General Highland Sisley update

[VmanC]

Cheers for the replys

I suspected that patches and hope where the only cure for the filler pipe!

I think those tyres would be great if I had a spare set of rims, but they look a little hard core for general driving around in non snowy conditions. If they don't like sharp corners then they won't like the wiggly coastal roads around here. I'll keep them in mind though.

Cheers

Conor

I've got these on mine and am finding the noise they make quite tiring on long trips, but they look so good I'm reluctant to remove them. Yes, a set on some spare wheels is the way to go, I'm going to do this with mine and just use them in the winter and for shows, the rest of the time I think I'll get some m+s tyres, still a bit chunky looking but much nicer for motorway trips.
Incidently, the tyres mentioned here also come in 155/70's too and are probably better for your twisty lanes due to the extra width. See pic.

 

[Most Easterly Pandas]

Those tyres Vern :yum:

 

[ConorB]

Cheers for the input VmanC.

I think I'll just see what S&M tyres I can get for a good price. If I can find another set of rims I do fancy a pair of those meaty tyres though - they really do look the part!

Sadly I am now trying hard to fight the urge to do more things to him - a nice swish set of leather seats would really be nice....!

 

[purple haze]

Cheers for the input VmanC.

I think I'll just see what S&M tyres I can get for a good price. If I can find another set of rims I do fancy a pair of those meaty tyres though - they really do look the part!

Sadly I am now trying hard to fight the urge to do more things to him - a nice swish set of leather seats would really be nice....!

I would like some S&M as well but the Mrs is not keen....

 

[Most Easterly Pandas]

I would like some S&M as well but the Mrs is not keen....

 

[ConorB]

Thought someone would enjoy that!

 

[VmanC]

Cheers for the input VmanC.

I think I'll just see what S&M tyres I can get for a good price. If I can find another set of rims I do fancy a pair of those meaty tyres though - they really do look the part!

Sadly I am now trying hard to fight the urge to do more things to him - a nice swish set of leather seats would really be nice....!

Leather seats in a Panda! Don't be silly .

 

[ConorB]

Morning all

Yesterday I went out and bought a set of cheap summer tyres. I didn't really want to, but after a lot of ringing around to see what different fitters had and could get in I found that most places didn't have any tyres the right size, and certainly nothing above 'summer' tyres.

I think I will be very tempted to get another set of wheels and put on some beefier tyres for when I need them.

Do any wheels fit as a direct swap from other vehicles? Or does anyone have any panda wheels spare that they'd like to sell me? Up here the nearest salvage yard seems to be 180 miles away, and they never have any pandas in.

 

[VmanC]

Morning all

Yesterday I went out and bought a set of cheap summer tyres. I didn't really want to, but after a lot of ringing around to see what different fitters had and could get in I found that most places didn't have any tyres the right size, and certainly nothing above 'summer' tyres.

I think I will be very tempted to get another set of wheels and put on some beefier tyres for when I need them.

Do any wheels fit as a direct swap from other vehicles? Or does anyone have any panda wheels spare that they'd like to sell me? Up here the nearest salvage yard seems to be 180 miles away, and they never have any pandas in.

You can fit wheels from other models, all Fiats use the same stud spacing (98mm pcd), it's the offset, width, and Diameter that you need to watch. If you want to stay close to Panda size you could probably use Punto 13" steels with some spacers, I do have a set so could check thier fitment for you if you want to go this way. I do have some spare Panda steels and some 13" Alfa alloys, oh, and some Punto 14" steels . Sorry, started out just giving advice and then realised I actually had a few options for you myself. Let me know if any of these are of interest to you (PM) and I'll test them out on one of my Pandas to make sure they fit.

You do realise that just the postage is going to be about £40!

 

[Pandarus]

Yeah they put it down to cover their arse incase anything gets missed, if for example the next day the chassis splits in half and 14 children are run over.

Worst case obviously!!!

 

[ConorB]

Thanks VmanC, good to know that other fiat wheels might fit. My coal man has told me that he might have a few old panda wheels kicking around at his place from his old 4x4 - he's a big fan of the old panda, he kept his old one in a field for his kids to drive for years.

