im Axle Specialists

Panda (Classic) Panda SKY [K483 UJO]

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Panda (Classic) Panda SKY [K483 UJO]

Yep DM worked his magic on Sky and I'm chuffed to bits with him :D

Don't know whether it's the alloys, the lowering springs or the half tonne of doors, seats and mystery bits I was carrying but this car handles brilliantly! Too be honest it did when I test drove it, practically no body roll on corners, how that is possible on a panda I don't know - and no, it hasn't got an anti roll bar fitted!

Looking at the supplied history it has had most of the front suspension bits replaced and a lot of money spent on the car in recent years with a small ammount of welding on the inner sills.

I was a bit concerned about overheating especially as there wasn't any coolant in the expansion tank so on the way home so stopped at the services and topped up the coolant for peace of mind - he stayed at 95c all the way home at a steady 60-70.

I was very suprised at how well he coped with the load on board, the oversize tyres only caught a couple of times on the motorway momentarily, worst part was driving around the services had a very long grind and I feared I had grounded the car!

Due to the 50mph limit on the M1 I was able to keep the front roof open most of the way home which was a blessing on such a muggy and hot evening, especially for lucy who loves the carpeted floor with no plastic centre console stopping her from laying flat out on her side.

The one fear I had was the non-servo'ed brakes but thankfully they aren't too bad, the car starts and runs well with just a touch of choke so another fear allayed there too. :)

In a way this feels like a "real" panda with choke and "differently abled" brakes, the lack of body roll makes up for those "negatives"(;)) anyway:p

I'll start a new thread and post up some pictures tonight but I'll leave you with this :woot:
 
panda panda said:
In a way this feels like a "real" panda with choke and "differently abled" brakes, the lack of body roll makes up for those "negatives"(;)) anyway:p

I'll start a new thread and post up some pictures tonight but I'll leave you with this :woot:
Click to expand...
Finally you can stop condemning carb models and their 'feeble brakes' as you're now lumped with one :p
Carbs are not that scary after all though :rolleyes:

In all seriousness thats a lovely Panda, I'd be well chuffed if I were you. On the handling front I thought this was normal for Pandas, Char' never experiences any body roll, but skinnier tyres probably means shes not quite as grippy as Sky (y)
 
A little late with the update but I have moved from North to West Yorkshire, had to wait for BT to sort out the broadband and by a desk to set the computer up on!

Sky is a little treasure, pity it's now monsoon season in Halifax, must be those bloody big hills :)

Anyway, some pics of the fettling:
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2014-07-20_18_28_41.jpg
2014-07-20_18_28_26.jpg
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2014-07-20_18_54_35.jpg


Once again I'm indebted to the skills of dragonman :worship:

2014-07-20_19_42_07.jpg


Had a few tings in the car on the way home:

2014-07-20_19_41_54.jpg
2014-07-20_19_41_47.jpg


and a now out of date fleet pic:

2014-07-20_21_52_39.jpg
 
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haha fantastic pictures there John

digging my threads man! when under cars, i use trousers with all the holes in.. thank the gods they have a built in lining!

glad sky is going well for you :D its a really nice car! lowering springs dont half feel that bad on it too.. not as bone shaky as i thought it would be.
 
Dragon Man said:
haha fantastic pictures there John

digging my threads man! when under cars, i use trousers with all the holes in.. thank the gods they have a built in lining!

glad sky is going well for you :D its a really nice car! lowering springs dont half feel that bad on it too.. not as bone shaky as i thought it would be.
Click to expand...

Ha ha, I did check what was showing before I posted the pic!

Great ride for a lowered car, just certain speed bumps cause it to buck a bit though.
 
I took Sky for a little jaunt to see the stainless steel exhaust makers in Halifax today.

She (it's a she today as she was tempremenstural and took ages to start) disgraced herself by flinging her windscreen wiper arm off in the rain. It was a quiet backstreet so I popped on the flashers and retrieved the useless arm and wiper, just as PC plod passed in the opposite direction.

Sans wiper and arm I carried on to the garage for a quote. While he made a thorough job of measuring and noting the manifold has a stud missing/sheared I had a quick look around underneath.

Metal tank straps are present and correct, only corrosion of any note is above the rear springs on the floor pan where the coating has peeled.

The omega axle is a little spotty but no worse than Fizzle (I have a spare new one anyway) and overall apart from a damn good clean up requires very little work to my untrained eye.

The only cause for concern was that the bottoms of the rear shocks seem to have been rubbing on the inside of the alloys and have a gap of only a few millimeters between them.

Back to the quote - it's just shy of £400 for renewal of the system (past the twin pipes) in shiny 304 stainless. I have no idea if this is fair price or not, being a carbed model no cat and only one back box it was a bit more than I was expecting anyway.
Palio VmanC is this in the region of panto's stainless system?

Opinions welcome, oh and I should add that although I may replace the tired interior, the exterior will be returned to stock as I plan to keep Sky as original as I can, she'll keep the dent removal man busy for a while (next quote planned) has a parts world door waiting to be fitted and painted (not by me - been there done that ;)), and I suppose some more FIATY alloys will be fitted - I'm not sure about returning the ride height to standard as I quite like it the way it is;)...
 
panda panda said:
I took Sky for a little jaunt to see the stainless steel exhaust makers in Halifax today.

