Fiat Panda 4x4 Mk 1 Fire. A Classic Car
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Fiat Panda 4x4 Mk 1 Fire a Classic Car
Seems to be overlooked in the mainstream classic car magazines. For instance in September Classic & Sportscar auction page they list results for two Rover Metros , a Volvo 480 and an Escort XR3, three of the most uninspiring cars I can think of.
The little Panda fights well above its weight and my faithful car has hauled two Land Rovers out of trouble. Both were on wet grass over clay where the little Panda at 14cwt skitted over the surface and the two and a half ton Landies cut though to the clay where they carved a rut which they could not steer out of. There was a plug of clay at either end of the rut allowing about a yard of movement and the Panda hitched to the front was just heavy enough to snap pull the Landies over the plug. Two very embarrassed Landie owners.
The light weight also means better climbing ability. A friend again with a new Range Rover with all the bells and whistles came to a halt on a not very steep hill, again on wet grass. He turned the switch round to every position from snow, mud to whatever else there was to no avail. He left two black lines across the grass and was shocked when I drove the Panda right past him with hardly a mark on the grass.
Countless times I have pulled people out of difficulties in the snow
I have used the Panda for rolling the local sportsfield with a heavy roll, towing a 2 ton combine bed on the farm road, towing a sprayer, moving the auger, moving the axial fan, but best of all was when it took over lawn mowing duties from the Little Grey Fergie over two acres of grass.
It was quite cold and uncomfortable sometimes on the tractor but bliss in the Panda with the heater, comfortable seats, headlights for night mowing, radio ,passenger seat for company and a can of beer since it is off road.
People now ask me if they can mow the lawns when they come to stay as it is so enjoyable.
They certainly have high status in the Alpine ski resorts where they win over heavy 4x4s by being lighter more nimble and able to fit down some of the very narrow streets in some resorts. The post office used them for deliveries there.
Very nimble through the woods and trees a on the farm again hardly leaving a mark. On the few occasion it has been stuck I use a very lightweight winch and because the car is so light it only needs a small sapling at the other end or the spare wheel buried.
Giorgetto Giugiaro designed the car with a minimalist approach, all the glass is flat, there is lots of space inside, excellent design touches such as the spare wheel being over the engine in front of the passenger which not only gives the passenger a bit of added protection in a shunt but also means that when you have a puncture the wheel is nice and warm and dry and you do not have to empty the luggage to retrieve it.
Feisty little Fire engine, simple 4x4 system but amazing where it will go in just front wheel drive.
The Sisley model is the most desirable and it is hard to find a good example for under two thousand pounds
Fantastic bargain in the 1990s when you could buy one for £50 with full tax and MOT as nobody wanted one. For the men it was not macho enough and for the women too complicated for just a shopping car.
Future Classic, mark my words!
![](http://thumbsnap.com/sc/0uikJXyp.jpg[/img]</a> <a href="http://thumbsnap.com/X2JDyGCf" Target="_blank">[img]http://thumbsnap.com/sc/X2JDyGCf.jpg[/img]</a> <a href="http://thumbsnap.com/yLA4vDHd" Target="_blank">[img]http://thumbsnap.com/sc/yLA4vDHd.jpg[/img]</a> <a href="http://thumbsnap.com/0uikJXyp" Target="_blank">[img]http://thumbsnap.com/sc/0uikJXyp.jpg[/img]</a> <a href="http://thumbsnap.com/jbGfZQUz" Target="_blank">[img]http://thumbsnap.com/sc/jbGfZQUz.jpg)
Seems to be overlooked in the mainstream classic car magazines. For instance in September Classic & Sportscar auction page they list results for two Rover Metros , a Volvo 480 and an Escort XR3, three of the most uninspiring cars I can think of.
The little Panda fights well above its weight and my faithful car has hauled two Land Rovers out of trouble. Both were on wet grass over clay where the little Panda at 14cwt skitted over the surface and the two and a half ton Landies cut though to the clay where they carved a rut which they could not steer out of. There was a plug of clay at either end of the rut allowing about a yard of movement and the Panda hitched to the front was just heavy enough to snap pull the Landies over the plug. Two very embarrassed Landie owners.
The light weight also means better climbing ability. A friend again with a new Range Rover with all the bells and whistles came to a halt on a not very steep hill, again on wet grass. He turned the switch round to every position from snow, mud to whatever else there was to no avail. He left two black lines across the grass and was shocked when I drove the Panda right past him with hardly a mark on the grass.
Countless times I have pulled people out of difficulties in the snow
I have used the Panda for rolling the local sportsfield with a heavy roll, towing a 2 ton combine bed on the farm road, towing a sprayer, moving the auger, moving the axial fan, but best of all was when it took over lawn mowing duties from the Little Grey Fergie over two acres of grass.
It was quite cold and uncomfortable sometimes on the tractor but bliss in the Panda with the heater, comfortable seats, headlights for night mowing, radio ,passenger seat for company and a can of beer since it is off road.
People now ask me if they can mow the lawns when they come to stay as it is so enjoyable.
They certainly have high status in the Alpine ski resorts where they win over heavy 4x4s by being lighter more nimble and able to fit down some of the very narrow streets in some resorts. The post office used them for deliveries there.
Very nimble through the woods and trees a on the farm again hardly leaving a mark. On the few occasion it has been stuck I use a very lightweight winch and because the car is so light it only needs a small sapling at the other end or the spare wheel buried.
