Technical I have currently a 1995 Fiat Panda CLX which I am converting to a 4x4. I have all the bits needed but would love some tips or any advice anyone has!

[ROGUEPIX3L]

Shell is nearly completely stripped and is going to go down to a shop to get dipped, welded and painted bright yellow! I do have all the 4x4 related parts but no mounting hardware hoping that with the correct dimensions I should be able to fabricate my own mounts and weld them on. At the very worst I'll try and find a 4x4 parts panda to take the mounts from and get a shop to weld them in. I'm not entirely sure this is possible as from what I've found not many have ever tried this on the later omega suspension models. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Dragon Man]

i dont think it has ever been done. do as i am doing and sit it on a suzuki SJ chassis... then you have your choice of engine and gearbox to fit

you should see what i have planned... kinda a secret for now hehe

 

[ROGUEPIX3L]

i dont think it has ever been done. do as i am doing and sit it on a suzuki SJ chassis... then you have your choice of engine and gearbox to fit

you should see what i have planned... kinda a secret for now hehe

Sounds very cool! But I just want the standard panda 4x4 system to keep it light and cheap. I guess I'll have to be the first to do it then! (hopefully).

 

[Dragon Man]

yes indeed. it will be a mix of Fiat, Suzuki, and Bmw (and possibly an MOT and insurance nightmare. standard issue with me.)

i have seen it done with a seat marbella. i think you will need to weld in supports for the front of the rear leaf springs. you may be able to adapt the original 2wd mounts however. i think you would need to change what angle they are as they point inward to the middle of the rear bumper. if you cut them off, welded in some strengthening then welded them back on or just made new mounts (lets face it they are only leaf springs). the rear mounting points of the leaf springs just needs a hole drilling out through the rear structure behind the rear wheel and a metal tube welding through. i dont know if i have any photos on my>> project fallout thread << as that was pretty rusty (but not as rusty as the 4x4 i have just bought)

for the middle, you will have to take the prop shaft and weld in some captive nuts or studs to mount it to.

you will sadly have to get rid of the 2wd plastic fuel tank as the prop shaft would go through it. sadly 4x4 fuel tanks are really expensive now days. so a tank in the boot may be your best bet. less you can weld 2x jerry cans together (to make them wider) and fit them on the filler side of the car.
the hand brake cable and brake flexi to the rear axle are supported via a bracket on the fuel tank.

the 4x4 handle could be made to fit by just using bolts through the car floor. i am not sure what you have but i have never seen a 4x4 fiat panda with cable gear linkage, only rod style. my guess is they have them in europe on cars newer than 1995 when they stopped coming over to the uk.

other than that, you dont really have much else besides the sump guard and 4x4 engagement indicator light on the dash. #

i wish you the best of luck...

... you can weld right?

 

[Dan at Adrian Flux]

Hi.
When you're ready If you need any help with insurance at all for this type of conversion then please feel free to drop me a line.
Regards,
Dan.

 

[ROGUEPIX3L]

yes indeed. it will be a mix of Fiat, Suzuki, and Bmw (and possibly an MOT and insurance nightmare. standard issue with me.)

i have seen it done with a seat marbella. i think you will need to weld in supports for the front of the rear leaf springs. you may be able to adapt the original 2wd mounts however. i think you would need to change what angle they are as they point inward to the middle of the rear bumper. if you cut them off, welded in some strengthening then welded them back on or just made new mounts (lets face it they are only leaf springs). the rear mounting points of the leaf springs just needs a hole drilling out through the rear structure behind the rear wheel and a metal tube welding through. i dont know if i have any photos on my>> project fallout thread << as that was pretty rusty (but not as rusty as the 4x4 i have just bought)

for the middle, you will have to take the prop shaft and weld in some captive nuts or studs to mount it to.

you will sadly have to get rid of the 2wd plastic fuel tank as the prop shaft would go through it. sadly 4x4 fuel tanks are really expensive now days. so a tank in the boot may be your best bet. less you can weld 2x jerry cans together (to make them wider) and fit them on the filler side of the car.
the hand brake cable and brake flexi to the rear axle are supported via a bracket on the fuel tank.

the 4x4 handle could be made to fit by just using bolts through the car floor. i am not sure what you have but i have never seen a 4x4 fiat panda with cable gear linkage, only rod style. my guess is they have them in europe on cars newer than 1995 when they stopped coming over to the uk.

other than that, you dont really have much else besides the sump guard and 4x4 engagement indicator light on the dash. #

i wish you the best of luck...

