Italian Stallion: Kiltox’s 1982 Fiat Panda 30!

[Grumblespeed]

3 minutes ago, Kiltox said:

What’s the whole “spare / temp tyre” thing all about though?

Well that one is only rated to 81mph which on a modern is apparently only good for limping to a garage. Sounds pretty optimistic for yours though😄

[Fumbler]

2 minutes ago, Kiltox said:

What’s the whole “spare / temp tyre” thing all about though?

Designed to fit a spacesaver tyre I assume? It seems to me as if they intend it to be used if you get a flat or something, and not for continuous travel. I can't imagine it wouldn't matter too much on a car as light as the 30.

You could try seeing if trailer tyres might be in the correct size, just be sure to scrub off the "FOR TRAILER USE ONLY" writing on the sidewalls

[Kiltox]

Interestingly*, the budget ditchfinders in that size have no such indication. 

[Grumblespeed]

Pirellis probably have "emergency use only" moulded into the sidewall too just to be killjoys. Perfectly possible to still get budget tyres in that size but all the big boys will not want their name seen on such unglamourous nonsense.

[Grumblespeed]

Just fished my Porters out - correction: standard was 135 SR13 right enough but bigger option for mk1 models was 145/70 SR13 on the supers, moving up to 155/65 with the '86 update.

[hairnet]

2 hours ago, Kiltox said:

What’s the whole “spare / temp tyre” thing all about though?

Sounds cheap for a.spacesaver but not cheap for a normal tyre

[wuvvum]

135/80 x 13 is the same size as my Renault 6.  There doesn't seem to be much choice of "proper" new tyres in that size these days...

[Kiltox]

Tyres achieved

RoadX sounds reputable*

[MrSteve]

On 1/19/2021 at 12:48 AM, wuvvum said:

135/80 x 13 is the same size as my Renault 6.  There doesn't seem to be much choice of "proper" new tyres in that size these days...

I noticed that too- my Panda 30, LN & Visa are all shod with that size.

And if you have an early Citroen AX and wanted to get new 135/70R13s  you had a choice of just 1 brand until 31st December- Hankook- but due to Brexit you now have a choice of 0...155/65s are the closest you can get.

[hairnet]

1 hour ago, Kiltox said:

Tyres achieved

RoadX sounds reputable*

Status kiltox HOON won't be working the grip levels tho?

[Grumblespeed]

11 minutes ago, MrSteve said:

I noticed that too- my Panda 30, LN & Visa are all shod with that size.

And if you have an early Citroen AX and wanted to get new 135/70R13s  you had a choice of just 1 brand until 31st December- Hankook- but due to Brexit you now have a choice of 0...155/65s are the closest you can get.

Similar story with the 165/55/13's for a Seicento - Nankang or Rotalla I think is your lot.

[Kiltox]

4 minutes ago, hairnet said:

Status kiltox HOON won't be working the grip levels tho?

It’ll grip better than the two different sized tyres currently on the back, neither of which match the front. 

[hairnet]

10 minutes ago, Kiltox said:

It’ll grip better than the two different sized tyres currently on the back, neither of which match the front. 

Eep

[uk_senator]

My 750L had Michelin MX 135 R 13`s on it when I got it (which, at 13,000 miles, I suspect were original), some enthusiastic cornering resulted in the NSF tyre parting company with the rim mid corner on a hard right hander, something I`d never experienced before, & had no desire to do again, so I upgraded to 155`s. It didn't happen again.

[Bitzer]

1 hour ago, uk_senator said:

Michelin MX 135 R 13

Arrrrrrgh, still gives me creeps after all those years. These were the tires I bought with my first Uno. They were slippery on both dry and wet, the worst tires I have ever owned. IIRC, they vere quickly replaced with some Korean stuff (Hankook?), which was incomparably better.

[hairnet]

 

[Kiltox]

Pretty light on updates for this, I know, but here’s the current state of play. 

It’s had the correct wheels fitting on the back to replace the one odd and one ancient tyre.  
New air filter, ignition leads and spark plugs. 
Replaced the drivers wing mirror and fitted one on the passenger side (its bloody useless but it’ll pass MoT)

It’s definitely keener to start now so I think the new leads and plugs have made a difference there. 

Biggest issue now is that it doesn’t idle properly when warm - needs a bit of choke still or it just gets lumpy and dies. Reminds me of the Clio 🤦‍♂️. I guess the next step is to strip down and clean/rebuild the carb. I have a set of gaskets and an ultrasonic cleaner but absolutely no fucking idea what I’m doing!!

[spartacus]

Plenty of photos as you go. It won't be that hard. Before you start turn the idle screw and mixture screw all the way in until they're gently seated, noting how many turns it takes, then you can put them back to where they were after you've cleaned the carb and have a good chance of the car starting. Setting that carb up should be a fairly simple process, you'll be able to do it by ear.

[Kiltox]

Also, am I being fucking thick or does this not have an oil dipstick? @MrSteve?

[MrSteve]

It's below the exhaust manifold, just by the distributor.

If the rubber seal on the dipstick has hardened with age, you might find it blows out the crankcase. The original one on mine blew out somewhere on the A6 heading south to Lancaster one day...replacement was attached with string so it wouldn't go far.

[sdkrc]

#essential

https://a.aliexpress.com/_msUdeLN

[UltraWomble]

On 1/20/2021 at 2:03 PM, Kiltox said:

Tyres achieved

 

RoadX sounds reputable*

Arnold Shark fitted RoadX tyres all round to the Alhambra - they have been OK so far, though Mrs Womble doesnt exactly push it in the wet, not like me.

 

[Kiltox]

It's been AGES since I did anything with this, however, I sent the paperwork off to DVLA today.

Let's recap the story so far:

 

[loserone]

Found the engine number then?

[Kiltox]

1 minute ago, loserone said:

Found the engine number then?

Took an educated guess.  Given DVLA have huge delays I suspect they'll just wave it through!

They're currently processing requests from 14th April.

[SiC]

Forgot you still had this!

[wesacosa]

cool.  I really love this car

[Kiltox]

Had a letter from DVLA today saying they need to inspect the vehicle before they’ll register it 🤨. 

Not sure what’s going on there, but I’ll need to move a bunch of shit in my unit to get it out before I book it in for that!

[davehedgehog31]

9 minutes ago, Kiltox said:

Had a letter from DVLA today saying they need to inspect the vehicle before they’ll register it 🤨. 

Not sure what’s going on there, but I’ll need to move a bunch of shit in my unit to get it out before I book it in for that!

Odd, I thought if it was over ten years old that wasn't required. 

[Dave_Q]

It's not for IVA etc it's just to check it's a real car with the stated VIN.

It's very rare now since they sacked off all the local offices but it does happen. Just a basic check that it's not some sort of ringer. MOT is mostly considered to cover it normally as they check the VIN.

I wonder if it's because it's a long time between import and registering?