Pasquale the Panda 100HP
Discussion
I’ve had a bit of a thing for the Panda 100HP since I was about 15. My manager at my first job had one, her husband worked at the local Fiat dealer and bought her one of the first cars to arrive in the UK. I spontaneously bought one about 7 years ago but I was using it daily and my mileage was about to rise a bit and in the end my head was turned by a fast German meaning the Panda had to go.
Over the years since I have always said the Panda was the one car I regretted selling and this year I’d started hankering for one again. After a trip to Naples, seeing lots of cool, old Italian motors and one Italian 100HP identical to my old one I decided it was time to find another before the numbers left of an already rare car dwindled further. I looked at a couple, some of the cars touted at top end money weren’t what I expected and after chasing some time wasters I found myself what was the ideal spec car for me with 90k miles on.
Thanks to near constant refreshing of the ads on auto trader and eBay I managed to get in first and arrange a viewing. As I arrived I saw it parked at the bottom of the street, I was grinning ear to ear before I had even looked at it. What followed was my poorest inspection of a car ever, aside from looking at the rear beam for rot I barely checked anything. Once I had seen that it was in reasonable nick, drove well and the current owner passed the vibe check I’d already decided I was buying it if I’m honest. Despite the near monsoon conditions on the drive home I was loving it. Quick stop at the services to fill up the tiny tank on the way.
So what am I going to do with it? Well, the whole draw of this car for me is the driving experience, it’s light, has a nice revvy engine and a wheel at each corner. I’d describe it like a road legal go-kart, in fact it’s the total opposite of what cars many more modern cars are like now, you feel every bump in the road, 50mph feels like 80mph and while it only has 100hp you can make use of all of that power while staying on the right side of the speed limits. I’m planning to go over the entire car, either refreshing or upgrading anything that needs it as I go to get it driving as well as possible.
The previous owner said his dad looked after it for him but it hadn’t had the belt done for around 50k miles so I decided before using it too much to get it in for a service, thermostat (temperature gauge was a bit lazy on the drive home) and belt, plus general once over to see what I was up against. Turns out, there was a decent list of issues waiting for me! Top mounts, ball joints, bushes falling apart, a few leaks and a very rusty exhaust. I’ve ordered the first lot of bits for it, just waiting for them to arrive.
I’ve not had a chance to do much with it in the meantime but I did swap the fancy CarPlay head unit out for the original unit, the basic setup is plenty for me. Rear wiper was taken off with a kill all wipers kit, cleans up the rear end a touch. Finally, I managed to find a little spot for it through the coldest months. I don’t plan to keep it inside for long but during the really cold months when the gritters are about I’ll not be using it.
I’ll update shortly once the parts are here!
Over the years since I have always said the Panda was the one car I regretted selling and this year I’d started hankering for one again. After a trip to Naples, seeing lots of cool, old Italian motors and one Italian 100HP identical to my old one I decided it was time to find another before the numbers left of an already rare car dwindled further. I looked at a couple, some of the cars touted at top end money weren’t what I expected and after chasing some time wasters I found myself what was the ideal spec car for me with 90k miles on.
Thanks to near constant refreshing of the ads on auto trader and eBay I managed to get in first and arrange a viewing. As I arrived I saw it parked at the bottom of the street, I was grinning ear to ear before I had even looked at it. What followed was my poorest inspection of a car ever, aside from looking at the rear beam for rot I barely checked anything. Once I had seen that it was in reasonable nick, drove well and the current owner passed the vibe check I’d already decided I was buying it if I’m honest. Despite the near monsoon conditions on the drive home I was loving it. Quick stop at the services to fill up the tiny tank on the way.
So what am I going to do with it? Well, the whole draw of this car for me is the driving experience, it’s light, has a nice revvy engine and a wheel at each corner. I’d describe it like a road legal go-kart, in fact it’s the total opposite of what cars many more modern cars are like now, you feel every bump in the road, 50mph feels like 80mph and while it only has 100hp you can make use of all of that power while staying on the right side of the speed limits. I’m planning to go over the entire car, either refreshing or upgrading anything that needs it as I go to get it driving as well as possible.
The previous owner said his dad looked after it for him but it hadn’t had the belt done for around 50k miles so I decided before using it too much to get it in for a service, thermostat (temperature gauge was a bit lazy on the drive home) and belt, plus general once over to see what I was up against. Turns out, there was a decent list of issues waiting for me! Top mounts, ball joints, bushes falling apart, a few leaks and a very rusty exhaust. I’ve ordered the first lot of bits for it, just waiting for them to arrive.
I’ve not had a chance to do much with it in the meantime but I did swap the fancy CarPlay head unit out for the original unit, the basic setup is plenty for me. Rear wiper was taken off with a kill all wipers kit, cleans up the rear end a touch. Finally, I managed to find a little spot for it through the coldest months. I don’t plan to keep it inside for long but during the really cold months when the gritters are about I’ll not be using it.
I’ll update shortly once the parts are here!
