Sublime Pandamonium II

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Discussion

Quietlybonkers

20,903 posts

143 months

Sunday 23rd September 2012
quotequote all
This green missile, in the hands of an expert driver, was substantially faster round corners and in a straight line than my TVR Chimaera, which only has 240BHP.

Liquid Knight

Original Poster:

15,754 posts

182 months

Sunday 23rd September 2012
quotequote all
The thing I always liked about the Bravo HGT was it's understated nature. If the owner were to take the cage out and fit standard wheels to the green on it wouldn't look out of place on the school run. wink

Brilliant Q car.

Liquid Knight

Original Poster:

15,754 posts

182 months

Sunday 23rd September 2012
quotequote all
Git!

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fiat-Bravo-155-HGT-/1209...

Anyone want to buy a Panda Fantasia for £800? wink

Liquid Knight

Original Poster:

15,754 posts

182 months

Wednesday 26th September 2012
quotequote all
If you recall as while ago I replaced the rear brake cylinders on my Fantasia as one of them was seized and would periodically slow the car down. Once replaced the brakes never felt right. I put this down to how old the fluid looked and set about getting a bleed kit and flushing the system out.

This went well yesterday.









As well as giving me a craving for Guinness the old fluid looked more like I'd done an oil change. Anyway due to the car not having a current M.O.T I used a private farm track to test the brakes and...

...they were the same as before if not worse. rolleyes

The pedal would feel firm and the brakes start to bind then the pressure would drop the pedal would travel to the floor before any pressure built up again. If I pump the brake the rear wheels would lock up first and the car would pitch in the direction of whatever rear wheel decided to lock. There is no air is the system as far as I can tell so I pop the bonnet to find brake fluid was leaking out of the master cylinder cap. Could the loss of pressure be due to the cap not being sealed? No, but I changed it for the 750 anyway as it was cleaner and there have been no more leaks from there.

With the rear locking first my next guess was the compensator valve located under the spare wheel. I undid the bolt removed the rubber cover to find the grease had solidified and the piston was locked in place. I cleaned it with some WD40 and a toothbrush and pumped the brake again to see if it would free up but it was solid. Could the compensator valve being stuck be caused by or a contributor to the slave cylinder failing? Again no, it's probably just due to the age of the components. Anyway nowhere local sells them unless I wanted to adapt one from another vehicle to make it fit. As far as I'm aware Cinquecento and Seicento ones are different as well so I had to order one from here...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BRAKE-VALVE-PRV-Pressure...

...fit it when it arrives, bleed the rear brakes again and hope for the best.

Pretty stupid bit of design if you ask me (not that anyone had or tends to) I would have put a bleed nipple on the compensator valve as well as I'm sure air could be trapped in there.

Liquid Knight

Original Poster:

15,754 posts

182 months

Wednesday 26th September 2012
quotequote all
As I couldn't get the brakes done today I thought I'd have a look at tidying the front suspension. Sadly I noticed a few things while I was under the car.

The passenger side sill has gone in two places...



...near the front where the floor meets the bulkhead...



...and directly under the "B" pillar. rolleyes

Also both bottom ball joints have perished. frown





Hmmmm! Bum, poo; butt! (my nephews have been following this thread)

I don't have the £100 for a new sill...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/260937383465?ssPageName=...

...at the moment so it'll have to be patched for now. frown

Another £50 for the bottom ball joints...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/300629646849?ssPageName=...

...and I'm definitely cycling to work for another month. smile

In the mean time. Today's effort was worth getting wet for.





smile

Edited by Liquid Knight on Wednesday 26th September 20:18

Liquid Knight

Original Poster:

15,754 posts

182 months

Thursday 27th September 2012
quotequote all
Panic over I've found a pair of cheap hubs. smile

In the mean time what do you think of this?



1.9 N/A Diesel, the Meerkats want £200 to insure it and the DVLA want about the same to rent the log book for a year. It's a former "Dub Scene" chariot with lowered suspension and vandalism dents down the drivers side. Solid roof rack, good loading capacity (for Panda parts), and a tow bar (for taking the 750 to the track).


Quietlybonkers

20,903 posts

143 months

Thursday 27th September 2012
quotequote all
It's a "shed de luxe"' complete with high roof so that you don't bang your head! Looks excellent. Good choice.

Will I see you at any track days soon? There's a cheap charity airfield one in Norfolk in the Spring - they do two a year and the photo of the Fiat Supershed 400 was taken there this August. Speed is irrelevant, it's all about having fun in the corners in your own car, and blagging rides in other peoples' faster stuff.

I missed out on a ride in a 185mph M5 V10 this time round........will be blagging one next time if I can. I did get rides in an MR2 Turbo, a 924, a Holden V8 and a Vauxhall Nova.........the latter had 63bhp, never broke 90 mph, yet it was still doing 90 into the corners. The driver was a pro, skilful, and completely bonkers. He simply threw it at the corners and sorted out the problems as they happened. It was actually the scariest of the four rides.

Liquid Knight

Original Poster:

15,754 posts

182 months

Thursday 27th September 2012
quotequote all
It will cost money I don't have to buy, insure, run and the DVLA are a bunch of thieving scumbags. frown

£400 as is tax runs out Sunday or £500 with tax. Can't be wrong.

As for trackdays. I'm aiming to get the Fantasia back on the road first before I can do anything with the 750.

Liquid Knight

Original Poster:

15,754 posts

182 months

Friday 28th September 2012
quotequote all
Updates will be a little scarce for the next couple of weeks. I've just started a twelve day three night shift pattern. It's dark when I leave and when I get home so apart from letting you know when the bits arrive there won't be anything to report anyway.

