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Technical My New Panda CLX

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Technical My New Panda CLX

schtubert

schtubert

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As i've read on here a few times, "Pandas really do multiply" Edinburgh zoo should do a study.

Just had my new 1995 CLX arrive on the drive as proof, courtesy of Velocemitch.







It has an engine, it has doors, wheels and a steering wheel so im very happy!!!

Major points are head gasket needs replacing,
Both rear seatbelt mounts need welding
Sills need welding
Rear gearbox mount needs re-attaching


Im not the most technical speaking of guys, and i do call things in lamens terms.
Im planning on doing everything to this car myself as a project...bare in mind iv only ever worked on classic japanese motorcycles, I've never welded, iv never worked with a 4 stroke engine before, pretty much apart from drive a car iv done nothing.

Im sure some of you may be doubting what will happen as we crack on with this, and im sure ill make a lot of mistakes and spend a lot of money,


Im looking forward to it.:slayer:
 
Yes! The learning starts here!

I'd strongly recommend keeping it as close to drivable as possible. Keeps the motivation levels up.

Best of luck, think how great it'll be when it's done!

Can we see some photos?
 
thooms said:
Yes! The learning starts here!

I'd strongly recommend keeping it as close to drivable as possible. Keeps the motivation levels up.

Best of luck, think how great it'll be when it's done!

Can we see some photos?
Click to expand...

Yes i completely agree! I started of today just looking, getting a better picture of what ill need to do. I dont know whether to start on the engine and get her running, or the body and get her looking as she should.
 
I'd go engine first - at least that way you can start driving it :)

Edit: Sorry, photos didn't come up last time. Looks pretty decent, should clean up well. AND it has the fabled roof rails!

That breather setup is pretty creative...
 
Last edited:
thooms said:
I'd go engine first - at least that way you can start driving it :)

Edit: Sorry, photos didn't come up last time. Looks pretty decent, should clean up well. AND it has the fabled roof rails!

That breather setup is pretty creative...
Click to expand...

Yes very creative shame there in the bin, the fuel injection needs a good cleanout when i took the large toadstool of the top.
 
Dragon Man said:
nice, all looks like easy work. (really it is, you cant go wrong!)

just hope you dont have to re-wire the whole car like my sisley..
i think theres enough insulation tape in talon to wrap around the world twice over!
Click to expand...

Haha yes I can imagine cabt go wrong with insulation tape. Got my eye on a grinder on eBay went to the scrapyard yesterday got 2 bonnets for 5quid Will practice cutting and grinding theb welding on these. John u really need to upload a video tuturial on welding. Iv watched all your sisley marbella 4x4 ones loads of times there very helpful, there the reason I New to check under carpets for corrosion
 
Glad you got her back safely Stuart. :)

I never lifted the Carpets, what is it like?, I'm aware of various areas which wouldn't get it through the MOT. You will need them out anyway so they don't catch fire when you weld underneath.

best get as much practice as you can with the MIG before attacking it, best thing you can get will be a good Auto-Darkening Helmet and an LED light to shed some light on your work. Use the newly bought Grinder to get it all spotlessly clean.

Get the Body done before worrying about the engine as from memory there is only a week or two's MOT left.

Talk to Shop4Parts about the gearbox mount, I ordered one before Christmas, but the H/G went before it arrived so I cancelled the order, I expect they will still have it. It wasn't expensive.
 
Velocemitch said:
Glad you got her back safely Stuart. :)

I never lifted the Carpets, what is it like?, I'm aware of various areas which wouldn't get it through the MOT. You will need them out anyway so they don't catch fire when you weld underneath.

best get as much practice as you can with the MIG before attacking it, best thing you can get will be a good Auto-Darkening Helmet and an LED light to shed some light on your work. Use the newly bought Grinder to get it all spotlessly clean.

Get the Body done before worrying about the engine as from memory there is only a week or two's MOT left.

Talk to Shop4Parts about the gearbox mount, I ordered one before Christmas, but the H/G went before it arrived so I cancelled the order, I expect they will still have it. It wasn't expensive.
Click to expand...

The welding and other body work techniques is going to be challenging.
Will i be wasting my time buying a cheap MIG welder, is it you get what you pay for??

Im heading back to work tomorow so not sure yet what im going to start next week. Watching lots of refurb videos and documentaries thinking next week to strip all the floor paint rubbing the whole lot down, priming and hameriting.

What do you guys think?
 
schtubert said:
Will i be wasting my time buying a cheap MIG welder, is it you get what you pay for??
Click to expand...

There was a review of MIG welders, I think, in this month's Practical Classics. I shall see if I can screenshot it for you, from the iPad version.... I think the answer to your question is that more money equals better quality, though.... :eek:
 
Last edited:
I'd get the welding done before you start painting anything around the floor as you may need to weld more than first appears.

Cut away all the rust as a first job then you can see exactly what's needed to repair the bodywork. If you're still keen when you can see what you're faced with only then do you start thinking about buying a welder and replacing all the holes with good metal.

Once you have a good solid body everything else is worth doing. It's not wise to spend any time and money on the engine or any other mechanical components to start with because if the body is too far gone you'll be selling or scrapping it at a big loss.

