The second four-wheel-drive Panda in the collection, this was a £300 Ebay find. Although in dire need of a service when I bought it, at some point in the past the car has been given a good going over with Waxoyl or a similar anti-rust treatment, and so is one of the most solid Pandas I've seen in a long time. Ok, the door bottoms are on their way out (one of those "they all do that, sir" things), and the bottom edge of the boot where the sealing strip fits is in a pretty terminal state. There's also some minor bubbling on the wheelarch lips where water collects behind them - but the important bits like the sills are in great nick. The car had also got a set of original Fiat mudflaps on it, and I suspect these have played a big part in halting the usual havoc that UK conditions wreak upon Italian cars, preventing mud and gunge blocking up the various drainage holes on the underside.

  About the only thing that was immediately attracted any concern on the car was the gearbox. It was noisy as hell. However, it worked happily enough, and all the synchros seem to be present, so I'm going to put it down to wear rather than something being broken. The fact that it contained almost no oil, and what little that was present was looking very black, seems to support this. I'm a little bit suspicious about the 'box having been dismantled at some point, too, as there was some evidence of instant gasket goo squeezed out of the joints. Either way, a drain of such oil as there was didn't reveal any big chunks of metal sitting in the bottom of the 'box, and a refill with decent quality oil and a dose of Molyslip, while not making it much quieter, gave me a little more faith in it's chances of continued operation.

  So, the Panda was drafted in as my daily transport following the usual changes of fluids, filters and belts. The power difference compared to the BM was (obviously) noticeable, but it did remind me quite how much of a giggle 4x4 Pandas are. While the overly-vocal gearbox was a trifle wearing on motorway runs, the car was so much fun everywhere else that I really didn't care. Being able to wander off down a green lane on the way back from work is great for helping you wind down.

  The car even ended up playing a supporting role in running the 2004 AmeCon. Originally just being called upon to run supplies between my house and the site we were running on, things became a little unstuck when we suffered a Planes, Trains & Automobiles-esque series of transport calamities. The Saab 9000 I'd borrowed from my dad, which I'd been using to provide comfortable transport to our guests (voice actress Monica Rial, and fellow ADV'er Jonathan Brands), decided it wanted to have a complete nervous breakdown with it's electrical system (For some reason, Saab electrics are an utter sod. The car had done the same thing before, and two further repeat performances of the same trick within the space of a week saw it part-exed for a Saab 9-3. It was a fantastic car, but just not dependable enough to be my Dad's main transport. Why is life always like that?). Anyway. this in itself wasn't an issue, as Will has his Toyota Avensis with him... Until some retard ran into him at a junction and took out his offside-front-corner (The muppet in question was accelerating towards a red traffic light, having just pulled out after a bollard to overtake the stream of traffic braking for the light. The road was greasy, and rather than using the empty opposite lane to steer around the nose of Will's car, Mr Muppet just locked his brakes and slid straight into him. It was only the fact that Will was pulling out at walking pace that meant he got hit across the nose rather than being T-boned). Arse. So, two cars out of action in the space of 24 hours, and we've got to get a couple of Texans from Leicester to Gatwick the next day (The Avensis was perfectly driveable, but with the driver's side lighting totalled, would not have gone down too well with the plod). What're you going to do? Well, what we did was bolt the rear seat back into the Panda (It's only four bolts, and there's much more cargo room without it) and used that.

  Four-up, a Panda isn't the most roomy vehicle, but we managed ok - though the bouncy nature of the rear suspension soon saw Monica asleep (I don't know why, but most people nod off in the back of 4x4 Pandas on long journeys). Getting down to Gatwick was completely uneventful, including going to see both Foxton Locks and Rockingham Castle (It was a lot easier to get out of Rockingham's grass parking area with the four-wheel-drive - damp grass is a traction nightmare), and on the way back all that was required was a stopover to top up the coolant when the car began to get a little warm (it was the middle of summer), and a pop into Birmingham to scout for future venues. About 400 miles in one day in a Fiat Panda? No worries, mate...

  After this little escapade, the Panda was back onto ferrying me to work - but at this point, it decided it'd had enough. On the way in a few days later, the clutch felt a little rough, and then the pedal hit the floor. No biggie - I'm well versed in the changing of snapped Panda clutch cables, so I just called work to say I was going to be late, and walked to Parker's Car Parts to order a new cable (serendipity dictated I broke down equidistant between a well-stocked car parts store, and my house where all my tools were). Anyhow, with a new cable to hand, I went to change it... and discovered a slight hitch in the plan. The clutch cable was fine (other than the fact I'd had to cut the end off it to remove it, thanks to a buggered adjuster nut). The clutch actuating lever it attached to on the gearbox bellhousing, however, was free to flap in the breeze. Something between that lever and the clutch had packed it's bags for home, because the clutch absolutely did not want to disengage. Well, soddit - looks like an engine-out job. With the car in first gear, I made a slow, clutchless journey back to my house for further investigation.

  The most immediate consequence of this breakage was the purchase of the Citroen (something for which I'm not sure I'll ever forgive the Panda), and making the decision to investigate and repair whatever had happened, rather than just selling the car as-is or using it for parts (it's really too good for that). And that is pretty much where things stand now - I have no idea whether the problem is with the actuating lever, the release bearing, the pressure plate or what, and won't do until I get into the bellhousing to investigate. Given the amount of dismantling involved just to gain access, and the solid overall condition of the car, I've pretty much committed myself to rebuilding the car anyway. I hope to be able to give the whole vehicle a good refurbishment, making some choice modifications and improvements along the way. As such, until it's finished, you'll be able to find it on the Projects page, with updates as and when things get done. Once completed, it'll have a second page alongside this one for it's new incarnation.

Current Status
  Being subjected to all kinds of mechanical debauchery as a project.

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