Great car! I had one too, same colour. Loved it. Had it for a year...and my circumstances dictated that that was enough (small kid, another on the way), not ideal.
However...if the chance to get another in future came....i'd be interested (i'm using my mams 1.1 Panda today, i just like them all!)
I'm looking at that back door though. I'm wondering if it's had a repair at some point. No biggie though.
However...if the chance to get another in future came....i'd be interested (i'm using my mams 1.1 Panda today, i just like them all!)
I'm looking at that back door though. I'm wondering if it's had a repair at some point. No biggie though.
Well done finding one!
It sounds like a proper small Fiat, flat out everywhere. The first car I drove unaccompanied the day I passed my test was my Mum's 1971 Fiat 127 and it was just like that. Went to look at a 500 Twinair last year and it was more of the same, so my sister bought it! Had to be a Twinair for her as it sounded like a proper 500.
Good luck getting your 100HP back up to scratch.
It sounds like a proper small Fiat, flat out everywhere. The first car I drove unaccompanied the day I passed my test was my Mum's 1971 Fiat 127 and it was just like that. Went to look at a 500 Twinair last year and it was more of the same, so my sister bought it! Had to be a Twinair for her as it sounded like a proper 500.
Good luck getting your 100HP back up to scratch.
Mr Tidy said:
Well done finding one!
It sounds like a proper small Fiat, flat out everywhere. The first car I drove unaccompanied the day I passed my test was my Mum's 1971 Fiat 127 and it was just like that. Went to look at a 500 Twinair last year and it was more of the same, so my sister bought it! Had to be a Twinair for her as it sounded like a proper 500.
Good luck getting your 100HP back up to scratch.
Yeah, exactly that, they’re just basic, fun cars in the most simple form.It sounds like a proper small Fiat, flat out everywhere. The first car I drove unaccompanied the day I passed my test was my Mum's 1971 Fiat 127 and it was just like that. Went to look at a 500 Twinair last year and it was more of the same, so my sister bought it! Had to be a Twinair for her as it sounded like a proper 500.
Good luck getting your 100HP back up to scratch.
Exhaust has arrived, I knew exactly what I wanted before I even collected the car, a full Ragazzon system, no centre silencer, tiny back box and loads of noise. A little ASBO but it all adds to the character for me. Guessing it saves a little weight too although the current one is 90% rust now so maybe not.
Coilovers I have gone for some Vmaxx units, the same as my previous car had. I did look at other options, I was tempted to go for something a bit fancier but to be honest they done the job last time. They’re not a top spec setup but it’s a light car and for bashing about the back roads they will be more than enough. These should have arrived today, although I’ve not checked!
Assuming they’re at the garage the car is booked in next week for both of these to be fitted, plus new lower arms, diff seal & fresh gearbox oil. I’ll probably put it away for a while afterwards, it’s too cold and the gritters are out now and while it’s no show queen I would like to try and keep it away from the harsher conditions. Luckily it’s not too far to get it should we get some nice days and I have the chance to go for a spin.
No doubt I’ll be planning my next upgrades over winter too!
Great stuff, had mine 6 years now, bought as a temporary runner while i did a 72 Pontiac Firebird project, Firebird
is long gone but the Panda is still here, bought an Alfa 159 to replace it but cant part with the wee bugger so i'm
running both. Have the same Ragazzon system on mine, i like it but can imagine it being too loud for some, it's very
well made and fits well.
is long gone but the Panda is still here, bought an Alfa 159 to replace it but cant part with the wee bugger so i'm
running both. Have the same Ragazzon system on mine, i like it but can imagine it being too loud for some, it's very
well made and fits well.
Markgenesis said:
Have the same Ragazzon system on mine, i like it but can imagine it being too loud for some, it's very
well made and fits well.
Nice, good to hear the exhaust fitted well. The system that went on my first one was a poor fit but when the new one arrived it looked much better made so it should be a nice fit by the sounds of it. well made and fits well.
New year update on the Pandaghini!
Suspension turned up so it was finally off to have that fitted and the exhaust replaced, it also had new top mounts and new lower arms. I’ve got a fantastic garage that I’ve been using for years, with the Panda being so easy to work on everything went well and off I excitedly went to collect it. Fired it up and was greeted with a familiar deep idle tone from the exhaust. I carefully drove it home in the icy slush that we had knocking about at the time and left it on the driveway till the weekend.
Once I had a bit of time and the weather had cleared up a little I managed to get out for a quick spin. There’s no getting away from the exhaust and the noise it makes. It’s not subtle, a deep tone and lots of drone at any kind of real speed but it’s not noisy in the same way that many cars are these days. It burbles and occasionally pops but they’re raw, natural sounds in comparison to anything currently on sale. It’s exactly what I was after, it adds to the experience for me.
The suspension refresh has made a huge difference as you’d expect too. Feels more nimble and firm, the little Panda feels like a go kart anyway but now even more so. It’s been wet pretty much anytime I’ve had the opportunity to take it out so far though so I haven’t been able to give it too much of a work out. It took a couple of visits to get the ride height tweaked but I’ve hopefully removed any scrubbing over bumpy roads now.
