Short version is I ended up with a 65 plate Fiat Panda for a day and around 90 miles. I didn't want to like it, but despite myself.
Petrol engine - not sure which one gave decent enough drive despite the 750 miles it had covered when I picked it up. Ride was as good as it gets in that size of car but there was an annoying "thrum" at around 75mph. Basic gearbox (5 gears) was excellent the rubbery finish on the stick was not a reflection of the gear change. Firm seats were ok and one sat on them rather than in them (IYKWIM). Creature comforts restricted to electric windows. No sensors front or rear. No remote locking.
Dashboard was horribly illuminated like a pair of Elton John glasses glaring at you even in daylight...could see no dimming function.
A car that reminded me greatly of my original Moggie 1000 - what you saw is what you got and sometimes that's fine.
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I love them, I mean really adore them. Always ask for one when I go to Italy on business trips. Great fun to throw around narrow Italian city streets and yet not totally out of their depth on the Autostrada.
I'm seriously considering buying one for my son to learn on despite his reservations and mutterings about Noddy and Big Ears...
However, I think it would be "character building" and after all, my first car was a Wolesley Hornet, so I feel sort of duty bound to put him through a similar initiation in finding other more subtle ways to attract women than the style ( or deep lack of it ) of his car !
And you can get three bike racks on the roof.
;-))
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I hoped this would be a thread about Sheikh Rattleandroll. How disappointing.
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It's about Fiat Pandas so not far off....
Thinking about it, maybe RP had him in mind in his heading for the thread, rather than that Fiats rattle.
Last edited by: Avant on Sun 21 Aug 16 at 21:40
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I think he probably did have Rattle in mind with the thread title.
Quite charming cars. Just leave the City button in the off position unless you want really light/vague steering. No feedback with it off but at least it's a little better.
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Runfer, you should get him one of these so he experiences what you did:
www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C594229
(I reckon it would pull the birds though.)
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....how times change. At one time, simply having a car at all used to pull the birds.......
(I used to head off to the pub from school in a friend's Wolseley 1500 - I wouldn't mind one of those now, it looked a bit more "consistently styled" than the Hornet - and it seemed to work for him).
;-)
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>>you should get him one of these so he experiences what you did: www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C594229
To think I used to earn my corn working on 'things' like that at the roadside - in all wevvers too :(
Quite a lot to do in regards to tuning them, compared to the average Fjord. Best to remove the distributor and stick it in the vice when replacing the points and condenser, ditto Pug 104/Reno 14 etc. etc. etc..
Dwell angle = 57-63 or 46-56 on later models - see, I'm not going Armel just yet.
Funny ole life.
:o}
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...found my old dwell meter at the back of the garage a few months ago. Decided I wouldn't need it again and passed it on to the guy over the road that runs an old MG midget.
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>>an old MG midget.
Even more of a PITA to work on :o)
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Talking of MGs - bumped into the 200+ of the rusty unreliable heaps of pooh on Sunday in Betws y Coed....they were lovely. Especially the V8s.
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I was very fond of my Midget. Which sounds strangely non PC now of course.
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One of these please: classics.honestjohn.co.uk/reviews/mg/rv8/?section=driving
MGR. Wafting about with V8 burbling. V. suitable.
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Rattle for a day. - Runfer D'Hills
