounts. If it's an 8v version it will even look relatively 'stock' in situ, 16v versions need more jiggery pokery to fit because of all the extra space taken up by the head and injection gubbins. Plenty of folks on here who have fitted these engines before so advice should be easy to come by. Much less done by way of brake mods, the 1.2s weigh around the same as the standard engine so don't take any more stopping, and yours will already be a servo model (yes, that's the uprated version right there, earlier models were servo free!). Same for suspension, lowering springs are readily available (Spax with oem spec Bilsteins seem to be de rigeur) but that's about it for bolt on upgrades, just make sure what's there is in good nick and refresh the rubbers etc. You can (theoretically) get a front anti roll bar from a Lancia Y10 but they are vanishingly rare and don't tell anyone but when I had one fitted they offer very little benefit
Sills, don't know, not many about. Windscreens some folks have managed with the usual national fitters although stocks were getting low there too.
Nice to see another popping up in Durham too (didn't they officially drop the 'county' a while back to avoid people thinking we were in Ireland) Whereabouts are you?

 

[ritterfender]

We are in Spennymoor. I will get used to the models and engines eventually,but for now it`s all a bit confusing especially after 40 pages of back postings bouncing around in my head.
I need to sit back with a couple of reference books about the cars. Can you reccomend any titles ? Are there any specialists in the area ?
thanks
geoff

 

[Alixcompo]

Welcome, I joined the forum a couple of years ago and still haven't caught up with all the past posts.
Met a lot of the people though and they are excellent company; Barking as Badgers, but good company never-the-less.
And Panda's are addictive. I think I'm up to my 7th

 

[firstcar-Y10]

We are in Spennymoor. I will get used to the models and engines eventually,but for now it`s all a bit confusing especially after 40 pages of back postings bouncing around in my head.
I need to sit back with a couple of reference books about the cars. Can you reccomend any titles ? Are there any specialists in the area ?
thanks
geoff

Reference books,,, Hmmm, Haynes really. Panda's not really a well trodden path for enthusiasts yet so usually just gets a passing mention in books about small Fiats with page after page of propped open bootlid 500 Abarth silliness. From a practical point of view though the Panda models are easy. There's basically only 2 engines for the UK market, the older pushrod which was fitted to the pre '86 models and continued on a few in 903cc form till the early 90s, and the FIRE engine which is more common (which yours will have) which came in 750, 1 litre and 1.1 litre (auto only) forms on the Panda. '86 saw major revisions to bodywork and rear suspension and there's the 4wd variant which (post '86) has the same 999 FIRE engine but a different transmission (obviously) and mk1 style leaf spring rear. Finally in line with most carb went to injection in '92 to keep up with emissions regs along with an exciting facelifted grille!! Anything else is just trim. From your point of view virtually everything is interchangeable from any post '86 2wd Panda and engines are basically the same across Pandas, 1.0/1.1 Unos (1.1 after '89 only) Cinquecento/Seicento sportings and 1.1/1.2 mk 1 Puntos. Any newer than that gets more complicated on the electronics side but the engine continued right on through in various forms into the current Fiat models.


...Oh look, I just wrote the book
Oh except for the bit about the CVT autos but they're strange beasts for the even more oddball Pandisti
(light the fuse and stand back there.......)

This Forum is probably the best reference work out there if you can pick through all the gibberish we talk in between useful posts
for an engine upgrade start here:
https://www.fiatforum.com/members-motors/220258-classic-panda-100hp-sleeper.html : The 100hp engine you were looking at
and here:
https://www.fiatforum.com/panda-cla...fire-engine-panda.html?highlight=fitting+1242 : the definitive 1.2 16v guide.

Garages I can't help really, sorry, do all the work on Grumbleweed on the drive here. I live across in Newton Hall but work in the centre of Spennymoor if you want a chat.
Andrew.

 

[portland_bill]

Can't help with a sill supply, but the windscreen is flat. Any windscreen specialist will be able to cut a laminated one to size from stock. They keep flat laminated for tractors, etc. Its an interesting process when they cut it, and sever and seal the inner membrane. Meths is poured into the cut line and set alight. (Don't try this at home)
Ask to watch if they'll allow it.

 

[VmanC]

Great answers so far, very little to add.

Would be well worth researching insurance costs before diving into any modifications, can be horrific for an 18 year old.


http://stores.ebay.co.uk/R-Auto-In-s-n-c-Autoforniture

This is where I bought my last sill panels from. It doesn't look like they are selling any at the moment but may be worth sending them an email, they speak English and offer great service.

 

[ritterfender]

Thanks for the advice.I have had an offer of sills which i will follow up on. This seems to be the worst area for rot ,I hope. I also found a photo restoration which shows problem areas to check over. Thanks for the links,i`ll look at them now.