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Panda (Classic) Project Fallout

Introduction

let me introduce to you, the free panda 4x4 which was first spotted >>Here<<.
First off however, here is the plan:

i will (some how) make the panda look "Post Apocalyptic" yet keep it in a road legal state (so no spikes, sharp rusty edges sadly). We have all seen mad max right? all wanted to replicate a mad max style car?
well let me be the first to attempt this with a fiat panda 4x4.

if anyone here has seen the TV program "Defiance", you surely have seen the epic Doge Charger that looks post apocalyptic. i will be trying to aim for the same theme. with such things as an external roll cadge, external metal mesh / grills covering the windows, custom bull bar, reinforced rear bumper made from tubular metal, custom twin output exhaust, and many many more.

this project is going to be undertaken as cheaply as possible (excluding parts necessary for a safe road going vehicle). reusing as many things as i can find (in scrap yards, freebees), true to a real post apocalyptic constructed vehicle. i will also be taking the "rough is best look" (please note, i say Rough not Rat!) the panda its self of course will undergo all the rust prevention Talon went under when i got him.

anyway, i will leave you a few seconds to build up a mental picture of how a panda 4x4 could look in a post apocalyptic landscape while browsing some of these Pictures.......



ok.. that should do.

First off. i need to get the panda all well and good.
a few things are broken... the exhaust, the front suspension on the passenger side, both rear dampeners are rusted out, the doors are shot but i will try to fix them, the gear stick is really loose and all the roller bearings have dropped out, the wiring is a mess (mice attack!), there are no brakes.. and i mean no brakes, and lets not forget the underside rust.

so today i started by stripping out everything inside the car to get a good look at the floor pan and clean it all out (Dragon Man style!) i found the usual rust: the boot floor is a mess, but easy fixable, a seam has gone just behind the drivers seat anything forward of that seems to be OK, and the back of the sills are just gone so i will need to rebuild that.

the engine runs.. the vac advance line has split so its a bit rough on tickover but it seems good. the fuel tank seems good.. all the 4x4 stuff seems good.

i have go a few pictures took free by a professional photographer! (or should i say someone with an epic camera :p)

Here are a few picture, but please check out >This Album<















like i say, check out the photo album.


i will be keeping >Online video logs< of this, so keep a look out on Youtube too.
here are some videos, both are long but the second one is longer!

Project Fallout a panda 4x4 turned post apocalyiptic - YouTube

Project Fallout Panda 4x4 What to do Post Apocaliptic looking Panda! - YouTube


keep watching guys.. the jet wash will be coming out later today!



Edit:

This is how it looks now: :eek::eek::eek: :slayer::slayer::slayer:



yeah, i'd love a little trailer.. i do have 2 though! one is a flat bed designed to carry a small buggy/ ATV / motorbike (too small for a car sadly) and the other is the one i think a few of you have seen that Talon used to bring my dads tool bench home from where he worked.

ideally i'd love a little tear drop shaped caravan. i was considering building one on the base of the flat bed trailer we have, but it would be so damn heavy as the base is built really strong. sadly i dont think i have any pictures of it. ill look...
 
Have you considered installing some spot lights on the roof? That would make it really look a go anywhere vehicle
 
Hiya, can you PM me the address of the yard as I am not that far away and I have a weakness for green things. Ta


Google Gillings of Diss, he doesn't have a web site, there is an old Facebook page but you should be able to get an address from Google, it's the sort of place you need to go to.
 
so i got the bits to tackle the oil leak yesterday so i set to it and got a little carried away.

as you can see.. an oil leak.. only leaks when engine is running. when its standing it does not leak!



so as i suspected, the cam cover was bolted up to an insane torque thus cutting the gasket rendering it useless. the cam shaft oil seal was also leaking so i replaced that too.

i did find a potential horror in the oil spray bar, and the cam does look a little worn. i may replace this with one from a lower miles engine one day.
i was actually pretty impressed with how clean everything looked inside the engine to be fair. a little build up on the cam cover but i guess it is to be expected from an engine that has done 88k miles.

so this is what the engine looked like just before i removed the cam to change the oil seal.



but first, lets take a look at that oil spray bar which also feeds the cam shaft journal bearings so its kinda important..



hmm looks good..



oh.. oh.. thats not good..



hmm looks worn?



well nothing much i can do about it now so i will just live with it. it does not tick or make any "worn" sounds so must have been getting a bit of oil.

...

well no point in dwelling on the bad. lets make this thing look good.



ohhhh yeahhhhh :slayer::slayer:

hmm air box.. Y U cover up good looking parts so well..



oh well..

heh ive not really used it much.. just over 7 hours on the hour meter...

 
as some know, Fallout is missing a prop shaft. his original one would not come to bits even with an hydraulic puller on it!
but i do have Talons original... unbalanced prop shaft. (with just replaced rubber boots)



so i built a jig i can bolt the prop to and rotate it at speed to see if it vibrates.







it works really well and i have managed to get the prop shaft from leaping off the floor while turning at speed to just vibrating a bit at speed. i am pretty sure that however is due to the drill to prop adaptor not being balanced!

all i did was just kept undoing the prop bolts and turning the CV joint till it stopped the vibration.

i recommend making one of these guys! this is just knocked together using metal tubes!
 
does anyone know the size of them? i need 12!
M8x25?, but will measure them tommorow, I also had to buy them, fiat dealer sells them in the packs of 5, at least here you can not buy 3 or 7 just 5 or 10 etc.....

close but not the same is fiat tipo, regata fiorino uno etc fiats "plastic bumper bolt", also m8 but shorter.I think I used some on my trekking

http://allegro.pl/sruba-zderzaka-uno-cc-tipo-tempra-i5641605951.html


ps:nope, not that one, I used fiat 126p/cinquecento bumper bolts{ before I asked local fiat dealer about panda 4x4 ones}, their square base is 1mm to big but besides that they are ok, just remove some material from the base. They should be avialable new via fiat, old but usable via junkyards in UK?

http://allegro.pl/sruba-mocowania-zderzaka-126p-cinquecento-kwadrat-i5081130796.html
 
Last edited:
well guys. not really an update for the car as such more of an update about me!

i have managed to get employment at a scrap yard. sadly not a car one.. it is part time work 3 days a week.

its kinda a dream job thing for me... i get to take things apart all day. something i am naturally good at. and i am allowed to use any means necessary too. big hammer, no problem.. still saw, more fun.. pry it apart with the fork lift.. ohhh yeahhh.

oh today i found out that the SAME bolts (i think) that the panda uses to hold the prop shaft on are also used on industrial electronic air heater units (to hold the large fan motors in)
so i have managed to grab a load of them to try. (and file down if too big)

i cant believe i have been surviving without a job or signing on for 6 years just by buying things from scrap yards repairing and selling on!

ill have a play with those bolts tomorrow as i have 4 days off to play with :D

happy times!
 
John
Good news is work = money = NEW parts, not third hand ones

However I can't wait to see what you pick up from work to weld onto or into Fallout.

Is anyone going to have a guess?
Dave
 
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