General Ur joking right?

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General Ur joking right?

jmarson

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Mar 23, 2002
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Thought i would start off the panda forum by poking a bit of fun. Does the panda forum need a styling section? :D

Jonathan

Bravo 1.6 SX 1998
 
4 x 4 pandas... I really want one!!!

Jamie

Fiat Bravo 2001.
Nakamichi CD40z/Stock HU
Directed 1500 Dual Input EQ
Stinger Dream Series Interconnects.
Rockford Fos Punch 100z2 Per Door.
Rockford Fosgate 5.25 Comps.
4 Directed Dei1100d's Cerwin Vega Stroker 18D2.
Predicted SPL - 160+Db
 
I had a panda 4x4 and i thought it was the best thing since sliced bread, the only thing is it had no handbrake, very difficult if used up in the mountains!!!
 
My X has the same lever... I just figured it poked the squirrel, under the hood, in his rearend for extra motivation...:D:D

:D
1980 X1/9 "Celeste"


"Real men love hugging tight curves"
 
And I suppose it would be a bit pointless debadging a Panda?

Steve.


panda3.jpg

1989 Fiat Panda 1000CL
Electronic Distributor
Lots'n'lots'n'lots of RUST!
Copper brake pipes
Currently immobile with a knackered gearbox
Replacement 5-speed 'box in garage ready to fit ...
 
Fiat Marbella?? isnt it Seat marbella!?

I got a Marbella that im trying fix now,. Iy will be my first car :)

0-60: Some time tomorrow?
 
Debadging a Panda ?

One year when there was about 6 inches of snow, someone I met said they used to have great fun in a debadged 4X4 in snow, everyone saw this little panda ploughing through the snow and thought "If a Panda can get through so can I"

Needless to say they couldn't. :D:D

So I guess debadging a 4X4 is worth it for the laugh factor

Stilo Active 1.2 5 Door/ Panda 4X4
 
Well if my old Skoda could pull a Merc out of a large puddle, then why not?

This is true BTW, during a very heavy rainstorm quite a few years ago, a Merc got stuck on a roundabout which was about 18 inches deep in water. My rear-engined Estelle was able to pull him out easily. Needless to say he wasn't entirely pleased :D

Skoda Estelle 120 LSE, registration number A129 PTL, where are you?

STEVE - the almost geriatric, NOS guzzling Panda owner and beagle fanatic ...

I'm pink, therefore I'm SPAM :)
beaglerunc.gif
 
According to the AA..

You've entered the following details:

Registration A129PTL

Do the details below match the car you are interested in?

Vehicle make SKODA
Model SUPER ESTELLE 120 LSE


Doesn't mean it's still alive though - just that the plate is still registered ( somewhere in this Orwellian World ) against the Skoda.

Skooby-dooby-do
Where are you?
 
Interesting John.

I didn't realise you could do that. The Skoda was supposed to have been scrapped November 1989, when I bought the Panda new, but I did get a note from DVLA that someone had applied for a registration document when it was still registered in my name.

I bought the Panda from Swithland Motors, who had rather dubious business practices to say the least - they were based around Loughborough, hence the G781TUT registration.

The Skoda is possibly still alive - it was a great motor, but I blew the head gasket trying to get 90 mph out of it on the A46. Replaced the gasket but had no effect. Later on I discovered that the torque wrench I borrowed to tighten up the head bolts was faulty :( - if they'd been tightened up properly then I would probably still have the car. Lovely motor. Skodas were very under-rated by a lot of people ...

However, the sadness I felt in losing it was more than compensated by the prospect of driving a brand-new Panda, my first ever new car. She celebrated her 14th birthday last Sunday!

I'm the second owner BTW, the result of pre-registering the car and leaving her in the showroom for a couple of months before I bought her ...

STEVE - the almost geriatric, NOS guzzling Panda owner and beagle fanatic ...

I'm pink, therefore I'm SPAM :)
beaglerunc.gif
 
I hadn't realised you'd had the Panda that long - that takes real stamina!
My longest keeper to date has been around 10 years - I'd probably still be driving it, but for writing it off last October :(
Shame really - the girls were mortified when they realised it wouldn't be coming back anymore.

What was it?

Well how different to a Panda can you get?
Peugeot 505 Family estate ( 2.5 litre diesel) with 3 rows of forward facing seats - all 16 foot of it.

It did all sorts of things -
holiday for 6? no problem (8 seats, and luggage space).
Half the hockey team because the school minibus is unavailable - you bet:)
Tonnes of junk to the tip.
40 mpg [8D]


Regarding Swithland Motors - we crossed swords with them in one of the Birmingham outposts when we were looking for the Tipo Sue used to have:

Shiraz Red Tipo?
We've got this pretty Tempra..
No, we want a Shiraz Red Tipo..
This cars a nice shade of blue..
No, we want a Shiraz Red Tipo..

it just went on like the the cheese sketch :)

Eventually we were headed off from the exit door by someone who decided to see what stock the other sites had - the fun really started when it came to talking money: none of the sales ladies (which they all were) could make money decisions - it was all refered back to head office.