She (it's a she today as she was tempremenstural and took ages to start) disgraced herself by flinging her windscreen wiper arm off in the rain. It was a quiet backstreet so I popped on the flashers and retrieved the useless arm and wiper, just as PC plod passed in the opposite direction.

Sans wiper and arm I carried on to the garage for a quote. While he made a thorough job of measuring and noting the manifold has a stud missing/sheared I had a quick look around underneath.

Metal tank straps are present and correct, only corrosion of any note is above the rear springs on the floor pan where the coating has peeled.

The omega axle is a little spotty but no worse than Fizzle (I have a spare new one anyway) and overall apart from a damn good clean up requires very little work to my untrained eye.

The only cause for concern was that the bottoms of the rear shocks seem to have been rubbing on the inside of the alloys and have a gap of only a few millimeters between them.

Back to the quote - it's just shy of £400 for renewal of the system (past the twin pipes) in shiny 304 stainless. I have no idea if this is fair price or not, being a carbed model no cat and only one back box it was a bit more than I was expecting anyway.
Palio VmanC is this in the region of panto's stainless system?

Opinions welcome, oh and I should add that although I may replace the tired interior, the exterior will be returned to stock as I plan to keep Sky as original as I can, she'll keep the dent removal man busy for a while (next quote planned) has a parts world door waiting to be fitted and painted (not by me - been there done that ;)), and I suppose some more FIATY alloys will be fitted - I'm not sure about returning the ride height to standard as I quite like it the way it is;)...
Click to expand...

I paid £300 for a stainless system for the 127 Palio which must be similar - slightly longer than a Panda with one box. This was several years ago mind, I don't know how long, but probably circa 7 years.

I'd think £400 was a little pricey, but Vern will I'm sure be able to say how much Panto's was (though it's twin tailpipe & probably not the cheapest supplier, so you might not be comparing like for like).

Sorry don't have any more info John. :shrug:
 
Panto's system was just over £400. It does have two silencers and the twin tailpipes though.

I've had a couple of incidents where the rear shocks have touched the inside of some alloys, some combinations just won't fit. Under load the shock swings in even closer, some small spacers may help but watch the wheels don't then foul on the arches.
 
VmanC said:
some small spacers may help

John, if you're planing to part with cento - you can always nick 5mm fiat spacers from it, they were fitted by fiat at least to one axle - can't recall was it front or rear.

If you like Cromodora wheels ( not Fiat but Alfa), i've still got a set of 4 - wider spacers would be required as those rims are ET40

(example photo, can't find my photos)

mrAQgV3GUMm2U0HDHVszl9g.jpg
Click to expand...
 
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kolza said:
VmanC said:
some small spacers may help

John, if you're planing to part with cento - you can always nick 5mm fiat spacers from it, they were fitted by fiat at least to one axle - can't recall was it front or rear.

If you like Cromodora wheels ( not Fiat but Alfa), i've still got a set of 4 - wider spacers would be required as those rims are ET40

(example photo, can't find my photos)

mrAQgV3GUMm2U0HDHVszl9g.jpg
Click to expand...


Ah! I've got some of those. (y)
Click to expand...
 
They are nice alloys llok like they should have a big centre cap on them though?
I also have a soft spot for x1/9 bertone ones and the "spokey" type I think Gav has on his super.
I really need to get the ones I already have sorted....
 
Fizzle's out of action due to ht leads and now sky's off the road with no wiper.

The wiper arm and attachment knob on the linkage are both worn smooth so I'm on the lookout for replacement items. I know others have repaired them but frankly two wiper arms dropping off on two different vehicles has made me wary of doing any thing but a full change. I will also need a set for LVJ too eventually as he donated his to Fizzle!

I'm willing to part with my items if anyone wants to start a linkage/arm refurbishment business!

Before I start trawling the bay for either parts please drop me a PM ifyou can help.

Thanks everyone :)
 
Thanks to dragonman and BEX/fallout Sky has a a replacement wiper motor/linkage and arm. (y)

John also rectified the non operating fog lights - they'd been earthed onto the bumper - and sorted out a cigarette lighter as well :)

Not all good news though, managed to flatten the battery and needed a bump start to get home. Playing flash the fog lights on the way home was fun until they went off and wouldn't come back on!
I'll have a look on wednesday as I'm working until then - hopefully it'll have stopped with the rain by then too.

I'm mulling over what to do about the body work repairs, both rear arches need patching and painting, the boot lip is shot, as are the doors and bonnet. I'm tempted to get John's bonnet (I've the doors already) off BEX and have a two tone panda - at least they'd be solid!

The turn in the weather has made me realise I still haven't had Fizzle cavity waxed!
 
Still not much further on with deciding on a course of action for Sky Panda. Keep toying with the idea of a straight refurb and tidy up but it'll never be a show car without thousands been spent on the body.

Two tone Panda is growing on me - blue doors, bonnet and tailgate easily swapped back to dented and rusty originals.

What's really getting me interested in this panda is dropping a 1.2 or even a 1.4.
It would need the brake servo adding though as even with the asthmatic carbed 999cc I've had a couple of brown trouser moments, I'm thinking of getting a big sail to deploy or some sort of app which can monitor speed, closeness of cars infront and tell me if I'm going to rear end them if they jam on the anchors, hmm an anchor now that's an idea....

In other Sky news today he got a wash:)
 
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