Panda My new Panda - and newbie saying hello from Denmark

testacorsa Ping me if you ever need several parts or something big. It'd give me and my Panda an excuse to take the ferry to Fredrikshavn!

Thanks J! Not so much for the Panda, but for me... I need a good 205 Gti

testacorsa said:

Thanks J! Not so much for the Panda, but for me... I need a good 205 Gti

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BLASPHEMY!

...

Just kidding. But the only two I find on Blocket (swedish ads site) are even advertised as rusted beyond help, one advert comparing his door sills to paper. Raise your hand if you're surprised!

hahaha

I love those things, but they are getting old now, so not much of a surprise, no. But they were galvanised (not the early 80s ones), so they hold up fine compared to many cars of the same age. The ones I have found on blocket, have gone right under my nose, as it is always easier to sell to someone close, than someone coming all the way from Denmark. Still looking though...

testacorsa said:

hahaha

I love those things, but they are getting old now, so not much of a surprise, no. But they were galvanised (not the early 80s ones), so they hold up fine compared to many cars of the same age. The ones I have found on blocket, have gone right under my nose, as it is always easier to sell to someone close, than someone coming all the way from Denmark. Still looking though...

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Aye, I actually had a danish resident asking to buy my last Panda but I ended up selling it to a local to minimize the hazzle so I know the deal. That wasn't you but anyway, sorry!

Now we derailed off topic I suppose.

Yeah, it is understandable I guess, but very frustrating, as i would go in a heart beat, if the right car showed up. But apology accepted

Yeah, we are a bit off topic, but there is room for that in here, I think
I would like to go back on topic, but I still can't upload photos. I was told by Ben from Help desk, that the server was full, and that should be fixed now, but it still didn't help uploading though.

Very nice Panda, fantastic updates and modifications you're making there

Great paintwork for an 05

Upload working again

New grille!





It is from the base model, and I my view cleans the front up somewhat. The "dynamic" grille is just too busy. The four chrome whiskers, and the blue edges. I get the idea of painting the edges of it in body color, but it just adds two more elements to the front, and the lines separating the bonnet, grille, and bumper, become more visible. In short - I like the simple look the base model grille gives, and the panda has a smiley face now


I changed the plugs as well. The gap measured 1,2mm, which is 0,3mm more than they were gapped from new. The elctrode was completely rounded off too. That sort of wear takes a lot of sparks, so I think it could well be the first time they were ever changed

Yesterday, I did my first try of filling the wishbone up with polyurethane (windshield glue). I started with taping the buttom


Filled up the gaps


The glazed it with a chop stick soaked in soapy water.


I then let it dry for about half an hour, to allow the glazed side to dry enough to form a skin. The tape was then pulled off the other side, taking a small amount of glue with it, but not much, and then glazed as well

It seems that the glue doesn't stick very well to the rubber, so that was a bit of a disappointment. I decided to fill the bush up completely, as that will bond the two glue "inserts" together, and the chance of the glue staying in the bush is bigger. The worry was that it will be too stiff, but I will just have to test it out. This morning i wiggled the bush a bit, and it seems a good amount stiffer, even though the glue hasn't fully cured.



Fingers crossed, that it works

You are doing a great job!! Very interesting to see the headlamp results. I see your car is painted under the bonnet and in the engine bay. My 2012 only has colour round the edges; the rest is a sort of beige primer and seam sealer mix, which is disappointing as I like a shiny engine bay and without colour that is hard!

SB1500 Thanks man The pictures are a bit forgiving I'm afaraid, but it's fairly ok, as long as you don't get too close

Pandaactiveman Thanks a lot The headlight was a lot of work, but it really pays off. I'm looking into getting 80mm sandpaper disks, so I can use the machine buffer to sand them down instead.
Yeah, Fiat got a bit sparse with the painting. It's weird, because some of the later ones still have painted engine bays, while some don't.


I finally changed my clutch, and what a pig of a job that was! Last time I changed a clutch, I swore I would never do it again, unless I had a lift.
Still I found myself on the cold concrete floor of my garage yesterday, about to change a clutch again
I'm not proud to say it, but it took me 11 hours - including coffee brakes, but still not exactly blistering. A few things held me up, along the way, including looking long and hard for the speedometer sensor on the gearbox. I was afraid that i was going to overlook it, and then ruin it, when removing the gearbox. I literally looked for at least half an hour, and checked the internet too, but eventually realised that mine didn't have one
The usual place for it on the top of the differential housing, just had a blanking plug.
My speedo still works fine, so it must be somewhere
Do any of you know where the sensor is located? Is the speed instead measured using the ABS sensors or something? I'm very curious to find out!

I'm a bit sore all over today, but I was happy driving home last night (0200 hours), as the job was a complete success :woot:
The pedal is so light now, and the clutch judder is completely gone, so all well worth it in the end.

New vs old.


Worn out, but groovy



I Got the second wishbone changed as well (the one with a filled up bush), and I can definitely feel the effect. It's not much, but the steering is more responsive turning right, and less woolly. Just need to fill the right side wishbone bush too.