I'm sure you'll see it all through regardless of the amount of work needed though, it's a great way to learn all about cars. (y)
 
well the day to day welder that i use is a machine mart own brand "Clarke MIG 151TE Turbo"
i do have a really big welder but sadly i needs a 415v supply so its not often i use that as the step up transformer i had to build is not rated to anything near what the welder draws.

truth be told guys my welding is naff. it looks like crap but some how i can make it gas tight.

i find the key to mig welding is getting the ting set up to how you feel is right. wire feed speed changes with different wire, most of the time i use 0.8mm as it gets the job done faster and you dont use as much.. sadly it is a bad choice to use for panels or thin metal.

and the key to a good weld? for me it has to be really clean metal. no paint left on it or any impurities. CO2 gives good welds. perfect for say sill work under the car. CO2 / Argon mix makes the weld real smooth in the sense that is is not pitted. you still get a lumpy weld if you are not steady though.

what to avoid if you are after a nice looking weld is gas-less or flux cored welding wire. ok it will still weld but not look so good. i started on gas-less wire and got quite good at using it. i never welded with a shroud when not using any gas though. i know it was meant to protect the tip but it was not very often i burned the tips out.

the more you weld though the better you get (unless if you are like me where you have really bad hand to eye coordination then it just takes longer.. i advise the 5kg spool of wire by the way.. ;) ).
 
Dragon Man said:
well the day to day welder that i use is a machine mart own brand "Clarke MIG 151TE Turbo"
i do have a really big welder but sadly i needs a 415v supply so its not often i use that as the step up transformer i had to build is not rated to anything near what the welder draws.

truth be told guys my welding is naff. it looks like crap but some how i can make it gas tight.

i find the key to mig welding is getting the ting set up to how you feel is right. wire feed speed changes with different wire, most of the time i use 0.8mm as it gets the job done faster and you dont use as much.. sadly it is a bad choice to use for panels or thin metal.

and the key to a good weld? for me it has to be really clean metal. no paint left on it or any impurities. CO2 gives good welds. perfect for say sill work under the car. CO2 / Argon mix makes the weld real smooth in the sense that is is not pitted. you still get a lumpy weld if you are not steady though.

what to avoid if you are after a nice looking weld is gas-less or flux cored welding wire. ok it will still weld but not look so good. i started on gas-less wire and got quite good at using it. i never welded with a shroud when not using any gas though. i know it was meant to protect the tip but it was not very often i burned the tips out.

the more you weld though the better you get (unless if you are like me where you have really bad hand to eye coordination then it just takes longer.. i advise the 5kg spool of wire by the way.. ;) ).
Click to expand...


Ok i think the thing to do is take one step at a time, currently i need/want to strip all the paint out of the boot right up to the rear seat mounts. The reason for this is there is a lot of pitting and bubbling paint leading me to believe theres more rust underlying.

Now lets talk technique. Doing a lot of reading on the web i think i have 2 options, paint strip or sand. Paint stripping I know will take a lot longer and i will need to sand to get a nice finish afterwards. Or sanding, but if i do this shall i do it by hand, or by Dual action Sander or Random orbital sander. Dual action seems a lot more expensive for an electrical one than a random one.

I have a week to figure this stage out at least.
 
homeward said:
There was a review of MIG welders, I think, in this month's Practical Classics. I shall see if I can screenshot it for you, from the iPad version.... I think the answer to your question is that more money equals better quality, though.... :eek:
Click to expand...

VmanC said:
I'd get the welding done before you start painting anything around the floor as you may need to weld more than first appears.

Cut away all the rust as a first job then you can see exactly what's needed to repair the bodywork. If you're still keen when you can see what you're faced with only then do you start thinking about buying a welder and replacing all the holes with good metal.

Once you have a good solid body everything else is worth doing. It's not wise to spend any time and money on the engine or any other mechanical components to start with because if the body is too far gone you'll be selling or scrapping it at a big loss.

I'm sure you'll see it all through regardless of the amount of work needed though, it's a great way to learn all about cars. (y)
Click to expand...

Thankyou for your input, iv copied your info to the project folder for when i get to this stage.
 
homeward said:
There was a review of MIG welders, I think, in this month's Practical Classics. I shall see if I can screenshot it for you, from the iPad version.... I think the answer to your question is that more money equals better quality, though.... :eek:
Click to expand...

As promised...! :)



Good luck...! (y)
 
It is with great regret that im having to let this panda go. My work as a chef just doesnt leave me enough time to commit.
I will not scrap it and want it to go to a good home.
It will live on with me in the parts its donated to my selecta and that car will always be with me.
I've put £100 for the vehicle but any offers are welcome. It does come with a new headgasket if you want it to repair.
 
schtubert said:
It is with great regret that im having to let this panda go. My work as a chef just doesnt leave me enough time to commit.
I will not scrap it and want it to go to a good home.
It will live on with me in the parts its donated to my selecta and that car will always be with me.
I've put £100 for the vehicle but any offers are welcome. It does come with a new headgasket if you want it to repair.
Click to expand...

What exactly have you taken off/added to the car since you got it?

As you know I was interested in buying it when Velocemitch sold it initially.
 
AndyPanda4x4 said:
What exactly have you taken off/added to the car since you got it?

As you know I was interested in buying it when Velocemitch sold it initially.
Click to expand...
Bought the headgasket for it, its still in the packaging. Completely stripped the interior to check for rust, only found in boot and rear seatbelt mount. Doors are going at the bottom but not un salvageable.
Its missing fuel tank straps also.
 
schtubert said:
Bought the headgasket for it, its still in the packaging. Completely stripped the interior to check for rust, only found in boot and rear seatbelt mount. Doors are going at the bottom but not un salvageable.
Its missing fuel tank straps also.
Click to expand...

What other parts have been donated to yours apart from the fuel tank straps?
 
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