Barbara_s_Selecta_First_pics_001.jpg

Panda (Classic) Bo the Selecta.

Introduction

For the story so far please see this thread.................

https://www.fiatforum.com/auction-watch/320653-my-selecta.html

This is VmanC really, although Barbara (Panda Mo) may contribute now and again as it's her car. :)

So, Gavin and I bought this from Aston Martin just before, out of desperation, he did something silly with it. I told Barbara that Gavin and I had bought some spares between us, Gavin having some roof bars and me an auto gearbox for my green Selecta, I did not mention that they were connected to a complete car. :eek:

It could well have been that this Selecta would be stripped for what it could provide for other Pandas, that was my plan had it turned out to be a basket case. Fortunately the positives far outweighed the negatives so I was very pleased that my hopes for this car were confirmed once I'd looked it over and driven it. :)

It does have a number of issues that need sorting but basically it has very little rust and drives well.

Barbara needs a higher than standard driving position, being short in the body, so the Alfa 147 seats that are currently in Oslo will be transferd into Bo. The height adjuster on the drivers seat will allow Barbara to find a comfortable driving position whilst allowing me to drive it without the top of my head being pressed against the roof lining.

Other than some nice wheels I would think that the rest of Bo will remain standard but improved. Here are some pics of how he is now........















I have found out why my car smells damp. The rain enters through the top of the driver's door! I have to wear a waterproof in the car! So I don't like all this rain!

Hal leaks through the tailgate window... -- it must be a Selecta thing.... ;)

Mot due this month. Fingers crossed that it passes!

Good luck...! (At least you have a tame mechanic at hand, if something goes wrong....) :D
 
Vern has now swapped the white wheels for alloys with winter tyres. I liked the white wheels but I couldn't take more than one passenger as they scraped on the wheel arches!

Bo is now in the workshop awaiting new shock absorbers and so I am currently driving Oslo. I went to Twickenham yesterday to have lunch with my many brothers and sisters and he was a real joy to drive! I enjoyed the experience of changing my own gears! Also Vern has added a magic additive that we bought at the NEC to Oslo's oil and everything now seems so smooth!

Looking forward to getting Bo back soon.
 
Vern has now fitted new rear suspension and so I am back to driving Bo. I now need to get three friends to come for a drive to test whether the wheels catch on the arches.

I now need Vern to change the seats because when I drive at night my vision is impaired by the instrument lights reflecting in the windscreen. It's just like driving into a sunset. I didn't have that problem with Oslo as Vernon had put in Alfa 147 seats and so I sit higher up and am not troubled by the reflection. I don't suppose anyone else has this problem as you are all taller than me!
 
Vern has now fitted new rear suspension and so I am back to driving Bo. I now need to get three friends to come for a drive to test whether the wheels catch on the arches.

I now need Vern to change the seats because when I drive at night my vision is impaired by the instrument lights reflecting in the windscreen. It's just like driving into a sunset. I didn't have that problem with Oslo as Vernon had put in Alfa 147 seats and so I sit higher up and am not troubled by the reflection. I don't suppose anyone else has this problem as you are all taller than me!


Yep, Bo now has his Winter tyres.......



These wheels should fit fine as they are genuine Fiat accessories, mind you, they are not supposed to have 165/70/13 tyres so do still need testing. They were fine on Oslo but it's a different matter on a 2wd Panda.

The trailing arms were an advisory on the mot, quite generous I thought once I'd seen them! The bushes were definitely perished, a couple were pushed sideways as can be seen in the pics..........








I also replaced the rear shock absorbers with Bilsteins as they felt worn to me too.........



It's all made a big difference to how secure Bo feels on the road. The front shocks are on order too as they felt worse than the rears.

While I had the back wheels off I noticed that the o/s trim was broken.......



So it seemed like a good time to fit a new one. The bodywork behind the trim was in great nick, I'm pleased to say..........





As Barbara says, we also plan to fit Alfa seats for her. It's not that Barbara is short, as those of you who have met her can testify, it's just that she is short in the body and long in the leg so sits quite low.
 
I now need Vern to change the seats because when I drive at night my vision is impaired by the instrument lights reflecting in the windscreen. It's just like driving into a sunset. I didn't have that problem with Oslo as Vernon had put in Alfa 147 seats and so I sit higher up and am not troubled by the reflection. I don't suppose anyone else has this problem as you are all taller than me!

How are the instrument lights reflecting on the windscreen :confused: there's a cowling over the top of them? Or has Vernon fitted a head up display to Bo :p
 
How are the instrument lights reflecting on the windscreen :confused: there's a cowling over the top of them? Or has Vernon fitted a head up display to Bo :p

Because they just do! Vernon hasn't made any changes to this part of the car. I have the same trouble with all Pandas not just Bo and that's why Vern changes the seats for me.
 
We took Bo to Hereford just before Christmas to pick up my Daughter and discovered a problem with the wheels :bang: With three people in the car the bottom of the rear shock absorbers would rub on the inside edge of the alloys.
I had the same problem with Jims Panda 'Sylvia' which has Uno Turbo alloys fitted, changing to Bilsteins solved the problem on that one but Bo already had Bilsteins! :confused:

I've fitted different wheels many times but it's only with these two recently that I've had this problem, anyone else had this?

Anyway, I wasn't prepared to try another 13" set only to have the same problem, nor did I want to return to original wheels, so I've now fitted these....




I won them on eBay a few months ago. They are brand new 14" Punto alloys complete with bolts and centre caps all for £87!!! :) Tyres are 165/60/14's.

They are well clear of the shocks but we haven't yet tested to see if they rub on the arches with more than two people on board, they certainly look like they will clear fine. They did need 5mm spacers on the back to clear the chassis on the inside of the wheel arch.



Not to everyone's taste I know but Panda Mo loves them. Shame she can't drive for six weeks :(.
 
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While Panda Mo was out of action I carried out a couple of little jobs on Bo as a surprise.

I'd bought, well they didn't cost me anything as it happens, a set of Alfa 147 seats months ago and had the back seat re-trimmed ready to fit to Bo when I got the chance. Well building the seat subframes for Panto gave me the opportunity I needed so I made four subframes, two for Bo.

About a month ago I made some excuse to use Bo for work and quickly fitted the seats. Barbara is back behind the wheel now and her still healing wounds are very grateful for the extra cushoning the Alfa seats provide against our pothole ridden roads.









While I was at it I also fitted new flooring in the boot, not original but we like it...





As Barbara rarely goes anywhere dodgy I also felt it was safe to fit a radio/cd head unit too as she does like her music.

No pics sorry.

Door cards and dash will be changed to match the seats at some point but too busy with other things for now. (y)



 
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