One of my cars has to go so this is now up for sale. Ive not really had a chance to execute the plans i had when i bought it back in May so it would be nice to see someone else take it on and have a go! If your not familiar with these cars they are basically the same as a Mk1 Panda. Fiat sold Seat the rights to make them in Spain but never let them have any of the upgrades the normal panda got so even this 1994 model still has cart springs on the back and the early pushrod engine.
So the car! I bought this as it was just too good to miss. Its really a very clean example, low miles and very unmolested. The shell is in great condition with hardly any welding, just a couple of small bits tacked on the inner sills for an MOT before i got it. Theres no other rust i can see, strange as its not even undersealed or anything like that! The paintwork is damn good for the age, theres a few blemishes as you would expect but nothing significant other than a few dents to the tailgate around the number plate area. The interior of the thing is also in great condition, its all very basic as you would expect for these extreme budget cars but nothing broken and nice clean seats with a crazy 90s design!
Mechanically its only let me down once when a core plug holed and it lost all its coolant. The AA man fixed this with some belzona and ive not touched it since, maybe the plug should be replaced, then again it seems to be fine how it is! I used it as my daily for 4-5 months and loved it. It drives well, the steering is really nimble so its mega around the city. Its also got 5 gears so not too bad on the motorways either, the only problem ive ever had with that is the temperature warning light flicking on while blasting along at 70 odd. I'm not sure theres a real problem there as it never actually boils up it just seems to get a bit low on water on a long run and once you top it up the light goes out again. Similar problem in heavy traffic, same solution. I never bothered doing much about it as it never actually caused a problem and i intended to fit the later engine anyway. Only other problems i can think of are a noisy/rough clutch pedal, i think this is the cable on its way out, the 3rd gear syncro can crunch occasionally too but not too bad. The brakes are a tad spongey which upset the MOT man last time around but personally i don't think there's anything wrong, its just a the way old cars are compared with modern servo assisted stuff. I bled them, took it back and it passed, i don't think it was really any different! Other than everything is nice and clean, it does some kind of amazing MPG and its really simple to work on!
My personal plan was to band the wheels, slam it and fit a later FIRE engine, it would be a simple way to quite an awesome little car if you ask me but just haven't had time!
MOT is until May 2015, will consider sensible offers. It will go on ebay in the new year if i don't get any takers beforehand.
So the car! I bought this as it was just too good to miss. Its really a very clean example, low miles and very unmolested. The shell is in great condition with hardly any welding, just a couple of small bits tacked on the inner sills for an MOT before i got it. Theres no other rust i can see, strange as its not even undersealed or anything like that! The paintwork is damn good for the age, theres a few blemishes as you would expect but nothing significant other than a few dents to the tailgate around the number plate area. The interior of the thing is also in great condition, its all very basic as you would expect for these extreme budget cars but nothing broken and nice clean seats with a crazy 90s design!
Mechanically its only let me down once when a core plug holed and it lost all its coolant. The AA man fixed this with some belzona and ive not touched it since, maybe the plug should be replaced, then again it seems to be fine how it is! I used it as my daily for 4-5 months and loved it. It drives well, the steering is really nimble so its mega around the city. Its also got 5 gears so not too bad on the motorways either, the only problem ive ever had with that is the temperature warning light flicking on while blasting along at 70 odd. I'm not sure theres a real problem there as it never actually boils up it just seems to get a bit low on water on a long run and once you top it up the light goes out again. Similar problem in heavy traffic, same solution. I never bothered doing much about it as it never actually caused a problem and i intended to fit the later engine anyway. Only other problems i can think of are a noisy/rough clutch pedal, i think this is the cable on its way out, the 3rd gear syncro can crunch occasionally too but not too bad. The brakes are a tad spongey which upset the MOT man last time around but personally i don't think there's anything wrong, its just a the way old cars are compared with modern servo assisted stuff. I bled them, took it back and it passed, i don't think it was really any different! Other than everything is nice and clean, it does some kind of amazing MPG and its really simple to work on!
My personal plan was to band the wheels, slam it and fit a later FIRE engine, it would be a simple way to quite an awesome little car if you ask me but just haven't had time!
MOT is until May 2015, will consider sensible offers. It will go on ebay in the new year if i don't get any takers beforehand.