Had a quick look underneath during the last trip, my untrained eye reckons it looks pretty tidy, bit of surface rust on the rear beam but far from rotten. I’ll give it a bit of a clean up and paint in spring.
I did manage a quick run out to caffeine and machine though, my brother joined me in his BMW and my mate backed up the Italian side in his Alfa. While there’s a gulf in terms of power between them, once the roads are wet and greasy the gap soon shrinks a bit, when you’re limited by the amount of grip you have it doesn’t matter how much power there is available
Of the three of us, the Panda got the most attention, had a chat with a couple of people while we were there.
I’ve still got a steadily growing list of areas to tackle, wheels need refurbishing or replacing along with some fresh rubber. I’m tempted with a new steering wheel or re trim the one that’s on it and the seats are terrible. Some of the less exciting jobs are clearing out the scuttle panel of gunge, replacing a rubber strip above it and replacing the newer style badges with original ones.
Next week I think I’ll put it away till the weather improves but it’ll only be up the road so I can still get it for the odd blast if we get a nice day and I’ve got the time.
Suspension turned up so it was finally off to have that fitted and the exhaust replaced, it also had new top mounts and new lower arms. I’ve got a fantastic garage that I’ve been using for years, with the Panda being so easy to work on everything went well and off I excitedly went to collect it. Fired it up and was greeted with a familiar deep idle tone from the exhaust. I carefully drove it home in the icy slush that we had knocking about at the time and left it on the driveway till the weekend.
Once I had a bit of time and the weather had cleared up a little I managed to get out for a quick spin. There’s no getting away from the exhaust and the noise it makes. It’s not subtle, a deep tone and lots of drone at any kind of real speed but it’s not noisy in the same way that many cars are these days. It burbles and occasionally pops but they’re raw, natural sounds in comparison to anything currently on sale. It’s exactly what I was after, it adds to the experience for me.
The suspension refresh has made a huge difference as you’d expect too. Feels more nimble and firm, the little Panda feels like a go kart anyway but now even more so. It’s been wet pretty much anytime I’ve had the opportunity to take it out so far though so I haven’t been able to give it too much of a work out. It took a couple of visits to get the ride height tweaked but I’ve hopefully removed any scrubbing over bumpy roads now.
Had a quick look underneath during the last trip, my untrained eye reckons it looks pretty tidy, bit of surface rust on the rear beam but far from rotten. I’ll give it a bit of a clean up and paint in spring.
I did manage a quick run out to caffeine and machine though, my brother joined me in his BMW and my mate backed up the Italian side in his Alfa. While there’s a gulf in terms of power between them, once the roads are wet and greasy the gap soon shrinks a bit, when you’re limited by the amount of grip you have it doesn’t matter how much power there is available
Of the three of us, the Panda got the most attention, had a chat with a couple of people while we were there. I’ve still got a steadily growing list of areas to tackle, wheels need refurbishing or replacing along with some fresh rubber. I’m tempted with a new steering wheel or re trim the one that’s on it and the seats are terrible. Some of the less exciting jobs are clearing out the scuttle panel of gunge, replacing a rubber strip above it and replacing the newer style badges with original ones.
Next week I think I’ll put it away till the weather improves but it’ll only be up the road so I can still get it for the odd blast if we get a nice day and I’ve got the time.
I really like the 100hp, it looks like it has bags of character. My mum has owned 3 Panda's now. A 1983 MK1, a 2008 MK3 and now a 2012 mk4 after her MK3 was crashed into. Good little cars.
I'd really like a 100hp but when I was in the market for one, it didn't look like it would do great on the motorway and have the revs too high in 6th making it a bit noisy. I also wanted xenon headlights, so I ended up with a Mini Cooper S instead.
I'd really like a 100hp but when I was in the market for one, it didn't look like it would do great on the motorway and have the revs too high in 6th making it a bit noisy. I also wanted xenon headlights, so I ended up with a Mini Cooper S instead.
TheAngryDog said:
I really like the 100hp, it looks like it has bags of character. My mum has owned 3 Panda's now. A 1983 MK1, a 2008 MK3 and now a 2012 mk4 after her MK3 was crashed into. Good little cars.
I'd really like a 100hp but when I was in the market for one, it didn't look like it would do great on the motorway and have the revs too high in 6th making it a bit noisy. I also wanted xenon headlights, so I ended up with a Mini Cooper S instead.
Yeah, sensible choice tbh. It feels like you’re doing 100mph at 60mph and it’s not really comfortable for that kinda driving. I’ve got a huge soft spot for the Minis, they seem to combine better road manners and retain the fun drive in the twisty bits. I'd really like a 100hp but when I was in the market for one, it didn't look like it would do great on the motorway and have the revs too high in 6th making it a bit noisy. I also wanted xenon headlights, so I ended up with a Mini Cooper S instead.
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