Panda (Classic) Mk1 4x4 Panda (Abarth).

Re: Mk1 4x4 Panda (Abarth)

ninjapirate said:

love this little car, wanted a early polo for ages, only had a 750 fire, that seemed slow but almost unbustable lol

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Thanks, I certainly love it to bits.... they are suprisingly strong, and although they do require attention they will go a very long way before stopping you from getting to your destination!!

Also I quite like the old boxy polos too! (figures I guess lol)

More to report this weekend I am sure

Si

Re: Mk1 4x4 Panda (Abarth)

A little bit more done, this was a bit of a challenge as I wanted to reconstruct the seam where the A-panel meets the wing.....the before:


I think this has been a success....


Now all painted up for a bit more filler tomorrow and a final few coats of ordinary grey primer before the final coat! Got the new Indicator holes ready too.




Still got the lower half of A panel and arch to reconstruct but this I can do after. I want to get as much covered as possible as the car will be moved to a new garage soon and so bare metal is a no no! Even primer wont be enough if it gets wet on moving day!!

Getting quite excited now :slayer:

Si

Re: Mk1 4x4 Panda (Abarth)

Not been keeping up with this till now. You're doing a great job Si. 10/10 for sticking at it. Looking foward to seeing the pictures on the road

Re: Mk1 4x4 Panda (Abarth)

Bougainvillea Rosso said:

Not been keeping up with this till now. You're doing a great job Si. 10/10 for sticking at it. Looking foward to seeing the pictures on the road

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Thanks, house move has forced me to get stuck in big time but I cannot guarantee she'll be road worthy this year. Can try though!

Si

Re: Mk1 4x4 Panda (Abarth)

Well, lots of time this weekend spent preping for an hour long stint painting the the final coat. Shiney again for the first time since I have owned the car! Colour is not quite right, which has disapointed me but its only the front panel, and if the wing looks absolutely terrible then I will respray it at a later date. Its too hard to tell in the dank garage!!





Si

Re: Mk1 4x4 Panda (Abarth)

Hi Si,

I really must get out of the Panda section more often, I had no idea you were doing a thread on this one, often wondered what the situation was with it .

You're doing a great job by the look of it, will be looking in from now on .

Re: Mk1 4x4 Panda (Abarth)

VmanC said:

Hi Si,

I really must get out of the Panda section more often, I had no idea you were doing a thread on this one, often wondered what the situation was with it .

You're doing a great job by the look of it, will be looking in from now on .

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Thanks mate, not sure when I will pick it up again. I am all in the new house now but everything is a mess with the poor white 4x4 being hit. Till I get a working car back its just going to lay up in its new digs gathering dust unfortunately. Still havent fully built the abarth engine yet!! lol.

Will get back on it as soon as I can though, but housework now has priority

Si

Re: Mk1 4x4 Panda (Abarth)

pandamonius_maximus said:

Thanks mate, not sure when I will pick it up again. I am all in the new house now but everything is a mess with the poor white 4x4 being hit. Till I get a working car back its just going to lay up in its new digs gathering dust unfortunately. Still havent fully built the abarth engine yet!! lol.

Will get back on it as soon as I can though, but housework now has priority

Si

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Hi Si,

i remember seeing you and your Panda a few years ago at Stanford hall.

Im really impressed with what you've acheived so far!! i remember you telling me you was going to sort all the bodywork out and i think you should be proud of your efforts!!

That's more than what i could do i know what you mean though when you have a house and that other things get in the way!!

Still, im sure you'll do it when you can, and i hope to see you and the car again at a show!!

Who know's might even pull my finger out an restore my Punto GT as the bodywork needs sorting thanks to daily use & winter salt.

However i have the prospect of a Panda 4x4 of my own, if the guy is true to his word fingers crossed it'll come through!!

Re: Mk1 4x4 Panda (Abarth)

punto-paul said:

Hi Si,

i remember seeing you and your Panda a few years ago at Stanford hall.

Im really impressed with what you've acheived so far!! i remember you telling me you was going to sort all the bodywork out and i think you should be proud of your efforts!!

That's more than what i could do i know what you mean though when you have a house and that other things get in the way!!

Still, im sure you'll do it when you can, and i hope to see you and the car again at a show!!

Who know's might even pull my finger out an restore my Punto GT as the bodywork needs sorting thanks to daily use & winter salt.

However i have the prospect of a Panda 4x4 of my own, if the guy is true to his word fingers crossed it'll come through!!

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Hello there, that was a long time ago now!! Was yours the green punto? I have a vague memory of a chat about rust lol....allways something to be said about rust at a show lol Would be good to go back with a fully restored Abarth 4x4 Probably not till next year now but it will be done!! :slayer:

The salt has been bad this year, I hosed the car top and bottom and washed it twice between freezes lol (not that there was a huge gap between snow showers this year!! ). Hope you get your car sorted ok though.

