Sublime Pandamonium II
Discussion
Mr2Mike said:
Liquid Knight said:
One of the issues I have with my Panda are the Goodyear Eagle NCT2 tyres. They are brilliant (in my opinion the best all round 13 inch tyre you can buy) but wasted on standard wheels. I've been after a set of phase ones for ages as they are the easiest to balance, look good silver, black, gunmetal or mirror polished and are period to the car. For £40 they are a bloody bargain and I get to drive the snake pass to get them.
They're fine. Thank you for your concern though.
Yesterday was brilliant and b
ks. Brilliant because I got to drive on one of the best roads in the UK. The A6 between Derby and Stockport in parts are knows as the Cat and Fiddle. Even though like the Snake Pass (my original route) it's fun Police fifty zone now (the reason I avoided the Snake Pass) the road is still a little roller coaster with picture postcard views. At fifty I didn't need to brake at all so it added to my 378 miles with only five and a half Gallons of petrol.
68.8 mpg (with five alloy wheels with even older tyres in the back for the latter part)
Why would anyone want to buy a Prius?
Here's a little Panda fact for you; because the spare wheel is in the front with the rear seat folded you have the loading space the same size as a Europallet.
As demonstrated with a set of five alloys and a sub-box (I only fitted it to see if it works, it does; and I haven't got the shed space to store it anywhere else, honest).
I'd like to apologise to all the Entomologists who may have observed a decline in population overnight.
Yesterday was brilliant and b
ks. Brilliant because I got to drive on one of the best roads in the UK. The A6 between Derby and Stockport in parts are knows as the Cat and Fiddle. Even though like the Snake Pass (my original route) it's fun Police fifty zone now (the reason I avoided the Snake Pass) the road is still a little roller coaster with picture postcard views. At fifty I didn't need to brake at all so it added to my 378 miles with only five and a half Gallons of petrol. 68.8 mpg (with five alloy wheels with even older tyres in the back for the latter part)
Why would anyone want to buy a Prius?
Here's a little Panda fact for you; because the spare wheel is in the front with the rear seat folded you have the loading space the same size as a Europallet.
As demonstrated with a set of five alloys and a sub-box (I only fitted it to see if it works, it does; and I haven't got the shed space to store it anywhere else, honest).
I'd like to apologise to all the Entomologists who may have observed a decline in population overnight.
Okay a quick once offer with a mixture of washing up liquid and soda crystals...
...two Speedlines and three squigles.
A nice chunk missing out of one rim...
...and a bit of straightening around the weight of another...
...apart from that they're all fairly decent. Trying to decide between a wire brush and paint stripper or sand/media blasting.
...two Speedlines and three squigles.
A nice chunk missing out of one rim...
...and a bit of straightening around the weight of another...
...apart from that they're all fairly decent. Trying to decide between a wire brush and paint stripper or sand/media blasting.
So because I've been spending time and money on my Alfa my Fantasia decided to put her parts on. The starter solenoid became intermittent and eventually stopped. Just in time for me to need to get a vital part for the Alfa an hour before the M.O.T was due.
Nothing unusual for Pandas as the starter motor is mounted directly under the heater matrix and sometimes condensation drops on to it. You need to keep the starter motors shaft clean and well lubricated.
I've used wet and dry lubes in the past, copperslip and grease attract dirt and dry up causing problems later. The best stuff I've found is some domestic chain lube. Nice and wet to slip into the cog and spindle then drys to a fluid consistency ideal for keeping things in motion.
Sadly this didn't solve the problem this time around. I opened the cap cover to find...
...one of the terminals had dried and snapped off inside.
I needed to fit my Punto starter motor from Guff II (don't worry it's a spare one). The problem is...
...the Punto motor has a round terminal for the relay live.
I don't want to damage the Panda loom as I will be retrofitting the original motor once it has been reconditioned.
D.I.Y adapter cable.
While I had the bonnet up I refitted the new coil, replaced the condenser with the new one I bought ages ago and checked the plug gaps. All is well in the world and the phantom flat spot is almost eradicated.
Nothing unusual for Pandas as the starter motor is mounted directly under the heater matrix and sometimes condensation drops on to it. You need to keep the starter motors shaft clean and well lubricated.
I've used wet and dry lubes in the past, copperslip and grease attract dirt and dry up causing problems later. The best stuff I've found is some domestic chain lube. Nice and wet to slip into the cog and spindle then drys to a fluid consistency ideal for keeping things in motion.
