Hi I'm new to the forum so hello to everyone. I live in N.W. UK. Thanks to everyone in the forum in advance.

My son who knows nothing about cars bought a panda 750 J reg on ebay, low mileage (25K), but unfortunately very very very very rusty around all the wheels, brakes discs, drums hubs and all suspension. It had been stood a long time .(He didn't really know what to look for and unfortunately was away from home so I couldn't check it out)
The front brakes are all seized, I need to replace the pads, callipers, discs and some brake pipe. Unbelievably the solid brake pipe going from the master cylinder to the flexible hose burst through corrosion (near where it goes through the wing) It had been MOT't 5 months earlier. Fortunately I was driving and no one was killed, my son was on the motorway driving the car the previous day!!!
I have removed TWO bolts (one bolt and one nut) holding the calliper holder but it wont move so I cant replace the disc. Do I need to undo something else? The Haynes just says unbolt and remove!
Is it possible to buy the small metal parts which the callipers slide on (the ones you knock out before removing the calliper)? They are very corroded and although cleaned are damaged by rust.
What size are the brake fittings on the pipe ends? I can't separate the rest of the pipe from the flexible its all gnarled up now and stuck, so prob need new flexis too (although they look ok apart from corroded ends)
Also the disc shield has disintegrated on the drivers side , anybody know where I can get one and how it's fitted please?
Finally (well for the moment anyway) is there an adjusment to control the amount of fast idle when the choke is used? There's a cam but I cant see any adjustment apart from the idle speed adjustment screw on the throttle cam. (In other words I want it to idle faster when the choke is used)

That's about it for now- I cant drive it anywhere 'till it has brakes!

thanks again in advance
woz

Re the caliper holder there is a nut that holds a small bracket in place that's also attached to the bottom of the shock. Once the bracket is removed there is a bolt underneith with thread either side which the nut you removed was attached to. This is the other bolt that holds the caliper mount in place.

The best thing to do is replace the calipers for exchange units about £18 and find a scrap one for the other parts in more serviceable condition.

Item 10 is what I'm referring to....


Re the disc covers they are attached behind the hub so you have to remove that to fit them so basically the driveshaft has to be removed etc etc long job for the outcome. The covers are relatively cheap from the dealers.

Don't get the choke bit there is three settings so when fully out there should be more than enough idle to suit.

The disc shield is available from Fiat for about £12 and the wedges come in a brake kit with various fitting springs and clips for about £16 if you can't find any other source.

Thanks for all the replies, I'll explain the choke bit...on some cars there is a separate screw on the cam to set idle speed on choke. This helps to avoid stalling when choked. Set speed to not stall with no throttle with choke. This does happen to an extent here but there is no adjustment as far as I can see. Its profiled to suit the choke setting, but this car is difficult to keep going till its warmed up, needing constant tweaking of the choke (too much it floods too little it stalls, but difficult to get right. A bit more speed on choke would, I think help)
I've managed to remove the calliper housing on one side so far, the bolt through the strut clamp was a b.....d VERY seized and tight. I'm not sure if I will be able to remove the one on the other side as its even rustier than the one I removed.
The work involved in fitting shields is very high for the payback as you've said, but what is the downside of no proper shields? Won't road dirt get to the disc?
Not sure if Alan will read this, where did you get the exploded diagram? My manual doesn't have it in.
Once again thanks so far. I'm sure there will be more questions...oh yes what size are the brake fittings? (the ones on the end of the solid pipe? ta
woz

As far as I am aware the 750 choke is the same as all the other carbed fire models and has the three setting system, however what I would suggest is when the engine is warm check the timing and mixture as it may be running rich or lean, either would cause the idle revs to drop. The mixture screw is easilly damaged if tightened against the housing which deforms the needle so may be a factor?

Spray the bolt with lots of WD40 or plus gas and allow it to penetrate (24hrs)before attempting to remove the bolt.

The diagram is from the eper disc.

There is a possibility of road dirt getting into the brakes and personally I would change it, but it's your car and depends how far you want to go. I would also probably change the bearings at the same time as you will be virtually removing them at the same time.

Don't worry too much about the guard. Plenty of people run without them. Most bikes run without guards, even off-road ones.

Les

woz said:

The work involved in fitting shields is very high for the payback as you've said, but what is the downside of no proper shields? Won't road dirt get to the disc?

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Lesnewell said:

Don't worry too much about the guard. Plenty of people run without them. Most bikes run without guards, even off-road ones.

Les

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:yeahthat:

My Uno rusted out it's disc guards and they were basically falling off and dragging along the discs. So I ripped them off 18 months ago and it's run fine ever since