General Speed of Pandas

[Willhelm]

Hi

I just found this forum and am enjoying reading about all the Pandas.

I had a Panda myself for 9 very happy months and was wondering about speed. I had a '93 Selecta (automatic) which for some reason had a Lancia engine. I don't know why it did, but it did, and my exhaust cost more to fix.

Anyway, I was coming back from playing footy in Huddersfield one saturday about a year ago, and I got my Panda going at 125mph. Nobody believes me tho, not my mates, not my girlfriend, nobody!

Please, somebody here, verify that it happened, that it is possible. Thank you.

Sadly the Panda passed away on the Leeds Outer Ring Road, causing much disruption. The AA man told me it was the head gasket which apparently woulda cost a fortune to replace. It's MOT was due anyway, and I knew it wouldn't pass it's emmision thingy.

Cheers!

 

[christopher watson]

the most i have had out of my selecta is around 100mph, and seeing as the speedo on a panda doesnt actually get to 125mph, how can you be sure about the speed?

 

[AppleSei]

was this GPS checked? the speedo would probably been way out of whack compared to the drive at the wheels, you would be looking close to chris's speed in reality.

No wonder it blew up if you was doing the ton in it. Poor panda

 

[Jaff_Fox]

I got mine to 115 on the autobahn on a very steep hill but normally you will only get about 90 or 100 if you have the wind with you.. My hrv-vtec screamed at 125 so i doubt its possible

 

[Alan.D]

Why?

 

[Willhelm]

I'm guessing 125mph based on the speedo. It went to 100mph but the needle went way past 100mph.

It definitely went faster than 100 tho! Maybe it's to do with the engine? As I say, for some reason it had a Lancia engine. I wish someone would believe me. :worship:

Anybody know why it had that engine, even the ignition key said Lancia on. It puddled my mechanic.

Cheers

 

[FuzzyPanda]

Not sure why, however mine's got Lancia written on the engine block and also on the headrests too. An engine transplant could well have happened, or a previous owner saw the various Lancia enscriptions and got a bit carried away.

And I find it very hard to believe a Panda being capable of a genuine 125 MPH. Indicated, maybe, but bear in mind the greater inaccuracies of a speedo as speed increases. I guess it depends what engine and gearbox replaced the original items.

 

[Tony M]

IAnybody know why it had that engine, even the ignition key said Lancia on. It puddled my mechanic.

pisssed himself laughing?

 

[Steven]

Most Fiats of this age have various Lancia marked components. Your Panda didn't do 125mph, trust us on that.

 

[Nuova500]

You mention a Lancia engine and keyfob, maybe just maybe someone dumped a Y10 lump in there which would still be the same engine btw, and put the ignition barrel in too? Maybe they changed the speedo and it actually did 125............ kph! Never mind, no one still believes it!

 

[Hellcat]

Whats more accurate? GPS or speedo? I don't have a panda but on mine the GPS and spedo conflict.

 

[Steven]

GPS should be 100% accurate. The average speedo is much much less accurate.

 

[AppleSei]

GPS should be 100% accurate. The average speedo is much much less accurate.

Nothing can be 100% accurate, but the GPS will be more accurate at higher speeds than the speedo, town driving there wont be much in it

 

[christopher watson]

The only way i can think that a panda would get close to 125mph, would be with a manual gearbox and either a Y10 turbo engine or a punto 1242 engine.

 

[Sprox]

Head gaskets don't cost a fortune to replace.....

 

[Willhelm]

Head gaskets don't cost a fortune to replace.....

Oh no! The AA man said it wouldn't be worth fixing! I coulda got another 6 months out of my Panda?

I was driving along the Ring Road and it started smoking, then stopped altogether. it wouldn't start again. So the AA man comes and says, "Head gasket mate, it's fcuked". Told me it would cost 200 to fix. So I never fixed it, even tho I didn't have another car. Man! Thats a kick in the nackers.

 

[FuzzyPanda]

I suspect repairs on a Y10 (Turbo?) engine would be slightly more costly than a standard 750/903/999/1108 lump.

 

[Hellcat]

GPS should be 100% accurate. The average speedo is much much less accurate.

In that case my speedo under-reads by a good 5-7mph at 70. Wondered why in 40 zones I always have people trying to get past.

Do you think a friendly speed camera police man would verify my speed for me?

 

[Chas Uno]

Just to add about the 'Lancia' engine, both my 1986 Uno FIRE engines had 'Lancia' cast into the block. At the end of the day it is the same old 999cc FIRE engine Panda and Uno owners know and love

Don't forget that Fiat own Lancia ( as well as Alfa Romeo, Ferrari (and Maserati?)), and the Lancia Y10 (in 1985) was the first car to come with the then brand new FIRE engine. Uno's and Panda's got it about a year later.

As to the speed, 125mph? I doubt it! And if you regularly pushed the engine that hard it's not surprising the headgasket went A GPS would give a reasonably accurate idea of the true speed seeing as Panda speedo's don't go anywhere near 125mph. Mind you, Smokeme would get that kind of speed out of a Panda, but he does have the benefit of turbochargers

The other week I managed to get about 106mph out of my 999cc Uno mk1, on a very long downhill stretch on the M40 northbound. My speedo goes up to a 120mph so the speed I got was indicated, though how accurate the speedo is (or most old Fiat speedos for that matter!) remains in question. I did it near the Princes Risborough turn off for anyone who knows it. Under normal circumstances about 90mph is the normal top speed, but hills/ winds can either increase or decrease that.

A shame the Panda was scrapped though, as a headgasket change on a FIRE engine is really quite easy...

 

[JimMagill]

Now we all know it's quite possible to get the average 1108cc carb panda up to warp speed!

(ta tony!)

Jim