... you can weld right?

'... you can weld right?'
Well best way to learn is to just do it! But I do happen to have a good mate who really does know how to weld. Hope he can teach me and/or do some of the welding required! Good luck with your project it certainly seems to sound like you might need it!

 

[Dragon Man]

Hi.
When you're ready If you need any help with insurance at all for this type of conversion then please feel free to drop me a line.
Regards,
Dan.

for my modified stuff, i always come strait to flux you've even got my 1974 L reg ford digger insured (dreading but looking forward to going to work on that when ULEZ hits my city as it will be exempt being old and ex-military. it chugs all colours of smoke but somehow in the eyes of the government its less pollutive than a fiat panda 1.3 diesel thats able to get 70mpg )

'... you can weld right?'
Well best way to learn is to just do it! But I do happen to have a good mate who really does know how to weld. Hope he can teach me and/or do some of the welding required! Good luck with your project it certainly seems to sound like you might need it!

the seats have fallen through the floor mine is that rusty and all of the seat belts have pulled away from the floor. still rolls though!

yes the best thing to do is to literally go out and buy a mig welder that uses gas. use old CO2 fire extinguishers as your gas (very cheap to buy and refil!) and get a "pub gas" regulator from ebay or wherever for like £25. its what i use.
i have the luxury of working in a scrap yard, we are not allowed to take fire extinguishers.. but i can have them for "home use" hehe

if you are into modding things, the ability to stick metal together is insanely handy. its one of the best things i can do.
i like to use as many amps as i can get away with. if i start blowing holes through my work i just knock them down a few notches.
you soon get the hang of it too.

 

[porta]

You could make up a rear subframe for the rear axle set up. At least then you could ensure it’s ‘squared-up’. You could also use it to get some extra body height, if not actually improving it’s ground clearance, but would allow bigger wheels/tyres to gain inches. You would also have to space out the centre propshaft mount and increase the front McPherson setup

 

[ROGUEPIX3L]

You could make up a rear subframe for the rear axle set up. At least then you could ensure it’s ‘squared-up’. You could also use it to get some extra body height, if not actually improving it’s ground clearance, but would allow bigger wheels/tyres to gain inches. You would also have to space out the centre propshaft mount and increase the front McPherson setup

Thanks, I will employ some kind of frame to weld the mounts properly in but at least for now I would like to keep stock 4x4 ride height.

 

[ROGUEPIX3L]

for my modified stuff, i always come strait to flux you've even got my 1974 L reg ford digger insured (dreading but looking forward to going to work on that when ULEZ hits my city as it will be exempt being old and ex-military. it chugs all colours of smoke but somehow in the eyes of the government its less pollutive than a fiat panda 1.3 diesel thats able to get 70mpg )



the seats have fallen through the floor mine is that rusty and all of the seat belts have pulled away from the floor. still rolls though!

yes the best thing to do is to literally go out and buy a mig welder that uses gas. use old CO2 fire extinguishers as your gas (very cheap to buy and refil!) and get a "pub gas" regulator from ebay or wherever for like £25. its what i use.
i have the luxury of working in a scrap yard, we are not allowed to take fire extinguishers.. but i can have them for "home use" hehe

if you are into modding things, the ability to stick metal together is insanely handy. its one of the best things i can do.
i like to use as many amps as i can get away with. if i start blowing holes through my work i just knock them down a few notches.
you soon get the hang of it too.

Nice tip, I didn't think of using fire extinguishers as cheap co2!