Thanks again for the compliments.
Cheers,
Si

Re: Mk1 4x4 Panda (Abarth)

pandamonius_maximus said:

Hello there, that was a long time ago now!! Was yours the green punto? I have a vague memory of a chat about rust lol....allways something to be said about rust at a show lol Would be good to go back with a fully restored Abarth 4x4 Probably not till next year now but it will be done!! :slayer:

The salt has been bad this year, I hosed the car top and bottom and washed it twice between freezes lol (not that there was a huge gap between snow showers this year!! ). Hope you get your car sorted ok though.

Thanks again for the compliments.
Cheers,
Si

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No worries,

i think i had the blue mk1 Punto sporting then when i seen you and the car!

Which was quite a while ago now so not a bad memory considering how long it's been.

Lol oh yes rust is the pain of my life with cars, even with mine it needs bit's doing
Yeah rust always gets into a conversation at a show, i think it's just the way with our great winters!!

The snow was relentless, the Punto did me proud despite being only 2wd!
Did wash my car alot when i could, even in the dark one night

Though i've been keeping an eye on the underside since, and any stonechips etc..

Hopefully though i've decided my car will be coming off the road at the end of summer, going to try and get all the parts together ready for the restoration funds permitting lol

I've never done anything like that before, but if i don't try i wont know so what have i got to loose!

The Panda is going to be one of a kind being a 4x4 Abarth, so i think next year you'll draw a crowd im sure
And fair play for getting in there, and doing it yourself it's amazing what you've acheived

Nice to see one being restored, and not scrapped or trashed.

Thanks Si, hopefully i can do my car some justice.

Paul

this is the finest panda i have ever set eyes upon. why did they ever stop making them like this? an absolute classic...are there any more still around in the UK? i know italy is a good place to get one.

john waddington said:

this is the finest panda i have ever set eyes upon. why did they ever stop making them like this? an absolute classic...are there any more still around in the UK? i know italy is a good place to get one.

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Thanks for the praise, the car is pretty special I think too. Although technically they never made the 4x4 with the metal grille but I had no choice since the original plastic one got damaged in an accident. I was keen to try the metal grille anyway so worked out alright in the end.

QingQing is the more original one but now a little banged up thanks to a kind lady leaving handbrake off of her Convertable BINI!

Unfortunately I don't know of many mk1 4x4s in the uk let alone ones that are for sale! Best to keep your eyes peeled and grab one as soon as it appears!

Cheers,
Si

Bellissima!

alexettor said:

Bellissima!

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Thanks! Your car is cool. I love the paint combination, it is so shiney too!!

Si

Oh thanks a lot mate I have a "1996 1.1 i.e. 4x4" as well but the MK1 Panda is my favourite one!

alexettor said:

Oh thanks a lot mate I have a "1996 1.1 i.e. 4x4" as well but the MK1 Panda is my favourite one!

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Yeah its a shame they didn't keep selling the 4x4 in the UK, but I prefer the mk1 style anyway. They are even more basic in design.

Si

Oh yeah I can tell!!!!!

BUMP!

Well not much has been updated on this for a while and mainly because the Marbella has been stealing my time for the past year or 2. But I have been working on her but more getting her and the crappy garage roof ready (the roof leaks and all my attempts to buy time with repairs till summer have failed! Arghh!).

The front end was repaired (still a little more left to do around the front arches but to get an idea of how long this project is away from completion I decided to do some rust-ploration!...

Had to move the car to get more room at her back end but with no front wheels and suspension I used the ol' faithful trolley that I used to cart heavy car parts around when swapping engines and moving house. With no engine on board the car weighed very little anyway...

not a great picture but the front of the car is resting completely on the axle stand sat on the trolley. Made moving the car a breeze though

All nicely in position to get access all round


Her rear was not so good though...




Not sure how to tackle this as really the entire lower cross member is shot and needs replacing. Perhaps I could try getting a donor panda with a good back end or try to get one through Fiat. I've not seen many rear panels come up on ebay though. Or I make new panels, but my fabrication skills are basic.

Anyway, I know the situation better now and can get round the car for a change so hopefully more to come! :slayer:

Si

Ouch, I have seen some panda panels come up on ebay (mk1 4x4) but nothing for the rear, just the front and rear wings.

I now count my self lucky as I only needed to do this bit:



Although it started off much much smaller!

goodgirl156 said:

Ouch, I have seen some panda panels come up on ebay (mk1 4x4) but nothing for the rear, just the front and rear wings.

I now count my self lucky as I only needed to do this bit:

Although it started off much much smaller!

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Yeah it's crazy! Even the '82 Panda 45 is better in this area; I think it was just a defect on this car tbh. Salty roads and a life at Swansea Uni probably didn't help it though either

Also sills will be pretty bad too I think but I have not summed up the courage yet to go over them with a screw driver

Part of the game though isn't it!

How is your project coming along anyway? Not seen an update for a little while (although I did see it on some wheels I think not too long ago?)