I didn't get to it on the last update, but I did the first bit of polishing, and got a bit carried away...
The bonnet had some weird scratches all over it, and it looked like the clearcoat cracked or something. I think it was repainted a some stage, as it is the only part of the car, with this problem. I decided to wet sand the bonnet completely, and then buff it up. It really helped, and the deep scratches it had too, almost vanished. Only thing is the ghost marks left, visible in clear sunlight - holograms I think they call them. This is probably a combination of poor technique, and wrong equipment, but I will read up on that, and revisit

Nooo - What did I do




Blingelinnng
[url='https://www.fiatforum.com/gallery/data/500/DSC_2262.JPG']


The pad isn't that blue, because of the paint I took off. It's Alaska paint sealer with blue pigments. Not made for machine polishing, but it was the only thing I had

The Panda is getting there, and all in the nick of time, because if all goes well, (fingers crossed) I'm driving all the way to nürburgring next weekend, to do a few laps
Maybe not exactly the ideal car for that, but it has four wheels, and an engine, so it will do just nicely. I've had the dream to go there, more or less for 20 years now, so why I haven't gone before is beyond me.
This year I am going, and that's final - or BASTA as we say in Denmark
If not next weekend, then at the end of may. Depends on the weather really. I'm not comfortable driving there in the wet, so I really hope the weather will clear up next week!
It will be a budget trip for me, and I plan to sleep in the car too, but more on that later.

Have a good weekend

Im sorry for my language ...but dude ,you are ****ing awesome ! GREATE ,I wish i knew so much as you.. I discover everyday that my panda need me too ,but ...im an IT guy who dont know too many about Cars ..

bluaz Wow, that's nice of you to say I don't know that much really, but I'm not afraid of trying. If you are interested in learning how to do stuff, then that really goes a long way. Just get going on your Panda, if you feel like it - it's a really easy car to get started on

Make sure to take (at least part of) the B258 from Koblenz to Aachen. Such a nice road Maybe even more fun than the Nordschleiffe.

gr J

Sweet! Thanks for the tip! I will google map that at once

testacorsa said:

@SB1500 Thanks man The pictures are a bit forgiving I'm afaraid, but it's fairly ok, as long as you don't get too close

@Pandaactiveman Thanks a lot The headlight was a lot of work, but it really pays off. I'm looking into getting 80mm sandpaper disks, so I can use the machine buffer to sand them down instead.
Yeah, Fiat got a bit sparse with the painting. It's weird, because some of the later ones still have painted engine bays, while some don't.

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I did not know some of the later ones were painted, but it seems the earlier ones were better put together in some regards. I guess by the time mine was made Fiat were concentrating on the new model

Your bonnet looks amazing, the car is looking really really good!! Clutches seem a weak point. I bought my car with 18000 miles on it and on the test run the clutch was slipping, so the dealer fitted a new one before I collected the car. But only 18000 miles!! I am guessing it may have been down to the technique (or lack of) of the previous owner! Anyway, it is not a cheap job, so well done!!!

And as for the nurburgring - the type of car does not matter, just have fun and really enjoy it!!! Besides, Pandas are fun to drive!!

Have a great weekend!

Do you have any idea how to get this down and put it back ?
http://s32.postimg.org/3l5g95w45/asdd.jpg

Pandaactiveman I'm not sure that the later ones were painted from the factory - could have been done later, but I have seen at least two.

Thanks, I think it looks pretty nice too, but hopefully I will get to the real fun stuff real soon, and change the looks more to my liking. Right now I'm looking to find a 6x14 steel rim with a smaller ET, in the same look as the 13s I have on - tough job.
Yeah the clutches are weak, and no wonder with those dimensions. They are only 180mm and the friction plate is narrow too. But 18000 miles
The first owner must have been quite the clutch rider.

Yeha a lot of people say that the car doesn't matter on the ring, and I think I will really put that claim to the test with a 60bhp car

And a great weekend to you too

bluaz said:

Do you have any idea how to get this down and put it back ?
http://s32.postimg.org/3l5g95w45/asdd.jpg

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Sorry, I havent had to take mine off, so I don't know. My guess would be that they just pull off. Try pulling it carefully, and see what happens. Most likely it's just plastic clips holding it in place.

bluaz said:

Do you have any idea how to get this down and put it back ?
http://s32.postimg.org/3l5g95w45/asdd.jpg

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I did pick that one off to remove the full door panel once when my door handle was struggling, and if I recall correctly it was just a matter of using gentle force. I'm quite certain that there were no screws at least.

Try testacorsta's advice, gently wiggle and see if it pops up!

testacorsa please do something for me. I didnt change a wheel bearing in my life(i know for sure is time to change the 210.000 km bearing ,actually only left),my request is: Please make a tutorial about how to take off all the parts and maybe how to change the bearing. I try to find something but all ,all are different.Panda classic is waaaaaay much different. Maybe your Panda wheel bearing system is same as my 169 2004.

P.S: I think the top off majore parts are 200.000+ km