2014-06-01_13_29_24.jpg

Panda (Classic) BEX, The Blue Sisley 4x4.

Introduction

After spotting Bex on Ebay a few minuets after the ad was posted i made >>This<< post requesting the car to be saved.

after showing my mum, she said i could have it. rather than it being broken and parts sold off it, with intent to fix it up (gearbox failure being the reason why it was off the road.. however read on for a bit of a twist.) and after repairing it, selling it on to help fund my addiction. (aka the quest to make Talon the perfect panda).

So now i have a wild Bex parked on the driveway.

Bex is a previous Forum car. the original thread can be found >>Here<<.

Sadly, somehow in the last year Bex has had it a little rough!
There's a hole in the sill (not rust but a puncher wound!)
Each lock has a different key, (drivers door lock opens with any key!)
The filler pipe has been damaged by some fuel thief. (thankfully not the plastic pipe, only the rubber seal.)
and there's a dent in the sill (that i can pull out using a tack weld dent puller)

also the wheel arches have started to go that tell tale bronzey orange stain in some parts telling me that rust is trying to set in and kill off that nice new respray it had not long back. think i will have caught it in time though.
sadly the underseal used on the car (if any) after the previous repairs was not very good :( i am not sure what was used but the last 3 years of time it has washed it all off back to bare metal.

the gearbox.. hmm though i have only been able to test this with the engine off, all gears seem to be there. its a bit stiff and has the tell tale sign of a snapped weld on the nut on top of the connecting arm. (loads of play in and out of gears.. fine moving left and right on the box though.) will check oil levels and CV boot conditions tomorrow in daylight.

ill add photos in a bit.. again in daylight. and yes, again ill be doing video logs on the Bex's progress.

least this one seems like easy fixes. just tidying up. nothing structural. the important thing is that the doors are in good condition! yey a panda with no rusty doors!!

here are the photos:



















Boy that's a lot more work than anyone would imagine having seen photos when it was up for sale last year :eek: luckily it's you that's got it as you have all the skills and determination needed to get it sorted and as it's a Sisley in that lovely rare colour you'll be sure to get some good funds out of it when you come to sell it on (y)
 
You seem a bit disappointed with it John. Playing devils advocate it would be a lot easier to break it for its spares.

I know that a little against forum ethos of you don't leave a wounded Panda on the beach..... but that appalling sill repair...... Tarted up death trap springs to mind.
 
You seem a bit disappointed with it John. Playing devils advocate it would be a lot easier to break it for its spares.

I know that a little against forum ethos of you don't leave a wounded Panda on the beach..... but that appalling sill repair...... Tarted up death trap springs to mind.

I agree. I hate... HATE scrapping cars, especially rare ones, so i'm glad it seems like this one may be saved, but if it was me, i don't think i'd tackle it. I'd take the easy way out and break.

There's no words for the standard of the previous work done to it other than s***.

Poor Panda. Glad it's in good hands now at least (y)
 
indeed, that is the plan!
i have the next video here!

working on the abused prop shaft. its in a bit of a state.. 153k miles and as far as i can tell, never been serviced.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9dB2I9n1J8


Why don't you make your own rubbers?
Just make a mold and pour in rubber/resin mixture?
A lot cheaper and will look like factory OEM . .
 
i only hope that this is a lesson for others. this just shows how essential rust protecting a car after re-constructive repair actually is.

QUOTE] what would you suggest, waxoil for inside doors, box sections etc but what about underneath, is underseal suitable or does it just trap moisture if it gets damaged? I am very fortunate to have a really good Sisley with 21,000 miles from new but want to make sure it doesn't rust and want to protect it before it is put back on the road.
 
myself i would waxoil anywhere you can stick the nozzle into.. its what i did with talon. then just use standard underseal.. every other year though i would give it a repaint. as it can crack. thankfully the waxoil stuff i painted on talon is fairing well.

ill do all this to BEX when i have fixed her up.

i am tempted to do a multi buy on sills if i can find a place that would sell them.

before i can buy anything though i need to get some cash together. i dont even have enough at the moment to buy one sill :(
 
i only hope that this is a lesson for others. this just shows how essential rust protecting a car after re-constructive repair actually is.

QUOTE] what would you suggest, waxoil for inside doors, box sections etc but what about underneath, is underseal suitable or does it just trap moisture if it gets damaged? I am very fortunate to have a really good Sisley with 21,000 miles from new but want to make sure it doesn't rust and want to protect it before it is put back on the road.

Use Dinitrol, don't bother with anything else. They do a hard black wax for the underside that does not crack, looks really good and doesn't stay tacky so you don't get covered in it when you work on the car and it can also be washed off and it looks like it was just applied as dirt will not stick to it. Their cavity wax is also much better, than normal Waxoyl, its much thinner so it really creeps into all the seams.