So hopefully I'll be able to get a set from him, if not I guess I'll search around up here for a few more months. If I can't find anything up here then I might speak to you about a set especially if I'm down south seeing my folk. The one thing I don't like about living up here is the increased parcel postage cost for everything!

Cheers
Conor

 

[VmanC]

No problem .

 

[ConorB]

I've tidied up the wheels a bit and painted them back to white - a previous owner had painted them silverish. Got rid of the rust and messy look. Sadly it's not the best job because I had to keep the tyres on and use them a bit too soon after painting and lacquering. Look much better now though.

One of the wheels is giving me problems due to rust at the valve - wiggling the valves lets air escape easily. I'll have to get back on the case of a new set of rims.

I've been having no luck getting wheel bearings - bought some from ebay, guy reckons they must have got lost in post so he sent some more, he reckons they must have got lost too....... Got a refund from him and have now got someone else posting me some - one day I'll get these bearings sorted!

 

[fire4x4]

hi just put pirrelli w160 snowcontrols on my sisley as new standard fit and think iv some fuel pipe
some where is it the main filler iv just broken 3 4x4 and put 5 on the road last year

 

[VmanC]

Hi ConorB,

I tried the 13" Punto wheels on a Panda today, fronts fit fine, rears just touch the axle on the inner edge. They will either need a small ( 5mm ) spacer or a tiny bit ground off of the axle to fit, I know some have done the latter quite easily, so this opens up the options for you a little.
Wheels looking good by the way

 

[VmanC]

Hi ConorB,

I tried the 13" Punto wheels on a Panda today, fronts fit fine, rears just touch the axle on the inner edge. They will either need a small ( 5mm ) spacer or a tiny bit ground off of the axle to fit, I know some have done the latter quite easily, so this opens up the options for you a little.
Wheels looking good by the way

Just realised I've been a bit of a numpty on this one . I tried the Punto wheels on a 2wd Panda with the omega axle, so the above comments apply to that model not a 4x4 which of course you have. It may well be that they fit straight on yours without any modification, but just to be sure I'll check them on my 4x4. Even if you don't go for Punto wheels the info may be useful anyway.

 

[Pandarus]

I've tidied up the wheels a bit and painted them back to white - a previous owner had painted them silverish. Got rid of the rust and messy look. Sadly it's not the best job because I had to keep the tyres on and use them a bit too soon after painting and lacquering. Look much better now though.

Lovely Panda, Conor - wheels look ace too

 

[ConorB]

Cheers for trying the punto wheels VmanC, looking around it seems like there are quite a few more of them than panda wheels. Look forwards to hearing how they fit the 4x4.

Cheers for the comments about the wheels, they certainly look a lot better than they did. Just wish I'd had time to do a better job on them since they don't look perfect close up.

It is a nice panda, the photo has been taken from it's better side though! the passenger door bottom needs cleaning up and welding - I'm still getting the hang of this welding business, practicing on scrap metal so hopefully I do an ok job.

The next tatty looking thing is the roof rack, in fact not just tatty but rusting away. I've now got some new metal bars to replace the existing ones. I'm going to make it a little longer as well so that it comes over some of the sunroof. This should make carrying boats a bit more secure.

 

[VmanC]

Cheers for trying the punto wheels VmanC, looking around it seems like there are quite a few more of them than panda wheels. Look forwards to hearing how they fit the 4x4.

Cheers for the comments about the wheels, they certainly look a lot better than they did. Just wish I'd had time to do a better job on them since they don't look perfect close up.

It is a nice panda, the photo has been taken from it's better side though! the passenger door bottom needs cleaning up and welding - I'm still getting the hang of this welding business, practicing on scrap metal so hopefully I do an ok job.

The next tatty looking thing is the roof rack, in fact not just tatty but rusting away. I've now got some new metal bars to replace the existing ones. I'm going to make it a little longer as well so that it comes over some of the sunroof. This should make carrying boats a bit more secure.

Sorry this took so long, kept forgetting to bring a wheel home to try . However, I can now confirm that 13" Punto wheels do not foul the rear suspension on 4x4's .

 

[ConorB]

Fantastic, Thanks you for going to the trouble of checking. Very helpful for me and I suspect others too.

Cheers

Conor