Sadly this didn't solve the problem this time around. I opened the cap cover to find...
...one of the terminals had dried and snapped off inside.
I needed to fit my Punto starter motor from Guff II (don't worry it's a spare one). The problem is...
...the Punto motor has a round terminal for the relay live.
I don't want to damage the Panda loom as I will be retrofitting the original motor once it has been reconditioned.
D.I.Y adapter cable.
While I had the bonnet up I refitted the new coil, replaced the condenser with the new one I bought ages ago and checked the plug gaps. All is well in the world and the phantom flat spot is almost eradicated.
FrankenFiat II
This one is kind of pre-built but for the price of a cam' and clutch £120 I've got practically a turnkey unit.
So what we have here is a Punto 60 1242cc engine...
...866 Punto 75 cam' and black box distributor (that may yet find it's way into a skip)...
...nearly new clutch...
...and a Golf Driver 1.6 carb' 36 instead of 32.
I'll give the bike carb's a go at some point but the Golf carb's have been balanced to the engine and used a standard Panda/Uno airbox.
I'm thinking of fitting this engine to my Fantasia so I can strip clean, and rebuild the original 999cc FIRE engine as part of the cars restoration plan. I am still undecided as to use FrankenFiat II in Guff II as it's pre-built and technically cheating (the car could be up and running in a few hours if I do use it and I have until September 9th now).
This one is kind of pre-built but for the price of a cam' and clutch £120 I've got practically a turnkey unit.
So what we have here is a Punto 60 1242cc engine...
...866 Punto 75 cam' and black box distributor (that may yet find it's way into a skip)...
...nearly new clutch...
...and a Golf Driver 1.6 carb' 36 instead of 32.
I'll give the bike carb's a go at some point but the Golf carb's have been balanced to the engine and used a standard Panda/Uno airbox.
I'm thinking of fitting this engine to my Fantasia so I can strip clean, and rebuild the original 999cc FIRE engine as part of the cars restoration plan. I am still undecided as to use FrankenFiat II in Guff II as it's pre-built and technically cheating (the car could be up and running in a few hours if I do use it and I have until September 9th now).
There have been a few horror stories floating around the forums about cars being stopped for having tyres sticking out of their wheel arches. These stories vary from a verbal warning to a £100 fine and up to six points. Construction and use regulations being spouted about like Jehovah Witnesses when you mention the word Darwinism.
Now the rear of Guff II isn't an issue but the front...
...is borderline (thumbsnap has crashed again so the rest will be booked on my face).
This could be compensated for by the weight of the engine when installed but I don't want to either take that chance or have to stick stupid "J-Tuner" arches on the car.
So I go the other spare hub mount...
...cut a section out of it...
...found an off cut of roll cage tube...
...cut that in half length ways...
...welded it in place...
...even though I had good penetration I welded up inside as well...
...flap the outside nice and clean and cut the excess from the top...
...I then welded a small plate in place to tidy the bottom of the pipe...
...and all that's left to do is borrow my mates pillar drill to make the new holes.
It'll either work brilliantly or not at all. Either way it's cost me an hour and a couple of bits of scrap.
Now the rear of Guff II isn't an issue but the front...
...is borderline (thumbsnap has crashed again so the rest will be booked on my face).
This could be compensated for by the weight of the engine when installed but I don't want to either take that chance or have to stick stupid "J-Tuner" arches on the car.
So I go the other spare hub mount...
...cut a section out of it...
...found an off cut of roll cage tube...
...cut that in half length ways...
...welded it in place...
...even though I had good penetration I welded up inside as well...
...flap the outside nice and clean and cut the excess from the top...
...I then welded a small plate in place to tidy the bottom of the pipe...
...and all that's left to do is borrow my mates pillar drill to make the new holes.
It'll either work brilliantly or not at all. Either way it's cost me an hour and a couple of bits of scrap.
Liquid Knight said:
It'll either work brilliantly or not at all. Either way it's cost me an hour and a couple of bits of scrap.
I had neglected to check a very important thing. 
The bottom of the shock is square not round.
So it doesn't work. At least I have some modern art for the next exhibition.
So why way I taking the Fantasia hub apart?
The CV joint was hemorrhaging grease. The metal clip was as tight as humanly possible but bloody useless so it's now in the bin and replaced with an industrial cable tie.