Ideal bit of overtime as my insurance is due next month and I could pay in one go for the fist time in five years. woohoo


Liquid Knight

Original Poster:

15,754 posts

182 months

Tuesday 2nd October 2012
quotequote all
The brake bias compensator valve arrived Saturday and the ball joints have only just been marked as dispatched.

Lucky I'm not in a hurry. wink

Liquid Knight

Original Poster:

15,754 posts

182 months

Tuesday 2nd October 2012
quotequote all
They arrived today. woohoo

That's me next day off planned. wink

Liquid Knight

Original Poster:

15,754 posts

182 months

Wednesday 10th October 2012
quotequote all
Got some work done on the car today and injured myself trying something else.

The old brake compensator valve took about two minutes...



...to replace...



...and once the rear brakes were bled again I adjusted the hand brake...



...and the brakes are now ready for M.O.T. smile

I thought I'd have a go at the better of the two CV's today as well. I plan to take the whole hub assembly apart, do the CV boot and change the lower ball joints at the same time. This as far as I got the new boot on the cone fitter before I dislocated my thumb and sprained my wrist.



I thought warming the rubber up under a hot tap would help make it more malleable but my thumb clicked out again and I used words that would be inappropriate to repeat on a family friendly forum.

I'm working the next three nights so I'll start the bodywork on my next day off. If I get into it I'll loose track of time and be late for my shift. wink

Quietlybonkers

20,903 posts

143 months

Wednesday 10th October 2012
quotequote all
Mind boggles - did you dislocate your thumb and sprain your wrist working on the car, or did that strange rubber thing in the last pic have something to do with it?laugh

Liquid Knight

Original Poster:

15,754 posts

182 months

Saturday 13th October 2012
quotequote all
So I had today all planned. Passenger side in the morning, drivers side in the afternoon and welding tomorrow/Monday.

Yep in the last two weeks someone had very kindly put my ball joints somewhere "safe" and forgotten where. After a few hours looking (I kid you not) there was a knock at the door and a friend of mine needed some welding done on his van and was happy to pay £30 for me to do it.

Got some welding practice in before I tackle the Panda sills, got beer and pizza and the parts turned up as soon as it was too dark to start working on the car.

So that's tomorrow sorted then. wink

Liquid Knight

Original Poster:

15,754 posts

182 months

Sunday 14th October 2012
quotequote all
So I had today all planned...

With the car up on ramps take the gearbox sump plug out and drain the oil.



From the state of it I think it's fair to say it's the first time the oil has been changed.



Remove the three wheel bolts securing the wheel trim.



Remove the drive shaft retaining nut.



Place the jack in a safe location under the lower wishbone mount.



Elevate the car high enough to remove the wheel and ramp.



Remove the 17mm bolts holding the brake caliper on and tie the caliper to the inner wing so the brake line doesn't get stretched or broken.



Now that's safely out of the way undo the 12mm bolt and take the disc off.



Next remove the 17mm nut from the bottom ball joint.



The two 13mm nuts and bolts from the track control bracket from the upright.



The 17mm bolts from the upright.



The 13mm nuts from the strut top and...



...the upright completely.



With a ball joint splitter remove the bottom ball joint from the wishbone and...



...slide the hub off the driveshaft.



Now the hub assembly is off remove the 17mm bolts from the back and disassemble it.



Reassembly and refitting is just as easy. wink

While I had the hub assembly off I changed the CV boots as well.



The drivers side was shot and I discovered the reason why the passenger side was leaking.



The pillock who had fitted it trimmed the outer edge to fit it and then used two cable ties to hold it in place. rolleyes

I use a bicycle tyre lever myself. wink

Anyway I got the car back together...



...for the weather to turn to crap.



So that's tyres, wheel cylinders, compensator valve, track rod ends, bottom ball joints, gearbox oil, brake fluid and brake discs. Just a day of welding and new front pads for the Panda to be ready for M.O.T. This is probably the most I've done with a car without a fail sheet as a guide.

Why brake pads? Well whoever bodged the CV boot also replaced the brake pads on the drivers side but not the passenger side. rolleyes

Also I'd like some red or green stuff ones to go with the groovy discs. wink

...and it all went according to plan.


Liquid Knight

Original Poster:

15,754 posts

182 months

Sunday 14th October 2012
quotequote all
P.S Yesterdays £30 has gone towards new gearbox oil. smile

Time for a beer.

Conian

8,030 posts

200 months

Sunday 14th October 2012
quotequote all
good work chap

Liquid Knight

Original Poster:

15,754 posts

182 months

Monday 15th October 2012
quotequote all
After getting two days work done yesterday and a favorable forecast I was looking forward to getting the sill welded up this morning, painted this afternoon and pre-flight checks ready to book the car in for M.O.T when the Payday Fairies visit.

BBC Weather strikes again. rolleyes

This evening's rain is here now and much as I enjoy using power tools in wet conditions I have to be fit for work tomorrow and can't risk it. frown

Liquid Knight

Original Poster:

15,754 posts

182 months

Monday 15th October 2012
quotequote all
I got the front half of the sill and floor patched up. No photo's to say I'm not happy with the finish would be the understatement of the decade. I'm considering forgetting about the M.O.T and waiting until I can afford the new sills from Italy.

Something I was chuffed with was the fact the car started first turn of the key despite the stereo being on for two days. smile

The Petrol smells a bit off (it is six weeks old) so I'll have to give the old girl a run to the M.O.T to burn the crap out.

badger_royale

427 posts

250 months

Monday 15th October 2012
quotequote all
I know your pain on the sills having repaired mine in a couple of places, its a right pig of a job when all 3 layers need replacing! Good work on saving it though smile