They didn't manage to stop us the second time :D

The TIPO didn't enjoy the school run, but worked fairly well for about 5 years.
We forgave it the exhaust breaking and jamming under the car in a shower of sparks - but the red smoke out of the speedo, and the very large bill to sort it out was too much.
It got traded in against a new Skoda (Felicia) nearly 5 years ago. Which is boring, but works.
 
One of the reasons I've kept the Panda for so long was that it's been to hell and back, just like me. It's a long story, and I won't bore you with it, but I've been ok for the last 12 years so far. One day at a time.

The other reason is that after Dad died of cancer in 1988, it was his money that Mum lent me to buy the Panda after blowing up the Skoda. She gave me her Skoda and took over his Bluebird, which she still has.

The Panda has had the usual share of misfortunes: two prangs, clutch dying at 18k, which was blamed on my driving style (replacement was still okay at 94k so that theory went out of the window), but the biggest problem was the gearbox. It's not the first time I've had to replace it. Back in 1995 it stuck in 2nd gear and I had it replaced by a reconditioned one at £250. When I got it back it was obvious it wasn't working properly so they replaced it by another one ...

I love driving the Panda. Although I'm 6' 4" and have size 12 feet, I don't have trouble getting in or out. Many people don't realise who surprisingly roomy it is!

The car most far removed from the Panda in my case was my old BMW 2002, which replaced my 124 in 1980. Shame I couldn't afford to run it, mainly because of having Penny on the insurance when she was 22. Lovely car.

I've never liked Peugeots. Or any French car. I borrowed a Citroen DS from a friend - it made me feel sick with it's weird hydro-pneumatic suspension (I think that's what it was called)

And Swithland, really the less said about them the better. When I went to get the car, it was actually a black Fiesta I went to see. It looked like someone had washed it with a brillo pad (like the advert) and my eyes fell on the Panda. Both Penny and her mum liked it (unbelievably) so that was the clincher. Once I got used to the crappy brakes it was nice and easy to drive!

Not all Fiats have crappy brakes - the 124 was brilliant, having discs all round :)

I'm glad you drive a Skoda as well. I know modern Skodas are completely different from the old ones. When a car gets boring then at least that means it's reliable!

I think that Penny's Almera Tino is one of the most boring cars on the planet. Power steering and the automatic gearbox make it feel like a tank. Luckily the ICE makes up for it. I've got Joni Mitchell's "Ladies of the Canyon" in there at the moment.

Right. Must do some work.

STEVE - the almost geriatric, NOS guzzling Panda owner and beagle fanatic ...

I'm pink, therefore I'm SPAM :)
beaglerunc.gif
 
Yes, the business of what we drive, and why, is very odd :)

Some of the things I've owned and driven have been decided almost by chance, particularly when I was younger ( things that Dad found when people he knew were replacing their car - a couple of 1850 Dolomites ), and others later on were chosen with specific jobs to do:
I had a Volvo 240 when I used to drive all over the place ( on the grounds I would probably survive if I crashed it.. ), we had that 8 years.
Then a Peugeot when we wanted at least 6 forward facing seats, and didn't want a "4X4", or a "van". Only the French used to make things like that.
The Peugeot was the least extreme - as it turned out then they made conventionally sprung cars with huge suspension travel that generally "feel nice" to drive.
We had a petrol one for 4 years, and it did 20 something to the gallon, and had a slightly leaking head gasket - and "wet liners" in the engine, which frightened me - so we got the diesel one.
It was a good car, despite the French electrics - which I suspect have something in common with Italian electrics :(
The diesel engine would have outlasted the bodywork several times over, and the major mechanical parts (including the clutch) were all original at 120K, despite the suburban stop start run to work being its most common use.

GOK how the Panda will cope with the youngest learning to drive - the clutch is OK, but the synchro is weak on third and fourth, and she seems to do subliminal gearchanges:

flash of hand
and bang of gears

perhaps it's the beginnings of a magic spell from
"Harry Potter and shattered gearbox" :p

Anyway, must get back to some beer - she drove back home from the usual stomping ground a couple of hours ago, my nerves are just about steady enough now:D
 
On the subject of keeping Pandas for a long time

I've had a Panda 4X4 since new 17 years ago.

Can't bear the thought of parting with it -- more of a family friend than a means of transport.

It has taken the family (4 of us) touring round the UK and France towing a trailer tent with a windsurfer on the roof + 2 rigs and up to 4 bicycles on a rack above the trailer tent.

Complete with all that it would cruise at 70MPH on French motorways.

My daughter used it during her first year at university and it's now in the garage waiting for me to spray a new door.


Stilo Active 1.2 5 Door/ Panda 4X4
 
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