Back on the camber issue...
...with the lower bolt in place and the hub mount pushed as far back as possible (to the brake line holder) there's almost a whole hole's worth of adjustment.
With the bolt in place we can see there's a good five or six millimeters to play with. That would be enough to move the Guff tyres back under the arch and require nowhere near the amount of fabrication.
moribund said:
I'm sorry, I think I've completely lost track of what is going on.
So you have an Alfa, the Fantasia and Guff.
Alfa is your daily driver.
Fantasia is a restoration? What is actually wrong with it?
Guff is a race/rally car - for what exactly? When?
I need a synopsis like you get at the start of every episode of a drama serial
My Fantasia is my daily (when I don't cycle) drive. I bought the Alfa because Guff II (the other Panda) wasn't going to be ready in time for the PPC £999 Challenge that was supposed to be happening tomorrow at Santa Pod but has been canceled. The Alfa took a lot more than predicted to get through the M.O.T so she's now sold to an enthusiast who will be picking the car up Monday (hopefully) and I can recoup some of the money spent on her. I would like to keep the Alfa, take the Fantasia off the road to fully restore but life has an annoying habit of getting in the way of such things. So you have an Alfa, the Fantasia and Guff.
Alfa is your daily driver.
Fantasia is a restoration? What is actually wrong with it?
Guff is a race/rally car - for what exactly? When?
I need a synopsis like you get at the start of every episode of a drama serial
For restoration the Fantasia needs new sills, new rear 3/4 panels, drivers side wing, inner wings, front valance, new roof and a complete respray in the original green. There have been repairs in the past that have left the car three different colours. I could take the engine out, strip and rebuilt it but I'm waiting for new crank bearings.
There's nothing wrong with the car but being the last green Panda Fantasia left in the UK (making the car rarer than any Maserati or Ferrari) I'd like to give the car the attention she deserves.
Guff II will (hopefully) be finished for a non-official £999 event in September.
Once the Alfa is collected I'm off to look at another Panda.
It could also fold down to act as a windscreen shield in case I have to drive through Peterborough. We get a lot of lampers and Hare coursers round here so a nimble little 4x4 with a gun turret would be ideal. Any dog running loose on farmland is subject to the dangerous dogs act and can legally be shot on site provided they pose a danger to either the public or livestock.
The Panda has a significant load space in case I miss the dogs and hit the owners by mistake.
The Panda has a significant load space in case I miss the dogs and hit the owners by mistake.
After a frustrating morning messing about with GM products (that's the politest way of describing my sisters Corsa) I thought I'd spend some quality time with Guff II. Well try to fit the engine as it's in the way of the Alfa being collected tomorrow.
The FrankenFiat engine was installed in sections and the new engine is perfectly fine as it is so I decided to try and fit it whole.
After an hour I discovered the engine wouldn't drop in from the top. I even used the hoist the fourth and fifth time. So I lifted the car up and tried from underneath. Nope the drivers side drive shaft was in the way. So I have two choices. Take the drive shaft out or take the engine apart.
I tried taking the drive shaft out. With no weigh or brakes on the hub turning the 30mm nut resulted in the wheel turning and digging a little hole in my drive. I loosened the gearbox mounts to try and wobble the business end out of the box but the gearbox fell off instead. Oh well. I got the Cinquecento box out of my shed to see how difficult it would be to fit instead. My thinking here was fitting the engine and box together would be easier and the advantage of the five speed box is obvious now the car is being built with the track in mid instead of the quarter mile.
More fun is bound to follow.
The FrankenFiat engine was installed in sections and the new engine is perfectly fine as it is so I decided to try and fit it whole.
After an hour I discovered the engine wouldn't drop in from the top. I even used the hoist the fourth and fifth time. So I lifted the car up and tried from underneath. Nope the drivers side drive shaft was in the way. So I have two choices. Take the drive shaft out or take the engine apart.
I tried taking the drive shaft out. With no weigh or brakes on the hub turning the 30mm nut resulted in the wheel turning and digging a little hole in my drive. I loosened the gearbox mounts to try and wobble the business end out of the box but the gearbox fell off instead. Oh well. I got the Cinquecento box out of my shed to see how difficult it would be to fit instead. My thinking here was fitting the engine and box together would be easier and the advantage of the five speed box is obvious now the car is being built with the track in mid instead of the quarter mile.
More fun is bound to follow.
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