It is important to get the underside of the car as clean as possible, preferably steam cleaned and then let it dry out for a few days before applying anything, you can get aerosols but a compressor and shutz gun is the best way(y)
 
People always jump to products like Waxoil, T-cut, Hammerite, Turtle wax, Leibfraumilch :p because they are household names not because they are the best.

I've not tried Dinitrol myself but know it to be one of the best brands available as Freddy says. I do have first hand experience of Bilt hamber products and would think that they are very similar to Dinitrol.

I too would go for a hard wax for underbody protection rather than regular underseal, then cavity wax for box sections (Dinitrol or Bilt Hamber Dynax S50). According to the sales blurb the thinner make up of the better cavity waxes allows for capilliary action to penetrate further between seams and offer better protection.
 
People always jump to products like Waxoil, T-cut, Hammerite, Turtle wax, Leibfraumilch :p because they are household names not because they are the best.

I've not tried Dinitrol myself but know it to be one of the best brands available as Freddy says. I do have first hand experience of Bilt hamber products and would think that they are very similar to Dinitrol.

I too would go for a hard wax for underbody protection rather than regular underseal, then cavity wax for box sections (Dinitrol or Bilt Hamber Dynax S50). According to the sales blurb the thinner make up of the better cavity waxes allows for capilliary action to penetrate further between seams and offer better protection.

My only experience of Dinitrol was the old family mk2 Escort which unlike all the others didn't have a spot of rust on it having been treated with the stuff. It took someone driving into the back & setting it on fire to get rid of the thing!! This led to an emergency buying of a 128 1300CL which was such a revelation that 30 years later my Dad still runs an Alfa, Mum has a new 4x4 Panda & you've seen the mess I'm in - bloo*y Dinitrol!!! :devil:
 
found bex to have no brakes.. (must be a thing for me and cars.. every one i have had has had no brakes when i got it!)

turns out to be the pipe going to the rear.

well cut off and now replaced. troll is that the slave cylinders have got all seized in unions and bleed nipples. joy..
may just replace them on both sides.. and make new pipes for the rear axle while i am at it.

had the drums off and they are brand new with new pads and springs... nice. same for the rear shocks.. brand new.. :D
 
hmm i really dont know what to do with this.

i am kinda loosing interest with this project. the hidden rust that i keep finding is quite shocking.
holes filled in with filler and covered over with silicone sealant.. whole sections of nothing but filler and silicone... completely hidden till you start proding and pulling bits off. i really am starting to think this is too far gone.

ebay sellers are getting me down too. i message about 10 different sellers on ebay in both English and Italian and not one of them gets back to me on postage costs


the idea was that i bought this with a faulty gearbox, swap the box over with my spare, get it MOTed and stick some tax on it and sell it on and make a bit of cash out of it to afford to get talon some nice rust free mk2 doors and a respray.
just didnt expect to have to rebuild all the sills and do a load of welding to it, not after the previous thread the car had.

i am considering using bex as a parts car to get the grey panda road going sad to say.
the kind of welding i am going to have to do to bex.. i dont know.. its really bad.
 
Last edited:
That's bad news John.
You have the skills and Panda expertise to make the right decision on what to do for the best.
I know how easy it can be to end up with cars that can't be used and stalled projects that drain your energy just by being there looking at you.
Look after yourself, is my advice.
Best wishes.
 
I'm just watching your first video as we speak John (a bit behind on my subs) and TBH BEX looks saveable.

Just need to save the cash and spend a few days solid on her and you'd easily get her road going and ready to MOT and sell for £2500+ IMO.

Keep the faith mate :hug:
Agreed. But of course you need to do what is right for you and seeing what needs done up close is always different to just seeing videos of it.

I'd lean towards keeping faith and saving it, but if it really is too far gone, best to bail out early and make back what you can on parts/use what you can with minimum expenditure.

Always read your threads with interest and i've no doubt that if it can be saved you're the man for the job (y)

we're all Fiat fans here, of course everybody would like to see it saved but equally if you feel it's just too far gone, so be it. There'd be nothing worse than throwing money after something that's really a goner. (and as said before, i'm pretty shocked by the "work" done by the previous owner, it really is half arsed s***).

All the best with whatever you do (y)
 
Any car is saveable, it just depends how far you want to go and how much you want to spend.

If the rest of the car is like that drivers side sill then I'd say its uneconomical to repair unfortunately, epsecially since you are not planning on keeping it. You will struggle to get the amount people have mentioned for it unless the whole thing is close to spot on, which I think you will struggle to get it to unless you throw lots of money at it aswell as a huge amount of time, doing bodywork repairs properly is not a quick and easy process.

How does it compare to the grey one? I remember you told me that was pretty bad too? Bex is quite shocking though since it was on the road a year ago, not sure how it can be that bad and have an MOT! That level of rot does not happen in a year!
 
Back
Top