Giorgetto Giugiaro designed the car with a minimalist approach, all the glass is flat, there is lots of space inside, excellent design touches such as the spare wheel being over the engine in front of the passenger which not only gives the passenger a bit of added protection in a shunt but also means that when you have a puncture the wheel is nice and warm and dry and you do not have to empty the luggage to retrieve it.
Feisty little Fire engine, simple 4x4 system but amazing where it will go in just front wheel drive.
The Sisley model is the most desirable and it is hard to find a good example for under two thousand pounds
Fantastic bargain in the 1990s when you could buy one for £50 with full tax and MOT as nobody wanted one. For the men it was not macho enough and for the women too complicated for just a shopping car.
Future Classic, mark my words!
rallycross said:
Just needs an uno turbo engine fitting to it!
Nope for ultimate fun you want this little thing.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JfGDejSGDgs
My first ever car was a Fiat Panda 1000 fire.
I had written off my dad's Cavalier 6 weeks after passing my test and over time the will to just be on the road meant I was willing to drive anything. When my dad had eventually calmed down (after around 11 months) he overheard a mate saying that he was going to scrap his Panda. My dad looked at it and although it was shabby it just needed a little welding to get it through an MOT. And so I got it for nothing.
4 gears, crap suspension, a nippy engine and 110 section tyres meant I learned a lot about car control and driving by feel when I ran that little car. And I had great fun in it. I learned how to put spark plugs on a gas hob to sort out the effects of flooding the engine. Other lads would take the piss out of my little rust bucket while they drove newer stuff, until I pointed out that the Panda was MINE and I didn't have to ask my parents permission to use it.
In fact, I blackmailed a young girl into giving me a kiss in exchange for showing her where the handle was to open the door in order to get out. She is now my wife and that was our first kiss. It hadn't even been a date, I was just giving a lift to her because I fancied the pants off her.
I then bought a more powerful Cavalier the my Dad's which I had written off and sold the Panda for a 90 quid profit (90 quid then) in the spring of 2002.
Oh E201FBB. Where are you now?
ETA sorry for the nostalgia based thread hijack.
I had written off my dad's Cavalier 6 weeks after passing my test and over time the will to just be on the road meant I was willing to drive anything. When my dad had eventually calmed down (after around 11 months) he overheard a mate saying that he was going to scrap his Panda. My dad looked at it and although it was shabby it just needed a little welding to get it through an MOT. And so I got it for nothing.
4 gears, crap suspension, a nippy engine and 110 section tyres meant I learned a lot about car control and driving by feel when I ran that little car. And I had great fun in it. I learned how to put spark plugs on a gas hob to sort out the effects of flooding the engine. Other lads would take the piss out of my little rust bucket while they drove newer stuff, until I pointed out that the Panda was MINE and I didn't have to ask my parents permission to use it.
In fact, I blackmailed a young girl into giving me a kiss in exchange for showing her where the handle was to open the door in order to get out. She is now my wife and that was our first kiss. It hadn't even been a date, I was just giving a lift to her because I fancied the pants off her.
I then bought a more powerful Cavalier the my Dad's which I had written off and sold the Panda for a 90 quid profit (90 quid then) in the spring of 2002.
Oh E201FBB. Where are you now?
ETA sorry for the nostalgia based thread hijack.
Edited by Pepperami on Monday 1st September 21:44
velocemitch said:
That was me after I added a bit of Nitro methane to the fuel![quote=Pepperami]
Oh E201FBB. Where are you now?
ETA sorry for the nostalgia based thread hijack.
No need to be sorry Pepperami. Any car which stirs positive human emotions must become a classic. The Panda follows closely in the footsteps of Citroen 2CV and Renault 4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkJ1_XteTtI
Do not think this ever made it onto to British TV screens!
Oh E201FBB. Where are you now?
ETA sorry for the nostalgia based thread hijack.
No need to be sorry Pepperami. Any car which stirs positive human emotions must become a classic. The Panda follows closely in the footsteps of Citroen 2CV and Renault 4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkJ1_XteTtI
Do not think this ever made it onto to British TV screens!
velocemitch said:
Excellent.
velocemitch said:
You will probably have more fun doing that in a Panda at 20-40 mph than doing the same thing on Tarmac in some mega expensive hyper car at 120-140 mph with a far more expensive result if over cooked!I owned one for a year or two on a G plate. I kind of get the appeal, but the handbrake mechanism kept seizing and rust was breaking out at 4 years old. I sold it and bough a considerably more reliable Peugeot 309 boring special edition.
My Panda would outrun anything off the lights - to 15mph. It sounded like an aeroplane taking off by the time it reached 70. And luxury was a completely alien concept despite being a fair way up the range. My ex wife wrecked the rear diff by driving 10 miles home in 4WD on dry tarmac. When questioned about the big yellow light on the dash she jovially replied that she never took notice of such things. I suggested either taking notice or handing back the key. She opted for lookng at the dashboard in future
As for a new 1.3 diesel 4x4 averaging 70mpg, that sounds like something to complement my rather more thirsty XC90 for work duties.
My Panda would outrun anything off the lights - to 15mph. It sounded like an aeroplane taking off by the time it reached 70. And luxury was a completely alien concept despite being a fair way up the range. My ex wife wrecked the rear diff by driving 10 miles home in 4WD on dry tarmac. When questioned about the big yellow light on the dash she jovially replied that she never took notice of such things. I suggested either taking notice or handing back the key. She opted for lookng at the dashboard in future
As for a new 1.3 diesel 4x4 averaging 70mpg, that sounds like something to complement my rather more thirsty XC90 for work duties.
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