Panda (Classic) Charmanda(er) - mania continued......

[blu73]

yeah there is sludgy oil stuff everywhere!! hey-ho gives me something to do which doesn't cost hardly any money

And yeah i was looking a the dip-dim today wondering why it might be unplugged - i just left it and tbh i will prob just leave it not connected.

 

[Dragon Man]

hmm if it has had the headlamp relay mod done to it the you do have to have it unplugged.. however if its running the original wiring then it should plug in as normal and have no issues..

 

[blu73]

Well not had chance to go out and play in the garage much recently..
Managed another few hours today cleaning round the bay a bit.
I know it hardly looks super clean but it was really bad in there so the fact you can see bare metal anywhere at all I'm quite proud of. Sure Didge can confirm I have defo made big difference so far lol.

Spent quite a while trying to clean the airbox up. Happy with the results and also found the little mechanism that opens the flap once warm was broken so it's been constantly sucking hot air from the manifold - just took the flap off for now. Stuck in new air filter while there and a fuel filter too. Will do oil and coolant change once bay is cleaned.
Drivers side of bay is mostly clean now but as you can see I still need to do passenger side.

Other than that it had a flat battery so couldn't run it as planned today, is on the charger now so soon. And one of the rear tyres is flat. Nevermind I think I'm gonna change the wheels soon just not sure what with yet.

 

[blu73]

So I know i said i wasn't taking it out until spring but i had it out the garage to run it a bit - so i took it for a little run-around, the weathers been nice after all. Need to give him a proper wash now though, will get to is soon. Still runs great but was a nightmare to get started - i think its just cause i changed the fuel filter though (i hope lol), i had to suck fuel up and fill the inline filter up and it still wouldn't start until i chucked some straight down the carb - started fine several times after though so think all is well.

 

[Didge3]

Well not had chance to go out and play in the garage much recently..
Managed another few hours today cleaning round the bay a bit.
I know it hardly looks super clean but it was really bad in there so the fact you can see bare metal anywhere at all I'm quite proud of. Sure Didge can confirm I have defo made big difference so far lol.

Spent quite a while trying to clean the airbox up. Happy with the results and also found the little mechanism that opens the flap once warm was broken so it's been constantly sucking hot air from the manifold - just took the flap off for now. Stuck in new air filter while there and a fuel filter too. Will do oil and coolant change once bay is cleaned.
Drivers side of bay is mostly clean now but as you can see I still need to do passenger side.

Engine bay definitely looks cleaner Just need to get that engine cleaned up now I always wanted to get the cam cover all clean but never got round to it

The airbox flap got stuck before so I jammed it to the cold position, maybe that's what caused to to eventually break...

Trouble starting is a strange bug Char' has, she doesn't like the cold, the carb always seems to play up a bit and I could never understand why, spark is good and the coil is practically new but the carb could definitely do with a rebuild depending on how long you plan on keeping the 750 in there.

 

[blu73]

tbh the engine is about as clean as its gonna get without taking manifolds off etc. I'm conflicted as to what to do with it in general atm - I know its staying as is for at least the next summer so i can drive it around and go to some meets/shows in him but after that i'm not really sure whether I am gonna leave it as a carb'd 750 or whether to go a bit silly and make it completely and unnecessarily fast (which was always my plan originally) - time will tell.

The starting thing, as far as i can tell is a fuel thing - when i was trying to start it there was no fuel passing through the filter, I turned it over for ages to give it the pump a chance to pull some fuel up but none ever came up into the filter. So i took pipe off the pump, sucked fuel up so there was fuel in the filter and then stuck pipe back on and spat what i had in my mouth in the carb, pretty much fired up straight away then. So maybe the pump is just getting tired - and once started the extra vacuum of the engine helps pull a constant stream better than when just turning over... I dunno, its just a thought, I'm not that good at carb'd engines - everyone in here seems to think they are less complicated than injection but to me carbs are just witch craft lol - really must do some learning on that front!!

 

[blu73]

Anyhoo. . New ngk plugs and bosch ht leads on their way. Might just order a new fuel pump too, not like they are expensive

 

[Didge3]

tbh the engine is about as clean as its gonna get without taking manifolds off etc. I'm conflicted as to what to do with it in general atm - I know its staying as is for at least the next summer so i can drive it around and go to some meets/shows in him but after that i'm not really sure whether I am gonna leave it as a carb'd 750 or whether to go a bit silly and make it completely and unnecessarily fast (which was always my plan originally) - time will tell.

The starting thing, as far as i can tell is a fuel thing - when i was trying to start it there was no fuel passing through the filter, I turned it over for ages to give it the pump a chance to pull some fuel up but none ever came up into the filter. So i took pipe off the pump, sucked fuel up so there was fuel in the filter and then stuck pipe back on and spat what i had in my mouth in the carb, pretty much fired up straight away then. So maybe the pump is just getting tired - and once started the extra vacuum of the engine helps pull a constant stream better than when just turning over... I dunno, its just a thought, I'm not that good at carb'd engines - everyone in here seems to think they are less complicated than injection but to me carbs are just witch craft lol - really must do some learning on that front!!

Weird, maybe it is the new filter as you suggested then...
Best option would be to turbo the 750 :devil:, short stroke, tiny pistons, turn it into a high revving turbocharged monster (well a small one... ) Would be pretty unusable on the roads and be tricky to setup but very unique.
Or go with the boring sensible idea and put a p85 in it

 

[kolza]

So i took pipe off the pump, sucked fuel up so there was fuel in the filter and then stuck pipe back on and spat what i had in my mouth in the carb

What a commitment...., True Panda owner.


Next time when you will be trying to start the engine with no luck, remove fuel filler cap and try to start (not drive) without in case there is air lock.

 

[blu73]

What a commitment...., True Panda owner.


Next time when you will be trying to start the engine with no luck, remove fuel filler cap and try to start (not drive) without in case there is air lock.

Mmmmm, possible blocked breather - that could be a possibility, that hadn't even crossed my mind, good call

 

[blu73]

OK so had a little mess today and its defo not fuel that is causing the poor start that defo works fine it turns out. So if its not fuel it has to be spark thats weak - well i remember Dom saying he changed the coil in his thread, does seem that long ago and certainly the coil itself looks pretty much brand new. I have also put new plugs and leads on the car recently so not that... So today took the dizzy cap off and my mind went 'AHA!' when i looked in there, the contacts were mighty crusty (what there is left of them). Cleaned them up, stuck it on and it now starts pretty much on the button. Have ordered a replacement as although it is working now its clearly near end of its life.

I have also got one of them ignition modules i seen a few members have fitted, one of these. I got a little confused by the wiring - yup to me injection really makes more sense, not really sure why there is a wire coming from both +ve and -ve posts of the coil across to the distributor, and there is another (non standard wire) there i have no idea what is, well i think its for the aftermarket tacho but i not really investigated where said wire goes but thats my theory without doing any testing - clearly unplugging it and seeing if the tacho still works would tell me but not even done that, left it for another day - prob wait for the new cap to turn up before i mess more.

Weather has been on the up though so hopefully get him out properly soon

 

[Didge3]

OK so had a little mess today and its defo not fuel that is causing the poor start that defo works fine it turns out. So if its not fuel it has to be spark thats weak - well i remember Dom saying he changed the coil in his thread, does seem that long ago and certainly the coil itself looks pretty much brand new. I have also put new plugs and leads on the car recently so not that... So today took the dizzy cap off and my mind went 'AHA!' when i looked in there, the contacts were mighty crusty (what there is left of them). Cleaned them up, stuck it on and it now starts pretty much on the button. Have ordered a replacement as although it is working now its clearly near end of its life.

I have also got one of them ignition modules i seen a few members have fitted, one of these. I got a little confused by the wiring - yup to me injection really makes more sense, not really sure why there is a wire coming from both +ve and -ve posts of the coil across to the distributor, and there is another (non standard wire) there i have no idea what is, well i think its for the aftermarket tacho but i not really investigated where said wire goes but thats my theory without doing any testing - clearly unplugging it and seeing if the tacho still works would tell me but not even done that, left it for another day - prob wait for the new cap to turn up before i mess more.

Weather has been on the up though so hopefully get him out properly soon

Yup as you said I replaced the coil somewhere within the last 2 years, the wire that comes from the +ve side of the coil and disappears behind the heater airbox is indeed for the tacho

 

[blu73]

ok cool, so do you know what the little wire from the -ve side is (yellow iirc)? I was thinking one is prob power for the tacho (from +ve) and the other could be the signal wire for the tacho (from the -ve). Not sure that would even work, never was good at how carb/dizzy/coil things work

 

[Didge3]

It's been forever since I've looked at it but if it goes in the same direction as the one on the +ve side then it's for the tach as well, don't think there's anything else that connects to the coil other than the distributor of course....

 

[blu73]

ok so, new dizzy cap fitted and having not run for few weeks it was miles easier to start than it previously was.. I let it run a while and then decided to get this electronic ignition module fitted finally - all fitted and Char seems to be running really nice now, will have to wait and see if its improved cold start even more but it certainly is silky smooth running with all the new ignition parts compared to before. The rotor arm does have a little pitting on and i'm slightly annoyed with myself for not just ordering one so i could replace at same time as cap but hey-ho, its no big deal to do that later on.

 

[Didge3]

So pleased Char' finally getting some love, got really neglected in my last ~5 months of ownership , never really left me stranded anywhere except that time the throttle cable snapped on the A3 :doh:

 

[blu73]

gotta say I am leaning towards leaving it as a 750 and not dropping modern engine etc in.. Time will tell though, I really want to change the wheels but can't make a decision on any lol. I might freshen up the suspension next while i ponder wheels.

 

[Didge3]

750 really grows on you doesn't it
Loves to stay in that 4000-5000rpm band

 

[Palio]

gotta say I am leaning towards leaving it as a 750 and not dropping modern engine etc in.. Time will tell though, I really want to change the wheels but can't make a decision on any lol. I might freshen up the suspension next while i ponder wheels.

Don't bin the wheels if you change them please! I'm sure you wouldn't, but just a reminder that they are 127 Palio ones, wonder who has one of those........

 

[blu73]

i would never throw wheels away, worry not